Flashfire by Deborah Cooke

Author:Deborah Cooke
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Romance, Fantasy
ISBN: 9780451235473
Publisher: Signet
Published: 2012-01-03T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

Cassie stumbled as she fell back into the room in Lorenzo’s house. He was standing there, two sparkling glasses of Prosecco in his hand, watching avidly. As if he were waiting for her. Did people walk into his artwork all the time? He stepped forward to catch her elbow and steady her, his touch making her pulse leap.

“I wondered how long you’d stay,” he murmured, his eyes glinting. He was wearing only his jeans and his muscles were pumped as if he’d been working out, his hair tousled. He looked vital, larger than life, more powerful than your average hunky guy. He was completely composed, which made Cassie feel only more disheveled.

More like Alice down the rabbit hole.

Or spit back out of it.

“Welcome back.” Lorenzo handed her a glass, letting his fingertips brush hers in a way that left Cassie tingling. He arched a brow and toasted her, his gaze unswerving.

Cassie took a gulp of wine, trying to work out what had just happened.

Never mind what she had learned. Had this been another trick? A dream? It had certainly felt real.

Lorenzo appeared bemused.

Cassie looked back at the painting. She looked at him. “You’re not surprised.”

“Very little surprises me anymore.”

“Does this happen all the time?”

“No.” He spoke with such resolve that Cassie believed him. His scrutiny of her was intense, as if he was waiting for her to say something.

“How did you know, then?”

“I didn’t. I guessed.” He shrugged, seemingly at ease with the weirdness of it all. Maybe being a dragon shifter gave a person the ability to take things in stride. Maybe being over four hundred years old gave a person the ability to take things in stride.

She looked more closely and realized that he wasn’t as hard to read as she’d initially thought. If she paid attention, she could make a pretty good guess at his reactions.

Lorenzo was relieved, although he would have preferred to have hidden it. She could tell by the way his gaze clung to her and by the way he stayed close.

He’d been worried about her.

Because it was weird for people to disappear into his paintings.

That made Cassie feel a bit better.

She threw back half of the glass of Prosecco. It was a bit warm, but it still helped soothe her. She was rattled by the exchange with Angelina and the reminder of just how much she’d lost.

Never mind whose fault that was.

“You were gone, yet the alarm system indicates that no one has left the house.” Lorenzo smiled slowly, his expression making Cassie think of more interesting things than paintings. “I realized that Angelina had moved, and that her new protégé was wearing a most unusual outfit for the time.”

“I think that guy, the one up there with the beard, wanted my boots.”

Lorenzo winced. “You should have given them to him.”

“I like these boots!” Cassie protested, then saw the twinkle in his eyes.

Lorenzo lifted a hand as if heralding peace. “We have other things to discuss than your unfortunate choice of footwear.”

“What’s wrong with them?”

“You have gorgeous, feminine feet.

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