Wild Shadow : A Sweet Paranormal Romance by Martha Dunlop

Author:Martha Dunlop [Dunlop, Martha]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781913788056
Publisher: TanLea Books
Published: 2021-02-20T22:00:00+00:00

31

Dylan

Dylan paused at Tabitha’s front gate. There was a sign saying Shop Open, but the door itself was firmly closed. The owl shrieked. He looked up, hoping to see it, but it was buried deep in the foliage. He held up a hand, paused, and then wrapped his knuckles against the wooden door.

He heard footsteps, a meow and then the door swung open.

Reality shifted as Dylan looked at the woman in front of him. She was possessed by a wild beauty. She shone, from her bright copper hair to her bare feet and glinting, white toenails. Her full lips spread into a slow smile and her eyes shone bright turquoise.

She held out one fine-boned hand, her crystal bracelets clinking together on her wrist. ‘Dylan, come on in.’ She stood back to let him pass.

‘I’m your new neighbour,’ he said, stepping inside and breathing into the warmth of the small room. ‘I just accepted a flat over the road. When I saw you at the window, I thought I’d come and say hello.’

‘I thought you’d made up with your friends?’

Dylan frowned. ‘How did you know that? I haven’t seen you since.’

She flushed and shook her head. ‘Never mind.’

‘Regardless, you were right. We have made up, I recorded a demo today, and Mum’s friend offered me a beautiful flat for absurdly low rent. Not many days come this good.’

The tension dropped out of her shoulders and she smiled. ‘Well then, it sounds like we should celebrate!’

‘The bubbles are on Mum.’ He held out the bottle.

There were only ceramic mugs this time. Tabitha poured the bubbling liquid and handed him the larger cup. Their fingertips brushed and his heart sped, his breath catching in his throat.

Tabitha took her cup and sat on the floor, leaning against the wall, her legs doubled up in front of her.

‘Do you mind if I look?’ Dylan asked, gesturing at the pictures that lined the walls.

‘Please do. They are for sale, after all.’

The walls were covered with images of tigers. Most were impressionistic watercolours, the lines and colours showing a movement and life that took his breath away. ‘How do you do that,’ he said, reaching towards a blue and purple image of two tigers fighting. ‘You’ve used fantastical colours, but somehow it’s more real than a photograph.’

Tabitha smiled. ‘Thank you. That one was a commission. I’ll be posting it in the next day or two, but I wanted to show it first.’

‘Do you do a lot of commissions?’

‘Yes. That’s how I live. I’m known for painting tigers, so people come to me from all over the world. I have a waiting list two pages long and it takes me weeks to complete one large painting. The other pictures, the sketches, the pastel drawings, those are for the love of it. They still make me money, but not enough to survive on.’

Dylan stopped in front of a small pastel drawing of a white tiger. She was baring her teeth at the onlooker, her turquoise-blue eyes furious. A flicker of red and orange surrounded her pale, striped form.

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