Page 40 of Dragon Tempted

She glanced over her shoulder and grinned. “I am. I think you’ll like it. Are you up for a short hike?”

He nodded and they continued on. The scent of pine and vegetation and the sounds of scurrying animals teased his senses as they walked quietly. He appreciated that she didn’t feel the need to fill the silence with chitchat. He was the antithesis of chitchat. They walked through a line of trees before Sienna stopped and he came to stand beside her. In front of them sat an outcropping of rocks that created a ledge overlooking the valley below. He took a deep breath and admired the green pines that reached up to meet the clouds. John spent so much time hiding that he didn’t often get to appreciate the beauty that still existed in the world.

He felt Sienna studying him, but he didn’t turn to face her. Couldn’t. She saw too much, and that was dangerous for him. After a few seconds she stepped away from him and out onto the rocks, sat down, and took a drink of water. He hesitated for a moment before joining her.

“This is one of my favorite spots. You can see most of the valley from here. When my brothers were kids, they used to get into all kinds of trouble. Raced the skies from one side of this valley to the other. I’ve heard stories about them staying out all day until they were forced to come in at night. Marcus would have to go looking for them.”

Marcus and not their father. That was interesting. “Was Marcus in charge of security back then?”

“He was. But that’s not why he would go find them. In truth, Marcus raised my brothers. He was more of a father to them than ours ever was.”

“Because he was busy running the clan and business?” he asked.

Sienna hesitated for a moment as if deciding what she wanted to say before making up her mind. “Because he was a selfish, petty man who was jealous of his own sons,” she responded matter-of-factly, like she was ordering food at a restaurant. She took a sip of water.

He did the same to collect his thoughts. If she was anything like him, she didn’t want his pity or attempts to make her feel better. “Did you get in trouble with your brothers as well?”

She shook her head. “Adam and Eric are ten and eight years older than me. By the time I was old enough to get into trouble, they were grown and not about fun and games any longer.”

He didn’t like the story she was painting for him. “You didn’t have anyone to fly the valley with?”

Sienna grinned. “I didn’t say that. Ryan and I grew up together.”

So Ryan was more than just a coworker. But he’d figured that out from their first interactions. Heat bubbled in his chest. “Did Marcus have to search for you too?”

“Sometimes. But Marcus was more like an uncle to me. Adam raised me. Ryan and I got into our share of trouble. I’m surprised Adam didn’t go prematurely gray.”

He hesitated. “How old were you when you lost your mother?”

She looked out over the valley. “Twelve.”

“That had to be hard.”

Sienna turned back to him. “It was, but you lost your parents much younger.”

John shook his head. “Grief isn’t a competition. Each of us is allowed to mourn in our own time and way without minimizing it because we think others have had it worse.”

She blinked at him. “Wow. That was profound.”

“Don’t sound so surprised.”

She laughed before her expression turned a bit sheepish. “I’m sorry. That came out wrong—”

He interrupted before she kept apologizing. “Don’t worry about it. Loss is something I’m familiar with.”

Her smile faded and he wanted to kick himself. What was with him just blurting things whenever she was around. It was becoming a problem. “Tell me a story about you getting into trouble as a child.”

Sienna’s face lit up again—thank the Fates—and she set her water down. “When we were sixteen, Ryan and I snuck into an R-rated movie and, of course, we were caught. Instead of just kicking us out, the theater manager wanted to call our parents. I told him I had to call my brother. But I called Jonas instead.”

“Jonas?”

“Sorry. He’s Marcus’s son. He’s only a year older than Ryan and me, but he’s always acted older than his age. He treated us like bratty tagalongs back then. But I figured he was better than having Adam or Marcus come. Jonas showed up, assured the manager that we wouldn’t do it again, and took us home. But not before lecturing us like he was our father, teacher, and preacher all in one! He was such a stick-in-the-mud. Still is sometimes. He’s in charge of systems tech for our clan and company now. Jonas dropped me off at home, and Adam caught me sneaking into the house. And I had to sit through another lecture. At the end of the lecture, Adam asked me what I had learned.” Her eyes danced.

“What did you say?” he asked, knowing that it was going to be good.

“That I must not have inherited the sneaky gene like he and Eric had, so I could cross being a spy off my future job list.”

The muscles on either side of John’s mouth fought him for a second before he smiled along with her. “What did Adam say?”