Page 38 of Dragon Tempted

“That is extremely concerning.”

“I would do the same thing for you, if you would actually date someone.”

Sienna’s heart sped up and she held up her hands. “No time. Clan leader. Curses. Overprotective brothers and best friend.”

Ryan laughed. “Don’t use me as an excuse.”

She took a deep breath and ordered her heart to slow down. “And don’t change the subject to me dating. I think the bigger problem is that you’re in love with someone already and you won’t do anything about it.”

He cringed. “It’s complicated.”

“Who said love is supposed to be easy?” Sienna put her hand on his arm. “Have you ever thought about telling him how you feel?”

“We work together.”

“Yep. And work and relationships can be tricky. I know that from being the baby sister who runs the clan her oldest brother used to lead. But you find a way to strike a balance. Kind of like you and I working together.”

He crossed his arms. “It wasn’t too long ago when I told you we couldn’t work together.”

She mimicked his stance. “But we worked it out, right? Besides, you don’t work that closely together with him. Just think about it.”

“I’ll think about it, if you think about your own personal life. You can’t wait until the perfect time to date, Sienna. There will always be some crisis with the clan. You can’t use that as an excuse to not get out there.”

Her heart sped up again. Right now dating was the furthest thing from her mind. She needed to protect the clan, and if that meant trying to be friends with John Baker, even if he fought her every step of the way, then so be it. She could be stubborn with the best of them.

Chapter 14

Can we meet for lunch?

John stared at the text he’d just received. He was rarely thrown, but he wasn’t sure what Sienna wanted. If he took it literally—although his long life had taught him never to take things literally—then he shouldn’t be worried. That she didn’t have an agenda. But Sienna was a determined female. The whole reason he was standing in this cabin on Simonson clan lands was because he was a possible means to an end of the curse. He knew this. Appreciated it even.

After all, he had been the means to the beginning of the curse, so his destiny was already written in blood. He read the text again and blinking dots appeared below it. He must have taken too long to respond back. It wasn’t like he knew texting protocol. When you’re a four-hundred-plus-year-old hermit, you aren’t spending time on your phone texting with your besties.

And before you say no, Mr. Antisocial, I will come to you with the food.

He sighed before typing. Fine.

See you in thirty minutes.

Maybe Megan had found something in his notes. But if so, why wouldn’t she be the one coming to see him? Had something else happened with the Templars? Was Sienna delivering bad news?

There was little point running worst-case scenarios in his head. But he’d become the king of worst case. How could he not when all he had was time and frustration on his hands?

Instead of pacing inside the small space, he headed outside and walked around the clearing, hoping that he didn’t look too anxious. The dragon guards passed above him on regular intervals. They were flying watch over the valley and clan lands, including the little cabin he occupied. Was he an oddity to them, like some sort of exotic animal in a zoo?

The sound of an approaching UTV stopped his brain from spinning out. He turned to see Sienna drive into the clearing and park. She was dressed casually with her blond hair pulled into a bun. She reached behind her and lifted out an honest-to-goodness picnic basket.

“Are you going to pull out a blanket next?”

Sienna smiled. “No. I didn’t want to push my luck. We can eat inside. Marilyn made chicken and dumplings for us, so a table would be best.”

She followed him inside and set the basket down, taking out a couple of containers. One held the chicken and dumplings, and the other what appeared to be some sort of salad. John grabbed dishes and silverware, and they plated the food before taking a seat at the table.

One bite and he barely held back a groan.

Sienna didn’t hold back her moan of appreciation. “This is one of my favorite dishes. I hoped you would like it.”

He took another bite and sighed. “I’m not a bad cook, but I seldom eat food cooked by another, and this is amazing.”