Bearing Her Wishes Read Online Free PDF Page A

with a spray bottle and rag in hand. He detested automatic car washes and always detailed the vehicle himself, inside and out, as if it were his own possession. In some ways it was, since Saul entrusted everything to him.
    Say something or he will continue to stare. Nothing was more unnerving than receiving a dragon’s complete but silent attention.
    “After all this time, Saul, why do you not learn to drive? You have much better control than you give yourself credit for.”
    “Humans and their cars are fragile,” Saul replied ominously.
    “Bah. You will not shift forms during a traffic jam, or if some foolish mortal cuts you off. I will teach you.”
    Saul raised his brow then glanced around the spacious garage interior. The finished cement floors gleamed beneath a fresh coat of polish recently applied during Leiv’s lonely week. “While this has been an adequate attempt to distract me, I did not visit to discuss becoming a motorist. We are alone, Leiv. Alone to converse in absolute privacy.”
    He must not know of the attack, if my petty troubles remain his primary concern. “Has Mahasti not told you of the news?”
    Saul’s smile wavered. “What news, my friend?”
    “An attack took place while you were away. A vampire breached our defenses and took Mahasti’s lamp.”
    Saul tensed. “What?” The words hissed past his clenched teeth.
    Leiv gave Saul the rundown on what occurred during his vacation, watching his friend become all the more angry with each passing second.
    “You should have called me.”
    “Mahasti and I handled it. As I have said. It is all good now, yes?”
    Saul huffed indignantly and muttered under his breath. Leiv continued his work and wished the dragon would let him be. As usual, luck was not with him; Saul continued his interrogation.
    “Fine, but something troubles you and I would like to know what is wrong. More importantly, what may I do to comfort you?”
    “Nothing to concern you, my friend. It is all small things,” Leiv attempted to assure him. He crouched down and wiped the car’s grill.
    “My home sparkles . The grounds have never been more organized. There are flowers in tidy rows. Rows, Leiv. You took the time to place them in rows.”
    Damn.
    “And my bar is empty of vodka,” Saul added as an afterthought.
    Damn.
    “I have not seen Mahasti. She usually greets me in person no matter the hour of the day. This is not the first time some fiend has sought her lamp, nor will it be the last, so I know its attempted theft is not to blame for her absence.”
    “I am not her keeper. If you wish for your djinn, call her,” Leiv grumbled irritably before he tossed the rag into the corner of the garage.
    Saul raised his brow again, but said nothing.
    “I will bring your bags up. Miss Ellis must want her things by now, yes?”
    “No, I can take them. As I’ve already said to you, that is not why I came down.”
    If Leiv had learned anything in his time serving Saul, it was that dragons were stubborn, tenacious creatures. Saul would not leave him alone until his curiosity was satisfied.
    “Did something happen with Mahasti, Leiv? Is this what has you tied up in knots?”
    As an unwilling participant in the conversation, Leiv frowned deeply and turned his head. A gentleman didn’t kiss and tell, and he certainly considered himself as one, but there could be no harm in answering Saul’s question either. On some level, the dragon had to already know what plagued his servant.
    “Mahasti and I became intimate, and things did not work as planned. It is my fault she failed to greet you.”
    “I know. I suspected as much. The arak is also gone. Threats to her lamp have never driven her to drinking, but affairs of the heart are another matter.”
    Leiv grunted again. “I apologize for keeping her from her duties.”
    “As far as I know, you have done nothing, and she is not forced to greet me.” Saul shook his head. “Mahasti is free to do as she wants; I vowed many years ago