Her Dragon Billionaire Page 2

  The woman put the tray on a nearby table. “I’m Rosa. How do you feel?”

  “Okay, I guess. I can’t remember anything though.”

  “You don’t know who you are?”

  “I’m Eva. But that’s just about it. Do you know who I am?”

  “Oh dear.” Rosa was crestfallen. “Mr. Caderyn should hear about this.”

  “Mr. Caderyn?”

  “Liam Caderyn, my employer. I used to be his nanny. Changed his diapers when he was a baby. Now I’m taking care of his household.”

  Eva heard feet shuffling by the door. A moment later, a man entered the room. He paused when he saw her. His face lit up and a smile followed. Eva’s heart stuttered.

  The man was very good looking.

  He was tall with a toned physique, broad shoulders, tapered waist, and long legs. His brown eyes were pools of melted bronze. His sun-kissed skin contrasted with the white polo shirt he wore, above the faded jeans. He was bare-footed. His hair was midnight black, gathered into a ponytail.

  “Eva?” he called.

  God gracious, he knew her name? He knew who she was and how she got here?

  “You know me?” She found herself blushing. She didn’t know why. Maybe because he was so stunning. Or maybe because of the way he was staring at her. He had dimples when he smiled and he looked as if he wanted to take a nibble and swallow her in one bite.

  “Rosa, would you excuse us?” he asked. He had a deep, dulcet voice, dripping with authority.

  The woman waved. “Sure, sure. Call me if you need anything.” She shuffled to the door and closed it.

  “How are you feeling?” the man asked. “You should stay in bed. You’re still unwell.”

  “I feel pretty good. I’m sorry, I don’t remember you.”

  He furrowed his lush brows. “What do you remember?”

  “I know my name is Eva. That’s about it.”

  “You don’t remember anything else?”

  Eva shook her head.

  “Let’s sit, love. Rosa has made you some tea.” He took her hand and ushered her back to the bed.

  A sudden vertigo slammed her head. She felt dizzy. Probably from standing up too long. She didn’t know what had happened to her, but she felt as if she had been run over by a truck. Her hands and legs were shaky. She felt so groggy and weak. And the tea sounded like a good idea.

  He poured her some tea into a cup and handed it over to her. She sipped it with delight. “If you don’t mind me asking, who are you?”

  The man gave her a long, measured look before finally answering. “Eva, I’m Liam. Your husband.”

  *

  Liam didn’t know why he blurted out such an outrageous lie, but at the moment it seemed like a good idea. He knew her name from the medical bracelet on her wrist: Eva Smith, but that was about it. At present, the private investigator he had hired was working to find out more information about her.

  He didn’t have the heart to tell her that he found her on the verge of death in his property. And how was he supposed to explain to her that his blood had brought her to life with no telltale signs of her injuries? A bullet in the head. Broken ribs. Broken fingers. Another bullet in her stomach and one in the chest. All miraculously healed within twenty-four hours. Besides, he needed to keep her within his sight. If he told her who she really was, he was afraid she would want to leave. He needed to monitor her healing progress. And there were people out there who wanted her dead. She wasn’t safe out there.

  Eva’s eyes rounded, looking shocked. “I…I’m your wife?”

  The problem with lies was that when you started one, you would soon need to begin embellishing it with more lies to make them stick. Liam gulped, trying to sound more convincing. “Yes. We’re newly wedded.”

  “I don’t remember anything.”

  “Clearly, you have amnesia, Eva.”

  She shook her head. “How … how did I get…“

  “You fell and bumped your head.”

  “Oh.” She rubbed her right temple. “No wonder. I felt funny in here.”

  What had happened to her wasn’t funny at all. It was miracle she had sustained a head trauma like that and lived. Humans were more resilient than he thought. Once, he saw a man on TV had taken a piece of metal rod through his skull and survived. It was a medical miracle. Or the grim reaper wasn’t inclined to harvest his soul yet. “Are you hungry?”

  “No.” She paused. “Yes. I’m famished. But I have a lot of questions to ask you. What’s my maiden name?”

  “Smith.” According to her medical bracelet, her name was Eva Smith. She was also diabetic. But Liam doubted she had diabetes anymore. When the blood magic brought her back to life, it would have also healed her from her any illness.

  Liam studied her closely. He saw a great deal of improvement in her. At first he didn’t think the blood magic would work. He had been waiting in trepidation after he fed her his blood. He brought her to the house and bathed her in the tub while waiting for the blood magic to do its work. A great worry lifted off his shoulders when he saw her wounds knitting closed. Her bones reset. Her gashes and bruises mended. When she was breathing normally, Liam was relieved that she would be okay.

  With the healing over, he faced a new dilemma. She would ask questions and Liam didn’t quite know how he would explain his secret to her. The moment he had her in his arms, he was filled with a surge of overbearing protection. What could she have done possibly that compelled someone to do terrible things to her? Random mugging? Revenge? Jealous boyfriend? She didn’t strike him as a person who was able to commit such a horrible act that someone wanted to hurt her. No—not that angelic face. She didn’t have rings on her so he safely assumed she wasn’t married. Somehow, he felt that the two of them were alike. He had been hurt by Natalie’s betrayal. And this woman… well, she was a victim of a heinous crime. He and Eva were connected. They were both wounded souls.

  “Do I have family? Mother? Father? Sister? Brother?” she asked.

  That, Liam didn’t know. Anderson Cod, his private investigator, was working on her case at the moment. “Eva.” He smiled. “I want you to take things slowly. You took a hard blow to the head.”

  “But…”

  “Don’t worry, love. Everything will come back to you eventually.”

  “I suppose you’re right. It just jars me I can’t remember anything about us. I feel like we’re strangers.”

  “It will pass,” Liam comforted her. “You just rest. I’ll ask Rosa to bring you food.”

  “What’s your name again?”

  “Liam. Liam Caderyn.”

  “Liam,” she repeated it as if his name was a mantra. “So I’m Eva Caderyn?”

  “Yes.” He had to admit that the name suited her very well. He liked it. He didn’t know her at all, but he loved everything about her. From her smooth silky skin to her curvaceous figure, ample and filled up all in the right places. Her face was innocent like a child. She was beautiful without any makeup. What kind of monster would want to harm a woman like her? He silently vowed that he would protect her. No one would ever hurt her while she was under his watch. “Are you hungry? What are you in the mood for?”

  “Anything. I’m so hungry I could eat a cow. Hey, how do I know that?”

  Liam chortled. Rosa had warned him when Eva woke up she would want to eat. Blood magic always incited ravenous appetites. He planted a light kiss on her forehead. “I’ll go tell Rosa. I’ll call Doctor Hall to come and check on you too.”

  “Who’s Doctor Hall?”

  “He’s our private physician.”

  “We have a private physician?”

  “We can afford one, love.”

  “Oh. I suppose that’s nice. Thank you.”

  “Not at all, love.”

  He left Eva with her tea and found Rosa in the kitchen in the process of assembling a sandwich.

  The housekeeper glanced from her cooking and asked, “What did you tell her?”

  “About?”<
br />
  “Who she was? About you?”

  Liam made a face. Discomfort ambushed him when he was confronted by the matronly woman. Rosa had been in the Caderyn family since her twenties. She wasn’t a full-blooded dragon, but she had dragon blood in her. Rosa’s mother was a Halfling and married to a human. The bloodline weakened. Because of it, Rosa couldn’t shift. Only boys sired by a Halfling father and human mother retained their shifter ability. The blood remained strong on the patriarchal line.

  “I told her I’m her husband,” he confessed.

  “Husband?” Rosa parroted in a mocking tone. “You’re joking, right?”

  “I’m afraid not. I panicked. I didn’t think she’d wake up that soon.”

  “Blood magic has a powerful healing property, Mr. Caderyn. I’m surprised it took twenty-four hours to make her whole. Your mother needed only thirty minutes to recuperate from the bypass surgery after your father administered it.”

  He ran his fingers on his head. “If I tell her the truth, she’ll leave. I can’t let her go. What if she turns into one of us?”

  “Have you forgotten? One is born as a dragon. Not made. Your mother received blood magic from your father and it didn’t turn her into one.”

  About twenty years ago, his father had incited the rite so his mother would be given long life. But five years later, his father had an unfortunate accident that had taken his life. His mother died within months from grief. Dragons mated for life. Liam didn’t know why his marriage with Natalie hadn’t worked out. Once bonded, dragons wouldn’t desire someone else. The more he thought about it, his marriage with Natalie had felt wrong from the beginning. He didn’t feel the bond—an attachment between husband and wife like a pair of soul mates should have. Perhaps that was what had turned his marriage into a shambles.

  He had thought Natalie was a perfect match. She came from pure blood dragon lineage. Their passion was fierce, smoldering. The moment he laid eyes on her, they couldn’t keep their hands off each other.

  But he had mistaken their strong attraction as a bond. A year into their marriage, the passion was gone, reducing them to a pair of strangers living in the same house, sharing the same bed. They had started fighting. Liam wanted to reconcile, but Natalie wasn’t interested. One morning, she told him it was over and served him divorce papers. She left him for his best friend whom she had been seeing for months behind his back. He felt like a fool. A cuckolded husband.

  He cleared his throat. “Eva can’t know about the truth until she’s ready. She’s already been through a lot.”

  “Sooner or later, you need to tell her. What if she suddenly remembers who she was?”

  “We’re talking a big ‘what if.’”

  “Don’t you want her to heal well?”

  “Of course I do.”

  Rosa went busy slicing cucumber for a salad. “I personally think you sealed her fate when you initiated the rite, Mr. Caderyn. Whether you want it or not, she’s yours. She’s your bonded.”

  “Bonded.” He snorted. “Natalie is currently living with my ex-best friend in the Bahamas, spending my money.”

  Rosa snorted. “That’s not what I meant. Speaking of her, I don’t understand about Natalie. I don’t think she’s your true bonded.”

  “Natalie is a pure-blood. Bairn House kept their lineage untainted back to the Celtic times.”

  “Sometimes you don’t need a pure-blood to find the other half of your soul.”

  Liam contemplated. Rosa was right. His mother was human and their parents had a great marriage. “What can I tell Eva about when we got married? Engaged? Wedding ring. She’ll want to see the wedding photos.”

  “Maybe you should march back in there and tell her the truth.”

  “No. I can’t do that.”

  “You can’t or won’t?”

  “I won’t. I already dipped my foot in the water. Besides, I’m rather…fond of her. What should I tell her if she wants to know more?”

  Rosa rolled her eyes. “Sometimes the best lies are the truth.”

  He considered her answer. “I’ll think of something,” he decided. He started to leave but then he remembered what brought him to the kitchen. “I need you to do something for me. I saw Eva in Natalie’s robe. Why did you keep Natalie’s clothes anyway?”

  “Those are designer clothing. I meant to give them to charity, but didn’t get the chance.”

  “Buy Eva a new wardrobe. I don’t want to see her in Natalie’s things.”

  “Boy, are we grumpy today?” Rosa snatched a towel and wiped her hands. “Fine. I’ll run to Macy’s later.”

  “I’ll be in my office if you need me. And Eva is hungry.” Liam wanted to call Anderson Cod to find out the progress of his investigation.

  *

  Eva clutched her cheeks while listening to the galloping pulse of her beating heart. She was married? To that handsome man? And she didn’t have any recollection of any of it? How awful. She married a hottie and couldn’t remember anything about him. What made them fall in love? How did they meet? When did they get married? So many questions and no answers. How long had they been married and why did he act like a stranger?

  She had a headache. The revelation was too much.

  Was their marriage in trouble?

  Her discomfort turned into full-blown anxiety. It was bad enough she couldn’t remember who she was. It was devastating that she couldn’t remember anything about the man she loved and married.

  Eva studied her hands. There were no rings. No engagement ring nor wedding ring.

  Why didn’t she wear her rings? Were they lost in her accident? Were they in the process of separation? Or worse, divorce? That would explain his awkwardness toward her. If they were going to divorce, Eva wished for a reconciliation. Liam was the only one she had. She felt so vulnerable right now and she didn’t think she could face it alone. She needed someone. She needed him.

  Her train of thoughts was suddenly distracted by a knock on the door.

  Liam’s housekeeper, Rosa, came in with a tray of food. The aroma made Eva’s stomach growl. Did she smell chicken soup? She was famished.

  “Hello, child. Here’s your lunch. I bet you’re hungry.” Rosa put the tray by the nightstand.

  “I am, actually.”

  “Good. Then eat up while it’s still hot.”

  Eva craned her neck. “Chicken soup. Is it my favorite food?”

  “Everybody loves my chicken soup. Mr. Caderyn wanted me to buy you some new clothes and essentials. Do you want something from Macy’s?”

  “Don’t I have clothes in here?”

  “No. Those are Natalie’s.”

  “Who?”

  “Mr. Caderyn’s ex-wife . I haven’t had a chance to donate them to charity. Mr. Caderyn didn’t wish you to wear Natalie’s clothes. He wanted me to buy new ones.”

  Eva widened her eyes. “Liam was married before?”

  “Divorced, child. Three years ago. It’s an old story.”

  “Oh.” A pang of jealousy stabbed her. Liam kept his ex-wife’s clothes while she, the woman he was currently married to, didn’t have anything in the house they were sharing. She didn’t even have her wedding ring. What was going on here? “What happened?”

  “Natalie left Mr. Caderyn. She’s a bad seed if you ask me.”

  “He’s divorced and I can’t remember being married to him. When did we get married?”

  “Just recently.”

  “Are there any wedding photos I could see?”

  Rosa smiled. “It’s best that you ask Mr. Caderyn. I’m not allowed to tell you anything. He wanted to tell you himself, considering your injury. You should take things easy.”

  “Sorry. I was curious.”

  “I know, child. Have lunch and rest. What’s your favorite color?”

  “My favorite color?” Eva narrowed her eyes, thinking hard. “Do I have a favorite color? I can’t remember.”

  “Do you like pink? Pastel colors?”

  “Pink is
pretty.”

  “All women love pink. I’ll come later with your clothes. You take it easy, child.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Ah. You’re so precious.”

  *

  “Please have a seat, Mr. Cod. I hadn’t expected you to come back so soon. It’s only been a day since we talked on the phone,” said Liam. He closed the door of his home office and ushered the private investigator to the plush couches in front of the fireplace. Liam was about to talk to Eva when Rosa announced he had a visitor.

  “The case turned out to be an interesting one.” Anderson Cod took out a large brown envelope from his trench coat before sinking his trunk-like body onto the sofa. He extracted the contents of the envelope. News clipping. Eight-by-ten photos. Police reports. Some classified documents.

  Liam grabbed a paper and started reading with a sinking feeling. Like Liam had feared, the injuries inflicted against her weren’t just some random assaults. They were carried out by professional killers.

  Eva Smith a.k.a Eva Walker was a librarian who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. One night after working late, she witnessed a man being murdered in the parking lot by a gang of men. The victim, Sanford Thomas, turned out to be a local businessman with ties to the Russian mafia.

  He read news clippings about the Russian mafia boss dated a few months prior. The testimony from Eva, the prosecutor’s star witness, was what convinced the jury to return with the guilty verdict. It warranted Anton Kovalenko behind bars forever. No wonder the vor wanted her dead. One way or another, anyone who betrayed the vor would pay. Liam felt an inward shudder course through his veins.

  “She’s in the witness protection program?”

  “What a joke that was.” Cod snorted. “The Feds gave her new identities, but her medical history was tied up to her old name.”

  “I know she’s diabetic. How did you find out she was in the witness protection program?”

  “Wasn’t hard to find. Whoever created her new identity did a half-ass job.”

  “Then I assume Eva has a handler.”

  “She has. Her name is Mariah Jones. She works in the State Department.”

  “Does Jones know Eva is missing?”

  “My guess is no. The place where Eva worked hadn’t known she was missing. Eva was abducted on Friday. Today’s Sunday. Perhaps on Monday if Eva doesn’t show up for work, they’ll start making inquiries.”