Xavier: The Manning Dragons ― Paranormal Dragon Shifter Romance Read online

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locations, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  World Castle Publishing, LLC

  Pensacola, Florida

  Copyright © Kathi S. Barton 2019

  Paperback ISBN: 9781951642211

  eBook ISBN: 9781951642228

  First Edition World Castle Publishing, LLC, December 23, 2019

  http://www.worldcastlepublishing.com

  Licensing Notes

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in articles and reviews.

  Cover: Karen Fuller

  Editor: Maxine Bringenberg

  Chapter 1

  The plane landed on time, but the cool air after being in the warm jet was almost too much. Even the wind here felt so much more brutal. Cindi had made arrangements to have a car rented before leaving home and was dismayed to find out that the order had not been filled. Not knowing what to do, she saw her name on a piece of cardboard and walked to the two men holding it up.

  “That’s me. I’m Cindi—with an I, by the way. How did you know that I’d be coming in today?” The older man told her his name, then introduced her to the younger man. “I’m glad to meet you in person, Mr. Green. Is there something wrong with your son?”

  “He’s not my son. I love him like one, but he’s only a good buddy of mine.” Mr. Green poked Mr. Manning in the ribs. “What’s with you? She’s been a talking to you.”

  “Ms. Janis, I’m sorry. I was caught off guard for a moment.” Cindi stared at him. His bright pink cheeks were cute, but she wasn’t into men right now. She had too much going on to have some overgrown man think she was going to be some kind of plaything. “You should be aware right away that I can read your mind. I’m sorry about your not being into men, but I’m your mate. Do you know what that means?”

  “Yes.” Cindi knew enough about mates to know that they were going to be stuck with each other no matter how much she didn’t have it in her to be a slave to anyone. When he grinned at her, she thought of all the things that she had to deal with. “Can I be taken to where the body is? I’d like to know before her daughter gets here.”

  “Of course. It’s not that far from where we are. Also, I’ve made arrangements for your staff to have an open line of credit to replace or repair anything in the Ivy. One of the men on the cleanup crew is a friend of mine.” She asked if there was much to take care of. “No. But with you and your staff living there full time, I thought that it should be as safe as it can be. Nothing major, but he did have to redo the floor in the kitchen, and a couple of the appliances were outdated. It’s a good solid building. You got a good deal on it.”

  Cindi thanked Mr. Manning as they made their way to his car. “I know you must think I’m stupid for buying something without even looking at it. But if this is my aunt, then I’d like to know that we can have a place to stay without having to drive back and forth from Columbus.” Mr. Manning told her that she wasn’t stupid at all. “Rash then. I assure you, I don’t make many rash decisions.”

  “I believe you, or you’d not have taken your parents’ businesses and made them more profitable, as well as going green as much as you can. I don’t want you to think I’ve been stalking you, but I knew your grandmother when she was younger.” She didn’t say anything to him about that. Her grandma was in her nineties, and this man, perhaps in his mid to late thirties. “I’m much, much older than I look. I’ve also made sure that your luggage is taken directly there. There is a car at your disposal too. My brother Cooper took care of that for you. We all wanted to make sure that your stay here is easy on you.”

  “I don’t know what to say. Thank you. About my staff. When they’re finished with the clean-up, most of them will be returning to the place where they work. But I’d like to have a nice meal with them someplace that doesn’t take a large bus to get us there.” He told her that he had a home. “I’m sure you do, Mr. Manning. But how about if we take this one thing at a time?”

  “What I meant by that is, I have a large home with plenty of staff available that could accommodate a large party. They’re on call in the event that I need them, but they don’t need much in the way of advance notice. Any one of my brothers also have houses that could do that for you as well. But it’s up to you if you would feel more comfortable with one of them letting you use their home.” She didn’t know what she wanted to do at this point and walked to the car that was just pulling up in front of the little airport. “Is there anything else I can do for you?”

  “Stop reading my mind.” Mr. Manning said that he would do that, but only if she would talk to him. “Fair enough. My aunt is Caroline Janis—she goes by Carol. She was here a few days ago when she called me at home to tell me where she was. I’m not sure why she was in Ohio. When she’s writing a book, she goes to the places she’s writing about rather than just looking it up.”

  “I have a couple of her books at home. I had no idea when I heard that this person might be her that she was the writer.” They were in the car by then, and Mr. Green was in the back. “The funeral home has prepared the body for you to view. I don’t know how...damaged she is, so if it’s too much for you, just let me know.”

  “I speak to the dead. I usually can see them only moments after they’re dead. Few of them are in good shape when they die, so I’m used to seeing blood and such.” He pointed out that she was not related to them. “True. Now that I think about it, maybe that’s the reason I couldn’t contact her if this person is my aunt. By the way, how was she found?”

  “Grace could feel her. No, that’s not right either. Grace is an artist, and she gets her ideas from a muse. That’s what she calls him, Muse. When someone on the other side comes to Muse, somehow Grace has a need to paint them. Sort of like a lifeline of their life up until their death.” Cindi asked if her name was Grace Manning. “Yes, that’s her. You’ve seen her paintings then.”

  “I have. And now that I can put the two of them together, I can understand what you mean. So my aunt somehow contacted her muse, and that made it so that she could be found.” Xavier said he thought that was the way it had gone. “She was found in a cave, they said—the police, when I called here. What would she have been doing in a cave?”

  “I haven’t any idea. But you should know that your aunt wasn’t the only woman that has been killed the same way. If this is her, I mean.” Cindi told him that she’d read up on it coming here on the plane. Xavier glanced at her a couple of times as he drove. “I don’t want to alarm you, but you could be a victim as well. Red hair, slim build. It’s the same with the other women.”

  “How do you know that it’s not from a bottle?” He said that he could tell. “Must be a shifter thing, I guess. What are you, anyway?”

  “I’m not a shifter. I was a dragon before I was able to be a man. We were being hunted, our kind. My mom gave her life to protect us. My dad did the same, giving up his life to change us into beings that could blend in with humans.” Cindi told him she was sorry. “I don’t remember my mother much. My dad? I have vague memories of him. I think because I was so young when they both died, as well as it’s been thousands of years since they both died.”

  “I lost my parents not long ago.
They were killed in a plane crash on the runway. Another one skidded out of control and hit theirs in the gas tanks. My brothers and I, we saw it happen as we were still waving goodbye to them.” Xavier said he was sorry too, and she looked around when he parked. “I don’t know if I want to know right now. I mean, should I wait for my cousin? Should I see and then tell her what happened to her? I want to know, but I don’t either.”

  “I can understand that. If you’d like to put it off until tomorrow, that’s fine. Or, if you have a picture of her, I can go in and check for you. I’ve known the Wilsons for a long time, and he’d allow me to check for you.” Cindi stared at him, then glanced back at Mr. Green when he said he’d do it for her. “If you’d rather wait, I can bring you and your cousin back tomorrow, and we can do it then.”

  Cindi got out of the car. So did both the men. She needed to know. “If I put this off until tomorrow, I know that I’ll never get any sleep because of worrying.” Mr. Green said that he’d go in with her. “I hate to sound like I’m a wimp, but could you both go in with me? I’m terrified that it’s her. Actually, I’m sure that it’s her. While she wasn’t the best aunt, or even mother, in the world, she was still a relative.”

  “Of course we’ll go on in with you.” Mr. Green went up to the door and waited for them.

  Cindi turned to Xavier. “I suppose you have a comment about my behavior?” He asked her what she meant. “I’ve been around shifters all my life, Mr. Manning. I know they have opinions on a great many things that are none of their concern. What is yours of me and dealing with this?”

  “First of all, I’m very proud that you want to get this over with. If I were in your shoes, I’d want my entire family here with me. Just to hold me upright. Secondly, I don’t know the shifters that you do, but I can tell you right now, I’m nothing like them. I’m calm and enjoy my own company rather than that of a person that likes to talk all the time. Foster has been quiet today, but he’ll talk your arm off if you allow him to. And third?” He pulled her into his arms. Nothing sexual about it, just a comforting hug that Cindi hadn’t known that she needed until that moment. “Don’t judge me by others, please. I’m a good man. A man who, as your mate, hurts as badly as you do for the suffering that you’re going through. I would never, not in all my life, belittle you for having feelings for anything. Understand?”

  “Yes.” She pulled away from him, and he let her. Cindi wasn’t sure why the thought of going back into his arms sounded so appealing, but she could have spent the day just being held by him. “I’m as ready as I’ll ever be, I guess.”

  The building was lovely, with an old world look as if the owner had kept it up over the years rather than letting it go to pot, like so many other buildings that she’d seen. As soon as she walked in the door with Mr. Green holding it for her, Cindi smelled flowers and other sweet smelling things. There was no odor of chemicals like she had expected.

  “Ms. Janis. I’m so sorry that you must do this. I’ve been assured by the police department that your aunt did not suffer overly much. I’m so sorry for your loss.” Cindi shook her head, not sure what to say to the man. She watched as Xavier took Mr. Wilson aside. When they both came back, Mr. Wilson apologized for his words. “I hadn’t realized that it wasn’t confirmed as yet if she is related to you.”

  “Thank you.” She looked at Xavier and thanked him too. “Would you please go with me? I don’t want to impose or anything.”

  “It’ll be my pleasure to help you with this.”

  She nodded and followed the funeral director to a little set of stairs.

  “Be careful of these steps. In the winter months, they get a little slick.”

  She did slide a little but caught herself from falling on her ass. Xavier didn’t make fun of her, nor did he seem pissy when he helped her the rest of the way down. Even her brothers would have teased her greatly if they had been with her.

  The room she was in was small, but Cindi thought it had a great deal to do with the man standing behind her. He was big, but he didn’t encroach on her space. When Mr. Wilson said he’d be right back, she saw the curtain to the area she was staring at move. Reaching for his hand, Cindi was happy when Xavier not only took hers into his own but held her to his side as the curtain was moved back.

  With Xavier at her side, she walked to the now open area. It took her a few seconds to realize that a person was there. When she saw what was left of the woman’s face, Cindi cried out. Just as she was falling back, she was scooped up and pulled into strong arms.

  “It’s not her. It’s not Aunt Caroline.”

  Xavier told her over and over that he had her. And for whatever reason, she knew that he did really have her.

  As he held her, she let the sleepless night, the fear that she had, and the terror that she’d felt coming here settle over her, and Cindi did something she rarely did. She fainted.

  ~*~

  Xavier put the cell phone back on the bedside table and sat in the chair by the bed. Cindi had been resting for the last several hours, and he didn’t have the heart to wake her. So he’d not only answered the phone when it rang for her, but he’d been able to talk to each of her brothers about the woman in the funeral home. Each of them was so relieved to know that their aunt was still out there. But the last call had been from Blair Owen, their cousin. He thought about what she’d asked him while he kept an eye on Cindi.

  “How do you know that it’s not my mom?” Xavier, always a patient man, told her for the fourth time that Cindi said that it wasn’t. “I don’t want it to be her—you understand that, don’t you? But where is she if not—? Shit. That sounded almost like I wanted her dead, so I would know where she was. I didn’t mean that.”

  “I know that, Ms. Owen. You’re stressed out, and you’re coping. I think you’re doing very well with all this.” She thanked him. “Cindi is still resting. Is there anything that I can tell her when she wakes? I think she had herself convinced that it was going to be your mom as well.”

  “I think we all did.” Xavier told her that he could also understand that. “You’re a very nice man. I hope so, anyway. The young woman that is— Do you know if they have any clues as to who she might be?”

  “No. I know that one of my sisters-in-law has taken her fingerprints. We’re just waiting to find out if they get something back on them. It does help to narrow it down to know that it’s not your mom. I’m very happy for you all.” Blair seemed distracted, and when she told him to hang on, he did so without any question. When she came back, he asked her if everything was all right.

  “Yes. My cousins, Cindi’s brothers, are here, and they’re telling me that they spoke to you already. I’m sorry about that, Mr. Manning.” He told her to call him Xavier. “That’s very kind of you. Daniel, one of Cindi’s brothers, is making arrangements for us all to come there. They’re thinking that Ohio was the last place that we knew where Mom was, so we’ll start there. Is that all right?”

  “Absolutely. I’ll talk to Cindi when she is up and around and let her know. You need anything, you just call me.” He gave her his cell phone number. “I’ll be there with Cindi to pick you all up when you land. Just let us know when you’ll be arriving. I’m so happy things turned out well. The Ivy is coming along nicely, too, so you shouldn’t have any trouble once you’re there.”

  “What a lovely name for a bed and breakfast. The Ivy.” Xavier could have told her why it was called that, because of the miles and miles of ivy that hung from the porch, but he knew that they’d figure it out when they arrived. “I’ll call Cindi later and let her know what I’ve got scheduled. Thank you again for making sure that my cousin is all right. I don’t know what any of us would do without her.”

  He’d not told any of them that Cindi was his mate. Honestly, Xavier didn’t know why he’d not mentioned it. Several thoughts circled in his mind, but mostly he wasn’t sure if telling them was something they shoul
d do together or not. Pissing her off so early in their relationship was something that he wanted to avoid as much as possible.

  At noon Carson came to see him. She told him that she’d gotten back the fingerprints from the Jane Doe and that they had a name now. He didn’t ask her who it was. She might have told him, but he really didn’t want to know it right now. It would make it sadder for him to have a name attached to the poor young woman.

  “I’ve put out a search for her family. The autopsy was performed, so we know a little more about her. Not a great deal, mind you, but more than we did before. We know she had at least one child, but nothing much more. Well dressed.” Xavier asked if she’d had a wedding band. “There is a small indentation on her finger for one, but I think she’s not worn it for a while. There is no tan line. Also—and this one I find very strange. When the medics took her away, they found her purse, with all her identification gone, under her. There wasn’t a tube of lipstick or even a hairbrush in her purse. There might not have ever been. I know most women have both those items within reach all the time.”

  “Is that consistent with the other women?” Carson told him that it was, but nothing had been taken from her. “You mean a trophy, don’t you? Did he take anything from the other women?”

  “No, nothing from any of them, so there are no apparent fetishes. I just wanted to come by and give you an update. Let us all know when Ms. Janis wakes up. Maybe she can think of things about her aunt that would help us locate her.” She left right after that.

  All his family had been over since he’d brought her home several hours ago. They’d sit with him for a while, then leave. Each of his brothers thought it was necessary to bring him food. As he looked over the number of subs that he had, he wondered if he could freeze them for later. Just as he was reaching for one of them, Cindi spoke.

  “I could eat a horse right now. You don’t eat them, do you?” He told her he’d not for a very long time now. “I’m guessing that grocery stores make it a lot easier for you to find fresh meat when you want it.”