A brief conversation later, and the two women were instead accompanying their mates to the village inn to release Sephie’s parents while Ranulf kept Wallis’s attention occupied inside the church.

  Since learning of its existence, Ranulf had also warned his brothers through their mental link of the necessity of disabling the dynamite in the inn before doing anything else.

  After that, Ranulf had only been waiting for his brothers to let him know that the Malcolms were safe and the dynamite was contained.

  The moment he had heard those two reassuring words through their familial link, Ranulf had asked Sephie to close her eyes.

  It had all gone exactly as they wanted it to. Allowing Ranulf to check to make sure there was no evidence left anywhere, on the floor tiles or otherwise, before he invited Sephie to “open your eyes.”

  The first thing Sephie realized when she raised her eyelids and instinctively turned to face the danger in the room, namely Edgar Wallis, was that he was no longer standing behind her.

  Nor, after a quick glance, could she see him anywhere else in the shadows created by the half-dozen lit candles inside the church.

  She was a little wary still about assuming his disappearance was a good thing. As far as she could tell, the detonator was also missing.

  “What happened while my eyes were closed?” she prompted cautiously.

  “I would hardly have asked you to close them if I then intended to answer that question in any detail,” Ranulf chided gently.

  “Why can I detect the metallic smell of blood and something burning?”

  “Another of the things we will discuss later.”

  “Will we?”

  “Yes,” he confirmed gruffly. “And when we do, I will tell you everything you want to know.”

  She raised her brows. “Does that ‘everything’ include the strange references Wallis made to beasts and monsters awakening and what you are, with emphasis on the you?”

  “If you wish me to, yes.” Ranulf nodded. “But all you really need to know for now is that your parents are safe. That they are free, and Belle and Zoey have taken them to the warmth and hospitality of Drake House.”

  He lightly placed a hand against her cheek so that he could carefully remove the tape from over her mouth. His touch was very gentle against her bruised cheek and swollen lip.

  Sephie was sure she could see those silver flames dancing in his eyes again as the intensity of his gaze deepened the moment those injuries were revealed in full.

  She just as quickly realized it was probably caused by the candlelight.

  Although, if that were the case, wouldn’t those reflective flames in Ranulf’s eyes give off a golden glow rather than a silver one?

  She—

  Ranulf’s growl distracted her. “Wallis will pay for daring to touch you,” he assured grimly as he moved to stand behind her. He unfastened the rope tying her wrists together at the base of her spine.

  Sephie’s cheek and lip hurt, and her wrists were sore from being tied, but… “I’m only interested in my parents’ safety.”

  “Wallis and the dynamite have both been neutralized. Even as we speak, he is being contained within our home.”

  She eyed Ranulf warily. “What does that mean?”

  He tilted his head. “What does a castle usually have beneath its foundations?”

  Sephie thought for a moment before her brow cleared. “Dungeons?”

  “Exactly.”

  Her eyes widened. “Your brothers have locked Wallis in the castle dungeons?”

  “Yes.”

  “Is it cold down there?”

  “Very.”

  “Good,” she said with relish.

  Ranulf smiled at her vehemence. “The only reason I wasted any time conversing with Wallis earlier was to keep him occupied until my brothers had successfully disarmed the dynamite and released your parents. I was then free to disarm and secure him.”

  “But how did you know when— He really can’t hurt any of us again?” She decided this was more important than knowing the details of how that had come about.

  For now…

  She wanted many more answers later, but right now, she just needed her parents to be safe.

  “He will never hurt anyone again,” Ranulf bit out. His gaze lowered to her bruised cheek and what she could feel was a swollen lip. “He hit you?”

  She grimaced. “Punched me, actually.”

  Ranulf’s jaw tightened. “Then I will ensure he receives that exact same treatment from me.”

  “What will happen to him then— You know what?” She gave a dismissive grimace. “I really don’t care what happens to him. I’m just grateful to you and your family for saving all of us.” Sephie launched herself across the space separating them to entwine her arms securely about his neck. “Thank you! Thank you!” she gushed in gratitude before pressing her lips against his.

  Ranulf initially froze, no doubt at the unexpectedness of her throwing herself at him. But he soon got on board with it, his strong arms moving about her waist and easily lifting her off her feet as he deepened the kiss.

  Sephie instinctively wrapped her legs about Ranulf’s waist, immediately able to feel the hard length of his arousal pressing against the heat between her legs.

  The very long length of his arousal!

  Not that Sephie had anything to compare it with, but she was sure the eight or nine inches pressing against her was larger than average.

  All perfectly in proportion, she reminded herself, before once again losing herself to the hunger of their heated kisses.

  Ranulf wanted nothing more than to keep on kissing Sephie, to do more than kiss her. But Wallis’s deliberate cruelty to her and her family had ensured Sephie had been under severe stress all day. As a consequence, Ranulf needed to see to the comfort of his mate before he did anything else. For instance, holding her in his arms had allowed him to know how cold she was in only the cream Aran-knit sweater and fitted jeans.

  Much as it grieved him to do so, he lifted his head and broke the kiss.

  But he kept his arms around Sephie’s waist, unable to release her completely. “We will return to Drake House now so you can see for yourself that your parents are safe and well.” He tilted his head as Lachlan spoke to him through their link. “They have availed themselves of the bathroom, enjoyed a cup of tea, and are now both wrapped up warm and sitting in front of the fire, eating bowls of stew and fresh bread.”

  “How— Again, never mind.” She gave a dismissive wave of her hand. “I don’t care how all of this came about, only that it did.”

  Ranulf knew that was how she felt right now. But no doubt once the shock had worn off and she had been totally reassured as to her parents’ welfare, she would want answers to the many questions floating around inside her head.

  Ranulf sincerely hoped that once Sephie asked those questions and he had answered her truthfully, she wouldn’t run away screaming.

  Although he somehow couldn’t imagine his beautiful and brave mate ever running away screaming from anything or anyone.

  He hoped he wouldn’t be the first.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Sephie instinctively liked and felt comfortable in the company of Belle and Zoey, Ranulf having introduced her to the other two women the moment she entered the warmth of the old-fashioned kitchen at Drake House. She would forever be grateful to them for having taken such good care of her mother and father.

  Belle seemed a little shy, but her glances toward Lachlan were full of love and heat. Zoey was louder and brighter, in nature as well as her clothes, the latter multicolored. But her love for Hunter shone from inside that big personality.

  Zoey had also confirmed that the man now being held prisoner in the dungeons beneath them was definitely Edgar Wallis.

  Zoey said she should know, because Wallis had been her guardian.

  Sephie’s parents had let out cries of joy the moment she entered the kitchen unharmed, the two of them standing up to hug her. They had finished eating the stew and were now seated comfortably beside the warmth of the huge kitchen range.

  Ranulf’s brothers, Lachlan and Hunter Drake, were much harder to read than their partners, despite the impulsive hug Sephie had given them after hugging her exhausted and tearful parents.

  Both men were very handsome in the same austere way Ranulf was. But just being in the same room with all of them, she once again sensed a restraint and power beneath their surface politeness. She had sensed this same aura with all three brothers when she first saw them at Ben’s funeral after the New Year.

  It was as if, as with Ranulf, there was something else beneath these two men’s tough veneer just waiting to break free. Something that was even more lethal than the threat presented by their already tall and muscular frames.

  Nonsensical thoughts, of course, but Sephie could hardly be blamed for having a flight of fancy after the surreal day she’d just lived through.

  There were definitely a few things she needed Ranulf to explain, though.

  The main one being that, when they were in the church, Ranulf had seemed, had implied, that he had been waiting for some sort of signal.

  A signal that Sephie had been totally unaware of. Because there hadn’t been one, and yet Ranulf had still known exactly when it was safe to make his move to stop Wallis.

  But all that could wait to be answered later.

  In truth, she could hardly believe that the danger was truly over.

  The situation had appeared bleak, insurmountably so, after they had watched Wallis taking his time setting up the dynamite. Sephie had been slightly numb, mentally and physically, by the time he pushed her outside to walk in front of him on the snowy pathway from the inn to the church.

  Sephie had felt some hope when she entered the church and saw by the candlelight that Ranulf was waiting for them, as he’d said he would be. But then the reality of the situation had surged back with the force of a blow that knocked all the air from her body.

  For all that he was so tall and powerfully built, Ranulf had still only been one man pitted against a lunatic who was holding the device that could blow the inn to nothing but rubble. With her parents buried beneath it.

  She knew she’d never be able to live with herself if she survived this situation and her parents didn’t. She doubted her parents would be happy either if the situation had been resolved with Sephie dead.

  Instead, they had all survived, and Edgar Wallis was safely locked away in one of the dungeons beneath the castle.

  Speaking of which…

  She stood next to the range, absorbing some of its heat as she spoke to her parents. “Pretty impressive place, isn’t it?”

  Her mother nodded. “I’ve always liked these old manses.”

  Sephie sensed Ranulf tensing as he stood talking softly with his brothers across the kitchen. As if he could hear her conversation, which, considering the distance between them and the way Sephie had deliberately lowered her voice, he really shouldn’t be able to do.

  “Do you like the Scottish manses too?” she asked her father.

  “It’s a lovely old house,” he agreed.

  A house, and not the castle that Sephie saw and had always seen.

  “Perhaps Mr. and Mrs. Malcolm would like to go up to their bedroom now?” Belle prompted as she looked inquiringly at Sephie’s parents.

  “Please call us Tim and Silvia,” her mother invited warmly. “And we couldn’t possibly impose on your hospitality any more than we already have. We should go back to the inn.” She gave an involuntary shiver even saying it.

  “We insist you stay here,” Lachlan decreed in a voice that brooked no argument. “For the moment, we would prefer you remain here with us.” He softened his voice and words slightly, as if he realized he had sounded too harsh. “One of us will go down to the inn in the morning to tidy up and check that it’s warm enough for you to return. There’s really no reason for you to go back there until tomorrow.”

  Sephie’s father frowned. “I thought you said you had dealt with the…with the danger of the dynamite.” He obviously had difficulty even saying the word, let alone contemplating the damage it could have done if it had been allowed to explode. “Do you think there’s still some danger in us returning to the inn tonight?”

  “Not at all,” Hunter assured smoothly. “But it would be better if you had a good night’s sleep and returned there tomorrow. Everything always looks better in the light of day, I’ve always found.” He smiled.

  Of the three brothers, Hunter was definitely the most charming. Lachlan was the most authoritative. Ranulf was…a man who hid his emotions deeper than anyone Sephie had met before him.

  Except when it came to her. With her, he was…

  Sephie gave him a glance from beneath her lashes, because the word that instantly sprang to mind in connection to him had been everything.

  As far as she was concerned, Ranulf was everything.

  He was there for her, and for the people she loved. Not only that, he was the sexiest man she had ever met, and his kisses had completely swept her off her feet!

  “If you’re sure we aren’t being a burden…?” Her mother still hesitated about accepting the invitation. “I really feel as if we’ve imposed on you enough for one day.” She frowned. “The three of you put yourselves in danger to rescue us.”

  “They were just showing off,” Zoey dismissed with a teasing smile in the brothers’ direction. “Besides, we’ve already lit a fire in one of the guest bedrooms and aired the bed, and there’s plenty of hot water for you to take a shower. We’ve also put some bottled water and clean night clothes in there for you both,” she added kindly.

  “You’ve all been so wonderful to us.” Sephie’s mother reached out to squeeze Belle’s arm in gratitude, tears glistening in her eyes. “I hate to think what would have happened to us all if that dreadful man had carried out his plan.”

  “We were Wallis’s targets. He should never have involved any of you,” the gruff Lachlan cut in apologetically.

  Sephie’s father shook his head. “I have no idea what that even means, but I think I should warn you that the man is probably insane.” He leaned forward conspiratorially. “Kidnapping us and hitting Sephie was bad enough…” He paused as a soft growl emanated from Ranulf. When the growling stopped, he continued, albeit after giving Ranulf a wary glance. As if he wasn’t quite sure of what he thought he had heard. “Putting sticks of dynamite in the inn was really out there, but the man was muttering about dragons and treasure when Sephie was outside talking with Ranulf this afternoon.”

  “Totally insane,” Lachlan agreed.

  But he didn’t, Sephie noted, scoff or reject the notion of dragons or their reputed treasure hoard.

  Whatever the truth was, it was obvious that the Drake brothers had become the target of the attention of a madman.

  “Did any of you call the police and report what had happened?” Sephie’s father now prompted.

  “I’m afraid that with the amount of snow that’s been falling all day and this evening, the roads into the village are currently impassable,” Hunter excused.

  Again, Sephie noticed that he hadn’t actually confirmed or denied that the police had been informed of the situation, only explained that the snow-covered roads would make it impossible for them to drive here even if they had been told.

  She turned to find Ranulf watching her with those enigmatic green eyes. There were no flames dancing in their depths at the moment, silver or gold, but the intensity of his complete focus on her was almost enough to set Sephie on fire.

  There was no denying her attraction to this man—kissing him earlier had easily confirmed that. She had never felt as aroused as she had for those few minutes when Ranulf’s lips claimed hers and he had lifted her and held her so easily in his arms, her legs wrapped about his waist revealing his arousal to her.

  But, apart from knowing she enjoyed his kisses, Ranulf was still mostly an enigma to her.

  An enigma she was falling more and more in love with by the second!

  His brothers were included in that enigma.

  But she did know that the three of them lived in a castle, no matter what other people might perceive it as being. Including her parents.

  Which was slightly weird, but did absolutely nothing to negate or lessen her complete trust in Ranulf.

  Wallis, the man they now all considered to be insane, had also told Ranulf he was only interested in taking “as much treasure as I can load aboard a helicopter.”

  Sephie couldn’t stop thinking about this so-called treasure and its connection to dragons. A creature that most people in the twenty-first century accepted as being mythical.

  Which, if Sephie really was starting to question whether they might have once existed, and if their treasure was stored nearby, was more than a little worrying. Admittedly, her parents had brought her up to be open-minded about such things, but having a receptive mind and accepting that dragons might once have existed was something else entirely.

  “I’ll try to explain everything once you’re happy your parents are settled into their room.”

  Sephie looked up. Without her realizing it, Ranulf had crossed the kitchen and was now standing beside her. He had spoken to her softly enough that no one else in the kitchen would be able to hear him.

  Except…Lachlan, Hunter, Belle, and Zoey all seemed to be staring at them as if they knew exactly what Ranulf had just said to her.

  She gave a shake of her head. “Believe me, you aren’t going to just try to explain everything. You’re going to succeed,” she informed him firmly.

  “I am so pleased for you!” Zoey threw her arms around Ranulf and hugged him tightly the moment Sephie and her parents had left the room. Bella had offered to accompany the Malcolms and show the couple their bedroom. “Sephie is perfect for you,” Zoey added once she had released him.

  Yes. Yes, she was, Ranulf acknowledged proudly. Sephie was strong, resilient, everything a dragon’s mate should be. She would make a fearless dragon in her own right. An even fiercer and protective mother to their offspring.