“You’ll make what up to him?”
Van twisted to see Lisa leaning against the wide breakfast bar that separated the cooking space from the great room. “Not getting steak for dinner.”
“Why not?”
He suppressed a smile. “Because you’re eating it.”
She made an odd face.
He waited for the lecture on how she thought he should be raising his dog, or how he was wasting food, or whatever.
But instead, she laughed. “So you’re feeding me dog food?”
Her comment caught him off guard, and he barked out a laugh as well, but turned quickly to hide his amusement. “I suppose I am.”
He hadn’t expected the sense of humor from her at all. He liked it. Liked that she could joke. It was one of the many reasons he and Pandora had hit it off. People thought he was such a serious guy because of his profession, but he liked having fun as much as the next person. Maybe more. But a lot of people never found that out about him because they were too scared to even try to get to know him.
“What kind of dog is Grom?”
“Doberman.” Van slanted his gaze in her direction. She’d moved a few steps closer, putting her in his field of vision, but her attention was focused on Grom.
“He’s, uh, very handsome. And seems pretty well behaved.”
“Grom is a good dog.” He slathered the steaks with good olive oil and gave them a little massage, working the seasonings into them.
“He must have been expensive.”
“He was a rescue.” He kept watching her. She seemed hesitant to come any nearer.
“Really? Wow.”
Van hobbled to the sink, washed his hands, then grabbed a towel to dry them and turned to face her. “He’s very well trained, but still young.”
She nodded. “Does he bite?”
“Not unless I tell him to.”
She paled a little, and Van realized that had been the wrong answer.
He tossed the towel onto the counter. “He won’t hurt you. Are you afraid of dogs?”
“I don’t know if afraid is the right word. I never had any pets growing up. And he’s so big. I just don’t know what to expect, I guess.”
Van leaned his crutch against the counter, then, with great effort, crouched next to Grom. It required him to keep his injured leg out straight and support his body weight on the other, but it was doable. Once down, he scratched Grom’s head. “He won’t hurt you. I promise.”
Almost on cue, Grom flopped down and rolled over to show off his belly, legs in the air.
Lisa let out a small laugh. “He is kind of cute.”
Van patted Grom’s taut belly. “Come. Pet him. You’ll see.”
With hesitant steps, she walked over and squatted beside Van, then reached out to stroke Grom’s stomach. “He’s softer than I thought he’d be.”
Grom bent his head to see her, his pink tongue lolling out of his mouth. There was a look of sheer pleasure on his doggy face.
She smiled. “He does seem nice.”
Van just nodded. Her perfume was filling his head, making it hard for him to think. Or maybe it was the half inch of space between her thigh and his that was causing his brain to short-circuit. Or all that flame-red hair.
It was too much. She was too close.
With a burst of energy, he pushed himself upright. “I must get these steaks on the grill.”
The move caused Grom to scrabble to his feet, startling Lisa, who fell onto her backside with a small yelp.
Van’s gut response was to help. Without thinking, he reached a hand down to her, bending. His strength was no match for the brace.
Pain shot up through his leg and into his gut like he’d been run through with the blade of a giant knife. He stiffened and growled in pain, freezing in place.
Lisa crawled backward, fear in her eyes. They flashed with green fire, an indicator of whatever kind of supernatural she was.
That look of fear was something he knew well. Just as he knew how to bring himself under control. He ignored the pain, breathing deeply. “Don’t be afraid. My leg. I forget.”
She nodded and got to her feet, still a good distance away from him. “You bent it.”
“Da.” And that was all the discussion of his injury he planned on having. Grimacing, he reached for his crutch. He settled it under him, then picked up the plate of steaks. “Grom, ko mne.”
Grom did as he was told, staying at Van’s side as he made his way toward the deck where he kept the grill.
“Can I help?”
“Nyet.” Van didn’t want help. Didn’t need help. Just like he didn’t need Lisa here. It was bad enough she was making him forget his English. Without another word, he got the door open and went outside.
Monalisa stared after him. Well, that hadn’t gone as planned. Not even remotely. And her heart was still thumping in her chest. Her father’s brand of scary was nothing compared to Van Tsvetkov in pain.
The smell of smoke had intensified as the man’s eyes had gone as red as hot coals. Shimmers of heat had burst off him like he was on the verge of combustion. She’d half expected flames to shoot out of his mouth. But maybe he could only do that in dragon form.
She didn’t want to find out.
And yet, she might, because she was stuck here. At least for a little while longer.
The idea of using her powers and getting this over quickly was tempting, but not tempting enough for her to turn down the dark path her parents were so willing for her to walk. No, she’d befriend him (that had to be possible) and then convince him that honoring his contract was the right thing to do.