Cat's jaw dropped, and his lips curved into a small smile.
Aye, he quite liked unnerving her. He was tempted to wink just to provoke her further, but resisted.
She closed her mouth, cleared her throat, and whispered, "Wouldn't you like to know." Then she released his wrist and walked toward the warehouse.
He should be thrilled about getting back to the project. Lachlan had so much riding on it and its success.
And yet, he wished he could talk with Cat a little longer.
Which, of course, he shouldn't do.
So he swiftly packed up his emotions and desires, checking he was in control once more, before he followed her.
One conversation teasing her he could allow. Another, however, would be dangerous.
Remember the project, remember it.
Right. He soon caught up to her and walked the rest of the way to the warehouse in silence.
Cat was fairly sure Lachlan had flirted with her, or at the very least had teased her about sex fantasies.
Lachlan, the stuffiest, most formal person she'd probably ever met.
Maybe she'd misjudged him completely.
Her dragon laughed. If you'd merely told him how I want to show my dragon form, you could've avoided it.
Cat didn't usually lie about what her dragon said, unless it was something like a naked fantasy that she would most definitely never share with her family. I couldn't help it. He's all but begging to be teased, and it's better for it to come from me than someone else.
And why is that?
Her dragon played coy, but Cat ignored the bait. It's part of our job to help him acclimate. So that's what I'm doing.
Aye, I'm sure that's the reason, her dragon drawled. And does that acclimation include helping him to relax? You know, in the naked and moaning capacity?
An image flashed of Lachlan's intense gaze focused solely on her, conveying all the things he wanted to do with her—licking, sucking, biting—before doing them in truth.
Just the thought of all that intensity on her made Cat shiver.
She quickly pushed the image aside. No, I'm not thinking of shagging him. Maybe I should go find one of the MacKay brothers and try to seduce him. Then you'd stop bombarding me with sexy images.
I haven't done it today. That's all you.
Whenever she didn't want to admit her dragon was correct, Cat ignored her.
Not that she had to ignore her beast for long since in the next minute, they'd reached the warehouse. After putting in a code—Lochguard had suffered too many attacks and threats to not have heightened security—she motioned Lachlan inside.
Once the door closed, she said, "This way. I'll give you a tour of all the smaller rooms later. I want to show you the main workspace first."
He inclined his head in answer, the action so formal it was hard to believe he'd teased and cursed not five minutes ago.
Lachlan MacKintosh had turned out to be more of an enigma than she'd thought.
The project, Cat. Focus on the project. Striding ahead, she finally reached the main room. All of the doubts and surprises from during her walk with Lachlan faded, replaced with a bubbling sense of excitement.
Whenever she could share her art with someone, she always felt this way—anxious and happy with a sense of accomplishment. But today was extra special since Lachlan would be the first to see her mural on the wall.
And while Cat knew she had talent, a gift, even, for painting, her stomach churned a little. She'd never done a mural before, and she hoped Lachlan saw it the way she did.
Pushing aside the blasted doubts, Cat walked into the room and flipped on the lights.
It was one large, open space with various worktables, easels, and empty carts ready for supplies, with several sinks dotted along one edge.
However, she focused solely on the patch of wall she'd claimed as her own, on the far side of the room.
She'd painted a pair of dragons flying through the stars in the night sky, the moon glinting off their hides, and items related to Lochguard's history hidden as constellations.
An old brooch, an old-fashioned crest, and even her imagining of their very first clan leader were all there.
It was very Lochguard-specific, but that was the point. Her aim was for every artist to paint their own mural, representing something from their hometowns or clans. Not only so they could learn from one another, but the rest of her clan and any visitors could learn a little too.
Lachlan walked closer to her mural, his hands behind his back, until he stopped near it but still far enough away he could see the whole thing.
Her first instinct was to rush over and explain everything. However, if the point was for others to look and interpret, she needed to allow time for that.
So she casually walked over to him. After a few minutes, she asked, "What do you think?"
"It's different."
She resisted biting her lip to hold her tongue and asked, "Different how?"
He gestured toward the mural. "It's a bit more fantastical than the other things I've seen of yours. Not that it's bad but just different."
"I know, but it was the only way to get so much in and not have it look forced."
He pointed toward the crest. "Like your clan's original crest."
Pleasure shot through her at him recognizing the small detail. She nodded. "Aye, there are eight things hidden in the stars. While I think it looks fantastic, it's also engaging. Something I hope the old and young can appreciate when you start giving tours."
He finally looked at her, but Cat couldn't read his expression. "You thought that far ahead?"
"Aye, of course I did. I almost always do. Well, at least since my father died and I had to help my mother raise my siblings. Trust me, any of those rascals would take any advantage they could find if I left them an opening. Which meant I always had to plan two steps ahead of them."
He continued to look at her and asked quietly, "When did your father pass away?"
She paused a beat, debating if she should answer. It'd been more than ten years, but talking about her father still made her throat tighten.
Lachlan quickly added, "You don't have to tell me."
No, she didn't. And yet, the words tumbled from her lips before she could stop herself. "I'm surprised it didn't come up in your research. A little over ten years ago, he was…" She paused, took a deep breath, and then added, "He was captured by dragon hunters and later found drained of blood."
Lachlan said softly, "I had no idea. Apologies."
She shrugged, trying her best to ignore how formal and cold the words sounded. "It's better you find out now instead of politely asking my mother."
Rather than point out how he didn't need to meet her mother to finish his tasks for the project, he just nodded and looked back at the mural.
And since she'd shared so much already, she decided what the hell and murmured, "The blue dragon in the mural is my father. The other is his friend, who'd been missing and my father had been searching for when he was captured."
Lachlan never looked away from the two dragons. "His friend suffered the same fate."
"Aye."
They stood in silence. Not an awkward one, but just as if they were both honoring the two dragonmen for a minute, remembering them and how they should still be alive if not for greed.