Nanny to the Billionaire Dragon - Cynthia Wilde Page 0,2

it honked its horn, she checked herself one last time in the mirror and gathered her purse. Here goes everything, she thought and raced off to whatever destiny had in store for her.

Chapter 2

Rafe watched Samantha as she packed the last of her clothing, the tears still wet on her cheeks. When he caught her with the necklace, it had been the last straw. He had known for a while it just wasn’t going to work out, but between the kids and all his responsibilities, he just hadn’t been able to address it yet. He wasn’t really sure how she had gotten her hands on the necklace, but at this point he didn’t really care. Now he just wanted to handle it with as little drama as possible. He had enough to worry about.

And other things had gone missing over the duration of her stay with him as well. At first, he thought he had told himself that he had just misplaced things or been confused. But now his fears were confirmed. The money from his wallet, the old pair of diamond cufflinks, and an old gold cigarette case. They weren’t prized possessions, but so what... She must have taken them all. Maybe his case wouldn’t hold up in court, but there was that saying, “where there’s smoke, there’s fire.” Well, he had seen enough smoke. When he couldn’t ignore his suspicions any longer, he had asked his maid, Sarah, to keep her eyes on Samantha. Sarah was a very talented witch after all, and nothing slipped by her. Plus, she was very dedicated to both Rafe and “the cause,” as he sometimes jokingly referred to what they were all really doing here. She had never really liked Samantha anyhow, so she was onboard immediately, and it didn't take long for her to catch her in the act.

Rafe felt like a fool, both for trusting her in the first place but also for ignoring his better judgement. He had known she was not his mate, but then again, he had long since given up on the idea that he would ever even have a mate. He just wasn’t mate material. He had never had a shortage of ladies in his life, but his Dragon never seemed to keep interest in any of them. Besides he had much bigger things to worry about than mates and mating. Let the others play those games. He had a world to save after all.

He had tried to make it work with her, but deep down he had known for some time that there was no fire between them. But his Dragon never held interest in anyone, and certainly had never had that “she’s the one” feeling other shifters spoke of. He thought maybe he wasn’t doing it right, so he had held on. Maybe the feelings would grow. But no, he had come to realize the truth. I need to give up on it once and for all. I have no time for mates. His Dragon just growled… So now he had to end it. But she was still a shifter, and a valuable member of their team. Certainly, she had her problems, but still he had to help her. He had hung on long enough. He should have known…you can’t fix people and shouldn’t try. He had finally admitted to himself that the relationship had been feeling more and more off to him anyway. Sarah had tried to tell him too, but he had ignored him. Now, her attempted theft actually made the inevitable break-up much easier for him.

If she could somehow get to his family heirlooms, then who knew what else she was capable of. He didn’t understand why she hadn’t just asked for some money, or jewelry? That would have been a little odd too, as he felt he had been more than generous with her. But regardless, she chose to steal. And it wasn’t just any old thing she had stolen...

As part of the royal family of Dragons in his clan, he held many of the families jewels in his horde. Among those items was this necklace. It wasn’t just any necklace. As part of his family’s treasure, passed down through generations, it represented his very purpose to him, what he lived for, and who he was. He'd kept it locked up in the safe behind the wall in a closet of his study. He didn't understand how she had even found it, but at this point, none of that