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too.” She scratched the area where the birthmark was through her clothes and flinched several times. “How long will this continue?”
    “Once we’ve claimed—I mean courted —and we consummate our relationship for the third time.” He smiled as he cocked his head to the side, searching the depths of her eyes.
    “Oh. Well.” She laughed nervously. “Better get cracking.”
    “Can’t believe you’re at a loss for words. That’s something I’m not used to seeing.”
    “Oh, stop messing with me . ” S he swatted at his hand and looked around, thankful that not many people were having lunch at the outside bistro. “Feeling kind of silly here, but I need to tell you some things I discovered last night. Something about me.”
    Angus leaned on the tiny, round glass table. “Oh?”
    “My grandmother told me I was special.” She paused for a few minutes. “Look, here’s the CliffsNotes version. “When I was a child, my mother and her boyfriend argued so much it terrified me. As I grew older, their arguments became worse and the fires started. Grandma helped me to suppress the dragon within, said I couldn’t allow anyone to know my true nature. Anytime I stressed, fires started. Granny raised me, and I discovered my birthmark on my hip. As I matured, it somehow became the shape of a dragon.”
     
    * * * *
     
    Angus’s heart went out to her after hearing Julia’s entire story. “So you never knew your father?”
    “No. I have no pictures, letters, or anything. Just bits and pieces my grandmother told me.”
    The pain in her voice was so obvious it tugged at his heart. Now he knew and completely understood why she had been so angry when he questioned her parents’ whereabouts. Her life had been no bed of roses, but Julia was a fighter in spite of the obstacles she’d faced as a child. “I’m so sorry to hear that.” He reached for her hand and was relieved when she allowed him to clasp it within his grasp.
    “My mother died of a broken heart soon after she left. I think because she sent my father away. She wasn’t happy, you know.” She bowed her head in sadness. “We didn’t even know his name.”
    Angus squeezed her hand and offered her a handkerchief to catch the flow of tears. Her body convulsed a few times as she fought to regain her composure.
    “Oh, dear Lord. I can’t believe I’m doing this,” she confessed. “I feel so stupid.”
    “You’re doing what you’re supposed to. Your grandmother told you crying helped to purge the negative feelings. If there’s anything you need, don’t hesitate to ask. I’m here for you, Julia.”
    “You don’t know how much that means to me,” she said before snatching off the sunglasses and dabbing her eyes. “Oh God! I’ve felt so alone for the longest time. How can someone carry on through life, not knowing what they are and where they come from?”
    “When dragons are born into the human realm, they adapt to a human way of life. The arguments acted as a catalyst and your dragon fought for acknowledgment. The fires were signs of the essence being stifled. You have never been taught to control your power. Have you set any recently?”
    She nodded. “The other night, after what happened in your office, when I went home. I had so many visions that overpowered me, thought I was going out of my mind. I didn’t really feel like myself.”
    “That’s completely normal,” he assured her. “It’s one thing to conceal the dragon; it’s another to completely deny it exists.”
    “I know that now. I wanted to forget everything about my family all those years ago. It was so damned easy to do. It felt like the right thing to do at the time. Moving on with my life was the best thing for me.”
    “I know you did, and there’s nothing wrong with moving on. Now I’m here to help you with accepting your true nature. That’s what a faithful mate does.”
    “The night you caught me in your office, I saw visions of a world I’ve never seen