by Reus, Katie
“Not dragons, just me.” His breath was warm against the top of her head.
The absolute seriousness of his words made her laugh against him. It seemed like such a Rhys thing to say. She didn’t even know him that well, but what she did know of him, yeah, that seemed right on target. Arrogant and sexy. And okay, he was also protective, given that he’d stayed with her all night.
“Next time you tell me if you’re doing too much,” he murmured again, his breath still warm against her head.
She wanted to burrow up against him, to just stay in this bubble for a little bit longer. But she knew that wasn’t smart. Shifting slightly so that she could see him, she found herself looking into beautiful dark blue eyes that mesmerized her. “What are you talking about?”
“You did too much magic yesterday. I want to know if you’re expending too much energy. I’m your shadow, I’m watching out for you. I need to be able to take care of you, protect you. That means you have to take care of yourself too.”
She knew what he’d told her last night, that he cared about her as a person. Still, in the light of day, with her brain not so fuzzy, she wasn’t sure if he was being protective because she was a means to an end, or because he really cared.
Realizing that she was staring at his mouth, she pushed back and sat up slightly. Or she tried to, but he didn’t let go of her hip.
She flopped back against the bed. “Where’s Willow?”
“Doing drills with Harlow.”
“Wait…what?” She rolled toward him again, wondering what it would be like if she had the right to touch him everywhere. To stroke her fingertips underneath his shirt and tug it off completely.
“I’m not sure entirely. Harlow ‘kidnapped’ her this morning—her words, not mine. She bribed her with some treats and said they were going to do flying practices. Said that she would make a warrior of your Willow soon enough.”
Glad her dragon was fine, Dallas wanted to fall back on the soft, fluffy bed and wrap herself around Rhys. But she knew that was a recipe for trouble.
So. Much. Trouble. The naked kind.
She could see the heat in his gaze and she was feeling weak and needy. And he still had his fingers draped possessively around her hip.
Her body was starting to heat up for one very specific reason.
This was not good. Not good at all.
If she let her emotions get chaotic and out of control, he would scent her desire. And even if he reciprocated her hunger, they were far too different. And yes, he’d been apologetic about his preconceived ideas about her kind, but she didn’t think he was the type of male to ever forget that she was a witch. Or to ever fully accept her for who she was.
On that thought, she rolled over and sat up. “I need to brush my teeth.”
To her surprise, his fingers clenched around her hip once before he finally let her go.
As she slid off the bed, she found that she could breathe easier again. Being so close to him short-circuited her brain in more ways than one. Distance was soooo necessary right now.
“Your phone went off a few times, so I silenced the ringer,” he said as she headed for the door.
“Who was it?”
He lifted a shoulder. “Doesn’t matter. You needed your sleep.”
He was right, she knew that, but she still worried that maybe it had been an emergency. What if one of her neighbors had called? She grabbed her phone and strode for the door because she hadn’t been lying. She really did need to brush her teeth and take care of some other morning things.
But she needed distance from him more. She just hoped that by the time she got back to her room, he was gone. She needed a few minutes of space from him, especially since she’d spent the whole night in his arms.
It was some of the best sleep she’d ever had, and that disturbed her. She should not feel safe in his arms, shouldn’t feel so warm and comforted.
And she would do well to remember that he was a dragon who up until very recently had viewed her kind as the enemy. He was hunting down the witch who had borne her, after all.
Once he found out that truth, she knew he would want nothing to do with her. So she needed to keep those walls up between them.
And build some new ones for good measure.
Chapter 17
By the time Dallas had showered and made it to the back patio, breakfast was spread out, and to her surprise, Avery and her dragon friend Mikael were there. Rhys was also there, looking good enough to eat and watching her with that predator gaze as she stepped out toward everyone. It seemed he was always watching her.
Some of Dallas’s tension eased when Avery smiled and stood, shoving her chair back and meeting her on the edge of the lanai. In jeans, sneakers and a pullover sweater, she looked like she always did—adorable. “Lola asked me over, so I hope it’s okay that we came so early,” she said as she pulled her into a hug.
“Hey, I’m just staying here. You can do whatever you want,” Dallas said, laughing. “But I’m so glad to see you.”
Avery’s eyes narrowed slightly. “I can’t believe you have a pet dragon and didn’t tell me.”
“To be fair, I’ve only had her for a little while and the world has been kind of crazy.”
“No kidding. We’ve been so slammed with construction lately, trying to get people housed. It’s like this never-ending race to work faster.”
“I can imagine. So you have roommates now?” She glanced over to the big dragon, who was pretending that he was not watching Avery, but it was pretty clear that Mikael was keeping Avery in his line of vision.
“Yeah. King wanted me to house some ancients who’d woken up right before The Fall, and now I’m living with a bunch of dudes. It’s good for my brothers at least—now they have actual decent male role models to look up to instead of their annoying older sister. Even if they are all sort of more or less adolescents.” She shook her head, her dark curls bouncing.
Dallas knew that Avery’s father took the cake on being the douche king of the world, so she understood what her friend meant by decent role models. Really, an avocado was a better role model than their father—though the boys weren’t teenagers anymore, they were in their early twenties, something she sometimes forgot. They just seemed young to her. The two young men took after their Cuban mother in the looks department, dark hair, darker skin and very handsome. Avery was adorable and had a natural bronzed glow year-round, but for the most part she took after her father—something Dallas knew the human hated.
“It’s so cool that you’re friends with Avery too,” Lola called out, motioning for them to come sit at the table with the others. “And you need to eat, from what I hear.”
Dallas shot Rhys a dry look as she and Avery headed back to the huge table, but he shrugged and pulled out a chair for her. Which was oddly sweet.
“Thanks,” she murmured as she sat next to Avery. Rhys sat across from her in a spot next to his friend Mikael and immediately poured her coffee from the carafe. When he added the amount of sugar she liked, she realized he really did pay attention.
“So do you think I could ride Willow?” Avery asked as Dallas started piling fruit onto her plate.
Dallas glanced over at Willow who was busy entertaining herself with a volleyball someone must have given her. It was a miracle the thing wasn’t smushed yet. “You really want to?”
“You wish to ride a dragon?” Mikael asked suddenly, straightening in his seat, all his focus on Avery.
Avery’s eyes widened. “Uh, yeah! Who wouldn’t want to?”
He frowned at her. “You never said anything. I will take you flying.”
“Well you guys never asked if I wanted to go flying, and now the cutest dragon in the world is one of my friends’ pets.” She grinned as she looked at Dallas. “So, what do you say?”
“I think she’ll be fine with you. She’s really good with me and Rhys—and all the ladies here.”
“Hey, she likes me too!” Axel called out from the other end o
f the table.
She glanced down the table at Axel and shook her head at the lion. “And she likes Axel too. I think it’s because he sneaks her treats he thinks I don’t know about.”
“Well, Axel is very lovable,” Avery said before spearing a strawberry with her fork. “He’s a big, squishy lion.”
Dallas noticed that Mikael’s expression went dark at the mention of Axel. Dallas caught Rhys’s gaze and realized that he was simply watching her, all intense and sexy and brooding. Snagged in that stare, in those eyes, she found that she couldn’t tear her gaze away. Damn it, she needed to get her concentration off him but it was pretty impossible, especially after he’d held her in his arms all night. She distinctly remembered what it felt like to have all those muscles pressed up against her, to have his arms wrapped around her, comforting her.
Blinking, she managed to look away from him and simply focus on the fruit on her plate.
“So where are your brothers?” Lola called out from the other end of the table.
Mikael jerked slightly, looking away from Avery. “Are you talking to me?”
“Yes. Where are the hotties who hang out with you? You know, the ones who don’t talk much but look like they’d be a lot of fun in bed.”
“Quit teasing him,” Avery called out, then shot Mikael a grin. “She’s just messing with you.”
Lola snickered and took a sip of a mimosa. “I so am not.”
“She’s definitely not,” Bella said, rolling her eyes. “Keep your brothers away from her, she’ll eat them alive!”
Mikael looked a bit like that proverbial deer caught in headlights. But when his gaze landed back on Avery, he seemed to settle himself.
Warmth filled Dallas’s chest as she listened to their interaction. She really did like her solitude on her farm and all of her friends out there, but in the country she saw everyone in small doses. Here she was inundated with people and she found out that she really liked the company. And she could admit that she liked being included and accepted for who she was with this group.
She’d always tried to tell herself that she was fine and didn’t care what people thought of her, and for the most part that was true. But it was a hell of a drug to be accepted. She glanced over at Rhys again and he was still watching her, a definite hungry look in his expression.
He wasn’t even trying to hide it, which was a bit disconcerting. This male was seriously messing with her head. If she was into casual sex maybe she could have something fun, a fling with him. But she wasn’t wired like that—she needed more trust with someone before she contemplated anything intimate. Getting naked and letting all her guard down was a big deal. It required so much trust.
At that thought, she looked down at her plate and focused on her food. Her stomach was a tight ball of anxiety but she knew she needed to eat. Especially since they would be out again today searching for the crest. She was feeling hopeful, however, that they could cover a lot of ground since they were starting early. She just wished she had some witch friends she could call on to help. She actually did have a few who she trusted, but someone had once told her that the best way to keep a secret was not to tell anyone.
Right now she knew this needed to remain a secret among only those who were currently aware of it. Because someone could make an offhand comment to someone else, not meaning to, and alert the wrong people that King was looking for them.
“I have to head out soon,” she said to Avery when there was a lull in the conversation. “So if you want to ride Willow now, you can.”
Avery had pushed her chair back before Dallas had even finished her words, practically jumping up and down like a kid on Christmas Day.
“All right, you’re definitely ready.” Dallas laughed as she pushed her chair out and joined her. Then she looked over at Rhys. “We won’t be long. As soon as we’re done, will you be ready to go?”
He simply nodded, and she wished he wasn’t so damn sexy, so damn delicious looking. Because she could eat that male right up, whether he hated witches or not.
* * *
Rhys stood next to Mikael, who was leaning against an oak tree, his arms crossed over his chest as he watched Willow swooping up and down throughout the yard with Avery on his back.
“She’s a good little flyer,” Rhys murmured. “She’s not going to drop your female.”
“Avery is not mine.”
“Okay, then.” He could say it all he wanted, but Mikael watched her in the same way that Rhys watched Dallas.
“She’s not yours, then?” Axel dropped down from the damn tree—sneaky feline.
Even though he’d surprised Rhys, Rhys remained immobile—and made a note not to underestimate this lion. He might act genial and fun-loving, but Axel was clearly skilled at sneaking around.
Mikael shoved off the tree. “Who the fuck wants to know?”
The lion just grinned, far too much mischief in his eyes as he shoved his hands into his jeans pockets. “Pretty sure it’s clear that I’m asking. And I can’t help but wonder if maybe she would prefer riding a lion instead of a dragon.” Then he laughed to himself and strolled away—as if he wasn’t baiting a giant, deadly predator who could set him on fire.
When Rhys realized that Mikael was literally blowing out smoke, he grabbed his forearm. “Get your shit together. He’s just screwing with you.”
“I’ve never had a lion pelt before. I think it would make a nice throw rug.” Mikael’s tone was dry—with just a hint of truth ringing in his words. “I would toss it in front of my fireplace.”
“Something tells me Axel gets that a lot. So are you going to tell me why you’re here?” Rhys asked the other dragon.
“It’s as good a place as any.” He lifted his shoulders. Then he shoved out a sigh. “We woke up near here and my clan is gone. We are the last of our family.”
“I didn’t realize.”
Mikael’s jaw was tight as he watched Avery squealing in delight. “For now, this is my home.”
Rhys had a feeling that his home was wherever Avery’s was, but he didn’t comment. “I told you why I’m here. I’m close to finding my sister’s killer,” he murmured, low enough for only his old friend to hear. “She was so…sunny. Happy. It kills me that her life was cut so short.”
“If you need assistance, let me know. I remember her.” The faintest smile played across his expression.
“She is impossible to forget.”
“So how close are you?” he asked.
Rhys couldn’t give any details about what they’d discovered, but he nodded. “Very. Closer than I’ve ever been before.”
“Then we will all help, my brothers and I.” Mikael rolled his shoulders once, seeming anxious, before settling against the tree again. “It will be nice to have someone to track down.”
Many years ago, Mikael had been the enforcer for his clan. He’d worked with trackers to hunt down rogue dragons or other supernaturals who got out of line and broke their rules.
Rhys was glad to have an ally, someone he trusted. Because he wasn’t doing this alone; he needed someone else to have Dallas’s back as well. He was hunting down an evil, and if that evil figured out Dallas had helped him, she would become a target. He was determined that never happen.
And while he was willing to die for his cause, he would never do anything to cause harm to Dallas. Not even for his own revenge. That knowledge shook him at a molecular level but it was true.
He would sacrifice his own life for vengeance, but he would not sacrifice her life.
Chapter 18
“Just one second,” Dallas murmured as she finished sending a long text.
Rhys couldn’t help but stare at her, drink in every inch of her as her fingers flew across her screen. Her phone pinged as it broke the text into multiple messages. She’d pulled her long hair back into a ponytail and had on a formfitting sweater that showed off her perfect breasts. Comfortable like him, she also had on jeans and well-worn sneakers.
“Everything ok
ay?” Rhys asked. They were heading out to search again. At least today they were starting in an area close to the mansion. He’d asked her about driving or riding a bike today but she’d wanted to walk. She said she preferred to in case the symbol was somewhere more at eye level, which apparently it often was. She said it was the type of thing usually half hidden and she didn’t want to miss it.
“Yeah.” She tucked her phone away into her crossbody bag. “I just wanted to let King know about some of the spots I found for community gardens, including the one across the street from Avery and your friend. I forgot to tell him about everything I’d found and didn’t want to forget.”
He fell in step with her as they headed down the walkway to the open gates. He inhaled subtly, her sweet scent wrapping around him, making his dragon purr right under the surface.
“So tell me about your friend Mikael,” she said as they stepped onto the sidewalk.
What. The. Fuck. He realized he was growling when she stared at him in shock.
“What? Is he not a good guy?” She whispered the last part as she glanced over her shoulder, as if she expected Mikael to overhear them. “Because it’s pretty clear that he’s interested in my friend, so I just wanted to check that he was decent and not a giant dick.”
His beast retreated immediately. For some reason he’d thought she was asking for herself—she had called the male sexy. Which was annoying. “Yes, he is a trusted friend. And he was a brilliant warrior.” And it made Rhys sad that Mikael had lost his family. He’d wanted to ask him more about his clan, but it hadn’t been the time for it. He would wait until they had more privacy.
“Good.” Dallas looked down at the little map she’d brought. “I’m pretty sure Avery likes him too. But she’s kind of oblivious to things and I don’t think she realizes he’s into her.”
He snorted, drawing a look from her. Her friend wasn’t the only oblivious one.
“What?” she asked.
“Nothing,” he murmured, “though I’m fairly sure that Axel is going to get his head knocked off for flirting with her so mercilessly.”