Ryker sat on the edge of his seat. He was close to sliding off, nothing more than a sack of bones and exhaustion. Nothing in this world ever struck him quite like this. He waited, as if standing on fractured ice. At some point, the rest would have to break, and the cold waters would rush up to greet him with an unimaginable truth.
Mina had been sleeping for days.
Days.
Ryker was starting to worry that she would never wake. He was moments away from shooting out of his seat and marching over to the encampment of dragons on the edge of the mountain territory. The dragon that’d hit her with its tail must have had some sort of natural poison. Ryker was sure of it.
Yet, he couldn’t bring himself to leave her side.
When she’d fallen, he’d caught her and taken her back to his home. There was no way he would leave her in her uncle’s charge. Ryker had gone to visit the man, mostly to gather some of her things so she would have them when she woke. He’d marched through the house and into Mina’s room. Her uncle shouted after him the whole time, asking where Mina was and why Ryker thought he could enter his home.
There had been no trace of his ferocious dragon woman in that house. No photos of her framed on the wall. No cute trinkets she might have picked out sitting on the shelves. The only thing that gave away her presence was her own bedroom.
Ryker had gathered everything he could, from her quilt to the ludicrous dragon he’d bought her—which had been tucked into the bed at the time. When he’d turned to leave, her uncle had filled the door frame. It was then that the man noticed the cold steel in Ryker’s eyes.
His mouth flapped and Ryker was sure a crap apology was on its way. He didn’t stay to listen to it. There was no difference between Ryker and Mina, none that would make anyone treat them any differently and yet it seemed the whole town walked all over her. He was tired of it. She was the bravest soul he’d ever known.
The woman had been stabbed by a barbed tail and still chose to fight. In fact, she’d managed to knock out a dragon all on her own. Ryker hadn’t even seen her coming. She’d been nothing more than a dark blur before he’d heard the crunching sound of bones. Alarm had hit him, but it quickly turned to pride when he saw the falling dragon.
He’d been watching the dragon plummet. His attention should have been on Mina. Another dragon had come up behind her. Perhaps angered by the treatment of his friend, the unfamiliar dragon had knocked her out cold. While Ryker rushed to catch her, Jasper chased the remaining dragons back to their encampment.
Ryker wanted to know what had started the fight, but he couldn’t leave Mina.
Jasper had promised to wait, to give the dragons time to leave. No one thought he would go hunting the unfamiliar dragons, but they should have. Jasper’s beast was unstable. They all knew that. It’d only been a matter of time before he did something to put them all in danger.
Ryker dropped his face into his hands. His groan became a roar of frustration. Beside him, a small sound came from the bed. Mina’s brows furrowed and her lips pursed. She moaned, grumbling something he couldn’t understand as she turned on her side and curled around the massive stuffed beast.
His heart soared. He leapt to his feet only to crouch beside her bed, taking her hands in his. Once more, Mina mumbled something. It was only when her nose twitched, taking in his scent, that she stopped grumbling. A look of satisfaction crossed her lips.
Ryker wanted to crawl into bed with her. He wanted to leave his mark on her skin so that all others knew she was not to be messed with. Until she woke and gave him permission, he would do neither. Everyone in Mina’s life had pressured her, beat her down. Ryker wanted to give her freedom to be whoever she wanted to be.
Even if that meant being without him.
The thought physically pained him. It sent his beast into a rage, but he refused to cage her like so many had done. Mina deserved better than that.
***
A familiar scent tickled her nose. It pleased her, whatever this scent was. It calmed the beast inside her and set her at ease. She snuggled deeper into the blankets, even as pain sparked along her ribs.
Little by little, the fight came back to her. Before she recalled any of that, she remembered singing and dancing with Ryker. She remembered the key tucked in her jeans pocket. Just thinking of it filled her with warmth. When she got out of bed, she was going to drive out to see him.
If her body agreed. Her every muscle ached. Eyes still closed, she tested them one by one. Each muscle twitch, each stretch, brought back a moment of the fight. Mina had taken one of the dragons down. All on her own. Yet, it had cost her.
She scowled, thinking about it. It’d been a foolish mistake, not watching her own shoulder. Next time, she would do better. Next time, she’d protect Jasper. She’d fight alongside Ryker.
“What are you doing in there? Dancing?” Ryker’s voice was filled with laughter. It was bright, tinged with something else. Fear. Worry.
Mina slowly cracked open her eyes. They fought her at first, still heavier than anything she’d ever lifted in her life. Finally, she saw Ryker kneeling beside her. He rested his chin on the edge of the bed. His face was drawn, hair sticking up at every impossible angle. Before she could stop herself, she reached and straightened it for him.
He leaned into her touch. She thought she heard a purr, like a pleased cat. It wouldn’t have surprised her.
Finally, she looked around. This was not her bedroom. Though the blankets and the stuffed creature in her arms felt familiar, this was not where she lived.
Mina bolted upright. Pain was hot through her ribs once more, but panic softened it. “Is this your bed?”
He stood and sat on the edge of the bed. “It is. I’ve been sleeping on the couch downstairs.”
Mina reeled. “Hold on. Last I knew, you didn’t have a couch. Wasn’t it part of the wreckage in your living room?”
He nodded. “I bought a new one when I gave my bed up to you. I’m damn grateful I did, too. Sleeping on the floor for five days would have been absolute torture.”
She saw the humor that quirked the corner of his mouth, but his eyes told her he would have done it if he had to. The sight stopped her. It warmed her chest and sank to pool in her core, gently spreading further.
“Oh,” she breathed. “Five days?”
Had she truly been out for five days? It felt like she’d slept for hours, not days. Though the warmth that bloomed inside her moments ago did help to chase away the aches gripping her body, she still felt as though the fight had only been yesterday.
Mina gripped the blankets over her knees. When she looked back to Ryker, the dark circles beneath his eyes were even more apparent. She didn’t know how to ask him how long he’d been there. It was obvious, he’d been by her side for quite some time. The circles could have been from restless sleep on a new couch, but that did not answer why he was at her side the moment she woke.
Blowing out a breath, she sank into the bed. She didn’t want to move. There was no way she wanted to go home, either. Despite everything she’d ever been told, here with Ryker felt more like home than any other place she’d lived.
Her stomach’s growl cut through the silence, demanding sustenance after the long healing process. Mina didn’t want to ask for food, but her beast and her stomach were both beyond pleasantries. Together they roared.
Ryker leapt to his feet. He held up a single finger before running out of the room. While she waited for him to return, she took in the room around her.
The bed was large enough for five dragons, let alone her small form. The giant stuffed creature resting beside her was in no danger of falling off the way it was back at her uncle’s. There were no valleys in the bed to show where Ryker slept, meaning it was probably a new bed.
The longer she looked, the more evident it became that the house was barely lived in. The boxes had covered the loneliness that permeated the house by filling it with false bodies. Once they were gone, Mina began to see the empty walls
and sterile furniture. It was all evidence of what he’d sacrificed to come home.
Whatever Ryker had done outside Grove, he’d left it there. Ryker must have shed his previous life to make room for a new mantle, that of a king’s knight. She leaned back into the bedding and reasoned this was why he gravitated toward her. Mina simply filled a hole in his life. It was not that she was just right for him, or that they were meant to be. There was a vacuum and she’d been the first to come along and fill the emptiness.
She pressed the heels of her palms to her eyes to staunch the tears trying to rise. She wouldn’t cry. Not when she knew the answer all along. Every time he came near, she forgot herself. Every cruel word ever spoken to her disappeared when Ryker was nearby. It was no wonder she’d allowed herself to believe a lie.
“Are you alright? What hurts?” Ryker’s voice was tinged with panic. His footsteps rushed closer.
“Everything hurts, but that’s not…” Mina didn’t finish what she was saying. How did she go about breaking the spell that enchanted both of them?
It didn’t seem an easy, or even a kind thing to do, but if she didn’t then they would never be able to move on with their lives. Eventually, time would tear them apart. There was no avoiding the inevitable.
She pried her hands away from her face to find Ryker standing with a plate in his hands. He balanced the plate of cake in one hand while lowering himself to sit on the edge of the bed. The way his gaze swept over the bed, she thought he wanted to inch closer to her, but held himself there, at the edge.
“Why is it always cake with you? That’s hardly a balanced meal,” Mina teased. Ryker would not admonish her the way her family did when she spoke out. It was refreshing, and she was determined to savor the last moments of it.
“What are you talking about? Cake has every food group!” He lowered the plate so she could see. “It has wheat, dairy, sugar, and even protein.”
“Cake does not have protein.”
“This one does. Can’t you smell it?”
Worried he was making a fool of her, she surreptitiously sniffed the air. From Ryker’s claim, she expected to find the scent of ham, perhaps hidden behind his back to mess with her. Instead, she discovered the rich and butter smell of peanut butter. Her mouth watered as she took in the cake once more.
Her stomach greedily growled. “I’m going to have to teach you to cook for yourself,” she said, not realizing what she’d just promised.
Ryker paused. A smile slowly split his face. It was incredibly soft, a gentle expression on the face of a man who was all hard edges and spikes. She wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms and hold him like she held the stuffed dragon.
Which reminded her. “You did not have to go to my uncle’s for this.” She gestured to the stuffed animal and the quilt.
He shrugged. “I wanted you to be comfortable if…when you woke up.”
If. So, there had been at least a moment when Ryker feared she would not wake. Mina didn’t know the extent of her injuries. Apparently, it’d taken her body five days to heal from them. As she fidgeted, she tested each part of her body once more and found it all in working order.
It was just another reason she didn’t belong in their world. She could barely help them, barely protect herself.
“I will admit that I was impressed when you skull-checked that dragon. It wasn’t something I would have ever thought of.” He inched closer to her.
Her cheeks warmed, but not in embarrassment. It was a gentler feeling. Certainly not one she was used to. Was this pride?
He sighed. “I do wish you would have stayed on the ground, but I cannot control you. I will never tell you what to do. Next time, I will do better to protect you.” His shoulders fell and shame lined his face, filling it with shadows. “I failed you.”
“What?” she barked. “You didn’t…No, you…”
Mina couldn’t speak, so she reached out and touched Ryker’s wrist. He was warm, as if a fire constantly burned inside him. She let herself relax into him and soak up the warmth. It made her want to move closer to him. She could imagine melting into him.
Ryker still wouldn’t meet her gaze. He looked as though he wanted to say more but thought better of it. He lifted the plate instead and flashed a forced smile. “What about that cake?”
Mina couldn’t help but smile. She patted the spot on the bed beside her, a silent invitation to come closer. The forced smile became real as he crawled across the bed toward her. She quite liked the sight of it, this sharp-edged man bearing cake as he crawled. There was a primal kind of satisfaction about it. While she told herself this was not sexual, she could not ignore the spark of flame igniting between her legs.
It was all she could do to take his offered fork and avoid his gaze. She cut off a chunk of cake for herself. Neither said anything else for a while, eating in silence. She was all too aware of the way her shoulder pressed into his. Just as she thought, his heat permeated her body and slowly loosened the muscles that were still in tight knots.
With each new bite, Mina leaned further into Ryker until the entire length of her side was pressed against his. He didn’t pull away. He didn’t say anything. Mina thought he, too, was leaning into her. It was like they craved more than just the cake. She wished she could read his mind and understand why he returned to her over and over.
It made no sense. Her company was not so riveting that they’d had long conversations or explored exciting new things. If anything, Mina thought their interactions were simply comfortable. Perhaps he sought that kind of comfort after losing the life he’d built outside of Grove. She had been in search of comfort, as well. Outside Ryker’s home, her spine was always rigid. She was always waiting for someone to hurt her.
Here, she could relax. She would miss it, miss Ryker, when he found a mate. As much as Mina would like to remain his friend when he mated, she doubted his mate would like Mina holding onto her feelings for Ryker. She understood. If Mina could have wished for anything, she would have wished to be Ryker’s mate.
It was a nice thought, but one she had to let go of if she was ever going to get over Ryker. Letting out a sigh, she set her head on his shoulder. Ryker startled, but eased into the position, adjusting so that it was more comfortable for her.
Mina should have asked about the unfamiliar dragons and what started the fight. She should have gotten out of bed and gone home. Instead, her beast filled her mind with other thoughts, the very ones she should have been giving up on.
For a moment, she licked the peanut butter stuck to the roof of her mouth. It coated her tongue with salty and sweet, and filled her with a strange courage.
“Have you thought of finding a mate yet?” Mina couldn’t believe the words had left her mouth, but she was too eager to know the response to let embarrassment stop her. “Your house could use a woman’s touch. Maybe then it won’t seem so lonely.”
“I thought that was what you were doing,” Ryker said around a mouthful of cake.
She peered up at him, thoroughly confused.
“You cleaned it up. That counts as a woman’s touch. Right?”
She punched him in the shoulder. He let out an oof and laughed.
“That’s not the same as finding a mate.” Her chest felt tight, the topic too close to her heart. Finally, she let out a sigh. “I want to meet her when you find a woman. I need to approve of her.”
“Is that so?” His arm fell over her shoulder. “I’ve had my eye on a woman for a while, but I’m not sure she likes me. She’s been pretty aloof. I don’t know how to tell her that she’s the perfect woman for me. Is that even a thing I can say?”
Mina didn’t know when he’d been dating. She hadn’t seen another woman around. Whoever she was, the woman was lucky. Mina tried to push back the jealousy sparking like electricity in her chest. It was difficult, nigh impossible. The tangled mess threatened to overflow. All she could do was keep her mouth closed.
Ryker went on, his hand sliding down her shoulder
as he spoke. “The timing has been awful, of course. I wanted to wait to tell her, when things had settled down and I knew Grove was safe, but I’m worried that every day I wait is a day I risk losing her. She’s beautiful, and I want to tell her, so she knows. She’s brave, even if she is a bit reckless.”
As hard as Mina tried, she could not figure out who he was talking about. She began to fear he had a secret life away from her, that she was not as important as she’d thought. There were huge gaps between them that she’d willfully ignored.
“I need to be a better person for her,” Ryker said, tightening his grip on her waist. “I’ve failed her a couple of times. She deserved better than that. It’d not like I can buy her another stuffed animal. If I did that, she’d drown in them eventually.”
She plucked at the stuffed dragon beside her. “Is that what you do with all the ladies?”
“No,” he whispered.
Her heart stopped. She stilled. Mina wasn’t sure she’d heard him correctly. Distantly, she was aware of the sound of the plate touching the nearby nightstand. Ryker turned toward her. He took one of her hands in his and threaded his fingers with hers. Mina’s heart started once more, giving one big thump before shuddering.
“You can’t mean…”
“Oh, but I do,” he said with a grin.
“I can’t be… I mean… I’m not like you. We aren’t compatible. Not by dragon standards,” Mina rambled.
His jaw tightened, a muscle twitching in the corner. Mina thought she’d angered him, but what he said surprised her. “Someone has been lying to you for your whole life. It makes me angry to see how you’ve been treated. You’re worth so much more than you give yourself credit for. You’re capable of anything in this life. Anything.”
She swallowed, mouth suddenly dry. Her gaze dropped to his lips. There was a faint scar above one, perhaps the ghost of a past lip piercing.
“I have not been able to think of anything but you since the first day you entered my life,” he told her. “I smashed that guitar in the backyard because I wanted to be inside, doing bad things with you.”
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