Trusting The Betrayed (Rogue Dragons Book 1)

by Emilia Hartley

  They’d spooned until he’d returned to snoring. Then she slipped out and started making breakfast. Even now, an hour later, her chest still radiated with joyous warmth. She clutched her mug and grinned like a fool.

  Maybe she was a fool, but everything about Casey seemed different. What they had wasn’t like any of her previous relationships. She couldn’t point out one big thing that made this relationship stand apart. Instead, it was in the details. From his unexpected gift to the tire theft to the spooning. All those moments added up and made this feel so much larger than anything she’d ever known.

  Was this love? Was she stumbling into it for the first time in her life? She was in her late twenties. By now, she should have known love, but she realized what she felt for Trevor and the men that came before him wasn’t love. With them, she’d searched for approval, which meant she often had to put on an act.

  She didn’t have to do anything other than be herself to make Casey look at her with pride. Which was the exact look he wore as he joined her in the kitchen. He didn’t take a seat on the other side of the breakfast counter, but instead sidled up behind her and pressed his nose to her shoulder before breathing deep.

  “I can’t get enough of your scent,” he said against her skin.

  “Unfortunately for you, you can’t hover over me while I work,” Evangeline said. She wished she could take him, but he was too damned distracting.

  She spun in his arms and raised her chin for a kiss, which he gladly delivered. Each stroke of his tongue explored a part of her that had never been found by a man before. She groaned and pressed harder into him.

  Casey moaned. He lifted her from the floor and set her on the counter where she could wrap her legs around him. She felt like she might shatter if she didn’t get more of him. More of his skin, his scent, his affection.

  Never before had she ever felt so brittle, yet so whole. She thought that if she finally broke, then she wouldn’t fall into nothing but become a whole new woman. Exhilarated by the change in her life, she broke the kiss and bit the soft skin of his exposed throat.

  Casey shuddered.

  “Don’t do that unless you have serious intentions,” he warned her.

  She did it again, reaching for his cock at the same time. “Does this count as serious intentions?”

  He growled and braced himself against the counter. She watched his shoulders heave as his breath quickened. Shaking, he set his forehead on her shoulder, and Evangeline realized she might have started more than she’d bargained for.

  “What you’re doing means something to people like me. I couldn’t handle it if you made promises you couldn’t keep.”

  Evangeline wanted to argue, but Casey continued.

  “If you find out what I am and decide you can’t live with that, then I’m not going to handle it well. Don’t promise me anything yet. Wait until you figure it out.”

  Evangeline was tempted to protest that she wouldn’t just run for the hills, but she recalled the way his friend had flung the table at the bar. The guy had tossed it like it’d been made of paper. Then, he’d wrecked his friend’s face. Casey had promised her that both guys would be fine, but she’d seen the damage.

  There was no way either would be able to see today. They should both have swollen black eyes.

  “Fine,” she said before pushing his arm away and hopping off the counter. “What’s my time frame? How long do I have to figure this out?”

  Casey sucked his teeth. She wanted those lips on other things, but this conversation was too important to interrupt with her lust.

  “I’m here until October,” he said, finally.

  Three months. She grinned. That was more than enough time to figure out his secret, get Casey to fall for her, and deal with Nellie’s fears.

  “If you don’t want me doing things I shouldn’t be doing, then we should probably stop doing…this. Before you’re disappointed, you should know that I’m not going to disappear. If anything, you’re going to start seeing more of me. I’m going to need to spend more time with you and your friends if I’m going to figure out what you’re hiding from me.”

  Everything in her wanted to go back to Casey’s arms, but she would show him that she could listen. She would figure out his secret, digest it, and return to tell him that she wanted no other man. Her confidence was resolute and unwavering.

  She’d thought he would appreciate her confidence, but he seemed stricken.

  “You are not spending time with the others. I’m not letting you anywhere near them.” He stood straight, his upper lip curling.

  “They’re your friends, right? And they’re like you? Why can’t I get to know them?”

  She had work in two hours. She should have been in the shower, so she had time to put her make-up on. Instead, this useless argument ate up her time. As the owner of her own shop, she could show up late, but she’d never done it before, and she wasn’t about to start now. Not when this argument could be so easily resolved.

  “You saw what they did at the bar last night!” Casey said.

  “Yeah, and you kept me safe. Besides, I’m not asking you to take them out into public again. I want to go where they are. Maybe share a few beers with them. That’s all.”

  “Why are you so hung up on this?” he asked, exasperated.

  “Because I’m in this for the long haul. I like you, and I want to get this right. Meeting your friends is like getting to know another part of you. If you want, I’ll introduce you to Isabella. I doubt I could get Nellie to talk to you or your friends, but that’s another story.” She’d forgotten about Nellie’s warnings. Evangeline had been so wrapped up in her growing feelings for Casey that Nellie’s fear had slipped from her mind.

  Thankfully, Casey didn’t dig. Her desire to meet his friends clearly had him riled up.

  Evangeline paused. “Are you trying to avoid this part because you don’t want anything more than what we had last night?”

  She couldn’t bear the idea of not keeping Casey. For once in her life, she’d found a man who seemed genuinely nice. She’d assumed he was trying to protect her by not allowing her near his friends, but that could have been a diversion. If he didn’t want her…

  “Evy,” he said, voice soft as he stepped closer. His knuckles brushed hers and sent her butterflies into a panic again. “That’s not it at all. I don’t know what I’m doing here. I didn’t expect to find anything like what we have and now I’m afraid one wrong step will ruin it.”

  She let out a breath and grinned up at him. “This is like a fairytale challenge, right? If I can guess your true identity, then I get the prince?”

  “Now you’re just making shit up. I don’t recall any fairytales like that.”

  Though Casey still didn’t look convinced, Evangeline bounded toward the bathroom with a renewed purpose. At the bathroom door she paused and shouted back at Casey, “Tomorrow. You’re bringing me to meet your friends. We’ll bring burgers or something.”

  ***

  Casey sat on the edge of her couch. His beast preened, but his heart had clenched. He didn’t want Evangeline anywhere near Erik or Gavin. Maybe he could trust Dillon, but Dillon was hardly good company.

  He could have told Evangeline that he wouldn’t be with the others for much longer, but her enthusiasm had taken hold of him. She’d declared those idiots his friends, and now, a part of him had claimed them as such. Gavin had betrayed him, and Casey barely knew the other two, but they belonged to him now.

  The point in coming here had not been to find a mate and bed down. With Gavin taking claim of this mountain and Evangeline coming into Casey’s life, it became more and more obvious that they were not leaving.

  Casey should have warned Evangeline what she was getting into, that an elder dragon would come in three months to eradicate Casey and his friends. He held onto hope that his assumption was wrong. Maybe Zander would be happy that his son had found a mountain of his own. The Zander he knew would not be happy, though. Casey could d
ream all he wanted, but his life would become messy come October.

  By then, Evangeline might have left him anyway. He wanted her to figure out what he was on her own because then she would be able to accept it. If she came to the conclusion, then the idea would be more cemented in her mind. She wouldn’t try to deny it if it was her own idea. At least, that was what Casey thought.

  She could still run. If she saw him for what he was, a beast made of fangs and claws, she might forget how to love him. Then he would be in the same boat as Gavin.

  At least then they could commiserate with one another.

  Casey listened to Evangeline sing to herself in the shower while he wondered what he could do to make this group of misfits into a clan. Perhaps Evangeline had the right idea. They needed to bond, and what better way to do that than a cookout?

  Evangeline stepped out of the bathroom, and his breath caught in his throat. Her pink hair had paled, making her even more fey-like. She’d left her freckles uncovered but swiped a line of black over each eye so when she batted her lashes at him his heart did backflips.

  He didn’t know how she managed to take him by surprise every time, but he would never tire of it.

  “Let me walk you to work, at least.”

  She rose on her toes and placed a chaste kiss on his cheek. “I would like that very much.”

  Casey hung back, watching her descend the stairs and wondering what it would be like to have this view every day for the rest of his life. He couldn’t allow himself to have too much hope. Humans would always run away from shifters. It would take a miracle to make her want to stay with a dragon for the rest of her life.

  Casey was lost in thought, but Trevor’s scent brought his beast to the forefront. At first, Casey thought he’d caught the smell from the tire left in the stairwell. From the tightness of Evangeline’s shoulders when she stepped outside, he knew Trevor had returned.

  Chapter Nine

  Trevor was the last person Evangeline wanted to see. Upon seeing him storming toward her, she backed up and reached for the ring hanging around her neck. Her back hit a solid surface, and Casey’s warmth filtered through her, easing some of the fear that’d gripped her tight.

  Casey put a comforting hand on her shoulder, perhaps to let her know he was there for her.

  “You were at my house last night!” Trevor shouted, pointing a finger at her. “You took a tire off my car!”

  She would have laughed had Trevor’s attention not moved to Casey.

  “Oh, I see how it is,” Trevor said with a sneer. “You kicked me out so you can bring home every guy you meet. Are you really that easy, Evangeline? Or can you not stand being alone?”

  Her stomach hit the concrete sidewalk.

  Things with Casey had moved incredibly fast. She’d barely known him a week.

  Trevor wasn’t finished. “You just couldn’t wait to let someone else inside you.”

  Tears burned her eyes. Evangeline wanted to run and hide, but there was no hiding from the confusion prickling her mind. All of a sudden, she questioned everything from Casey to how she thought she felt about him.

  Casey stepped around her and placed himself between her and Trevor. “Listen here, just because you have a little prick doesn’t mean you get to act like one. No one here messed with your car, and if you want to keep throwing around accusations, I’m going to break every finger you think about pointing.”

  Trevor took a step back from Casey, then seemed to realize that he needed to stand his ground or else he’d look weak. Yet, when Casey moved an inch, Trevor flinched. Trevor dared to look past Casey, at Evangeline. Immediately, Trevor saw the ring now hanging around her neck and his eyes widened.

  He opened his mouth, but Evangeline didn’t give him time.

  “You were right,” she said. “I found it between the bed and the wall. That’s where it was all along.”

  Trapped now, Trevor couldn’t point out that she was lying without revealing that he’d also lied to her. All she wanted was for him to go away and leave her alone. She doubted he felt anything for her now. Trevor only entered her life so he could make jabs at her and bring her low. It must have made him feel powerful.

  The only thing she knew for sure was that she felt weak. Weak for ever dealing with him, weak for sleeping with Casey already. Why couldn’t she just wait? She hated to think that she was so desperate for attention that she would throw herself at the first man who looked her way, but…that’s what it felt like now.

  Casey stared Trevor down until the man turned and fled, but the damage had already been done. Evangeline hated herself. She walked beside Casey in silence. Shame obscured every good feeling she’d had earlier that morning, weighing down each step until she trudged along.

  When she got to the shop, Nellie stopped what she was doing.

  “Where’s your morning cold brew? You never go a morning without it.”

  Casey raised a brow, asking a silent question.

  “I didn’t think to stop at the café on my way,” Evangeline said.

  She’d been wrapped up in Trevor’s accusations on the way to the shop and had missed the café. Coffee was the furthest thing from her mind, but the craving rose the moment she realized she didn’t have it. While it wouldn’t solve anything, she wanted the comfort of the simple pleasure.

  That and a hug would be nice, but she didn’t dare ask for one from Casey. They’d agreed to not rush things and put distance between them until she knew what he was. Perhaps that was for the best because she couldn’t seem to keep herself from making awful decisions.

  Casey kissed the top of her head, cast a wary glance in the direction Nellie had vanished, and left her. She wanted to call him back and ask him to hold her for a moment, but she stopped herself.

  “Is he gone?” Nellie asked from the back room.

  “Am I a whore?”

  Nellie burst out of the back room, eyes ablaze. “Who called you that? I’m going to hex them!”

  Evangeline snorted, her mood slightly lifted.

  “Did you…you know? Sleep with Big and Broody?” Nellie asked.

  Evangeline gave her friend a tight smile.

  Nellie held up both hands. “I know I don’t like his kind, but he made you really happy. From my run in with Trevor earlier, it sounds like Big and Broody even helped you get your necklace back. There’s nothing wrong with having a mutually good time with someone who makes you happy.”

  “You don’t think I’m rushing things?” Evangeline asked, heart clenched tight.

  “Things with their kind can be…intense. You’ll see. Just don’t invite me to your wedding. They’ll sniff me out in a heartbeat, and I don’t want to be the appetizer at the reception.”

  “Oh, we’re not moving that fast!” Evangeline couldn’t believe what Nellie was insinuating. “I wouldn’t let any of them hurt you, either.”

  Nellie didn’t look convinced. Then, before she could say more, her gaze moved past Evangeline. A small smile touched her lips before she stood and left the room. Evangeline wondered where her friend was going until the door behind her chimed and she turned to find Casey.

  And he’d brought coffee.

  “I’m not great at this. The only thing I could remember was cold, so I got you the cold drink that the girl behind the counter suggested.” He offered up a creamy concoction.

  “I usually take it black,” she said, but took it anyway. “I don’t need the extra calories…”

  She’d forgotten how good coffee with cream and flavored syrups could be. Upon first sip, she groaned with happiness. She closed her eyes and savored the sweetness.

  “I’m going to keep buying you sugared coffees and candy bars until you realize I don’t care about calories,” Casey said. “I care about your happiness.”

  This time, she caught him by the front of his shirt before he could leave and tugged him down for a kiss. She couldn’t help but nibble his lower lip. While she still had him, she whispered her thanks.

 
“No problem, pixie.”

  “Pixie?”

  He tossed her a lopsided grin as he turned to leave. “You look a bit like a fairy, and I’m fairly certain you’ve enchanted me.”

  He left without any further explanation. The weight that’d settled into her gut broke apart and dissolved into nothing.

  ***

  Casey needed to tell the others that they weren’t going to roll over when Zander came for them. He wasn’t sure how to convince Gavin and Erik to put up a fight. He wasn’t even sure he could approach Gavin without having him blow up again.

  Evangeline’s scent was all over Casey. He was about to walk into their den, smelling like woman. He didn’t know how to tell Gavin that he hadn’t planned for any of this.

  He expected to have to hunt Gavin down, but found him on the cabin’s front steps when he pulled in. Gavin glared at him before rolling his neck and trying to control his expression. In the end, Gavin’s glare softened into slight discomfort. It was an upgrade, but barely.

  “Sorry for endangering your girlfriend,” Gavin said.

  Casey was taken aback for a second. Then, he replied, “Evangeline isn’t my girlfriend yet.”

  “Yet,” Gavin echoed. “I saw the way you looked at her. Not a damn soul in this world willing to share the same enthusiasm for me.”

  Casey wanted to ask about Tiffany and what happened to her, but before he could bring her up, Erik burst into the room.

  “How dare you ignore my lascivious gaze!”

  Gavin scowled. “That’s a big word for a man with a brain the size of a peanut.”

  Not one to miss a beat, Erik quickly snapped back, “That’s because all that extra brain matter went straight to my balls.”

  “That’s not true,” Dillon said as he passed through. “With your pants as tight as they are, we’d be able to see balls that big.”

  Dillon didn’t stop to admire their shocked reactions. He kept going on about his day as if he hadn’t completely wrecked Erik’s manhood. Erik himself fumbled, lips flapping.