Jasper was prone to fits of rage. After the hall was cleaned, they found out that Griffin had visited to ask Jasper if he wanted lunch. Apparently, the silver dragon had asked at an inopportune time and the offer of lunch ended in a physical brawl.
Wyatt wished his cousin was more like the previous king. Wyatt would have gladly taken the bad with the good if only Jasper could act more like his father. The Drake family weren’t the only ones at risk. If Jasper let the lesser dragons run rampant, then the town would suffer. Lesser dragons would harass women, reach for power, and cause unrest among the humans.
If Jasper didn’t expose them to the outside world, the lesser dragons surely would.
Chapter Three
Kennedy did her best to find the bronze-haired man around town, feeling quite a bit like a stalker, but she came up empty handed. He haunted her mind for hours. Nothing she did could banish him from her thoughts. No amount of writing while sipping coffee, no amount of photography. Not even making reservations, which usually excited her, could pry him from her thoughts.
He was a part of her at this point.
Kennedy had retreated to her hotel room. She couldn’t sit still. Her laptop sat open on the nearby desk. The screen glowed, but didn’t call to her. She’d loaded all the photos she’d taken throughout the day and wondered why anyone would want to keep people from taking pictures. The town was beautiful, a fact she could see from her hotel window.
Snow graced the nearby mountain peaks like icing. It dusted the town and the trees with a light layer of white, creating a winter wonderland. Kennedy wondered why so few people knew about Grove. It could become a hot vacation spot if they built a ski resort on the mountain. Though Kennedy didn’t want to mar the perfect mountain with construction.
With a sigh, she grabbed her laptop. Work called, but she didn’t answer. Instead, she opened a webpage and searched for things to do in town. A local karaoke bar called to her. She dreamed of sashimi and maki rolls, a craving suddenly cutting through her. Breakfast had been heavy and now her body demanded something light.
She thought the karaoke would help clear her mind. Listening to some awful singing should finally vanquish the mystery man from her mind. So, she donned a little black dress and a faux-fur coat to ward against the mountain winds, before venturing beyond her lonely hotel room.
Kennedy couldn’t have been more wrong. She stood at the bar of the strangest restaurant she’d ever seen and could see nothing other than her mystery man. At first, she thought she was hallucinating. She blamed the crappy lighting, thinking it would turn the face of every man into her mystery man, so bad was her longing to see him again.
Then he spoke. “You again.”
It wasn’t quite the greeting she’d expected, but she would take it. He was just as beautiful as she remembered. The dim purple lights from the nearby stage highlighted the perfect curve of his cheekbones.
“I didn’t expect to find you here,” she admitted. The wild bar with plastic taxidermy cow heads mounted on the walls didn’t seem like the kind of place he would frequent. Though, she knew so little about him that she could be wrong.
He pressed his lips together and scanned the crowd. “I didn’t expect to find myself here, either.”
Kennedy didn’t know what to say to that. He was visibly uncomfortable, shying away from anyone who stepped too close. His gaze leapt from face to face before settling on her. His discomfort softened, shoulders easing. She offered a shy smile and wondered what it was about her that could set him at ease.
She wanted to step closer to him but didn’t dare. He’d run away so fast that morning. If she came on too strong, she could drive him away again.
“So, ah, do you come here often?” It was a lame line and she knew it.
“Absolutely not.”
“Oh…” Disappointment dragged her down.
This was not going as well as it could have. She’d charmed enough men back to her hotel room that she should have been capable of having at least an engaging conversation with this mystery man. Her every attempt fell flat, from her pathetic questions to his curt answers.
Finally, he sighed. He turned and leaned against the bar, elbows on the counter behind him. “This wasn’t a karaoke bar before I left town. This is my first time here.”
“What a coincidence! It’s my first time, too.” She tucked a curl behind her ear. “Maybe we can discover it together?”
He shot a sidelong glance in her direction, brow raised, but he said nothing. Her heart waited, refusing to beat until he said something. Anything.
The lights dropped even lower and the static of an amp being turned on crackled in the air. A woman climbed onto the stage, grinning. At first, Kennedy didn’t recognize her. Not only was she without her waitress uniform, but she was smiling. Her eyes were downcast, but when she looked up at the audience, they held their breath in unison.
Mystery man leaned into her and whispered in her ear. A chill raced down her spine.
“That’s my cousin’s, ah, girlfriend. She’s working on her first record.”
Her voice was smooth, like whisky on the rocks. Kennedy closed her eyes and fell into the song. It wasn’t one she recognized, perhaps one of the waitress’s own songs. Kennedy didn’t really care. Not while mystery man’s shoulder was still pressed against hers. His warmth was almost oppressive. Sweat beaded along her spine and dripped down her back, but she didn’t pull away. It was like the heat of an open oven. It washed over her in gusts and promised the formation of something new.
Her heart skipped a beat. A craving rose, sharp and intense.
“Do I get to know your name at least?”
He looks as tasty as caramel, Kennedy thought. She suspected he was a salty caramel, but she liked the flavor all the same. He was the kind of caramel she would get out of bed in the middle of the night for, sneaking to the kitchen for taste after taste.
***
Wyatt didn’t know what he was doing. The dark-skinned woman’s dress hung low between her small breasts. A thin chain with a single bead hung over the exposed space, drawing him in. He should have turned away from her. His obsession was only to fill an empty space in his heart.
Perhaps he could indulge. What did they call it? A rebound?
Anything to get Nicole’s words out of his mind, the scowl and shake of her head that had haunted him for weeks. This woman’s presence seemed to clear the air around him. She smelled of butter and sugar. It made his mouth water. His mind tumbled into sensual scenes that had him pulling away from her, embarrassed by his own thoughts.
She watched him, seemingly aware of his every movement. Disappointment twisted her lips into a soft scowl, and his stomach clenched. The desire to make her happy had him blurting out his name.
“Wyatt Drake.” The words left his mouth before he could even think about them.
Her scowl unfurled and light sparkled in her eyes. His beast squirmed, writhing beneath his skin in a desperate attempt to get closer to her. It was usually such a quiet creature. He’d lived with his ex-girlfriend for years, but it had never reacted to her the way it did to this woman. He could feel its hungry teeth scraping against his insides.
Wyatt could do nothing more than shove it back, his ability to speak gone while he fought the beast. It didn’t matter, because she filled the air for him. She didn’t miss a beat.
“I’ve heard that name here and there around town, but I can’t shake the feeling that I’ve come across it elsewhere.” She dragged one finger along the rim of her glass, her eyes distant while she thought.
He liked the way her nose crinkled, tiny like a button. A spray of freckles decorated the bridge. In the dark of the bar, he couldn’t count them, but he planned to memorize them should he run into her again.
The sound of groaning metal and snapping plastic drew his head up. Near the small stage, Jasper stood over a piece of equipment, his shoulders heaving in rage. Though he hadn’t been paying attention, he guessed the crew had attempted
to get Jasper onto the stage. Wyatt’s stomach dropped. He didn’t want to leave the woman just yet. The whole room was staring at the wild king of the mountain. He needed to collect Jasper before he could do more damage.
His sigh of relief was almost audible when Ashton and Griffin rushed the stage. They hauled Jasper onto their backs like they might take Jasper crowd surfing. Poor Makenna scowled at the broken machinery.
Suddenly, the woman he’d met at the diner slapped the bar top, drawing his attention back to her. “Aurum Bank! Didn’t a man by the name of Drake start that bank?”
He was taken by surprise. There weren’t many who connected him to his family’s bank. The name Drake was simple and familiar, passing under the radar. Not even Nicole had realized his connection to the massive business. He’d kept it from her, not wanting to taint their relationship with the stress of the failing family business.
But this woman was only passing through. She would never become a permanent installation in his life. Wyatt saw no harm in telling her the truth.
“We are one and the same,” he said with a nod. “Though I never really had much of a hand in the business. Ashton was the one who donned the suit and tie.”
She stilled. The moment stretched then her lips parted, and her eyes widened. “Do you mean to tell me that your family owns Aurum Bank?”
“These days the board members own a large share of the business.” He shrugged, not telling her that the Drakes always kept the largest shares.
Dragons were hoarders by nature. Gold spoke to all of them. Perhaps it was the longevity of their lives and the desire for monetary stability. Or, more accurately, it was simply the desire to have it all.
Wyatt’s version of having it all had been vastly different than his cousins’. Ashton had gone for the fortune, working in the bank. Jasper seemed to want more than just his mountains. Wyatt, on the other hand, had only wanted a family. His parents had never mated. He was the product of an affair, of parents who barely liked one another.
It left him with a craving he did his best to fulfill. He thought he’d found it with Nicole. She’d given him everything he could have wanted, but then she left. He didn’t know what he’d done wrong. The way she looked at him after he’d asked her to marry him…she thought he was crazy. As if she’d never planned on marrying him at all.
He’d only been a placeholder.
“My name is Kennedy Mortenson.” Her voice snapped him from his memories.
They burst like a bubble and disappeared altogether. He found himself in the vibrating air of the karaoke bar, staring at this woman. His gaze dropped to her lips. His beast growled hungrily.
One night would never be enough, he told himself. One night was how he’d happened, and he didn’t want the cycle to continue. Though it pained him, Wyatt chugged the rest of his beer and slid off his stool.
Kennedy said something, but he didn’t listen. He feared that if he did, he wouldn’t be able to leave her. Something about her drew him in. He could blame his loneliness and the gaping hole in his heart, but he wasn’t about to investigate either. He wished her a good night and pushed through the crowd.
His cousins had reappeared, apparently having taken care of the surly king of the mountain. Ashton caught his eye and mouthed a question, asking if he was okay. Griffin glowered at him. The silver dragon looked between Wyatt and Kennedy with open jealousy. When his gaze lingered on Kennedy, rage boiled in Wyatt’s gut. Sucking in a breath through his nose, he managed to ignore it and push through the door.
Kennedy wasn’t his to claim.
Yet, the beast refused to let Griffin touch her. It nearly turned him back inside. He dug his heels into the ground and jammed his hands into the pockets of his leather bomber jacket. When he tilted his head back and the winter wind caressed his throat, it cooled him. His beast slowly slunk back into the dark depths of his soul.
Just when he thought memories of Nicole would surface, he found himself thinking of Kennedy. Instead of bleached blond hair, he thought of her soft curls. He thought of the way that black dress had bared her shoulders. There had been freckles on them, too.
His frustration had him twisted from the inside out. He knew his thoughts were nothing more than a distraction from the pain of rejection, but he still couldn’t shake her from his mind. She lingered inside him. He wanted to hear her voice again. He wanted to see her smile, see her lips part and eyes crinkle with true joy.
Wyatt was a fool. Everyone had always told him as much. Especially his father. He was a bronze dragon. His scales were made of cold metal. He shouldn’t expose his heart the way he did, over and over. Lovers always found a place of permanence in him, and when they left, he felt the loss like a wound. It bled and scabbed over.
His father thought that made him weak. Even his mother had questioned the way Wyatt threw all of himself into someone. This time, he would close off his heart. He would lock it in a box of bronze to keep himself from having to suffer.
“Aren’t you cold out here?” Kennedy’s voice drifted toward him.
He gritted his teeth, thinking he was only imagining her voice. Then, someone touched his arm. When he looked down, he found her delicate hand there. Her thin rings glinted in the parking lot light. She used her other hand to pull her fur coat tighter around her. She moved from foot to foot, as if trying to keep the blood flowing in her legs.
“Why did you follow me out here? You’re going to catch a cold.”
“You took off in such a hurry. I had to make sure you were alright.” She raised her chin in defiance, like a challenge.
Wyatt shook his head. He wanted to tell her to find someone else in the bar. He didn’t know what brought her to town, but it certainly wasn’t him. He wasn’t going to be a fool and let a passer-by into his life.
“Look, I was only trying to help. If you don’t want it, all you need to do is say thanks but no thanks. It’s that simple.” She was on the offensive now, her words barbed.
His shoulders sank as he turned toward her. Words were lined up on his tongue, but they disappeared when he took her in. The night made her skin glow. When their eyes met, she didn’t flinch. Most everyone could tell there was a monster beneath his skin. They could with all the Drakes, but she didn’t seem to recognize it.
Chapter Four
Kennedy wanted to step closer to him. Not only for warmth, but because there was this overwhelming pull that dragged her closer and closer to him. Never before had she felt anything so strongly. She imagined that was what people meant when they found the place their soul called home. Yet, this was not a place but a person.
And one she barely knew.
How her soul reacted to him this way, she barely understood. All she knew was the need to get to know him. It didn’t seem like he was going to let her, though. He kept his distance, always a step or two away from her. She swallowed and tried to tell herself that was alright. Just because she felt something didn’t mean he would feel it, too.
“You’re shaking,” he said, taking her trembling hand and tugging her toward him. He folded her into his arms, holding her close.
She stilled. Then sank into him. His warmth bled through her jacket and caressed her legs. She didn’t realize how bad she’d been shivering until it stopped.
“You should go back inside,” he repeated.
She gripped the front of his jacket, not yet ready to let him go. There was an open door before her. All she needed to do was make a step. She leaned her head back to look up at him. She wasn’t prepared for the look of hunger in his eyes. The intensity of it made her mouth dry. She tugged him closer to her by the front of his jacket.
A growl slipped from his lips. It tightened things deep inside her and made her heart thump. Together, they stumbled back. He pressed her to the outside of the bar, both of them tucked into a dark shadow. When he took her hands from his jacket and pushed them against the wall, excitement tumbled through her.
“You should be more careful,” he growled in her ear
.
The hum of his breath against her skin almost made her moan. She swallowed the sound.
“The men in this town are dangerous.”
“Are you?” She knew the answer before he could respond.
He wasn’t. Not to her, at least. He would never hurt her.
How she knew this while held captive, she didn’t know. Wyatt could break her wrists. He could do all sorts of awful things in the alcove, and she wouldn’t be able to stop him. Yet, she felt safe in his arms. She remembered how he’d come to her rescue earlier. She was nothing to him. He hadn’t needed to help her, but he did.
He didn’t answer. His hands opened, palms pressing flat against hers. Lower, she could feel the press of his cock against her leg. It betrayed all the things he said.
“Wyatt,” she whimpered, more of a plea for more than a plea to be free. “Are you dangerous?”
His lips descended upon hers. She opened to him, greedily taking whatever she could. Once more, she was reminded of whiskey. He burned her throat and warmed her from the inside out. When he pulled away, she was left wanting more. She thought he would run, then his lips found the soft skin of her neck.
This time, she couldn’t bite back her moan. It pierced the night, nearly drowned out by the thumping music inside the bar. His teeth grazed her collar bone and she shuddered. Then, Wyatt paused. His breath was ragged, echoing her own.
More. Kennedy wanted more.
The layers of their clothes scratched her skin. They were too warm while he was this close. She wanted to throw them off and press her body against his. She reminded herself that while they were alone in the shadow, they were still in public. It would do her no good to get caught with her skirt over her hips.
No matter how badly she wanted it.
“Let me make you dinner,” she breathed, still holding him tight.
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