by Eden Ashe
Daniel hit the ground in a warrior’s crouch right next to where Luca had landed with Shelby. Luca shoved her off and toward Daniel as every other weapon in the room trained on Micah.
Getting to his feet slowly, Daniel ignored it all as he stared down into Shelby’s tear-stained face. His hands shook as he started to reach for her, only to realize he was covered in blood. “Are you alright?” he asked, searching her eyes, his voice hoarse.
Her laugh was manic around the edges. “I’ll let you know after I’ve had a good cry, and I find out how much of that blood covering you is your own.” Apparently unconcerned with the fact that he didn’t want to touch her in his current state, she moved into him, wrapping her arms around him in a fierce hug. “Tell me it’s over.”
He closed his eyes, his body letting out one violent shudder, before he brushed his lips over the top of her head. “Almost, princess. Just give me a few more.”
Under any other circumstance, it would have amused him at the effort it took to peel her off, but he understood damn well the need to cling to each other. He tucked her behind him, and turned to Micah.
“What. The. Fuck.” He roared.
Micah leaned back against Alexi’s desk, unconcerned with the danger facing him. “Dragan silver.” He leveled his soulless gaze on Daniel. “Alexi wasn’t making it out of this dungeon alive tonight.”
Shelby’s hands wrapped around Daniel’s waist as she peeked around him toward Micah. “I don’t understand. Why did you kidnap me if you were only going to shoot your father?”
Micah shrugged. “You were the pawn I needed to get close to him.”
Luca cleared his throat. “Seren?”
Micah shrugged. “She’s fine. She trusts me.” His gaze scanned the room at the mutilated, burnt bodies littering the ground, before his body jerked to attention. “Where’s Cage?”
“He was right–” Bain’s voice trailed off as he turned in a slow circle. “Ryuu. No.”
“Ashborne.” Dallas’ voice snapped out. “Get her out of here.”
As Daniel watched Dallas stoop to check each charred figure littering the ground, dread settled hard and violent, in his gut.
27
No one knew what had happened to Cage. He’d been alive when Daniel had turned his focus onto Shelby and Micah, but by the time the dust had settled…
He was gone. No one was sure if he’d disappeared, or if his body was among the dead in the cave.
Afraid of what it would do to Seren if the news came back bad, Shelby forced herself to shove the thoughts aside for the moment as she stumbled to keep up with Daniel’s long-legged pace.
He was shutting down on her again. She could feel it. Though his hand was tight around hers as he led her through the maze of underground tunnels, he hadn’t said a word in almost ten minutes. If that wasn’t bad enough, he was slamming his protective walls back into place.
It was coming and Shelby knew it. He was going to dump her somewhere and walk away.
Or try, she thought as she let out a pathetic snort. She wasn’t going to make leaving her easy. She loved him, and he was just going to have to accept it.
His jaw ticked once at her indelicate snort. He slanted a look at her through silver eyes glowing in the darkness. “What?”
She shook her head. “Where are we going?”
“Out of here.” He dragged his free hand over his face, then sighed. “The closest motel for now. I want to make sure you’re alright.”
“I’m fine,” she murmured, “It’s okay. I’m not hurt.” Freaked out, but not hurt. A wry smile tugged at her mouth. “Well, my hand does hurt a little, but I’m pretty sure I gave Micah a black eye, so it’s kind of worth it.”
His jaw ticked again and instead of smiling at her like she’d expected, a low growl rumbled in his chest as he pulled her up the stairs.
Shelby scowled at his back as an ache worse than anything she’d ever felt before started around her heart. At the top of the stairs, in the middle of the ruins of a burned out building, she tugged on his hand.
“Daniel.”
She watched him visibly brace himself before he turned back to her. The ache in her chest tightened. She was on the verge of the worst meltdown of her adult life, and she had no idea if he’d be there afterward to help her pick up the pieces.
Without a word, she moved into him and went on her toes, grabbing his face with her hands as she fused her mouth to his. The force rocked him back a step. For a single, terrifying heartbeat, she was sure he would pull away from her, but then with a low, tortured growl, his arms locked around her as his mouth devoured hers.
He didn’t give her time to reciprocate before he pulled back. Grabbing her hand again, he started for the crumpled entrance to the building. “I need to get you out of here, woman.”
Shelby nodded, staying silent as he led her across the parking lot to his truck. Though he kissed her as he set her in the passenger seat, he didn’t speak again until after he’d pulled into a motel parking lot a half an hour later.
“Stay here, I’ll be right back.” His jaw ticked twice before a low growl rumbled in his chest. He scrubbed a hand over his face. “You’ll be fine. We took out everyone who wanted you hurt.”
Shelby’s brow furrowed as she nodded. “I know,” she murmured. She leaned up and brushed her mouth lightly over his. It was all she could think to do to steady them both. “It’s a good thing, Daniel. I’m safe. You made me safe.”
His hand shot into her hair. He yanked her to him then bent to kiss her hard. He wasn’t gentle, but frantic, desperate, and it was several minutes before he allowed her to come up for air.
Still panting, she collapsed against his chest. “Go get us a room. I think we need privacy.”
“Damn right we do.” He kissed the top of her head and gently moved her back before slamming her door shut. She had to laugh at the arched-brow look he gave her until he heard her lock the doors.
Shifting in her seat, she watched every step he took into the rundown motel. He was covered in blood. He yanked his shirt off, swiping at his skin and trying to clean off the worst as a man walked out of the small room behind the counter and jerked to a stop, his hand hovering over the phone.
* * * *
Daniel held up his hands so the old man could see he wasn’t there to cause trouble. “Hey, I just want a room.”
The man eyed him up and down twice, before nodding and shuffling toward the desk, still watching him closely. “You hurt, son? Maybe I should call someone?”
“I’m fine. I just need a room with a bed and a shower.”
“You don’t look fine,” the old man shot back at him. “You look like you had a run in with a chainsaw.”
Daniel snorted. While the majority of the blood wasn’t his own, he’d taken a pretty decent beating over the last few hours. He pulled out his wallet, then plopped three one-hundred dollar bills on the counter between them. “I promise we’ll be out of here by morning, and there won’t be any trouble.”
The money was pocketed before Daniel blinked, but as the man grabbed a room key off the peg board behind him, he arched a gray brow. “I will call the police if I hear anything coming from your room.”
“Understood.” He jerked his thumb behind him at where Shelby still sat in his truck. “That woman is mine, and I will be very pissed off if she gets hurt. If you hear any kind of disturbance, I expect you to call the authorities.”
It seemed to take the edge off the old man’s fears. He tossed him a room key. “Down at the end, in the back. You can drive around and park behind the building. I don’t need you scaring the rest of my guests.”
Daniel nodded once and headed to the truck. He’d hoped being away from her for a few minutes would have relaxed his temper some, but the second he saw her staring at him through her blood stained face, raw fury started pumping through his veins again.
He had to get away from her. He was going to explode and the aftermath was not going to be pretty.
Not trusting himself to talk, without a word he drove to the back of the rundown motel and slammed the truck into park. He grabbed a duffel bag from behind the driver’s seat, slammed his door shut and went over to open Shelby’s. Ignoring the pain in his chest, he forced himself to focus on the fury. It was the only way he could get through this.
“Come on,” he said quietly, “I need to get you cleaned up.”
An impish grin flashed over her beautiful face as she looked at him. “I like the sound of that.” She hopped down and snagged his hand, tugging him toward the motel. “Which room is ours?”
“Eighteen.”
Despite the battle fury still pumping in his blood, he had to grin at her enthusiasm to get him alone and naked. Now that the danger to her was over, and he could think clearly, he considered himself damn fucking lucky that his mate craved his body the way he hungered for hers.
Since he was apparently taking too long, Shelby snagged the room key out of his hand and opened the door herself, tugging him inside with her. He locked it behind them automatically as she turned to him.
His heart dropped to his stomach at the sight of her blood stained face. Without a word, he scooped her up and carried her into the bathroom. He was careful to keep her back to the mirror as he worked on slowly stripping her out of her clothes. She didn’t need to see pieces of Alexi on her skin.
When he had her naked, he pulled off the remains of his own clothes. Wrapping a hand around hers, he reached in and turned the shower on as hot as they could stand, then tugged her in with him.
She caught his hands before he could pour the shampoo on her hair. “No,” she murmured, her eyes searching his. She gently took the bottle away. She poured a small amount of the shampoo in her hand, then went on her toes. She smiled when he automatically ducked his head so she could reach it better. It never occurred to him to do anything different.
His sweet, perfect mate took her time washing his hair, keeping her fingers gentle and soothing as she rinsed it out, before lathering her hands with soap.
Her fingers traced every new mark on his skin, before a slow, wicked grin covered her mouth as she ran her arms over the expanse of his chest. “Yummy.”
He snorted. In one, swift move, he snagged both her hands and held them above her head as he backed her into the shower wall.
“My turn,” he said, opening the shampoo bottle with one hand and pouring it on her head. He caged her against the wall with his body as he concentrated on erasing every speck of Alexi off her.
Ryuu, he loved how her body felt under his hands. He loved the way she responded to him, the way her body came alive for him, the way she opened up to let him all the way inside of her. Not just her body, but her heart, and her very soul.
Moving in, he dragged her head back and hitched her up, his mouth devouring hers.
This time, he told himself he was going to take his time with her. She deserved it. She deserved to be worshipped, adored, given the world, even if it meant denying the need trying to burn him alive from the inside. He would give her this.
At least that was the plan. His sweet little mate had other ideas. Desperate and restless, she arched her body into his, her mouth hot and consuming as she moved against him. Before he could stop himself or slow them down, he was inside her.
Just like that, all the rage he’d kept inside over three millennia built into a raging boil.
As he pounded the last of his battle lust into her, her perfect body wrapped around him, accepting him completely. When he finally let her hands go, they gentled him. They slid over his chest, his shoulders, down his arms until their fingers laced, all the while her gaze stayed steady and even, trusting and open on his. It was what she’d been trying all along to give him. Love.
His strokes slowed, deepened, finally–finally–finding the gentleness his Shelby deserved as everything in his world finally swung right. She was here, and she wanted him. She loved him.
Having no idea how he managed it, he somehow found the strength to let her go over the fine edge first. As her head fell back, her body clamping around his as she screamed his name, his own release roared out of him.
Her body slumped against his as his knees gave out. He took them both to the floor, though he was careful to keep the hot spray of water directly out of Shelby’s face.
Her hands slid up his chest and over his shoulders before they looped around his neck, her body curling in tight against his. “Daniel, you’re shaking,” she murmured, her lips brushing lightly against his jaw.
“Yeah, I know.” He closed his eyes, resting his head gently on hers. His voice was hoarse. “I’m supposed to give you up, Shel. It’s the right thing to do.”
She tensed with fury and fear, but he cleared his throat and continued before she could interrupt him.
“I don’t belong in your world, and you sure as hell don’t belong in mine. I’d never fit in with the people in your life, and mine is nothing but danger. We’re still at war, we may always be.” This time, it was her body that shook. He tightened his arms around her, sure if he let her go, she’d find something to hurt him with. “I was right from the beginning. You weaken me. I’ll never be able to go into battle again without worrying about getting home to you, or what my death would do to you.”
“Are you done yet?” she asked, her small hands shoving against his chest as she started to struggle.
“No. Be quiet and listen.” He carefully hid his smile when she let out a furious snort. “You’ll weaken me,” he repeated. “And then I decided…” He blew out a breath as he looked for the words he needed to say, more terrified than he’d ever been in his life. He’d spent his entire existence fighting so he’d never have to be vulnerable again, and yet, it’s exactly what he was. “I don’t give a shit. You belong in your world, and I belong with you. After everything, I’m just too goddamned selfish to give you up.”
She went still for a long, tense minute, before she let out a strangled sound and used all of her puny force to shove away from him. The desperation in her eyes humbled him.
Her face crumpled abruptly as she swung out, her small fist connecting with his already-bruised shoulder. “Damn straight you’re too selfish, Daniel.” She started to shake again as she just glared up at him, and used his favorite word against him. “Ryuu. You scared the hell out of me!”
“I love you.”
* * * *
That did it. The storm inside of her broke, all the terror she’d been holding in for so long poured out of her in a massive wave of sobs. She crumpled, wrapping herself so tight around him her muscles ached with the strain.
She didn’t care. He loved her, and he wasn’t going to let her go.
He held her until her tears dried up. Somewhere along the way, he’d gotten them from the bathtub and onto the bed. It took a while before her sobs finally faded into hiccups, but when they finally did, she wiped at her face and straddled him.
“I love you, Daniel.” She sniffled away the last of her tears before taking a deep breath. She knew he was going to argue with her, but she’d been thinking about this for a while so her mind was already made up. He was just going to have to accept it. “I don’t want to act anymore–no, it’s my turn to talk,” she warned him, covering his mouth with her hand when he tried to argue with her, grinning at the absurd amazement in her king’s eyes. “I’ve thought about this a lot. I don’t love acting, not the way I love you, and my heart just isn’t in it any more. But…” she smiled because she was excited about this. “I have other things I want to try doing with my life. I want to be free, and I want to try writing a screenplay of our story.” When his face went stark white, she grinned and leaned down to kiss him. “Don’t worry, since dragons don’t exist, it will be a pure fantasy movie, but it’s something Hollywood hasn’t d
one to death yet.”
He bit her hand gently until she finally removed it so he could talk. His fingers brushed the hair out of her face. “Don’t do this for me, princess,” he murmured, his gray gaze dark. “If I can handle you, I can handle anything your world throws at me.”
She let out an arrogant snort on his behalf. “Of course you can.” She lowered herself enough to slide her fingers through his, until her face was directly above, her hair falling like a curtain around them. “I’m not leaving it completely, but it’s not my world. I’m real here with you. I belong with you.”
His eyes searched her face for a long time. “Be sure, Shel,” he murmured. “I can’t take anything away from you. You’ve worked too hard for this.”
She curled up on his chest, her hand resting protectively over the mark on his heart. “I love you, Daniel. This is where I belong.”
He closed his eyes and smiled. A genuine smile that lit him up so completely her heart stuttered in her chest.
He skimmed his fingers over her back, a low growl rumbling in his chest when his cell phone started to chirp.
Shelby tensed and started to sit up, but he tightened his arms around her waist. “Leave it. They’ll call back.”
She shot him a look as she slipped out of his hold and went to dig his phone out of his jeans pocket. “It could be about Adrian.”
“Ryuu.” He sat up and dragged a hand over his face, his eye ticking violently as he snatched the phone out of the air when she tossed it to him. “I forgot about Cage.”
* * * *
He didn’t want her to sit by him when he read the message. She’d seen enough ugliness already, but he had to remind himself, if they were going to do this, she wouldn’t want him to shield her from his world. A hint of a smile tugged at his mouth. He was sure she’d find a way to hurt him badly if she thought he was trying to protect her from something.