by Rinelle Grey
Jealousy tightened Karla’s stomach muscles, and she deliberately ignored it. She didn’t care that the attendant obviously thought Taurian was hot. Her change in behaviour was distinctly unprofessional though.
Taurian had the cheek to smile at her and open his mouth to reply.
“We have it all under control, thanks,” Karla said coolly. She slid her arm into Taurian’s elbow. “Can we go through?”
The attendant focused on Karla as though noticing her for the first time. Her face fell. “Sure, third door on the right.”
Karla pushed Taurian in that direction, following behind him. It was only as they neared the door, she realised her predicament. She did not want to be squeezed into a small changing room with Taurian. She didn’t even know if he had any underwear on under those leather pants.
Making a mental note to make sure they bought some before leaving the store, she opened the door and ushered him in. “Try on the shorts first. I’ll wait here. Show me when you’re dressed.”
Taurian nodded and took the clothes from her before stepping inside, closing the door behind him. Being spring loaded, it opened again immediately.
He had no idea how the lock worked. And he probably wouldn’t be able to manage buttons or zippers either.
Karla glanced back at the attendant, who was staring at them, and swore under her breath. Taking a deep breath, she stepped into the changing room, closing and locking the door behind them.
She stood with her back against the door, trying not to look at the mirrors that reflected every bit of Taurian. The room was barely big enough for both of them, and there was no escaping from his scent. In the small room, it was inescapable—sharp and spicy and hot. Like him. Karla swallowed.
She could do this. Sure, he looked divine, but she could admire him in a completely objective way, just like she might glance at the models in a swimsuit calendar.
Of course, they weren’t quite this close.
Clearing her throat, she said firmly, “Right, shorts first.”
Taurian moved for the leather tie at his waist that held his pants up.
“No, leave them on. They won’t stop us checking the fit,” Karla said quickly.
They were certainly tight enough not to affect anything.
Taurian smirked at her. “Are you sure?”
Damn him. Cocky dragon. “Quite sure.” Hopefully her voice was as cool, calm and collected as she intended it to be.
Luckily, Taurian didn’t push the issue. He just took the pants on their hanger, and tried to tug them free. One side slipped free easily, but the other stuck on the clip. Taurian pulled again, and before he could tear it, Karla held out her hand. “Here, let me.”
Taurian handed her the shorts without a word, and she popped up the clip to release the material, undid the button and zip and handed them back to him.
After turning the shorts this way and that, he managed to get them on correctly, but he just stared at the button. “How do you do this?”
Karla reached out and buttoned them up quickly, trying not to let her fingers brush against his stomach. Since the shorts were a perfect fit, she failed in this achievement, jerking back as the touch send a tendril of fire all the way through her. “They’ll do fine,” she choked out. “Here, take that shirt off and we’ll try this one.”
Taurian obediently reached down to pull the shirt off, but owing to him having no idea how to accomplish this, he simply managed to get it tangled around his head and arms. “Help,” he mumbled through the fabric. “Why do you people have such complicated clothes?”
Karla bit back a laugh, and reached up to help pull the shirt off his head. Being at least a head taller than her, it was quite a reach, and she had to step even closer to him. Her breasts brushed up against his chest, and her nipples instantly hardened as warmth flooded through her. She jerked the shirt off his head and stumbled back against the door.
Taurian’s uncovered eyes burned into her, and if she could have stepped back any further, she would have.
He closed the minute distance between them and lowered his head, his lips catching hers before she could evade them.
A familiar liquid fire burned through her, both fulfilling and creating an ache she hadn’t even realised she’d been feeling. Her whole body attempted to melt against him, needing to feel every inch of those firm muscles.
Luckily, her mind had more sense. Don’t give in to this. Remember Bruce, it screamed. Remember your plan.
She did remember Bruce. She remembered familiarity. She remembered warm and caring lovemaking. Nothing she’d felt for Bruce had ever been anything like this at all. This desire to touch Taurian’s body, to have him touch hers, she’d never felt anything like it. It defied logic and made it hard to listen to her conscience.
But Karla was made of sterner stuff than that. She hadn’t gotten where she was by giving in to a whim. She put both hands against Taurian’s chest and pushed with all her strength.
He didn’t budge. His hand reached up to cup her cheek, and he deepened the kiss, his tongue flicking into her mouth.
It was getting harder to hear her mind’s objections when she felt like her whole body was on fire. For a moment, she seriously considered just giving in and enjoying the moment. Maybe she was just putting off the inevitable. If she slept with Taurian, then this would be over and done with, and she could just get on with her own life. Then she remembered.
They were in a changing room for goodness sake.
She tore her lips away from his and pushed against his chest with all her strength again. “Stop.”
He instantly stepped back. “I’m sorry,” he said immediately. “Your closeness distracted me. It won’t happen again.”
Somehow, Karla didn’t believe him. She could well understand the temptation, but he should be able to control it. He’d better be able to.
“You can bet it won’t happen again,” she snapped. “Put your clothes back on, you can try the rest on at home.”
Taurian nodded silently, and quickly pulled off the clothes and pulled Bruce’s shirt back over his head.
As soon as he was half way decent, she unlatched the door and stalked down the changing room corridor, not looking back.
“Were you happy with the clothes?” the attendant asked.
“They’re fine,” Karla said, trying to keep her voice even.
The woman smiled at Taurian, and Karla spun around to catch him shrugging his shoulders and smiling back at the attendant. For some reason, his actions annoyed her even more.
She gritted her teeth. She didn’t want to make a fuss and draw attention to them right now. Better to get out of here and give him a talking to in the car, in private. She kept walking.
Except, she couldn’t escape so easily. She had to stop for underpants, and on the way, she realised that Taurian didn’t have any shoes. It occurred to her that a hat could come in handy as well. Every stop wound Karla’s agitation up further.
By the time they reached the line-up at the checkouts, Karla was seriously considering dumping the clothes and leaving. But the thought of Taurian continuing to walk around in his tight shorts stopped her. She couldn’t even see him, standing quietly behind her, but she could feel a tingling in her skin, could almost feel his breath on the back of her neck.
He wasn’t even touching her and she couldn’t shake his presence. The thought of dealing with this for a week or more was almost unbearable, and the idea of getting it over with more quickly seemed far more appealing. If it wasn’t for Bruce, that would be the obvious option.
She ignored the fact that it might even be fun.
If only Bruce was here, then she wouldn't be feeling this turmoil at all.
But he wasn't. He was thousands of kilometres away in London. And until she sorted this out, she couldn't return to him. But as soon as she and Taurian were alone, she was going to have to make it clear to him that she wasn't interested.
And sound like she meant it.
Chapter
12
Taurian followed Karla quietly through the shopping centre, not saying anything. She had every right to be angry. He should never have let the emotions he was feeling because of the unfulfilled Mesmer bond get the better of him. He shouldn’t have kissed her like that, or continued kissing her after she tried to push him back, no matter what mixed signals he was getting from her. Even the Mesmer bond wasn’t an excuse to override a woman’s right of choice.
Her resistance wasn’t just about her lifemate. He’d known that from the moment she’d told him it was none of his business if she loved the man or not. If she couldn’t proudly admit to her love, it didn’t have the strength to endure. There was something else bothering her, something she was perhaps even unaware of. But she had to realise that for herself. He couldn't force her to.
Much as he wanted to.
“Karla! Karla, is that you?”
Karla's head turned in the direction of the voice, and a flicker of annoyance swept across her face before her forehead smoothed and she forced a smile.
Taurian followed her gaze, and saw another woman, this one with red frizzy hair, waving at Karla. Despite the direction of her wave, her eyes were on Taurian, and they widened.
He tried not to feel too satisfied at the sharp scent of jealousy that wafted from Karla.
“Lisa, what are you doing here?” she said.
The woman came up to Karla and gave her a hug. “Oh, you know, visiting my parents. My brother just got engaged, and I had to make an appearance to pretend I was happy for him. What about you? And is this gorgeous hunk your man from the UK? You’ll have to invite me to visit you if there are more like him over there.”
Lisa’s eyes admired Taurian openly enough that he felt a little embarrassed.
What was wrong with him? He'd never been embarrassed by a female’s attention before. But then again, this was a human, not a dragon. Dragons and humans weren’t supposed to mix. Not like that anyway.
“No, Bruce is still in London. This is a colleague of mine, we were just discussing, uh, some relics I discovered.”
“So does that mean he's available?” This time, her look was almost predatory.
Any satisfaction Taurian might have felt at her admiration evaporated. “No, I have a lifemate already,” he said roughly.
Perhaps his voice had the wrong tone, because she suddenly looked a little nervous. She shook it off with a shaky laugh. “Oh, are you gay? Fair enough.” She turned back to Karla. “We should catch up some time. I'll give you a call. Are you staying at your dad’s?”
They exchanged a few more fake pleasantries, and then the woman left.
“Who was that?” Taurian asked as soon as she was out of earshot.
“Just a friend from school. We were never really close, she was one of the popular girls while I spent most of my lunch times in the library.” Karla shrugged. “But in a small town like this, everyone pretty much knows everyone.”
“Do you think she will try to contact you?” Taurian asked bluntly. “I don't like her.” He couldn’t quite put his finger on what he disliked about the girl. Was it because her presence endangered his secret? She didn’t even know his secret, but he didn’t trust her. Her conversation seemed fake.
Karla looked sideways at him. “Just because she liked you?”
She was jealous. Taurian liked that fact, but he didn’t want Karla to get the wrong idea. He had no interest in her friend. “She liked looking at me,” he said, “but she can't really like me, she doesn't even know me.”
From the way Karla’s eyes widened, Taurian knew he'd surprised her. And communicated his point. He had no interest in anyone but Karla. He gave her a smile and didn't say anything more.
Karla swallowed and said, “Anyway, we’ve got what we came for, let's get out of here.”
“What about the objects your father asked you to get?”
Karla muttered a few choice words. Even if he didn’t know the actual meaning of the words, Taurian could guess the sentiment. Karla adjusted her course slightly, and Taurian followed her.
Obviously, their run in with the woman hadn’t improved her mood any, despite his attempt to relieve her jealousy. He suspected that the real cause of her upset was the fact he’d kissed her.
He’d be careful not to do that again. At least, not without a more definite invitation.
He didn’t say a word as they walked down rows of brightly coloured objects. Karla picked several and put them in a little metal basket on wheels, then talked to another woman behind a bench. Karla paid no attention to what he was doing. In fact, she seemed to be trying to pretend that he didn’t exist.
Her response annoyed Taurian. She had been there too, and though she had tried to push him away, she had kissed him back. How was he supposed to take that? His muscles tightened with each step.
As she strode through the store, bags of items in her hands, Taurian couldn’t take it any longer. He caught up with her, and grabbed her elbow, turning her to face him. “I’m sorry,” he said through gritted teeth.
She stared at him, eyes wide. “Let go of me,” she said, her voice low. He could feel the heat emanating from her.
He was just making things worse.
Why had things changed so much? He’d had everything under control before entering the Mesmer. Women had been lining up to spend time in his bed, and they had listened to and respected his opinion when he spoke, even though he was the youngest prince. But that was dragon women. Human women had no respect for his position as prince. This human woman didn’t anyway.
He let go of her arm. “I’m sorry,” he said again, this time more quietly.
She turned away. “We’ll talk about it in the car, not here.” She took a step forwards, and ran straight into a man who stood far too close to them.
Taurian’s blood ran cold as he recognised the blond hair and icy blue eyes. He blinked, but the vision didn’t change. Somehow, his enemy had managed to survive over a hundred years too. This shouldn’t be possible.
“Sorry,” Karla said, and attempted to back up.
Ultrima grabbed her arm his fingers digging into the skin. “No need for sorry, my dear.”
Karla looked up into his eyes, and her face paled. She tried to pull her arm away, but Ultrima didn’t let go.
His voice was silky, and every fibre of Taurian’s being wanted to hit him with everything he had, right there and then. Any regrets he’d had about kissing Karla melted away under the fact that it had increased his energy enough to be able to form a half decent fireball.
Only the fact that Karla was far too close to Ultrima to escape without harm stilled his magic. “Let her go,” he bit out.
“But why would I want to do that? You obviously like her enough to be spending all this time with her. I think I should get to know her too.”
Damn. He'd forgotten that Ultrima liked to tease his prey. Taurian far preferred a straight up fight to this sort of manoeuvring. Of course, in a straight up fight, he'd probably lose right now. Ultrima was at full health. He could feel it. One fireball wasn’t going to do anything other than make the lightning dragon mad.
Better that this was a battle of words then. Now he just had to think of something clever to say.
“Let me go immediately!” Karla's voice was loud and strident.
Heads turned in their direction and Taurian winced. Drawing attention to them was the last thing they needed right now.
“Calm down, dear.” Ultrima's voice was silky. “No need to cause a scene. I just want to have a chat.”
“I want nothing more to do with you.” Karla didn't lower her voice in the slightest. It was as though she wanted to draw attention to them. “I don't care how sorry you are, there's no excuse for hitting me.”
What? What was she talking about? Ultrima hadn’t hit her.
But a gleam of amusement flickered in Ultrima's eye at Karla’s comment. She had done something clever in a way Taurian didn’t understand.
Taurian looke
d again at the people around them. Several had stopped and were staring at them. A few whispered. All looked shocked.
Of course, Ultrima didn't want a fuss any more than Taurian did. Karla, on the other hand, didn't care.
After a glance at the stares they were attracting, Ultrima dropped Karla's arm. “If that's the way you want to do it.” His voice was quiet so as not to carry. “But now I've found you, it won't be hard to find a quiet place to have that chat, I'm sure.”
He turned and walked away swiftly, disappearing around a corner.
Taurian's skin still prickled.
Looked like he wouldn’t get to avoid his family’s enemy after all. He tried to ignore the fact that even his eldest brother had only just been able to hold his own against the head of the Trima clan. And he had been stronger and more experienced than Taurian.
He stared at the spot where Ultrima had disappeared.
It wasn't over yet.
The dragon’s parting words had assured him of that.
How much did he know? Had he found Karla’s father’s home? Was there anywhere safe they could go?
“Let's get out of here.” Karla's voice shook and her face was pale.
He had to fight the urge to put an arm around her shoulders to comfort her. He wasn't sure she'd appreciate the gesture. He did reach out and take the shopping bags out of her hands. “Lead the way.”
Karla stared at him for a moment, then nodded and headed towards the car.
Once they were outside, back in the blistering heat, Karla squinted against the sun, staring around. But there was no sign of Ultrima, even when they stepped into the ute and closed the door. Taurian still couldn't relax. The dragon’s parting dig that he would find them lingered.
Karla started the ute and pulled out of the car park. As they drove down the rows of cars, Taurian glanced idly at each one. A chill ran through him when he saw another pair of icy blue eyes narrowed into slits behind some sort of mask. Instead of a car, he rode a sleek metal beast that roared to life as they passed.