by Amelia Jade
“What did I do?”
Ah. So that’s why she’s feeling so bold. She thinks it was something she did.
“It might sound cliché,” he started, then shook his head. “No, it does sound cliché. But in this instance, Miranda, you didn’t do anything. It’s all me.”
He hoped she would leave it at that, that she would let him go and eat his breakfast in peace. Instead, the infuriatingly lovely woman took a step into a room that seemed to shrink abruptly as she entered it, her presence filling the space he so greedily sought for himself.
“I’m not going to throw myself at you,” she said softly. “But why didn’t you kiss me yesterday? The moment was there. I know we both felt it.”
He gritted his teeth, the muscles in his arms bunching up as he flexed.
Straight shooter too. He admired that, even if it made his life extremely difficult just then.
His eyes wandered the room for a moment as he formed his words, wanting to ensure he spoke clearly, without any ambiguity.
“Yes, it was there. And there is nothing about you that stopped me. It’s just that—” He paused. Now wasn’t the right time to tell her that he had a mate.
You had a mate.
The traitorous thought raced through his mind. As if the thought wasn’t bad enough, he could have sworn that it wasn’t his own voice which had given life to it. Instead, it was a lively little alto that had once belonged to his mate. To Kyra.
“I can’t,” he said sharply and spun on his heel before Miranda could respond, snatching a plate angrily and slamming food down onto it.
“I’m sorry,” she said, still in that soft, gentle voice that made him want to wrap her up into his arms and just lie there next to her.
“Me too,” he said so quietly he wasn’t sure she heard him.
There was a brief, almost startled pause.
“For what?” The question was accompanied by footsteps as she entered the room fully, stopping half a dozen feet from him.
His back was still to her, bits of egg dripping from the ladle he held suspended over the tray, unable to move. Daxxton squeezed his eyes shut tightly, wishing fervently that she would just leave. He wasn’t ready for this, wasn’t able to talk about it. Not yet, and definitely not with her.
The silence grew, and grew.
“You aren’t leaving, are you?” he asked at last.
“No.”
He carefully put the ladle down, and then sat his plate on an empty part of the table.
“Listen, Miranda,” he said, his voice calm and steady, despite the trepidation he felt. “There are…things about me. Things you don’t know, and that I’m not ready to share yet. It’s those same things that mean I cannot follow through with urges like that.” He looked at her sadly. “No matter how much I may want to, or feel the same. And I’m sorry, but I’m not ready to talk about them. Not yet.”
The shifter from Tanith stared at him for a long time.
“Okay,” she said at last, giving him an appraising look.
Miranda gave him an understanding smile, and exited the room, leaving Daxxton standing there alone.
“What the hell just happened?” he asked at last.
Nobody answered, and eventually he shook himself and returned his attention to breakfast.
What an amazing, intriguing woman.
Spending time in close quarters with her was going to be trouble, he knew it.
But what pretty trouble it will be…
***
Miranda
“What is taking so long?”
“Hmmm?” Miranda asked, bringing herself back to the present as part of her subconscious realized that the question had been addressed to her.
“To hear from Klara. Or anyone. It’s midday already. You’d think we would have heard from them by now, wouldn’t you?” the princess asked, a frown etched onto her facial features.
“Yes, I suppose so,” she replied, still distracted by her thoughts.
“Miranda.”
“Yes?” she responded, turning her head to receive the arched eyebrow look from the princess that she knew was coming.
“Focus. This concerns you as much as it does me,” the princess admonished.
“I know,” she agreed, deflating slightly, before taking a breath and focusing her mind at the task at hand, pushing the image of a gorgeous golden-tanned male from her thoughts.
“So, what is taking them so long to—”
The Princess never got a chance to finish her sentence. A fist rapped sharply on the door, interrupting her.
Miranda frowned and rose.
“It’s me,” Daxxton said from the other side before she could say anything. “Klara has arrived.”
“Speak of the devil,” Miranda muttered as the princess and Nolan both rose from their places on the chairs nearby and headed for the door.
“About time,” the princess said, just a bit prickly as she waltzed out into the hallway, breezing past Daxxton.
The Aurum Dragon arched an eyebrow at the Tanith royal before turning his questioning gaze on her.
I don’t know. She mouthed the words, not quite sure what that was all about either.
The big man shrugged, the motion pulling at the gray shirt he was wearing, stretching it tighter around his muscular form. Miranda very carefully did not stare at his chest or arms, though she did glance his direction occasionally.
It was tough to resist. Their near-kiss the night before had woken a fire within her. It was only embers at the moment, but for all her concentration and focus, she’d been unable to douse it. Every time her eyes followed the bulge of a bicep or the curve of his rear, tendrils of flame flickered, threatening to explode into an inferno that she would not be able to control.
“Princess!” Klara exclaimed as the quartet entered the main greeting room at Daxxton’s instruction.
“Councilwoman Nova,” the princess said somewhat primly, stopping short of the Cadian woman’s outstretched arm.
Klara’s jaw clicked as she snapped it closed before she could speak again. The room seemed to grow a few degrees cooler as Miranda watched.
“I have good news,” Klara said, her arms dropping to her sides.
“That sounds excellent. What tidings do you bring?”
“The Council has agreed to hear your message.”
“Excellent,” the princess said. “Okay Miranda, you heard her. Let’s—”
“Tomorrow.”
The princess stopped mid-sentence as she turned back to look at Klara. “Tomorrow?”
“Yes,” Klara said, almost sounding apologetic about it.
Daxxton’s eyes narrowed next to her and he inhaled deeply, but other than that, there was no reaction from him.
“And why such a delay, if I may ask?” the princess spoke again, eyebrows raised in polite curiosity.
“Oh, you know how these things are. People are scattered, need time to get back to Cadia proper and such,” Klara said with a wave of her hands, as if it were completely acceptable.
Daxxton snorted this time, earning him a reproachful glare from Klara, but nothing further happened.
“Every day I am gone from Tanith, I run the risk that Fenris will make a move,” the princess said through gritted teeth. “I have been away for too long already.”
“Yes, I know. I did stress urgency. But, these things take time,” Klara said. “You wouldn’t want for us to rush it, and then people decide against doing anything because they weren’t aware of the full scope of the situation, now would you?”
Miranda bit her lip, fingers clenching into fists as she resisted the very strong urge to say something very, very unwise.
Now is not the time. Wait for when it is necessary.
“Very well,” the princess said. “You will notify me of when and where once you have, ah, sorted out such trivial details?”
“Of course,” Klara said with a sweep of her arm that she turned into a short, very short, bow.
Then, b
efore the princess could say anything more, she swept from the room.
“Bitch,” Daxxton said, speaking into the silence before anyone else could. “That whole thing smells like horseshit. She just needs more time to set things up so that she can turn it to her own advantage. I bet she told the Council that you asked for the meeting to be tomorrow.”
“No bet,” Miranda replied for the princess, who was taking deep, calming breaths to relax herself.
“Nolan, take the princess back to her quarters, please,” she said for the benefit of Daxxton.
“Yeah, probably a good idea,” the princess agreed. Her eyes flashed knowingly to Miranda, and a smile crossed her face.
Miranda’s jaw dropped open, but before she could respond, the princess was gone, Nolan at her side.
She knows! Miranda didn’t even bother to ask herself rhetorically how the princess knew. It must show, somehow. Dammit, she would need to keep more of a damper on her emotions then. If the princess could see it, then others probably could too.
She stifled a groan. If Nolan knew, then everyone would know. She hoped fervently that the princess had had the good graces not to tell Nolan anything.
Unless Nolan was the one who told her.
“Everything okay?” Daxxton asked.
“Huh? What?” She looked up.
“You’ve got a rather unhappy look on your face.”
“Oh. That. It’s nothing serious,” she said, waving a hand in dismissal. “Just something ridiculous.”
Daxxton looked at her for a moment, then shrugged, accepting her explanation.
“Care to review the security layout?” he asked.
“Yes. I should have done that already,” she replied, cursing herself for being so lax on the job. That wasn’t her normal style! She was letting him distract her from her job, and letting her trust in him further that problem.
Time to focus on the task at hand. You have a job to do.
***
They roamed the grounds of the Nova Estates as Daxxton pointed out the various security teams he had in place. Pairs of wolves and big cats roamed the outskirts, strictly as a warning system. They had very clear orders to call in any ground-based incursions and then get out of the way. This fight would be decided by heavy hitters, and there was no point in them getting killed just for trying to be honorable.
Closer to the house, video cameras were monitored by a three-person team inside the house, along with aerial infrared cameras that would pick up incoming shifters miles before they were a threat.
“This is impressive,” she remarked as they passed by a pair of grizzly shifters walking the perimeter of the house itself.
“Well, don’t forget, I’m staying there as well,” he joked, implying that it was all for his own protection, not for the Tanithians.
Miranda laughed alongside him, reveling in the ease with which the pair got along. The tension from earlier had evaporated as they had fallen into their respective roles in regard to security. Now they were just two professionals doing their jobs, and that was something that seemed to comfort them both just then.
“So, what does the princess intend to even say to the Council?” Daxxton asked casually.
“Like, exact words? Oh, I’m not sure. She’ll probably tell them of the things Fenris has been doing lately. Ask if anyone actually knew about them. See what kind of reaction that gathers, I would assume.” Miranda frowned. “How do you think the Council will react? Despite our mutual distaste for it, I’m sure you’re more knowledgeable of the inner workings of Cadia than I.”
He grimaced. “Oh how I wish I weren’t.”
Miranda grinned. “I believe it.”
He nodded slowly. “I think you will find some support. I know there is a faction that dislikes the money and the power-hungry faction that Klara represents. Unfortunately, they are in the minority. The best thing your princess can do is to find a way to word it so that the Council realizes they will lose money and influence if they don’t intervene.”
Miranda nodded. She’d already been thinking along those lines. “I wish…”
Daxxton halted his steps. “You wish what?” he asked, turning to look at her when she didn’t finish her sentence.
“I wish,” she said, her voice stronger this time, firmer. “That we could simply appeal to the good in them. To show them the evil that is Fenris, and for them to realize that if they don’t do anything, Fenris will do this to other strongholds. That they won’t stop until they, not Cadia, are the power to be reckoned with.” She growled. “But we can’t, because not only would that not work, but it would be seen as us asking for help, instead of showing Cadia the truth. We can’t do that without risking breaking our neutrality.” She threw her hands up in the air helplessly. “It’s a huge circle of bullshit!” she practically shouted.
Daxxton just looked at her.
“I’m finished,” she said. “Sorry.”
He smiled gently. “It’s okay. Sometimes we need to vent. I know that you’re in a shitty situation, and one that doesn’t allow you a whole lot of leeway. It’s tough, but I think together we can find a way to make it work. Cadia isn’t as far gone as you might think.”
Miranda desperately hoped that was true. If it wasn’t, then Tanith was doomed, and her people along with it.
Chapter Seven
Daxxton
They continued walking around, stopping only for a short break for lunch.
As they ate in mostly silence, each of them preoccupied, Daxxton tried not to study her. It was tough, because his dragon was awake and encouraging him.
That realization struck like a lightning bolt. His dragon always fought him on the subject of women. The first few times it had been tough for him to even be with a woman sexually because of the guilt and pressure his dragon exerted. It had gotten to the point he’d just learned to deal with it, shunting it aside for the few hours it was necessary.
But not with Miranda. Whatever was going on between them, his dragon realized it was more than just a desire to romp in the sheets.
Oh, that desire was very much present as well, he thought, flexing his legs as subtly as possible in hopes it would drain away some of the blood rushing elsewhere in his body. His eyes weren’t helping the matter, dragging over her slightly-exposed cleavage over and over again.
The black shirt she wore was form-fitting and hugged her luscious body, but its collar dipped low enough to show him the swells of her breasts, which drove him wild. It was worse now as she was slightly hunched over while eating her sandwich, revealing even more silky-soft skin.
Focus.
Yeah right. Like that’s going to happen.
His brain was at war with itself, influenced by the push of his dragon, which urged him to reach out and touch her. To run his fingernails up her arm. To sink his teeth gently into her neck. To—
Okay, that’s enough. I can only flex my legs so much, thank you very much. I need to be able to stand up shortly, so let’s stop imagining me leaping over the table and taking her, right there…
He rolled his eyes as his own brain betrayed him.
A few minutes of slow breathing and meditation cleared his brain, and relieved his, ah, problem.
For the moment.
“All done?” Miranda asked as a servant stepped forward to take her plate.
He would never get used to that. The Nova residence had servants everywhere. The pair hadn’t had to even go inside; they’d simply placed their order of food with a servant, who had then brought them their meals when they were ready. A ridiculous waste of wealth, in his opinion. To Klara it was nothing but a symbol of her status, but to him, it reeked of the desire to prove she was better than those around her.
“Indeed,” he said, pushing his plate back and handing it to the servant.
And as quickly as that, they were alone. Their dining spot had been located at the center of one of the hedge mazes, and the pair slowly made their way through the far side, seeking the exit.
/> The perfectly manicured greenery closed in around them, isolating them from the world but for a sliver of gray sky above.
There might be snow later, he thought idly.
“This is an intense maze,” Miranda commented as the bushes arched over the walkway, hiding even the sky from them.
The path was dimly lit by the light that filtered through and nothing more.
“If you’re scared you can hold my hand,” he teased, without realizing what he’d offered.
It had been a joke. That was all. Just a way to poke fun at her. And yet…
“Are you sure?” Miranda asked, her voice thick with nerves.
Was he sure? Shit. What the hell did he do now?
Take her damn hand you idiot!
“Yes?” he replied, the word coming out more like a question than the answer. But, it had the desired effect.
Did he desire it?
Of course he did. But Kyra.
He waited for the images of his first mate to come unbidden. To remind him of the price she’d paid for his actions. Then would come the screams. First for mercy, and then of pain. They always followed him, never letting go.
But nothing happened, except for five deliciously soft and tender fingers pushing their way through the spaces between his own, reaching tentatively at first, but with confidence as he didn’t flinch or pull away.
Daxxton had no idea what had changed, but it was clear something had. He shouldn’t be able to be in such a situation without his mind, and his dragon, making it violently clear they didn’t like it. But instead, he was fairly positive his dragon was happy.
Confused, he decided that the best thing to do was to stop it before it went any further. So he made the conscious decision to pull their hands apart.
Which of course, is exactly when his dragon decided to rebel, snatching a minute piece of control of his body away from him, and forcing his fingers to squeeze against Miranda’s in a show of affection.
You little traitor, he thought, sending the mental emotion through the link he shared with his dragon. But the entity that lived within him, not sentient, but definitely aware in a certain, indefinable way, simply laughed.
“This is nice,” Miranda said next to him, breaking the silence that had descended over them as he waged his mental war.