by Cecilia Lane
“It would,” she insisted. “I was close to perfecting the delivery method. The poison itself was deadly to the lab rats.”
But he was shaking his head even before she finished. “Here, let me show you.”
He pulled a knife from his belt that she hadn’t even known he carried. She would have been impressed if she didn’t fear for her life.
Instead of stabbing her with the blade, he held the handle out for her to take. She eyed his suspiciously. He was testing her. There was no other reason to offer her a weapon.
“Take it,” he insisted.
He lifted the hem of his shirt. Warmth flooded through her at the sight of the muscles lining his stomach. His nostrils flared and he smirked down at her.
“Stab me.”
“What?”
“Go on. Try.”
Cautiously, she pressed the blade of the knife against his skin. There was an impossible amount of resistance. Her eyes met his and he nodded. She pressed harder.
“Look,” he said.
Her eyes trailed over his body to where he held his shirt away from his skin. She couldn’t press into him because his skin had turned to scales. Dark navy, like the night sky.
She’d never seen a more beautiful color in her life. She shakily touched his scaled skin with her fingertips.
His fingers wrapped around hers and he took the knife from her. He tucked it back into his hidden holster while he explained. “It’s a defense mechanism. Even in human form, our scales will appear when we’re in danger. Nothing on the planet except dragonfire and claws can puncture our scales unless we’re already too injured for them to appear.”
His voice was soft and stroked down her body. He was close, so close to her. He’d given her a bit of trust when he handed her a weapon and she’d so easily given it back. Her nerves suddenly rose up and clashed with her feeling of betrayal. She was going against everything she’d ever been taught all because the man smiled at her and spoke kindly.
She pushed away from him and stumbled until her back hit the wall behind her. Her eyes scanned the corners of the room for any blinking lights indicating a camera. She already knew the wall had one-way glass for those in the hall to peer inside. “You’re trying to figure out where my family lives. Is that how this works? You’re the good cop while your bad cop partner is watching on the other side of the glass?”
“That’s not what this is. I’m simply asking about your life.”
“You’re digging for information. I won’t tell you anything else.”
With the realization planted firmly in her mind, she shut down. She expected the other one would return and her torture would begin. She prepared herself for it. It was a risk she accepted the moment she stepped foot into the building and it’d finally arrived.
She knew she was weak. She knew she would give up all her knowledge of the slayers the moment the pain became unbearable. But she didn’t need to willingly share secrets with the enemy.
Instead of breaking her fingers and cutting into her flesh, Rafe stood and opened the door. He paused at the threshold and looked back at her. “Well? Are you coming or do I need to drag you around again?”
She blinked. “What?”
“There’s no use keeping you here if you’re not going to say anything. I’m still supposed to watch you and I have a class to finish.”
Confused, again, Lola followed him out of the interrogation room.
Chapter Six
Lola followed Rafe back to his class and found the gym’s activities had already ground to a halt. Dragons gathered in clumps and quieted as soon as they spotted her.
Rafe wasn’t stupid. He saw all the glares directed toward her and ushered her straight back to his apartment.
Inside and away from everyone else, she spent countless hours that turned into days trying to figure out what was Rafe’s end game with taking her away from being interrogated. He made no further mention of it. No one approached to take her away again.
They were up to something. She just couldn’t figure out what. She had a difficult time believing he’d spirited her away simply out of the goodness of his heart. The story of blindly vengeful dragons was deteriorating before her eyes.
Almost a week after the news spread like wildfire, Lola found the tower still strangely subdued. It was a surprise to find the halls and gathering spots so quiet when Rafe finally let her follow him outside of the apartment cage.
Rafe wanted to get an early start across the city and into the mountains to check on something. The hour was too early for most and the small handful of dragons they encountered all appeared dazed.
“What’s wrong with them?” Lola whispered as a pair exited the elevator and nearly walked right into them. Their faces were drawn and she could almost feel the heavy emotions they carried with them.
Rafe eyed the pair and boarded the empty space. “They’re in mourning. It’s a sad time when any of us dies.”
Dragon slayers learned early that their lives were in constant peril. Even the women and children at home were in danger if a shifter discovered the compound. They learned to mourn quickly and move on. Danger didn’t allow for prolonged grief.
There was a momentary jostling when they tried to exit the elevator on the cafeteria floor. The small group trying to enter acted as dazed as the dragons they encountered above. They looked ahead sightlessly until they bumped into her.
“Sorry,” she muttered, then jerked her head around just as the elevator filled and the doors closed.
She could have sworn one of the group was her brother, Peyton.
There was no way she’d spied her brother. It wasn’t their nature to watch and wait. They were the sort of jump in with guns blazing. They also weren’t stupid enough to enter the tower so soon after a dragon had been killed. It would be like sticking a bare hand into an already riled up beehive.
She shook her head and tried to dismiss the face she thought she’d seen. She had to be mistaken. There was little chance any of her brothers would be so idiotic.
Down below in the cafeteria, the few dragons present all turned dark faces toward her. She nearly choked on the combined anger and pain that seemed to roll off them in waves.
Lola tugged at Rafe’s sleeve. For once, hiding away in his space felt preferable. She’d been a fool to want to go with him just to stretch her legs. “I don’t know if I should be here.”
He looked down at her with his ever confusing eyes. “You should. You had no hand in the death and you’re here indefinitely. They need to get used to seeing your face.”
He planted her at a table in a corner and away from everyone else. They weren't going to stay long enough for a sit-down meal and the waiters hadn't yet started serving, so he joined the line at the counter to get coffee and a couple bagels.
She tried not to focus on anyone or anything. Her nerves felt like a live wire and she knew she was being stared at from multiple tables. She may not have been actively involved with the murder of the dragon, but there was little doubt in her mind that her family was connected. The next nearest compound wouldn’t have attempted to take down a dragon without seeking her family’s help.
Part of her welcomed the hatred. It aligned with what she’d been taught to expect from dragons. But the more she considered it, the more she thought it was a universal reaction. She was from a hated group and it was easy to direct their pain and suffering at her.
She sat back when she noticed a trio approaching. Her eyes widened but she kept her breath calm. She didn’t want to give them too many clues to her discomfort. She sought out Rafe, but he was still across the cafeteria. The cheery colors of the spot felt out of place with the charge coming for her.
With their eyes changing from human to the full black of dragon, Lola tried to bolt. She strafed to one side, but they were faster. The three cornered her. Each way she turned, one was right behind her.
“Slayers shouldn’t be here,” one growled. The other two nodded in agreement.
&
nbsp; “I’m under guard. I haven’t done anything.” Her panic broke through her voice. She’d never have made it as a fighter, even if she’d been allowed to train. She belonged in the quiet solitude of her lab.
“Nothing at all? You don’t look so innocent. Those hands look like they’ve done some foul shit.”
“Maybe we should take them, so she can’t do anything evil with them again,” another said.
She tried to sneak between them and head toward Rafe, but they blocked her. She couldn’t even see around them to shoot her pleas across the cafeteria.
She inched toward the nearest table. If she could get around it, then there’d be more space between her and the group.
They were on her like dogs, though, and didn’t let her move. She backed into one’s chest, then another when she twisted around to avoid contact. They tightened the circle around her until she barely had any room to move.
Their eyes all glared down at her. The whites of their human eyes were eaten away by the black of their dragons. The beasts inside added their hatred to what already poured out from the men.
“What are you doing?”
Relief flooded through her at the sound of Rafe’s voice.
The leader turned and put his hand on Rafe’s chest. Rafe simply looked down until the man removed the offending limb.
“We’re just having a little fun, that’s all. You can turn around. We’ll return her when we’re done, promise.”
“You’ll leave her alone.” Rafe reached for her, but the one who’d spoken blocked her from slipping out of the circle.
“You’re defending the bitch? Traitors are even less welcome here than murderers.”
Smoke swirled from Rafe’s nostrils. Lola watched in fascination as his fingers tore at his shirt and flayed the material down the center. Hard fingers poked the tattoo above his heart. The thin, elegant dragon curled in on itself with wings spread wide. It was beautiful against his tanned skin.
“Would a traitor carry this mark?” His set jaw and clenched fist demanded their silence.
The three shuffled back a few steps. Their eyes were still full of rage. She nearly trembled with the force of it.
"Should I have the King know who is questioning his judgment? Or should I just accept your challenge right now? You and I both know who would be the victor," Rafe snarled.
He seemed to grow taller as she watched. His arms thickened and the sleeves of his shirt strained against him. Lola’s breath caught in her throat.
The three sensed the threat and continued to back away. Once they cleared her and several tables, they stumbled over themselves to leave the area.
Lola’s attention swung back to Rafe. The black of his eyes slowly receded as he stared after the trio. His nostrils flared and his gaze shifted to her.
“Thank you.” She licked her lips and tried to slow the rapid beating of her heart. Excitement thrummed through her veins.
“Come on.” Rafe wrapped his hand around her wrist and pulled her in his wake.
He needed to get out of the cafeteria. He needed to get away from those bastards who had tried to hurt Lola. If he didn’t clear his head soon, he’d shift in the middle of the building and burn them alive.
The silence was tense as he punched the button for the elevator. He could nearly cut it in the confines of the elevator.
Under the silence was the thickly sweet scent of her. Honey and whiskey coated his skin no matter how hard he scrubbed in the shower. It filled his apartment, followed him under his sheets at night and haunted his dreams. He couldn’t escape it or her.
His mate.
A mate that wasn’t meant for him.
A new wave of rage rolled through him. If he hadn’t been fast enough, if he hadn’t been paying attention, if he had allowed her to wander away on her own…
No. He put a stop to the thoughts before he could imagine their grisly end. He had been near enough to see the danger and he’d prevented any harm to her. That should be enough.
They were back in his apartment with the door firmly between them and any danger to her before she spoke. Her words took the edge off his anger, like a salve taking the sting out of a burn.
“Why did you save me from them?”
She lingered near the door and he blamed himself. She’d been slowly making herself comfortable in the space, with him, near him. That small comfort had been driven away, no doubt by his display with those arrogant fools below.
He didn’t regret driving them off or showing how powerful he was in comparison to them. They needed to be put in their place. He just wished he hadn’t frightened Lola.
He took a seat. Immediately, her breathing and heart beat slowed to a normal rate. He was smaller at that level and didn’t loom so much over her, even from across the room.
“Because it wasn’t right for them to attack you. Because you didn’t do the crime they wanted to punish you for.” Because she was under his protection. Because he couldn’t stand to see her injured. Because he wanted to rip apart anyone, shifter or human, who laid a hand on her.
He left the last parts unsaid. They came from different worlds that worked to keep them apart. He wanted nothing more than to smash down the space between them with his bare hands. But to do so could destroy her and that would destroy him.
She was everything he should hate. The ones below were right to call him a traitor. He was expected to protect the royal family, not side with someone who came from a family of dragon slayers.
“Did you know the one that died?” Her voice was almost a whisper and still seemed too loud.
Rafe nodded. She had a way of growing quiet when she was serious. Some people were forceful, others grew still. Lola was quiet. She was always quiet, but her serious-quiet was a whole different level.
“We tutored together when we were younger.” He leaned forward and studied his hands. It was as good a distraction as any from staring at Lola. “It’s difficult when one of our kind dies. There are so few of us left. The loss is felt by each one of us for a long time.”
“I don’t know that the pain ever fades.”
He glanced up and saw her watching him. He cocked his head and decided to push a little. “Have you lost someone?”
She inhaled sharply and pain played across her features. “My parents. They died in a car accident. So mundane, when you think about it. My dad was a fierce slayer, even lost his leg to a dragon, and it was a simple car accident that ended him.”
She had such potential for care inside of her. He could see what the Consort spotted in her. Had she been given any choices in life, he couldn’t see her making the decision to hate anyone. Still, he could see how much she cared for her family. She turned his image of cold-blooded, ruthless slayers on its head.
He sensed her approaching but didn't move. He didn't want to spook her and send her fleeing from him. She perched on the arm of the chair and her scent filled his nose again. The whiskey and honey combination tickled at his senses and made him crave more of her.
Her fingers brushed over his skin, tracing the tattoo on his chest. Just that tiny touch and he wanted to let his eyes close and enjoy it.
She was so close. He could reach out and touch her, drag her into his lap and brush his lips against hers. He wanted to feel her curves under his palms.
She’d done a number on him in the short time he’d known her. She was the sweetest temptation he’d ever known and she wasn’t his to touch. It was agony to keep her close, but he couldn’t imagine sending her away.
“What does it mean?” Her voice was a soft breath in his ears.
“Loyalty. Duty. I’m bound by blood and magic to protect the heir.” He was expected to do more than fraternize with the enemy.
“The little baby?”
He nodded. "From her first birthday until she reaches maturity. I would give my life for hers if needed."
“Even if it meant leaving behind someone else?” Her eyebrows twitched together with her frown.
“No
one ever said duty was an easy weight to carry,” he murmured.
Her fingers reversed direction and traced his tattoo again. The electric shocks of her skin touching his built and built until he was ready to explode.
His hand snapped upward and caught her wrist before he even knew he was moving. She froze. The only sound between them was the steady beating of her heart.
“Don’t start something you won’t finish, little bit.”
Chapter Seven
Lola’s fingers trembled against him but she didn’t pull away. Questions swirled in her head. Could she? Dare she?
She swallowed hard and peeked at Rafe from under her eyelashes. His eyes darkened as he stroked his gaze up and down her body.
She wanted him.
She knew what happened between a man and a woman. She’d never experienced it herself, but she’d seen the magazines and videos her brothers hid in their rooms. She’d rarely explored her own body, though. It was a complete turnoff to know someone could walk in on her at any moment.
But she craved Rafe’s touch. His warm skin under her fingertips was enough to make her knees weak. An unfamiliar warmth grew inside her the more she let her fingers trace the pattern on his skin. It made her antsy.
“Maybe that’s exactly what I want.”
She’d been locked away with Rafe for only a couple weeks. But he emboldened her, made her want more out of life than simply waiting for her brothers to find her a husband. She didn’t need to hope for someone with kindness underscored with a certain kind of power, not when she had that sitting right in front of her.
She pressed her fingertips to his chest again and noticed the deep breath he let loose.
Then he was on his feet and urging her to stand. His hand was warm on her own as he led her down the hallway in into his room.
His lair.
She took a cautious step over the threshold, her heart pounding away. The room was filled with heavy, masculine furniture and fit him perfectly. And the bed… It was large enough for them to roll around with abandon.