by Donna Grant
It had been so many eons since he’d experienced such an emotion that he nearly hadn’t recognized it. Was this how the other Dragon Kings felt about their mates? If so, then he understood why so many had fallen in love.
The bliss lasted almost an hour before his thoughts turned to Dreagan and his brethren. That train of thought led him to recall why he was in New York in the first place. And just why he had sought out Alexandra.
His eyes opened once more, but this time it was regret that consumed him. He couldn’t steal from Alex. Shite, the moment he heard her talk about the artifacts and how much they meant to her he’d had trouble reconciling his decision to steal it with how much he discovered he liked her.
Now, there was no way. None of that changed the fact that the Kings still needed the object. No matter how he looked at it, there was no way around what needed to happen.
That left him with only two options. Convince her to let him buy it. Or steal it. If he failed in the first attempt, she would know who took it.
He was so fucked.
Chapter Ten
Alex opened her eyes to find that it was dark outside. At almost the same instant, she realized she was alone in her bed.
She sat up and saw the pale pink rose on the pillow along with a folded piece of paper. Lifting the flower to her nose, she inhaled the fragrant bloom as she opened the note.
You looked too beautiful sleeping for me to wake you. See you soon.
Dorian
She smiled as she studied the bold, neat handwriting. Did anyone write notes anymore? Most sent texts or emails, which made this all the more special.
Alex leaned back against her headboard and sighed, a smile upon her lips. It was too bad the one person who had put it there was gone. She hated that she’d slept so deeply, but after having her body so satisfied, then curling up next to Dorian, she’d fallen instantly asleep.
It was the first time in a very long time that she had slept so soundly. She felt refreshed, revitalized. And not at all in the mood to go back to sleep.
Alex threw off the covers and carried both the note and flower into the bathroom. She put the rose in a small vase and filled it with water, then turned on her shower.
As the water heated, she walked naked into the kitchen to her purse and texted Meg to find Dorian’s address. Today had been filled with so many firsts for her, and she was going to add another to the list by going to a man’s house uninvited.
Twenty minutes later she stepped out of the shower and began to get ready. She opted for minimal makeup—just some smoky eyeliner, mascara, a hint of bronzer, and her favorite nude lipstick.
She pulled her hair atop her head and put it in a messy bun, which she usually reserved for days she didn’t leave the house. But there was something about being around Dorian that made her want to have a more relaxed look.
It was thinking of him that had her reaching for jeans and a thin navy sweater that dipped low in the front. After donning a pair of brown booties, Alex studied herself in the mirror, liking the way the sweater showed just enough cleavage.
On her way through the kitchen, she went to reach for the small clutch she had carried earlier, but she paused. Too many years of matching everything was too deeply ingrained for her to disregard everything in one night.
She hurried back to her closet and chose another bag. After putting her things in it, she slung the purse over her shoulder. Then she jogged to the elevator, a smile on her face.
The doors opened on the bottom floor and she walked out to the lobby with only the security guard.
“Miss Sheridan,” he said with a nod.
“Hi, Arthur. I forgot to call the guys,” she said, reaching for her cell phone.
He held up his hand. “I’ll do it.”
“Thanks.”
Alex walked to the doors and looked out the glass to the world right outside. People walked past, uncaring of who lived in the building. What would happen if she tried that?
She put her hand on the door, but an image of the man from the previous night trying to kill her stopped her cold.
It wasn’t in her cards to have a life like others. In many ways she lived in a gilded cage. She hadn’t minded it so much until today. She’d experienced something new with Dorian, and she wanted more of it.
Her phone dinged. Alex looked down to see a message from Meg with an address. A second later, the phone rang. She smiled when she saw Meg’s name.
“Hey,” Alex answered.
“You’re going over there?”
The shock in Meg’s voice made Alex laugh. “I am.”
“You sound...happy.”
Alex sighed. “I am.”
“Oh, girl. You had sex. I can hear it in your voice, and I bet if I was there, I’d see it on your face.”
Alex laughed again and felt her face flame. “You probably could.”
“So he was good?” Meg asked.
“More than good.”
“Shit. Really?”
Alex bit her lip as she thought of the way it had felt to have Dorian sink inside her. “Yeah.”
“Then why the hell did he leave?” Meg asked angrily.
“Uh. Well, that was my fault. I fell asleep.”
Meg grunted. “You haven’t slept properly in three years. And after that kind of sex, you probably passed out.”
“I think that’s exactly what happened.”
“He undoubtedly wanted another round with you.”
Alex rolled her eyes. “Why do you think I’m going to see him?”
“About damn time you found someone who can screw your brains out and make you feel like the woman I know you are.”
“I love you, too, Meg,” Alex said.
“Uh, nope. You’re not going to make me cry. Now get off the phone and go let that handsome Scot make you scream.”
Alex giggled. “Bye.”
“I want details tomorrow. Juicy details,” Meg said right before she hung up.
Alex slipped her phone into her purse. When she looked up, Paul was walking toward her from the sidewalk where Yasser and the Range Rover waited.
“Everything all right?” her bodyguard asked.
She smiled at him. “Perfect.”
He frowned, but held the door open for her, then ushered her to the SUV. She climbed into the backseat and gave the address to Yasser as Paul got in beside her.
Her driver flashed her a smile in the rearview mirror and pulled out into the traffic. It would have been just a few minutes’ walk to Dorian’s place, but in traffic it took nearly fifteen minutes.
She couldn’t believe he lived so close to her. Though she hadn’t bothered to ask where he stayed. As they approached the building, she looked at it with new eyes. The architecture was over a century old, but the building itself was in immaculate condition.
Since Dorian resided in the penthouse, she wondered if he owned the building. Not that it mattered. He could be penniless and she wouldn’t care.
“Did either of you see Dorian when he came down earlier?” she asked the men.
There was a pause before Paul said, “I did.”
“Did he say anything?” Alex didn’t want to sound as if she were hunting for information, but that’s exactly what she was doing.
Paul looked out the window. “All he said was that you were sleeping and shouldn’t be interrupted.”
Alex grinned. With just a few blocks to Dorian’s, she wanted to jump out and run the rest of the way, but she knew Paul would be right beside her. So she remained inside the vehicle. Barely.
As soon as they reached the front of the building, Paul opened the door and waited for her.
“Are you sure about him?” the bodyguard asked.
Alex looked up into Paul’s blue eyes. “I am.”
“Perhaps I should come up with you.”
“I’d rather you wait in the lobby.”
She walked away before he could argue more. Thankfully, Paul didn’t follow her to the elevator. There w
as a mix of nervousness and excitement in her belly as she rode to the top floor.
Except when the elevator opened it was to a foyer-like room with two doors. One was a single door off to her left atop a short set of stairs. The other were ornate wooden double doors with a dragon carved into each of them.
“How beautiful,” she murmured.
She stared at the dragon thinking of Dorian’s tattoo. Now she realized why she had been able to get on the elevator with no doorman in the lobby. Alex ran her hand over her thigh and walked to the door, her boots silent on the beautiful rug she hadn’t noticed until then.
Her heart hammered with anxiety as she rang the bell. Then she waited for Dorian to answer. The seconds turned to minutes. She rang the doorbell again, though now she worried that he might be out. She hadn’t bothered to call him to see if he was in. She’d wanted it to be a surprise.
After five minutes, she turned to leave when she heard the sound of wind whistling. She followed the sound to the other door atop the steps. She walked up them, and as she neared, she realized the door was cracked open.
Alex slowly pushed open the metal door to peer around. Since the only one who had access to the roof was Dorian, she thought he might have a rooftop area like so many did.
She opened the door and stepped out to the roof. The force of the wind slammed into her just as she realized there was nothing to bring him up here. No sitting area, no garden. Nothing.
She crossed her arms over her chest and shuddered against the cool temperatures. Just as she contemplated returning inside, she realized that, while she might need furniture to bring her to the roof, Dorian might not. Perhaps he liked things just the way they were—barren.
She ventured forward, her gaze sweeping the area for a glimpse of him. Alex walked one direction and then the other. Just as she was giving up, she spotted Dorian standing on the edge of the roof.
She parted her lips to shout his name and get him off the ledge, but he vanished. Replaced by an enormous dragon with deep coral scales.
Before she could process that terrifying imagine, the creature spread its massive bat-like wings in the same reddish shade of orange. The next instant, it was gone.
Alex stood frozen, unsure if she had gone crazy, or had she really just seen a dragon? She took a step back and shivered as she heard the unmistakable sound of wings flapping.
Shock and fear flooded her, threatening to choke her and silence the scream that welled up. She didn’t doubt what she’d seen, didn’t question her sanity. The proof had been just a few dozen feet from her.
Without looking back, she turned and raced down the stairs to the elevator. She punched the down arrow repeatedly, hoping that would get it there faster.
Finally, the doors opened and she rushed inside, jabbing at the lobby button to hurry things along. Once the elevator was descending, she leaned against the wall and closed her eyes.
She knew it had been Dorian up there. She’d recognized his long, blond hair. But the dragon? That couldn’t be real. Dragons didn’t exist.
Alex was out of the elevator before the doors opened fully. She said nothing to Paul as she headed to the SUV, despite his worried look. Neither man commented on her silence as they drove. At her building, she couldn’t get to the security of her home fast enough.
But as she stood looking out the windows at her balcony, she realized that a dragon could easily fly overhead. For that matter, it could land on her terrace.
Alex took a step back, suddenly terrified.
“Dragons aren’t real,” she said.
And people didn’t shift into other beings, no matter how many books and shows said otherwise. She knew what was real and what wasn’t.
How didn’t he know about desserts? What about the coffee and tea?
“He’s Scottish. Everyone drinks tea there,” she said.
There’s also the little matter of how he knew where your room was.
Alex stilled, her heart thumping. Her bedroom was the only place she hadn’t shown Dorian. And while he might know which direction, her hallway had several doors. How had he known which one to take?
Chapter Eleven
Flying cleared his head. Usually.
But this time, when Dorian returned to his penthouse, he was still as confused as when he’d left Alex’s. He knew the easiest, simplest thing would be for him to use his magic, return to her home, and steal the artifact.
Yet, he couldn’t. No matter how many times he told himself to do it.
Dorian stood on the roof back in his human form and watched the sun rise. While it was a magnificent sight, moonrise was his favorite time.
Not because the darkness hid all manner of sins, but because it allowed the stars to show through the night sky and the moon to shed its light upon the earth. The sun might allow others to see all the colors that abounded on the realm.
But moonlight gave everything an ethereal glow. There were plants and animals that didn’t come alive until the otherworldly light fell upon the land. So many missed out on the beauty because they feared the night.
Aye, there were monsters in the dark. Yet, they were also in the light, standing right beside the mortals. And they never knew it.
Dorian turned away from the bright ball of light rising in the horizon and made his way to the door to return to the flat. He had taken one step down the stairs when he came to a halt and frowned.
He drew in a deep breath. This time he knew for sure what he’d caught a whiff of—perfume. It wasn’t just any scent. It was Alex’s.
Backing up a step, Dorian used his enhanced senses and sought out the aroma that was Alex’s alone. Shock reverberated through him when he realized that she had stood on the roof. And recently.
The stark, rancid odors of the city combined with the wind prevented him from discerning where she had been on the rooftop, but he had a pretty good idea of what she might have seen.
Always before he shifted, he made sure to use his magic and turn invisible. Last night had been different. He’d wanted to see if anyone noticed him. The humans were too busy with their insignificant lives to bother realizing that a dragon stood on the rooftop.
If anyone had, Dorian would’ve heard about it because it would’ve been all over the thing mortals called social media. Ever since the video the Dark Fae leaked of the Kings shifting and fighting Fae, there had been a rush for the humans to find anything and everything to do with dragons.
Dorian had been defiant because he’d been only thinking of himself, not his brethren back at Dreagan. He knew better, but his anger toward the mortals clouded his thinking sometimes.
He turned on his heel and went back inside the building. He then stood on the stairs and let the door shut behind him. With his eyes closed, he focused everything on the scents around him.
It was easy to pick out Alex’s. He was attuned to her—had been since he first saw her at the charity event. But it went to another level after he took her as his lover.
He shifted through the smells and focused on everything that was hers. From her excitement to her nervousness to...her fear.
His eyes flew open. Without a doubt, he knew she’d seen him. Slowly, he walked to the double doors of the penthouse and pushed his dragon magic into the entry to unlock the spells. After he stepped inside and shut the door, he stopped.
He didn’t know what his next move should be. The logical choice would be to forget her. No one would ever believe her, and she had no business learning of his secrets, regardless if she had seen him or not.
Then he thought of her smile and the warmth in her hazel eyes as she gazed up at him while they made love.
For reasons he couldn’t explain or comprehend, he refused to walk away from her. Which brought on a whole slew of other problems for him.
No doubt she’d told Paul and the others to refuse him entry. In order to see her, he’d have to fly to her. While that seemed the easiest solution, he didn’t think he could stand to see the terror in her eyes.
>
Not after she had looked at him with such adoration.
Which brought him back to letting her go. Dorian found a pair of jeans and put them on before he squeezed the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. Flashes of the day before kept running through his mind. It had been a good day.
He hadn’t realized how desperately he’d needed one until Alex had gifted him with it. His intention had been to get close to her to attain the artifact. All the while, she had been enjoying his company.
The fact that he had treated her as the mortals had acted toward his sister sickened him. The very beings he loathed with every fiber of his being. He was disgusted with himself and the entire situation.
Things had been so uncomplicated when he hadn’t liked her, when he hadn’t yearned to have her in his arms.
His head snapped up at the pounding on his door. No one came to see him. Not until Alex. He strode toward the entry, hoping that it might be her, but as he neared, his hearing picked up the sounds of harsh breathing.
A man.
He opened the door and looked into Paul’s blue eyes. The bodyguard’s face was set in harsh lines, a muscle ticking in his jaw as his gaze shot daggers at Dorian.
“What did you say to her?” Paul demanded.
Dorian raised a brow. “Whatever did or didna occur between me and Alex is none of your concern.”
“You didn’t see her,” Paul said and took a menacing step forward.
Dorian glared at the mortal. “Careful. You doona know what you’re about to tangle with.”
“I could say the same of you.” Disgust filled Paul’s face as he looked Dorian up and down. “You’re not fit to lick her feet.”
“And you’re jealous of the fact that she’s with me and no’ you. Isna it bad to fall in love with your employer?”
Paul snorted in derision. “You don’t know anything.”
“I’ve got eyes. I see what she hasna. Perhaps you should learn your place.”
The guard moved his jacket back to show the gun holstered. “Let me just remind you of who I am.”