What struck her was the promise Kenji made. He pledged his soul that he would protect the dragon, no matter what came. It made Morgan turn back toward them. She looked at Kenji in a new light. His dark eyes met hers across the way and she felt something hit her in the gut.
Chapter Seven
Kenji knew what it was when their eyes connected. He felt his body shift, the world tilted to reorganize itself around a new point, around Morgan. He sucked in a breath of air, feeling it fill his lungs like ice water.
This woman, the chance encounter they’d had, it all made sense. He felt the truth of it in the depths of his core.
Morgan was his mate.
Kenji had lost hope. He’d given up on the idea of ever finding his true mate after losing Quinn and being forced to carry the love he felt for her when she would never love him in turn. He’d made a mistake with her, convincing himself that his lie was true. It had to be if only he’d believed hard enough.
Standing before him was proof it had never been true. Morgan’s dark eyes gleamed in the light of the sun, looking more like a deer about to bolt than anything else. There was a natural beauty in her that made Kenji want to take her amidst the mossy trees and watch ivy curl through her hair. She looked like she belonged to the wild.
And, she was so unlike Quinn that it shook him.
The dragon in his arms let out a rattling breath and reminded Kenji he was there. He kicked himself for even forgetting. Slowly, he pulled back his arms and laid his hands on the man’s shoulders to look him in the eye. Kenji understood what Amir was feeling. He’d been there, suffered the same things, yet came out differently. While Kenji managed to stand tall and defiant, others had broken and let it affect their minds.
“The trial…” Amir began. His eyes rolled toward the heavens above them and Kenji watched a prayer pass through them, a moment of silence between him and whatever deity he worshipped. “It meant nothing. Nothing will ever change here on earth.”
Kenji sucked in a sharp breath. “Don’t tell me you…”
Amir shook his head, the sun catching the olive color of his Spanish skin. “Not today,” was all the man said.
A lump fell in Kenji’s stomach, another stone to add to the collection. He pulled back from the man, heavy with worry. The family he’d travelled with, the collection of broken and defiant dragons, had lost a number of souls to their own hands. The world, the cruel thing they knew it to be, grew too much for them to bear. Sometimes, Kenji wondered if it was their own souls they sought escape from. There were screams in the night, as dreams melted into nightmares, and there were distant looks in their eyes when the nightmares visited during the daytime hours.
Kenji knew how it felt. He never told anyone how his scars would sometimes ache, how he would feel the scalpel dragging through the thick skin over and over. No one knew he sometimes saw the ring of light they’d position over his head, blinding his vision for moments. Not even Quinn. He’d never told her the pain he’d endured.
“Stay on the Territory, my friend. No more leaving the forest for you,” was all Kenji could bear to tell the man. He couldn’t scold him or find a punishment worse than what they’d already faced. The loss if the trial had hit them all.
Once the man had retreated, Kenji turned to find his mate gone. The need to find her hit him. It was sudden and overwhelming. He couldn’t go chasing after her, couldn’t pin her down the way his beast growled to do. Morgan was new to their world. She stood on the thin line between worlds, clearly not willing to enter his just yet.
Yet.
Still, what she’d done for him when the GOE agents surrounded him had been unexpected. He had an idea her actions had been surprising to her, too. It had been a smart, quick distraction, but he’d known it would have landed her in a heap of trouble had she stayed.
She’d probably marched off, angry at him for not leaving her in her own world. She clearly was more than ready to get back to it, even if she’d made the risky decision to help him. Kenji’s shoulders slumped.
Would he ever win? He didn’t know if his mate would ever bend toward him, ever find herself drawn toward him the way he was drawn toward her. He feared that would ever be his fate. Loving a woman who didn’t love him in return was an old hat for him. Perhaps he should dust it off once more.
A vibration saved Kenji from his thoughts. He pulled out his phone to find several messages from the Territory leader and a missed call from his mate, the Ambassador. Even if he wanted little to do with the work they were handing him, Kenji realized he would need a distraction from the mess of thoughts and emotions inside of him.
He pressed the call-back button and held his phone to his ear. Liana was more than ready to summon him. At least, this time she was in the cabin on Territory ground. He hung up and shoved the electronic device into his pocket.
The cabin, a hub for the dragons in Dane’s family, was loud and the air smelled of family. In fact, it smelled of cinnamon apple. Kenji arrived in the kitchen, having let himself in like all the other dragons, to find Liana opening the oven and pulling out an apple crisp. The warm scent filled the air around them and the small child at the counter cheered with exuberance.
Liana’s head lifted once she sat the pan on the counter. She laughed, low. “You’re going to hate me.”
“What now?”
“Paperwork, everyone’s best friend.” She slapped a thick layer of papers down on the counter before him. “I know I didn’t warn you about this before you accepted the job, but it’s kind of a necessary evil. I need to be able to show the government every little step we make and this was a bit more than a little step.”
Kenji looked down at the stack and the pen Liana placed beside it. He felt his shoulders square themselves. What he’d done, the help he’d been to minimize the damage and the pain in the situation, it’d been worth it. Without a word, Kenji shrugged and slid onto a stool at the counter. Paperwork was a small price to pay for the help he could offer.
Across from him, Liana smiled. Her face brightened and she turned to grab a small plate, piling the steaming apple crisp onto it before placing it beside his stack of papers.
At first, he wanted nothing to do with Liana’s game. That’s what he thought it was, another front where the dragons simply smiled and waved at the world like good dolls. He hadn’t thought about what he’d actually be doing, the good he got to be a part of. His life was turning around, taking a path he hadn’t expected after losing his position and the woman he loved.
“So,” Liana said conversationally, dragging out the vowel. “How’s the girl? The one from yesterday?”
Kenji glanced up from his work, barely lifting his head to glare at the woman and her meddling tone. He knew she was up to something else, but the black ink on the paper muddled his brain and made him slow to catch up.
“You think you’re playing match-maker. Don’t you?”
Liana’s lips pressed together in an effort to keep from smiling. He almost groaned, but he knew what she did not. The woman they’d brought onto the Territory to protect was more than just a date she was trying to push on him. Morgan was his mate.
Could she have known? Liana had been living with her mate bond for months, according to the dragons on the Territory. It would not surprise him if a dragon who knew what it looked like could see the growing bond between others. They would know the signs.
“She’s fine. Probably a little angry I didn’t take her home like she wanted. There were more important things to handle.”
***
Morgan was furious. She stormed back to the tiny home that felt more like her prison than anything else and slammed the door behind her. At least with the door closed, she could pretend she was elsewhere. Morgan could tell herself she was on vacation, taking a well-deserved break from work.
The thing she’d missed. A glance at the dying phone in her purse told her she’d missed her shift two hours ago. The shift manager tried to call, but Morgan didn’t know what to say, so she
tried her best to ignore the call, even if every vibration grated on her nerves.
When she finally got back home, she would have to look for a new job. That meant having to sleep in the apartment that’d been broken into for a while longer. The idea of sleeping there, on her own, scared her. The fear translated to anger, only sharpening her frustration.
A gentle knock at the door made her blood boil. She knew who would be on the other side of it and she wanted to give him a piece of her mind, so she threw her feet to the floor. But, when she yanked the door open, the person on the other side was not who she expected.
A woman with blonde waves, some of them dyed sea green, and a leather jacket pushed her way into the tiny home. She flashed a broad smile, revealing slightly crooked teeth. They weren’t so bad that she was unattractive. If anything, the slant of her teeth gave her a bit of personality, much like the spark in her eyes.
“Get out,” Morgan told the intruder. Where was Kenji? All Morgan wanted to do was scream at him. It was killing her.
“No,” the intruder replied as she claimed a seat at the small table. The intruder’s eyes moved past Morgan and lit up, her hand raising in an exuberant wave.
Looking back, Morgan found another figure standing behind her, this woman with golden brown curls and darkened skin much more patient as she smiled up at Morgan and waited for her to move aside.
“May I come in?” the second woman asked.
Morgan huffed a sigh. She guessed if she was going to have one intruder, she could spare room for another. Shifting her feet, she moved aside and let the second woman in, earning a quiet thanks. Morgan studied them both and realized there was something familiar about them.
The blonde smiled wide, realizing where Morgan’s mind was moving. She did recognize the women, not as acquaintances, but from the television. The woman with golden brown curls was Anya Avila, formerly Forrest. She’d been on stand for the trial, a human woman caught between her father’s job and her dragon boyfriend’s world.
The other woman, Morgan smacked herself for not recognizing earlier. Quinn Jenkins was a household name now that she’d published her article on GOE’s underground business in experiments and technology. Rumor has it that she, too, formed a mate bond with a dragon. Morgan guessed it had to be true, considering her presence on the Territory.
Morgan found the tiny home growing cramped, so she squeezed past the women to claim a seat on the narrow mattress, her back pressed to the wall just to get some breathing room.
“To what do I owe the visit?”
It was Quinn who spoke first. Morgan had an idea that was usual for her. “Welcome to the madness. The family is about to get a bit shaken up now that the trial is over.”
“This isn’t my madness,” Morgan assured them.
Quinn raised a brow. “I heard about what you did in Elshaw. You tried to run Guardians over with a Cadillac.”
Morgan opened her mouth to argue, but found nothing to offer.
“I’ve done some dumb things since I met Luc, but never that dumb.” Anya laughed. “It will be nice to have another human mate join the family.”
“Hold up.” Morgan needed the world to stop so she could think, just for a moment. “Kenji isn’t my mate. I don’t know what you’re on about, but I only just met the guy yesterday.’
“We heard he slept in here last night,” Quinn said, wriggling her eyebrows suggestively. “Don’t be ashamed. He’s got quite a bit to offer, if you know what I mean.”
“No, I don’t know what you mean. He slept in the chair you’re sitting in right now. We got to talking and I think both of us kind of passed out before we smartened up and went our own ways.”
“That’s it?” Anya asked, her voice incredulous as if she didn’t believe Morgan’s words. Who would spend a night alone with a dragon man and not get frisky?
“That’s it! Like I said, I met him yesterday. I’m not that kind of person.”
While they spoke, Quinn’s face grew somber. Her eyes travelled out the small window above the table, distant. “He’s a good guy, you know? Maybe, you should give him a chance then. I’m sure if he slept in a chair last night, he thinks pretty highly of you.”
Morgan turned toward Quinn, unable to process what the woman was trying to say. There was a mix of emotions on her face that touched her words and gave them a kind of force that Morgan felt stir in her own heart. All Morgan could do in response was nod.
***
Kenji left the warmth of Liana’s kitchen, but not before asking to take a bit of her apple crisp to go. He stood on the front porch of the cabin with the warm, covered bowl in hand, and stared at the miniature image of a Victorian home across from him. How was he going to do this? What did he even think he would say?
Hi, we’re mates. By the way, here’s some apple crisp.
That seemed far too blunt. Especially when he was dealing with Morgan. She might be willing to be friends, but Kenji seriously doubted she wanted much more than that after what happened to her in her hometown. The people there already thought she laid down for any dragon, felt as though she’d betrayed them. If they found out she was also a dragon’s mate, her life would be ruined.
No, Kenji would not tell her the truth. He would hold it, live with it as long as he needed to. He was not about to ruin another woman’s life. Not after what he did to Quinn. He dragged a hand across his face.
The apple crisp still warmed his hands. He needed to do something with it. When he asked for the extra serving, he’d had Morgan in mind. He knew he should avoid her, but his feet carried him toward her front door. The least he could do was apologize for not taking her home.
But, halfway there, he saw the door open. A familiar face appeared and his feet stuck to the ground at the sight of her. His heart pounded and guilt rose like a wave of nausea. Quinn’s head snapped up and she offered a small smile before turning around to make sure Anya was behind her. He’d been there to help her when their family was in trouble, but he’d tried giving her space since she’d returned.
Now, he looked at her and only felt guilt. His eyes flicked to the tall figure standing in the doorway behind them. At the sight of Morgan, his heart rate picked up. His world focused in on her and the memory of what he felt for Quinn was just that, a memory.
No, he reminded himself. It hurt, to force back the feelings that surged through him. It hurt to take the relief and the lust and put it into a box, knowing he could never open it. Kenji forced himself forward, feeling the echo of emptiness ringing in his ears.
“How’s our resident fish?” Quinn asked with a smirk on her lips.
Kenji couldn’t help but smile in return. “Staying out of the frozen section of the supermarket. That’s just about all I’ve got going for me.”
Quinn laughed, but it was the full bellied laugh behind her that caught his attention. His gut clenched at the sound of it and the beast inside of him growled at him to push Morgan inside and take her. His eyes slid toward her to find her lips slightly parted and her eyebrows raised.
“What does that even mean?”
“Long story,” Quinn shot back. “I’m sure Kenji has enough time to tell you. Right?”
His lips pressed together. What was his friend trying to do? His eyes pleaded with her, trying to silently say all he wanted to do was escape. The thing was, he’d spent so much time with Quinn, she easily saw through it. The beast inside of him roared for Morgan and he was almost certain Quinn could hear it.
“I just came to share food,” he tried to tell them, raising the warm bowl as if to prove it. “Uh, Quinn. Can we talk later?”
“Actually, I think it’s time you take me home.” Morgan said, stepping down from the tiny home. She stepped closer to Kenji and he watched her eyes drop to the bowl on his hands, nostrils flaring as she took in the cinnamon scent. “But, I guess I could spare some time for dessert.”
Kenji’s heart flipped inside his chest. He should have shoved the bowl into her hands and left. He should
have walked away from her and her pouty lower lip. Instead, Kenji waited for the girls to leave, Quinn nodding to acknowledge his request, before he followed Morgan into the small, cozy space of the tiny home.
She pulled the wrap off the top of the bowl and inhaled deeply, groaning in surprised happiness. Kenji found the lower parts of himself reacting to the groan, rising in expectation. No, he told his beast. To keep him in check, Kenji took a step back.
Morgan noted his movement, watching from beneath her lashes before she turned to find a spoon. Kenji’s gaze lowered as she presented her backside to him. His eyes travelled the curve of her ass and the swell over her hips. Part of his mind wondered what those powerful thighs would feel like wrapped around his waist. Another part of his mind wondered what the curve of her ass would feel like pressed against his groin.
It would only take a few steps to know, the beast whispered to him.
No, that couldn’t happen. Morgan wanted to go back to her own world. The woman wanted nothing to do with his world.
Once she found the spoon, she sighed and plopped down onto the edge of the mattress. Kenji lingered in the doorway as she ate, watching her lips around the spoon with unfound jealousy.
“I need to go home,” she said, the tip of the spoon touching her lips. He watched it fall away before her eyes rose to meet his. She seemed to hesitate, words prepared, yet not ready to fall from her lips. Instead, she held his gaze.
It drew him into the room like he was a fish on a reel. Kenji knew he couldn’t let himself follow that line toward where he wanted to go. So, he found a seat at the table and prepared to tell the story behind Quinn’s joke.
He told her about the crazy quest his friend went on to protect her friends, even if she was just a human among dragons. He told her about the enhanced dragon that attacked her and her mate, how it’d frozen him and he’d nearly died. Morgan’s eyes widened at his flippancy about his brush with death.
The Dragon's Charm (Elemental Dragons Book 4) Page 6