Thrilled (Dragon Mates Book 2)
Page 19
"W-why are you laughing at me?” Her voice wobbled, but she kept on, a thread of pique running through it. “I mean it. Don't you come another step closer to me."
The object, which Ash finally realized had to be a sword and a carrying case since, naturally, she was coming from the Institute, still shook violently in her hands. He restrained his temper, as it had nothing to do with her.
Using his dragon reflexes, which were so fast he knew she would hardly be able to follow the movement, he whipped out his hand to grab the object, instantly recognizing by the feel of it in its case that it was only a practice sword. Easily, he flipped it out of her hands. She gasped in absolute horror, another small scream bursting out of those amazing lips.
Really, he was noticing her shapely lips right while she was apparently trying to attack him for no good reason? His dragon softly bugled an agreement, a curious fascination with the woman keeping him otherwise silent in Ash's head.
Now, that was interesting. Pushing it aside for now, Ash narrowed his eyes as he regarded the frozen woman.
"First," he said, balancing her sword in his left hand, which had become a great deal stronger than his right hand, “I applaud your bravery. That was a nice first strike. But you seem so scared that I think you weren't going to be able to defend yourself very well."
She swallowed, the movement against her throat instantly drawing his eyes to the smooth skin there. Yanking his gaze away, he went on. "Second, if I had wanted to do something nefarious to you, don't you think I would've been paying attention to where I was going and would have already seen you?"
She just stared at him in continued horror. Well, since he couldn't see all of her face, he wasn't quite sure of her expression. Actually, maybe she wasn't quite all that terrified now. Wouldn't she have either fainted or bolted if she were?
More casually, testing the waters, he went on. "You have to admit that your reaction to a non-event was a little over the top, don't you think?"
At that, she straightened, that strong chin of hers jutting out somewhat. Aha. It seemed there might be a little fire in her after all. Of course, the woman clearly was taking sword fighting lessons at the Institute. She couldn't be a wilting flower.
Voice less shaky now, she flung back, "I don't think it was over the top at all. And," her hand suddenly scrabbled in the purse she had slung over her shoulder, coming out still trembling yet triumphantly holding a small bottle of what he assumed was pepper spray, "I can still defend myself against you."
She rather defiantly shook the bottle in his direction, pushing her hood back away from her face so that it fell down just barely behind the back of her head.
Ash suddenly lost his ability to speak. Utterly taken aback by the sight of her, he could only stare for a long moment as a brief gust of wind kicked a few dry leaves around the pavement of the parking lot. Coppery red hair spilled out from under her hood, pulled back from her face but with several tendrils curling out and around. Big eyes, which Ash thought might be brown but couldn't quite tell in the low light, looked at him with an expression that danced the line between nervous, then defiant, then nervous again. Luscious lips were set in features unadorned of makeup, still showing a telltale sheen of exercise sweat on her brow, yet so uniquely, stunningly beautiful that Ash stared transfixed at her. The gorgeous explosion of freckles all over her face and chin, still bringing to mind a beautiful constellation, extended down her neck and then beneath where the material of her sweatshirt covered it up.
His dragon also stared in a fascinated silence that filled space in Ash's mind. The woman was like a warrior queen of old. A tall, gorgeous, strong warrior woman standing before him, despite the fact that her hand still trembled and her eyes were huge with nervous trepidation.
"Well? I—I've got the upper hand here. Um…” She bit her lip, again pulling his eyes to her generous mouth for a brief second. “Can you give me my sword back, please?"
Her voice jostled Ash loose from his bizarre fascination with her. He nodded, manners and sense returning to him. "Of course. Look, I'm just coming in here to see Nick. The owner? I'm guessing you know who he is. I'm a client of his just like you are. So really," abruptly, despite himself, Ash suddenly felt his mouth ticking up into a smile, "you have nothing to worry about from me. I have no particular desire to attack you. Or anyone else."
She studied him, eyes still wide but seeming a touch more relaxed. Gently, he extended her case-covered sword back to her, handle first. Her gaze dropped to it for a second before skimming back up to his. Damn. She was gorgeous, and obviously did not know it at all. She was so unlike the types of self-absorbed women Ash had been surrounded by his entire life that he felt slightly flummoxed. Even so, he owed her an apology. She'd been genuinely scared of him.
"I'm really sorry," he said as she tentatively took her practice sword back. "You saw a big figure of some strange guy walking through a dark parking lot right at you. And my thoughts were—somewhere else, so I wasn't paying attention to anything.” He shook his head, once more irritated with himself. “I must have terrified you," he said with genuine remorse.
A tentative smile flashed across her face, lifting up those beautiful lips for a brief moment. Ash's dragon rumbled, the sound equal parts confusion, captivation, and approval. Approval? Huh. Ash didn't have time to parse that, though. The women took a breath, released it, and nodded.
"Yeah, you kind of did freak me out. Sorry I jumped you with my sword. Um, it's just a practice sword.” She sounded almost contrite. Almost. “It wouldn't have done much damage inside its case anyway. I have to admit that ever since I moved to L.A., I've been a little on edge.” She smiled as she relaxed more. “It's such a big city, always so much going on everywhere. I'm not used to that," she added somewhat shyly. The rich sound of her voice, like velvet wrapped around a pillow, stroked the air.
Ash let himself rock back on his heels slightly, trying to make himself seem a little less imposing. Yet this gorgeous pretend warrior woman was close to his own height. She had to be at least six feet tall. He wondered why he'd sensed any nervousness from her. She was an imposing figure on her own.
"In fact," her voice now relaxed too as she even lowered the arm that held her spray, "just the other day, this woman at work I'm friends with said—"
The breeze suddenly snapped into high gear, flipping back the other direction across the parking lot. It whisked Ash's light hood back off his head, exposing his face completely beneath the parking lot light.
The beautiful warrior woman's eyes widened at the full sight of him. She gasped in shock. Her hand flew to her mouth as she stared at the ravaged right side of his face.
It was as if ice cold water had been dumped on Ash, sending a chill through him.
Right. He was a monster. A dreadful, ugly beast of a man.
This sort of situation was exactly why he never went out in public anymore.
Inside, his dragon keened, a ragged, aching sound that slashed across his mind. Ash let everything painful and ugly and enraging slam back down over him, the brief moment of tenuous connection with a beautiful woman shoved away.
This sort of horrified response, he was all too accustomed to.
"I beg your pardon," he said in chilly tones. His hands went up to pull the hood back over his face even as he turned to start walking toward the far side of the building and the private entrance to Nick's office. "I didn't mean to frighten you. Have a good evening."
He brushed past her, her tantalizing scent of spiced cinnamon wafting to him and drawing another bizarre, hollow-sounding keen from his dragon. Straightening his shoulders, Ash picked up the pace, ignoring the slight drag of his right leg with gritted teeth and a renewed surge of massive annoyance.
And another emotion he didn't feel like naming. One that hurt too much to acknowledge.
Behind him, she cried out, "Wait! Oh, my god, that wasn't what I—that was so rude of me—I'm sorry! Wait! Please, I'm so sorry!"
But Ash ignored her,
as well as the sudden, sharp pinch somewhere in his chest as he walked away from her.
He was nothing more a monster, and no one who saw him would ever let him forget it.
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About J.K.
J.K. Harper is a USA TODAY bestselling author who writes about paranormal romance because it's really fun. She lives in the rugged, gorgeous canyon country of the Southwest, which is a great place to let her imagination run wild.
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Series by J.K. Harper:
Dragon Mates
Wicked Wolf Shifters
Black Mesa Wolves
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