She extracted herself from his arm and disappeared down the hall. If she’d stayed much longer, she might not have left. His presence was warm and protective. She wanted to linger, to kiss away the sorrow that still lingered behind his iridescent eyes.
Damn this bond, she thought as she threw herself onto her old bed.
Chapter Seven
Sometime in the night, Anya left her own bed. In the silent dark, her heart had pounded at every small sound. She expected her father or GOE to descend upon them at any moment. The night was full of possibilities when it was long and silent.
After hours of tossing and turning, Anya threw her feet to the floor. Her stomach was churning. Her fear and anxiety gripped her so tight that breathing was difficult. The world was caving in on her and she didn’t know how to fight it alone.
Her feet were silent as they padded down the hall. The room at the end used to be her parents’, but it’d been a long time since two people had slept in it together. When Anya cracked open the door to the bedroom, she found Luc laying on his back in the dark.
At first, she thought he was asleep. Then, she realized that he was simply staring at the ceiling with his hands folded over his chest. At the sound of the door’s creaking, he turned his head toward her. Through the darkness of the room, Anya couldn’t read the expression in them. She hesitated. Was she welcome?
She’d drawn a line. What she wanted hovered precariously over that line, echoing the war she felt within herself. Yet, Luc motioned through the darkness for her to enter. There was a small release in her chest that made it a bit easier to breathe. She climbed onto the mattress beside him and curled herself into the curve of his side.
Whatever happened in the next few hours, Luc would protect her. She believed that right down to her very core. Her eyes started to water. Here she was, in the arms of a good man that promised her a happy future and, yet, she couldn’t have him. She felt pain, felt anger. Anya felt a wave of emotions that left her feeling empty.
“I already called my brother,” Luc said into the darkness. “He and some of the other dragons will be here in the morning. I hope that’s okay.”
Anya nodded. Luc’s arm tightened around her. Slowly, her arms moved across his chest and her leg slid over his. She couldn’t get close enough to him. Soon, this would be over and they would go their own ways. Deep down, Anya wasn’t ready to let go of him. It hurt, the thought of losing him. She was angry that her father had to be a closed-minded GOE agent. She was angry at the world for condemning such things.
***
Luc didn’t know what this woman wanted. He thought, maybe, she didn’t know either. But, he was happy when she opened the door. He’d been laying on that bed, assaulted by the smell of dust and an unfamiliar woman as his mind went over the day they’d just had.
Not only had Luc found a mate, but he’d found a solid lead on his missing parents through her. But, what she was doing to him was slowly destroying him. He’d felt hope when she kissed him in the kitchen. It had turned him upside down. His beast was ready to take her to bed.
Then, she’d shoved him back and reminded him that it meant nothing to her. It’s been a knife in the heart. Luc wouldn’t take her to bed if it meant nothing to her. So, he’d backed away and retreated to the living room. The only problem was that the house smelled like her. Everywhere he turned, the smell of cinnamon rose from the furniture, or photos of her smiling face looked back at him.
Luc should have left. He should have brought Anya here so that she could spend the night somewhere safe and then she should have left. Lingering around a woman, around a mate, that did not want him the same way he wanted her was going to destroy him.
He should have known he would never have anything good come out of his life. His parents had been ripped from his life and, even if they were close to figuring out what happened, a heavy feeling in his stomach tried to warn him they very well could be dead. It wasn’t just a possibility, it was a probability.
So, when Anya opened that door and pulled him from the cacophony of thoughts swirling through his mind, he welcomed her. She curled into his side like he would shield her from the world, and he would. He only wished there was more than one side to this imbalanced relationship.
Chapter Eight
Anya woke to a house full of dragons. She yawned and stretched, feeling Luc’s side of the bed empty and suddenly feeling bereft. She bit down on her lower lip and reminded herself those were not emotions she could afford to have right now.
The smell of coffee and fried eggs wafted into the bedroom and drew her out of bed. Voices filled the kitchen, a symphony that the cottage hadn’t seen in over a decade. It was loud and cheery and filled with static in the way that only a family could do.
There were two male dragons sitting at the kitchen table, one that looked like the slightly upset version of Luc and another with a head of ash blonde curls and a phone in his hands. Behind them, the Ambassador Anya worked for stood between Luc and the American dragon leader. She was tall and lean and used the length of her arms to stretch in front of the other two dragons and snatch things away from them.
Dane grabbed the side of her head and pulled it close to lay a kiss on her hair before turning toward the table with a plate full of bacon and eggs. His eyes widened when he saw Anya lingering in the hall. He slowed his pace as if he was afraid of spooking her.
She wasn’t a rabbit.
As if sensing the sudden tension, Luc turned. His eyes fell on Anya and she watched emotion rocket across his eyes. It was there and then gone, completely unreadable.
“Hungry?” Luc asked to break the sudden silence.
If anything, her stomach turned when she thought of what she would soon have to do. The time on the clock read 5 AM. If she was going to go to the GOE facility, she would have to start getting ready soon. Any later than 7:30 and it would look strange, considering that her internship started at 8.
Anya didn’t have an answer ready. Instead, she drifted toward Luc, the only voice in the room that she knew. Sure, she’d worked for Liana Taniff for a week or so, but she’d never interacted with the female dragon that often. Now that Anya knew what the woman’s black scales meant, Anya had to admit she was a bit intimidated. It explained the woman’s gruff exterior and immovable stance. Liana had already been through hell and nothing else compared.
Suddenly, Anya felt silly. She had never gone through anything in life that would be the equivalent of Liana’s hell. Anya was a sheltered college student with no real world experience. She didn’t know pain. She didn’t know disappointment.
Here were the people she championed for and she was cowering from them. Anya forced herself to take a seat at the small table, putting her between the two male dragons. Moments later, Luc pulled up a stool and forced the dragon man with the mop of curls to shove aside.
“What makes you think I’ll move for you? Your last stunt got me in deep shit,” the blond dragon man said, even as he scooted his chair away from Anya.
Across the table, Liana burst into laughter as she sank into her seat. “It was that stupid airbag stunt that won me over and you know it.”
Dane glared at his mate and, in turn, at his dragons. Whatever they’d done had involved his mate and Dane was clearly still not happy about it. Eventually, his shoulders sank. It was the past and he couldn’t change it.
“Are you ready for this?” Liana asked her as the female dragon hovered over the table. “As far as I know, nothing that happened yesterday was mentioned to the head of the facility. For all they know, everything is as it was.”
Anya nodded. She wasn’t ready, but she didn’t think she ever would be. Anya spared a moment to wonder why no one had been informed of the shoot out of her disappearance yesterday, but she guessed the two agents must have agreed to sweep the ordeal under the rug. How long would that last?
“We’ve agreed to send Luc and Marc with you in case anything happens and you need help. They’re only going to be a text awa
y from you at all times.” Liana perched on the edge of Dane’s lap in an intimate gesture. “Isaac will be here with a computer to help you decrypt the files and explore them for information.”
The dragon man with floppy curls raised a hand and nodded his greeting. Anya nodded in return. Luc responded by pushing Isaac’s chair even further away from her with his foot.
Her hand paused as she reached for a piece of toast. Did that mean her father had forgiven Beauchamp? Or, did he buy into Beauchamp’s lie? Her jaw clenched as she thought about it. Instead of grabbing food, Anya pulled her hand back. She shook her head and pushed back from the table. The excuse she gave the table of dragons was that she needed to shower.
In reality, Anya felt lost. She belonged to nothing in that moment. There was a happy family of dragons cavorting in the kitchen, a world she couldn’t afford to let herself get pulled into. On the other hand, she had a family that might have betrayed her. Not by telling the truth of what she’d done, but by forgiving a man that had hurt her. It made her stomach roll.
Anya lurched into the bathroom and collapsed in front of the toilet bowl. Nothing but bile came up. Anxiety over what she was about to do and the realization about Beauchamp’s threat hit her hard. It was like a slam in the stomach that left her gasping for air.
The door behind her creaked open and an odd sensation slithered over her skin. She jerked up only to find Luc looking down with concern. He slowly dropped to his knees beside her, his big hand pushing back the curls that fell over her face.
“You don’t have to do this,” he whispered after kicking the door closed with his foot. “You don’t have to do anything.”
Anya shook her head. How could she tell him it wasn’t the idea of stealing the files that had made her puke? How could she tell him she thought her life had been handed over to the slimy man that attacked her the day before? She had another option, she thought as she looked up at the strong line of Luc’s jaw. She could tell from the vibration of his muscles that he desperately wanted to pull her into his arms.
But, he was a dragon.
“I need to shower,” Anya whispered. She gave her stomach a moment to settle before clumsily pushing herself to her feet. Luc reached out, hands on her hips to help steady her.
He looked up at her from where he knelt. Anya felt a hand clench around her heart. She wanted to bend over and claim his lips. She wanted to rake her nails down his back while his body was over hers.
She shook her head. How could she get away from these thoughts while he was around? Luc would be in her life until she gave him the files. Then she had a choice to make. She could go back to her father and talk to him. Or, Anya could stay here with Luc and enjoy what time she had with him while she helped him find his parents.
Anya leaned towards option two. If this was her mate, then she wanted to at least get a taste of what life tried to offer her before she had to turn her back on it. Was that selfish? Was it cruel to want to know what it felt like to lay with her dragon mate before she turned her back on him?
Her hands clenched at her sides as she fought through the mess of her own mind. Luc’s hands travelled up her bare legs, pulling her out of the torrent. Her eyes snapped open and met his as he hovered over her. There was a cautious expression on his face, but as Anya let his hands move further the expression morphed into his smirk once more.
Anya let him pull her closer, let him grab her hips and slide her across the floor so that she laid on her back. His head dipped and feather light kisses trailed across her skin. She squirmed, not because she didn’t want it, but because it sent fire coursing through her veins. Anya felt alive each time his lips connected with her skin.
His teeth nipped the taut flesh of her stomach and she let out a soft cry. Luc laughed into her skin. Anya watched as his head dropped lower and teeth grazed over a part of her that hadn’t been touched in a while. Her cry was one of surprise and pleasure. She hadn’t been expecting that, even with the layers of fabric between them.
Unfortunately, laying on the bathroom floor with Luc all day was not an option. As much as she wanted to feel him explore every inch of her body, there were more pressing things to do. Besides, she knew that his heart was full in and she couldn’t give him that kind of commitment in return. Anything done here was temporary.
Life waited for her outside those doors and life was not a fair and forgiving mistress.
Anya wriggled out from beneath Luc, feeling the absence of his heat like a wash of cold water. She wanted to crawl back to him, but forced herself to get up and get into the shower.
“Right,” Luc said. His eyes were downcast and she felt a pin in her heart for what she’d done. “I’ll get you a plate of food for when you’re done.”
Luc didn’t meet her eyes as he slipped out of the room. Anya knew she’d hurt him again. There was no way she wouldn’t hurt him. She should have commanded him to leave when they arrived yesterday. She should have saved him the torment of dealing with her.
But, her stomach lurched at the idea of being without him. Really, Anya? You’re going to cling to the poor man for the sake of your own feelings while you tear him apart? Real smart.
***
She waited for the world to fall on her head. The moment Anya stepped through the doors of the GOE facility, she felt an anticipatory tension grip her. The receptionist behind the counter smiled, the same smile she greeted everyone with, cherry colored lipstick and all.
“Back again so soon?”
Anya nodded, forcing the words up. “We had a server crash yesterday and some of the information I sent over ended up getting corrupted so I have to do the transfer all over again.”
The receptionist pouted, her way of saying shit luck, man. Anya nodded and clutched the bag at her hip. Her heart gave a heavy thump each time it beat, reminding her that there was a chance Beauchamp informed the head of the facility that she was now a traitor.
But, Anya was surprised that she made it to the assigned room with no interference. There wasn’t even an IT tech investigating the computer or the keycard reader. It was as if what she’d done had never happened. It made her stomach turn.
If no one knew what she’d done, that meant Beauchamp was still holding his information close to his chest with the hope that he could still own her. She thought of the man waiting for her outside. Luc didn’t own her. He let her be the idiot she wanted to be and followed shortly behind to save her from herself.
It would have been the dream relationship if he hadn’t been a dragon. Anya hated herself for thinking that, but it was part of the wrench that had been thrown into her life.
She shook her head and seated herself at the desk. Logging in was easy and nothing popped up to warn her she’d been blocked. How had Howard Beauchamp even figured out what she’d done? If no one in the facility had caught on, then, how had he? Nothing made sense. He’d been at the receptionist’s desk when she emerged from this very office.
Anya thought about the phone in Andrea Backus’s hand, how she could have gotten a notification. If she’d been the one to tell Beauchamp, then he didn’t have anything to blackmail her with. She chewed her cheek while she wondered how Beauchamp had figured her out.
She reached down and pulled out a small thumb drive from her purse. This was for all the files, all the souls she’d found in the records. The file was easily pulled up again. She prayed her father hadn’t had his security code changed overnight when the door creaked open.
Anya shot up from her seat. Her heart thundered and bile rose in her throat. She didn’t expect the face that turned toward her.
“Dad?” her voice cracked.
Nathan Forrest turned toward his daughter, an apology in his eyes as he gently closed the door behind him. He kept his back to it, like he expected someone else to break through it at any moment. He gave her a small smile.
“I’m not mad at you,” he began. He paused, eyes searching the room while he searched for the right words to use next.
“You have every right to be mad at me.”
Nathan Forrest shook his head. “I noticed something yesterday. Now, I can’t say that I like it very much, but I can’t deny it in the least. That dragon protected you when I didn’t. I trusted Howard because he was human and a coworker, but in the end, the dragon man was the one who protected you from a human GOE agent. I understand why you felt the need to leave with the dragon, but your mother and I would appreciate it if you would come home.”
Anya’s shoulders sank with relief for a moment. Then, she brought them back up. “That isn’t the only reason I left,” she confessed.
Her father nodded. “We can work this out. I know where you and your mate went, but I didn’t tell anyone so that you could have the time you needed.”
Anya was thrown for a moment. “You know he’s my mate? How did you figure that out?”
“I’m a GOE agent,” Nathan said. “But, I’m also your father. I know these things. I know the way that dragon looked at you and what it meant for a dragon to look at a woman that way, human or not. It’s something we can… work on. I’m willing to if you will come home. Bring him along if you have to. We just need to know you’re safe.”
Anya laughed. That was the least of her worries. She’d agreed to help Luc find his parents and that meant betraying GOE secrets. How could she look her father in the eye and say that? Despite being his daughter, he would never believe her. She sighed and rubbed her face.
“I know you wouldn’t think I’d be okay with this, but…”
Anya held her hand up for her father to stop. “Maybe the mate bond is a small part of why I left, but it’s not the whole story. It wasn’t even about Beauchamp’s assault, although getting away from him felt good.”
Her father rocked back on his heels, confusion knitting his brows together. “Then what is this about?”
“I think it might be better to show you than try explaining it to you,” Anya told him. She turned back toward the computer and clicked on the offending file folder. She was slightly amazed that it was still there.
The Dragon's Mate (Elemental Dragons Book 1) Page 9