by Kira Nyte
The door closed and a clatter followed.
“Damn it.”
The hushed curse made her sink against the mattress, relief calming her heart and spreading weakness down her legs. She scrubbed her hands roughly over her face in hopes of ridding herself of the anxiety that coiled her muscles.
The door opened and the shadow tried to creep silently back to the bedroom door.
“Where are you sleeping?” The shadow froze. Slowly, Taryn twisted around and found her in the dark with his fiery eyes. If she hadn’t seen them before, she’d scream in fear of the Devil stalking the room.
“Did I wake you?” The remorse in his voice tugged at her chest. “I was trying to be quiet.”
He remained by the door. Not coming closer. Not leaving, either. Gabby sat up, drawing her knees to her chest.
“You did a good job.” Her voice was thick with exhaustion. “I tend to be a light sleeper.” She shrugged. “For obvious reasons.”
“Is there anything I can get to help you sleep?”
She picked at the blanket, her thoughts roiling while her tongue tried to form the words to say what she wanted. The very last thing she ever imagined that might help her sleep. So far, she’d found peace and contentment in Taryn’s presence. Strength and positivity.
Maybe, just maybe…
“I, uh…” She couldn’t bring herself to say it. What if all the progress she made today was lost because of a silly thought? “No. I think it’ll just take time.”
“I understand, angel. I’ll leave you be. Cade arrived a few minutes ago and I’m trying to settle him in. Good night, Gabriella.”
“Night.”
She listened to him leave while she absentmindedly traced the stitches in the blanket with the tip of her finger. Beyond the room, a deep, growly, unfamiliar voice seemed to boom through the hallway, despite an obvious attempt to be quiet. The raw power in the voice left Gabby both curious and frightened.
She sank back into the bed and pulled the blanket tightly around her.
And stared at the wall.
She rolled over a while later, after the voice fell silent and the house subsided into the quiet of night. How strange not to hear creaks and moans and groans. How strange not to have foul odors and cigarette smoke suffocating her.
Serene peace and quiet.
It kept her wide awake. She watched the clock on the nightstand tick by minutes, then an hour.
At last, she threw back the covers and climbed out of bed. No point in tossing and turning all night.
Gabby crept into the hall and looked around. The house lay dark, obscenely dark, and silent except for a nightlight in the kitchen and one in the living room. Stepping lightly, hoping the wooden floorboards wouldn’t creak, she found her way into the kitchen. Warm milk had helped calm her nerves since she was a little girl; not that it helped her sleep any. Maybe it would now, since she was secure in the knowledge there wasn’t the threat of a stranger with cruel intentions lurking close by. She’d have to ask Amelia in the morning if she had any sleepy tea.
She poured milk into a mug and warmed it in the microwave until it was tepid. With a cookie from earlier and warmed milk in hand, she turned to the dining room.
And screamed.
Red eyes stared at her from the darkness, moving toward her at an alarming rate. She barely realized the mug had slipped from her hand until she stepped on ceramic bits in her panic to back away. Blood crashed through her veins, deafening a growling voice as a hulking monster of a man came at her.
The lights snapped on.
Gabby slipped in milk and shards of ceramic mug. She grabbed the counter just as Taryn caught her against his body in a secure embrace. She frantically clawed closer to him.
“You’re kidding me, right? Mulling things in the dark again? Seriously?” Taryn’s voice filtered into her mind, piercing the deafening wall of sound from her ears. Gabby’s gaze cut to the fuzzy faces filling the doorway to the kitchen. Taryn’s nostrils flared as a stranger paused at the counter. Fierce. Deadly. He was the walking definition of danger. Taryn rubbed his hand up and down her back. “I warned you he was intimidating, angel. He’s really a big teddy bear, I swear.”
Gabby swallowed down the rush of fear and fought to steady her breathing. “Him? Teddy bear?” She jerked her attention up to Taryn’s frustrated gaze. “Bear, sure, but certainly no teddy.”
The T-shirt and casual blue jeans didn’t lessen the giant man’s intimidation factor.
“She cut her feet, Taryn,” the bear said with a voice as primal and dangerous as his looks. She looked down, not because she felt pain, but because the bear’s attention had lowered to the streaks of red in the milk. His brow pinched. In her frantic state of mind, Gabby couldn’t tell if he was concerned or merely observing. His voice gave neither away.
“I see that.” Taryn scooped Gabby up to set her gently on the countertop. Amelia shouldered between Syn and Gabe and flicked her hand. The milk and ceramic swept to the side, making a clear path for her to approach. “Are you calming down now?”
Gabby’s gaze moved between Taryn and the bear until he cupped her face between his hands and forced her to focus on him.
“He’s Cade. The only reason he’s not helping is because you’re in a panic. He doesn’t want to scare you any more.”
“I think he’s scared me enough for a lifetime.”
He kissed the tip of her nose.
“Intimidating isn’t even the word. His eyes alone could scare the shit out of someone.”
“He’s more dragon than man, angel. He’s the oldest of us. He retains more of his dragon self on the surface than most. Hence his size.”
Gabby concentrated on breathing as Amelia examined her feet. Maybe a scare was all she needed to make her sleep, because she certainly felt like closing her eyes and drifting off after that adrenaline rush.
“Nothing deep and no pieces stuck in the skin. I’ll go get a salve I have to help hurry along the healing,” Amelia said.
Taryn lowered his hands and braced one on the counter as Amelia left.
Gabby turned her full attention to Cade, who hadn’t moved from the opposite side of the kitchen. His hands were in his pockets, shoulders hunched. It should’ve made him look less dangerous, but only increased the size of his shoulders.
“You make a helluva entrance, boss man,” Gabe snickered, jutting his head toward Gabby. “You definitely haven’t lost your touch with the ladies.”
Cade pulled back his lip and scowled, the hints of fangs extending from his impeccable teeth. “You definitely haven’t lost your poor sense of humor.”
“Sourpuss.”
Syn stepped between the two men and clapped Cade on the shoulder. “Thought I heard you slip in earlier.”
Cade shrugged, lifting his gaze to Gabby. Or rather leveling it with her. The man was probably well on his way to seven feet. As she calmed, she took more of him in. Yes, his irises glowed an ember red with swirls of deep orange and dark yellow, but his pupils were circular, not slitted like Taryn’s got when his dragon took over his eyes. His hair was dark red, as was his neatly trimmed beard and mustache. He reminded her of a clean-cut version of a biker, one she still never wished to meet in a dark alley.
“I didn’t mean to startle you. My apologies,” Cade said, his voice low. It somehow smoothed the edge of his growl. The corner of his mouth lifted. “Seems I have that effect on most people.”
“Uh-huh.” Gabby’s brow cinched when her response came out more like a squeak than an actual sound of agreement. Taryn chuckled, dropping his hand over hers to give it a squeeze. “I can see why.”
Cade’s eyes narrowed. “I definitely see Corvin in her. You’re right about that, Taryn.”
“You didn’t tell him about my past, did you?”
“Never. He knows Janice is your mother. He might speculate some unsavory incidents, given her reputation.”
“You all knew my mother?”
Taryn nodded. “We all
have gold-diggers. Even in our world. She dug everywhere she could with whoever would let her dig. Her goal was a dragon. She settled for a Keeper.”
Gabby relaxed a fraction more. As her initial panic waned, she started noting details about Cade she had missed. Such as the heat emanating from him, the same heat she’d noticed in all the dragons she’d met. And the lack of hostility. Okay, she’d give him the teddy bear benefit of the doubt.
Briella walked into the kitchen and greeted Cade with a hug. “Causing a ruckus, I see.”
“You all getting on my case?” He chuckled, the sound a rumble against jagged rocks. His eyes softened when they landed on Briella and he smoothed a hand over her hair. “I didn’t mean to wake any of you. Honest.”
Briella motioned to Gabby. “Did you meet Gabby officially?” She cast each man a glance, brows raised. “Or have you neglected proper introductions, like you all tend to do? Cade, this is Gabriella, who likes to go by Gabby. Gabby, Cade, leader of the Firestorm dragons and protector extraordinaire.”
Syn cleared his throat. Briella rolled her eyes.
“All right, you crazies. I’m going back to watching stand-up comedy in my room.” Gabe issued a general salute and backed out of the kitchen doorway.
“Guess we weren’t funny enough for him,” Taryn said with a shrug. “Anyway.”
Cade shifted on his feet, then slowly approached Gabby, keeping his gaze level and a grin on his mouth. He held out a hand when he was within arm’s reach. “Again, my apologies. I wasn’t expecting such fright.” He cast Taryn a hard glance. “I would have thought he’d have told you about me.”
“Oh, he did,” Gabby said, hesitating before shaking his hand. The power that thrummed beneath his skin kept her on guard. “He told me. I still startled.”
Cade lowered his hand. “Why so frightened?” He looked at Taryn. “Haven’t you told her about us?”
“Janice,” Taryn and Syn said in unison. Cade’s dark red brows shot up.
“Ahh. Of course.”
“Seems my mother’s reputation precedes her,” Gabby grumbled.
“Your mother, unfortunately, built that reputation, brick by brick, all by herself. Regardless of her past, you came to be. That is a blessing and a miracle.” Cade stepped aside as Amelia reappeared, a small container in her hand. “I’ll let her work on your feet. Taryn, I’ll clean this up.”
“I’ll take care of it,” Taryn insisted. He sighed. “Syn, you and Brie can go back to bed. I think we’re good here.”
“Let me know if you need anything,” Syn said, draping his arm around Briella’s shoulders and leading her out of the kitchen.
Amelia knelt on the floor in front of Gabby and unscrewed the lid of the container. Gabby flexed her feet to expose the soles.
“This might sting a bit, but it shouldn’t last. Taryn, make sure to put socks on her feet. The lacerations should be healed by morning.” She started applying the salve. “Hello, Cade.”
“And here I was beginning to think I was invisible,” Cade jested.
Gabby snorted. “That’s pretty difficult to accomplish.”
She winced as the salve burned every open wound on the bottom of her foot. Amelia rubbed the thick concoction into her skin, paying no outward heed to her discomfort.
“Definitely Corvin in her.” Cade let out another rumbling sound of amusement and excused himself from the kitchen. Gabby followed him with her eyes as he returned to the far end of the dining table and resumed his seat. The glow of his eyes intensified the darker the room got, and she was glad when they finally turned down. He must have closed his eyes.
“There you go.” Amelia straightened and washed her hands at the sink before capping her jar of salve. “Stay off your feet until morning.” Stifling a yawn, she wiggled her fingers in farewell before leaving the kitchen.
Taryn lifted Gabby off the counter and cradled her in his arms. On the way back to his room, he said to Cade, “Pulling an all nighter?”
“Research.”
“Have fun.”
He twisted his shoulders to slip them through the bedroom door and kicked it closed with his foot. Gabby watched his eyes go from russet to that mesh of fire as the light shut out of the room.
“Night vision?” she asked.
“Yes. Thermal as well.” He laughed quietly. “Imagine the heart attack a person would have if they walked into a dark room with a bunch of us.”
Gabby groaned. “I swear I thought a demon was coming at me in that kitchen. All I saw were his eyes, and they’re so red.”
“I’ll remind him to tamp down the glowy effects. He forgets sometimes, since he’s usually hanging out in The Hollow, or somewhere close by the portal to our world. Our cell phones don’t work in a magical land, so he broods in the mountains most of the time.”
She tightened her arms around his neck when her body leaned to the side. The bed came up beneath her and she shifted so her feet weren’t on the blanket. “You can turn on a light.”
“Would that make you more comfortable?”
She wished she could lie. “Yes. Not because of your eyes, but the movement and shadows. Triggers.”
His fingertips trailed down the side of her face before she felt the heat of his presence leave her side. A moment later, the soft glow of a lamp spread a muted yellow over the room.
“Better?”
The concern in his eyes as they changed back to russet was so strong she swore she felt it touch her heart. That he took the time to consider her opinion and not laugh or brush off her fears made a world of difference in her perception of him—not that she thought he was anything less than the gentleman of sincerity he was proving to be.
“Yeah. Thanks.” He fetched a pair of socks from his dresser and crouched at her feet. “You don’t have to do that.”
“I’d like to do it.” He smiled as he bunched up the first sock and carefully maneuvered it onto her foot. She giggled when she realized how big it was on her.
“No foot-size jokes now,” he warned.
A laugh followed the giggle and she shook her head. “Promise.”
“One day, I’ll give you a foot massage and paint your toenails,” he said as he eased the second sock on. She wiggled her feet when he stood up. “Because I’m awesome like that.”
“Oh, there’s that ego Amelia was talking about.”
He winked. “Confidence, angel. It’s called confidence. I think you’ll enjoy the pampering.” He waved his hand at her legs. “Legs up, under the covers, time for bed. Those pretty feet need to heal.” His eyes darkened mysteriously when he glanced at the clock. “Ah, the witching hour.”
Gabby climbed beneath the blanket with his help and accepted the chaste kiss he placed on her temple. She couldn’t let go of the ache in her chest as he crossed to the lamp and prepared to turn it off.
“Would you prefer to keep it on for now?”
She considered it. The only way she’d feel comfortable in the silence of the house with the light off would be to have him stay with her. And that was just asking for trouble. Like wake up to a panic attack at the sight of a man in bed beside her kind of trouble.
However, the first time he left, she couldn’t sleep, her senses hyper attuned to every movement, every shift in the room, every noise in the house. She could kiss sleep goodbye if the light went off, and kiss it pardon if the light stayed on.
“Gabriella, everything okay?”
She tucked her arm beneath her head and pressed her lips together. She gathered the courage to meet his concerned gaze. “Would you think it wrong of me or bad of me if I asked you to stay?”
Those eyes narrowed. “To stay.”
She nodded once. A small, timid motion she wasn’t sure he saw until he rubbed the back of his neck.
“Are you certain?”
“I made a mess of my warm milk solution. Maybe just knowing that someone is with me, someone who won’t hurt me, will be enough.” She curled her fingers in the blanket beneath her chin. “I
couldn’t fall back asleep before. That’s why I wanted to get the milk.”
Taryn nodded, understanding. “Of course I’ll stay.” He glanced around before pointing to a chair in the corner of the room. “I’ll set—”
“In bed,” Gabby interrupted. Taryn lifted his brows. She moved to the middle of the bed. “I’m certain.”
Amazement filled his eyes as he cautiously approached the bed and sat down. He drew one knee onto the mattress, watching her, a mixture of emotions scrambling over his face. Not a single one was dark or evil or menacing, a huge relief. Not that she doubted her intuition about his character, but her past had a way of distorting the truth.
“You answered my question before I even asked,” he said.
“You’re in the habit of always making certain I’m sure of my decisions.” She slid her hand over the mattress and wound her fingers with his. “I don’t know what the end result will be when I wake up, but I’m willing to try.”
He lifted her hand and kissed her fingers, then kissed her lightly on the lips. “Baby steps, angel. I don’t lose hope that easily, and I won’t give up on you.”
She hid her grin as he rolled off the bed to switch off the light, and then returned to her side, slipping beneath the blanket. He found her hand without effort and laced their fingers together again.
He didn’t try to grab her or hold her close. He didn’t encroach on her space. Her grin stretched as she found peace lying beside him, only their hands touching.
Peace enough to fall asleep.
Chapter Twenty
Heat surrounded her. So much heat that she swatted at the blanket in her sleepy state only to realize there was no blanket on her. The delicious scent of fire and spice intoxicated her, soothing her. A quiet moan left her lips and she snuggled deeper into the pillow, not wanting to wake up.
Her pillow shifted beneath her head.
Her eyes sprang open.
She stared at her fingertips, settled right in front of her face. The steady pulse that made her hand move came from the black shirt beneath them. No, the body beneath the shirt. She glanced down at her leg, draped over familiar flannel pants. The blanket had been kicked to the foot of the bed, yet no chill touched her skin.