Lilah let herself fall back into the pillows. “You probably remember my sister. Everyone knew Vivienne James.”
She waited for recognition to cross Griffin’s face, but he just shrugged.
“Red hair, big tits, and an ability to get everyone to do exactly what she wants,” Lilah filled in for him.
Still, Griffin shrugged. “Maybe I didn’t pay attention to the girls at school. It doesn’t matter. Those days are over. I just wanted to know more about you. I’m not dating your sister.”
Her heart clenched. She spent a moment picking her nails, trying to wrangle the warm feeling and shove it into a box never to be felt again. When she finally had it under control, she said, “I think we just need to cover the important things. Birthdays. Favorite foods. Turn-offs.”
Griffin groaned. “I don’t think that’s how it works. Maybe in the beginning, but if we’re going to make this convincing, then I need to know more about you. It needs to seem like we’ve been seeing each other for a while, not just the past few days.”
She raised a brow. “It has only been the past few days.”
“And yet you’ve moved in with me. Normal couples don’t move in together after the first date.”
“I think it was after the second date,” she corrected.
“Stop being insufferable.” There was no angry growl in his voice, but a hint of laughter, as if he saw her obstinance humorous.
She grabbed the nearest pillow and threw it at his face. The moment she realized what she’d done, panic slapped her. She clapped her hands over her mouth and stared in terror. Griffin slowly reached to grab the pillow, long fingers digging into the plush down. What she saw when he pulled it away was not what she expected.
He was holding back laughter, cheeks red from the effort. His chest rose and fell in a staccato rhythm. Lilah let out a breath and found her own lips curling in response. She’d thrown a pillow in the face of not only a metallic dragon, but the silver dragon.
The king’s second in command.
And he didn’t hate her for it. If anything, he looked as though he enjoyed the moment of frivolity. So, Lilah reached for the second pillow. He saw her, eyes narrowing though his grin still remained.
She pulled back, intending to hit him with another, but he was too fast. His hand closed around her wrist. Her back hit the bed. He straddled her, his veil of platinum hair falling over her skin. He barely put any weight on her, but she could feel the length of his cock touching the inside of her thigh and the fall of his warm breath over her neck.
Both filled her with unexpected chills. She tried to force them back, to hold her breath and fight the sensations bubbling inside her, but her own body betrayed her when her back arched into him. She wanted more, suddenly ravenous. Her skin ached to be touched. She wanted his hands everywhere.
“Now that you can’t throw pillows at me every time I ask a question,” Griffin began, “tell me when your birthday is.”
“What do I get in return?” she asked, brazen.
His crooked grin revealed a sharp tooth in the corner of his mouth. Lilah found herself wondering what it would feel like dragging over her skin, over her neck, her collarbone. When his gaze lowered to her throat, she wondered if he could read her mind. Silver swirled beneath his dark lashes as his beast revealed itself.
Just when she thought he might touch her the way she craved, he shook his head.
“I’ll answer one of your questions, of course,” he replied, finally.
It wasn’t what she wanted, but Lilah struggled to regain her senses. This position wasn’t right. She would never be able to guard her heart this way. As much as she knew she should find a way out of it, she couldn’t bring herself to move. His weight was comforting, his warmth welcoming.
To be honest, Lilah was not sure she’d ever felt this way with a man before. She’d been with men throughout her life, but they’d always done the deed and left. There was none of this sweet tension, no question of whether or not he would touch her or if he would walk away.
“My birthday is June eighth,” she told him. Her brain was too scrambled to immediately find a question to ask him.
Any words she might have found were lost when Griffin released her wrists and ran his fingertips along the soft skin of her forearms. He watched the motions with awe on his face. Her heart stuttered, her core clenching. Once more, his hands slid up her arms and his fingers threaded with hers.
“What’s your favorite color,” he asked.
“That’s… not fair,” she breathed, voice growing husky from his touch. “It was my turn.”
This time, his smile split wide and revealed both sharp canines. Her lips parted, suddenly throbbing with the need to be touched, kissed, bitten. Anything. She wanted his touch more and more.
“I think I’m the one in control here.” To drive his point home, he lowered his head.
His teeth sank into the skin of her shoulder. She let out a scream, but it quickly became a moan of unexpected pleasure. This had not been discussed, but Lilah couldn’t find it in herself to argue. Perhaps later she would be angry. Just then she was drowning in sensation, the kind that made toes curl and eyes roll back.
All from a simple bite.
“Now, tell me,” he said, head still nestled in the crook of her neck. “What is your favorite color.”
She laughed, partly because the question seemed ludicrous in the moment and partly because she was still trembling from the effect of his bite. “Green. I like green, a lot.”
It was her turn to ask a question. She would be damned if she let him distract her again. His whole being was driving her wild, crouched atop her, holding her hands like a lover. No man, let alone one so beautiful, ever paid her so much attention.
“Why haven’t you found a mate yet?”
Griffin froze. Silence permeated the room. Slowly, her excitement waned, and she began to realize how inappropriate her question was. Lilah tried to find a way to apologize, to take back what she’d asked. Griffin was first to respond, though. His forehead touched her shoulder, almost in defeat.
“I could ask you the same thing,” he reminded her. His hands slid away from hers. When he rolled back to his side of the bed, she missed his warmth as cold hit her. “But, if I’m being honest, I’d say that fate forgot about me. I’m not sure…there is a mate out there for me.”
It was a sad truth, one he seemed to believe. Lilah reached for a pillow, briefly considering throwing it at him just to spark another smile, before hugging it tight to her body. There was only one way for her to apologize. She needed to offer up an embarrassing truth, as well.
“I’m single because every time I find someone who’s interested in me, my sister comes along and steals them away. Vivi gets what Vivi wants.”
Griffin collapsed back into the pillows, his eyes on her. She followed suit, laying to face him. Her hand gravitated toward the bite on her shoulder. When his gaze dropped to it, a scowl twisted his lips. She thought she caught something like regret flash across his face.
Suddenly, he rolled away from her. His feet were on the floor and he was out the door before she could stop him. She sat up, a plea on her tongue, but it was useless. The room was already empty. Well, save for her and Bumble, who happily leapt back onto the bed and stole Griffin’s empty spot.
She waited, awake for a long time, for him to return, but she must have drifted off to sleep.
***
Griffin couldn’t believe himself. He’d lost control and taken it way too far. At first, it’d only been a bit of flirting. There was no denying that he wanted Lilah, that he was willing to take his time in seducing her because he could feel that it would be oh so worth it. Yet, his beast had taken over and he’d marked her before she’d given him consent.
He stomped through the darkness of the guest house, wanting nothing more than to wreck everything in his reach. He wasn’t Ryker, though. He wasn’t prone to fits. Griffin didn’t have the luxury of behaving like a brat when t
hings didn’t go his way. He was the responsible cousin, the one everyone could depend on.
Grateful that the house and guesthouse were so far removed from Grove and any other human civilization, Griffin stepped outside in his underwear. The night was cool, but not as cold as it had been. Spring was whispering its arrival, taking its time. The sky above was clear and speckled with stars that reminded him of Ryker’s mate. The female dragon shifter was similarly dappled.
During this time, Griffin would not be able to hide. His beast would look like the winter moon. He would be a beacon, whereas during the day his silver scales reflected the blue skies and gave him some natural camouflage.
The beast clawed to be free, but Griffin didn’t trust it. He knew the creature would drag him back to Lilah the first chance it got. The beast wanted her. Griffin thought it was because it’d been such a long time since he’d lain with a woman, but he’d never felt so strongly before. Perhaps all Griffin and his beast wanted was a distraction. Lilah offered him an escape. Not only could he run away from his family, but he could lose himself in her world. In her problems, in her scent.
He slapped his hands over his face and rubbed.
“Issues already?” Jasper asked, appearing in the darkness.
Griffin growled, but the sound was weak and ineffective. It wasn’t like he was going to attack his cousin.
Jasper didn’t apologize, didn’t back away. He sat on the nearby retaining wall and lifted a bottle to his lips. The king had been drinking in the woods again. Griffin had lost count at the number of whiskey bottles smashed near the back door of the main house. He never brought it up because he wasn’t one to speak, preferring to drink far away from his family, too.
“Everything is fine,” Griffin mumbled, joining his cousin.
It almost felt like the days before Jasper’s beast lost its mind. Back then, they’d been brothers. Jasper’s father had taken Griffin from his family and raised him as his own. At the time, Griffin hadn’t understood. Looking back, he remembered how his mother died young. Losing a mate had horrible effects on a dragon, especially one so strong.
Griffin’s father had been losing control. The then king of the mountain had spared Griffin a horrible childhood and probably a lot of trauma. Griffin knew how much he owed Jasper’s family, but he found it hard to pay it back day after day. He couldn’t help but wonder when he would be his own man.
It felt like the day would never come. He would be a servant until the end of his days.
“I won’t tell any one about your lie,” Jasper said, bottle halfway to his lips and moonlight catching his bright eyes.
Griffin narrowed his own in a glare. “How did you know?”
“Probably because you’re outside instead of breaking in the bed. That or the fact that you never told me a damn thing about her.” Silence hovered between them, held aloft on tension pulled taut. “We used to tell each other everything.”
“Yeah, well, things aren’t what they used to be.” He snatched the bottle from Jasper’s fingers and stole a long swig.
“I know things have changed, but I would like to think that they wouldn’t have changed that much. We’re still family.” The last sentence was a plea for Griffin to remember, as if he could have ever forgotten.
“Talk to me when your war is over. When we don’t have to chase you over the mountains.”
The air crackled with Jasper’s fury, but his king’s composure never broke. He simply reclaimed his bottle, stood, and quietly left. Griffin mourned for his lost brother, but he wanted more for himself. It was a selfish desire, sure, but he couldn’t ignore it. He couldn’t drown it in whiskey or forget about it while doing Jasper’s work.
Plain and simple, Griffin wanted a life of his own.
Chapter Eight
Lilah clutched the bowl of potato salad as if her life depended on it. She hoped she’d done it right because she didn’t need to make any of the dragon shifters sick. Their fury would be unlike anything else she’d experienced. Knowing her luck and the curse, the eggs were rotten, and she just hadn’t noticed.
Griffin set a hand on her shoulder and she jumped. He looked as though he might say something, but instead offered a wan smile. They were supposed to be a happy couple. Lilah had to pretend to be head over heels in love even though fear had curdled her stomach long before they made it to the valley.
Truth be told, it was a beautiful day for a picnic. The air was just warm enough that a light sweater was perfect. Griffin insisted that she borrow one of his. While she’d protested at first, once she pulled it over her head, she realized she never wanted to take it off. The fleece was soft and loose, and even smelled a bit like him.
Not that his smell was attractive or anything. It was just…nice.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Griffin asked her. He’d turned to face the way they’d come as if to haul her back to the truck and far away from the picnic.
His concern made her feel a bit better, a small weight lifted from her shoulder. She didn’t have to do this.
“Let’s get it over with. That way everyone can meet me at once and then I can sleep for a few days.”
Griffin snorted, running a hand through his hair. “You and me both.”
“Do you not like your family, either?” Lilah asked, clearly stalling for time to continue gathering herself.
His face scrunched with thought. “It’s not that I don’t like them. I do love them, but I…”
Lilah could see a truth wavering in his eyes, right on the tip of his tongue. She found herself holding her breath in anticipation. Never before had she wanted to get to know someone the way she did with Griffin. He was not a smooth charmer or even a brooding beauty, really. He was a man who hid a multitude of truths behind a wall.
If she could bring the wall down, brick by brick, she was sure there would be a happy man on the other side. The one she’d seen sprawled across his bed wearing nothing more than boxers and a sly smile. The one who’d bitten her, teasing her until she nearly lost her mind. She wanted more of that man but stopped herself.
Griffin wasn’t meant for her. She could play the part of his lover but needed to remind herself that her heart needed to stay out of it. He might not think he had a mate waiting for him, but there had to be one. Some lucky woman was going to stroll into his life and make him the happiest man.
Lilah stifled a groan when she thought of her curse. With her luck, it would be Vivi who came in and stole Griffin from her. Then she would have to watch their happiness from the sidelines forever. There would be no escape.
“You look like you just ate a lemon,” Griffin noted. “Is everything okay?”
As fine as it ever would be.
Vivi wouldn’t steal this opportunity from her because the curse wouldn’t allow Vivi to be happy, either. Over and over, Lilah watched her baby sister fall head over heels for men only to have the relationships blow up in her face. The thought was a small comfort, but the knowledge of the curse sat heavy in her chest as it always did.
Lilah didn’t say it, only flashing a forced smile before she let him lead her forward. Over a small hill sat the long picnic table. Already, the others gathered around it. The dragon men were loud and crass. They snapped at one another, reaching over the table to hit each other before their mates tugged their sleeves and brought them back down into their seats.
The golden-eyed king sat at the end, leaning back in his folding chair. He pinned her with his gaze. She felt like she was being evaluated. It made her want to hide behind Griffin. As it was, she stepped closer to him. The small movement must have pleased the king because he nodded and turned back to the shifters at his table.
Kennedy leapt up from her seat, leaving Wyatt’s arms empty as she raced toward Lilah and Griffin. “I’m so glad you came! I can’t wait to try your potato salad.”
Griffin leaned in and whispered in Lilah’s ear. “Kennedy runs a food blog. Don’t get her started because she will talk about food forever.”
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Kennedy made a face at Griffin. “I can hear you. My hearing is better than it was before, you know.”
Lilah watched the interaction, afraid for the human woman, but Griffin just flashed a sharp smile. This was normal for them, Lilah realized. The two bickered like siblings or old friends. A spark of jealousy flickered, but Lilah quickly extinguished it.
This wasn’t her place. These weren’t her people. She would do what she had to and then go her way when the time came. Yet, all the smiling faces and literally open arms when she approached worked to break down the barrier she was trying to erect.
Griffin’s hand was warm and gentle at the small of her back. She was given a place at the table, and everyone talked over one another to explain the game they were trying to play even though it was obvious the wind wasn’t allowing them to get past the first round. It swept up and stole the cards every few minutes and carried them over the field.
Finally, they gave up and turned to the food. Massive pans of chicken wings, ribs, and steak were piled one atop the other. Bowls of various salads, mostly starch based, dotted the table. Lilah gravitated toward the strawberry and whipped cream trifle, digging her spoon in when no one was looking.
Griffin appeared behind her, gently touching her hips as he leaned forward and licked the cream from her spoon. She scowled, but the sight of his joy stole any anger she might have felt.
“Do you think anyone would notice if we just…took the bowl for ourselves?” He joked, but Lilah was seriously considering it.
She knew it would add to her waistline, that her pants might not fit the next day because she didn’t have the blessed genetics her sister had inherited, but it would be worth it if only for the time being. She glanced around to make sure no one was looking and pulled the bowl closer.
Griffin laughed and leaned into her, his chest heating her back. His arm slid around her, entering the pocket in the front of the sweater she’d borrowed. It was a strangely intimate gesture. She knew they were acting, but all of it felt too real. She didn’t know what to do with the things she was feeling.
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