by Katie Reus
Not when those beautiful amber eyes had locked onto hers.
Her breath caught in her throat, her heart beating triple time as she stared at the male she’d never moved on from. So long ago her heart had ripped into pieces when she lost him and it had never mended. Moving on from a male like Ian? Impossible.
That old, familiar fear rose quickly inside her that her brothers would leap out of the shadows and try to kill Ian simply for daring to want to make her happy, to claim her as his.
A deep-rooted terror made her look around, scanning for her brothers just in case. It didn’t matter that she hadn’t seen them in decades, that she’d cut them out of her life and burned one of their family homes to ash, that she knew it was crazy to be afraid of them. She still had to look.
To make sure that Ian was safe from them.
Chapter 5
“I swear to all that is holy,” Finn growled in front of Ian as he stalked across the dance floor. “You and I are coming to blows later.”
Ian ignored the Alpha. Ignored everything but Fiona, who was staring at him from across the room in shock and maybe a little horror. The knife in his chest twisted at the sight.
He’d come to Bo’s club to find a spot so he could simply get another glimpse of Fiona without being seen. He’d known she was meeting Finn here in a couple hours. Apparently she’d arrived early.
When Finn had actually told him to leave, tried to order him away? Yeah…he might have burned a few cars in the parking lot to ash. No one was going to keep him from Fiona.
He was aware that his behavior was insane. He didn’t care. He’d committed to this and wouldn’t back down now. His demon half could be such an asshole and there was no way in hell he’d been able to simply not show up when he’d learned Fiona would be here.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Rory and Liberty stand. When Fiona broke his gaze, as if she was looking for someone—her mate?—he glanced at his brother. Whatever Ian’s expression was, it was clear enough that no one better mess with him now. Rory took Liberty’s hand and moved away from the booth, his expression grim.
Ian tuned them both out as he and Finn reached Fiona—who was looking a lot like a dragon caught in headlights.
Finn cleared his throat. “Fiona O’Riley, I’m Finn Stavros. Officially.” The Alpha held out a hand, his actions perfectly polite.
Ian still growled low in his throat. He’d never liked anyone touching Fiona. Not even a happily mated male like Finn. Right now he wanted to slice off the Alpha’s hand. Fiona looked the same, but different. It was…strange. Still incredibly tall and beautiful, her dark hair was longer than he remembered and was free of any restraints as it flowed down over her unfortunately covered breasts. Not that he wanted another male to see her, but he remembered what she looked like naked. Remembered every single inch. The way her pale brown nipples hardened when he kissed and licked them.
“I believe you know Ian,” Finn continued, as if Ian hadn’t just growled at him.
Those blue eyes moved from him to Finn and back again. “I…do. Ah, you two know each other?” Her voice was slightly unsteady.
“We do. And Ian was just leaving.” Finn shot him a hard look.
Ian ignored it, his focus on Fiona. “I’m staying. You’re not mated?” Because he couldn’t scent it on her and now he was close enough that he should be able to. If she wasn’t mated—he wasn’t walking away again. Period. To hell with the consequences. He wasn’t even sure how it was possible that she wasn’t. He’d seen that mating manifestation, read the marriage announcement in the newspaper her mother had gleefully given him. For so damn long he’d assumed she sacrificed her happiness in an attempt to save him.
“No.” Her bright blue eyes swept over him as if she couldn’t believe he was standing there in the flesh. “You look great, Ian.” Her voice was soft and as sweet as he remembered.
“So do you. More beautiful than ever,” he murmured, his heart pounding out of control. And she wasn’t mated, he told himself. Wasn’t taken. Now Finn’s files on her made sense. If she’d left her clan she wouldn’t have any contact with them and that lined up with the research Finn had on her. Her clan would have cut her out of their lives. Why hadn’t she come to him then? Maybe she’d still been trying to keep him safe all these years. Joy and rage pumped through him in equal measures. She wasn’t mated and they’d lost so many damn years.
He wasn’t sure how long he stood there staring at her—how long they stood staring at each other—but eventually he was aware of a bunch of Stavros packmates, his brother, Liberty, and even his sister Cynara all watching them.
“Let’s sit.” Finn motioned to the booth she’d been sitting at and much to Finn’s annoyance, Ian was certain, he slid in with them, sitting right next to Fiona. He was dying to touch her, but kept his distance.
“You’re part of the Stavros pack now?” she asked, scooting to the middle of the circular booth so that she was sitting in the middle of them but had a foot and a half of space between both him and Finn.
Though the most primal part of him wanted to shift closer, to drink in her scent, he managed to retain some of his civility. Barely. All he could think about was that she wasn’t mated. That she was his, and would officially be soon. Mine, mine, mine. He was like those seagulls from that cartoon movie Liberty had made them all watch.
“Not yet. I’m still trying to convince him to join us. But there’s a clan up north who want him as well. He’s got options.” Finn’s voice was butter smooth, with no hint of the anger he must be feeling right now.
And his words stunned Ian. He wasn’t sure what the Alpha was playing at, but he wasn’t being sarcastic. Finn made him sound like a worthy shifter, someone others wanted around. What the hell was the sneaky wolf up to? He’d find out later.
Ian cleared his throat. “My brother—”
Her eyes widened. “You have a brother?”
“Ah, I met some family members after we…” Nope, not going down that road right now. “I have two half-brothers and a half-sister.” Well, that he knew of. He could have more, considering what an asshole his father was. He motioned to Rory, who was sitting at the bar and pretending not to pay attention to them, and to Cynara, who was avidly watching them.
Fiona’s lips curved into a soft smile. “I’m so glad you found family. Where’s your other brother?”
“On his honeymoon.”
She blinked once. “Bo Broussard?”
He nodded, watching her digesting the new information. He’d been alone when they’d met, wandering with no purpose. Still felt like he was, some days. Because without Fiona in his life, it was as if he was missing a vital part of who he was.
Finn cleared his throat again, drawing their attention to him. “Look, I appreciate you meeting me here. And I really appreciate what you did a few weeks ago by helping all those traumatized shifters. I sent them to you. One of my packmates discovered who you are and what you do. I should have contacted you personally but we thought it was best if they approached you by themselves. I didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize you helping them.”
As the Alpha wolf talked, Fiona struggled to wrap her mind around Ian being right next to her. Barely two feet away. What the hell was going on?
Somehow she managed to nod at Finn’s words, force herself to focus on him. A dozen shifter females had come to her and Ava in desperate need of help. They’d all told her the same thing: that a crazed shifter had captured them and tried to force them to be part of his pack. Some had been sexually abused, others not. But all of them had been ripped from their lives and most had been too terrified to return. So she and Ava had found them all new packs they knew would take care of them and help them integrate back into society. She also knew—from one of the females—that Finn’s pack had saved them from a hellish situation.
“I knew you sent them to me,” she murmured.
He didn’t seem too surprised by that or maybe he was just good at covering his reactions. Sh
e was more stunned that Ian was sitting so close to her, watching her with an unparalleled intensity, smelling sexy and wonderful—like he was hers. He was watching her as if he could take her, right here and now, regardless of where they were and who was watching. And the truth was, she’d probably let him. Where he was involved she was so damn weak. Kicking him out of her life, lying to him, had taken all of her willpower. Her entire body ached being in his presence. She’d never thought she’d see him again, get to look into those beautiful amber eyes. Yet here he was, perfect as ever.
Clearing her throat, she forced herself to remain focused on the topic at hand. “Why didn’t you allow them to remain part of your pack?”
“I offered. More than once. I think most of the females wanted to start over somewhere new—where their packmates hadn’t seen them at their weakest.”
Fiona nodded. She’d figured that was the case, but was glad to confirm it. “So…now you know who I am. Where do we go from here?”
“I just wanted to introduce myself and let you know that our pack is available for assistance if you ever need anything.”
It was a generous offer, though she wasn’t certain she’d ever take it. “Thank you.” She cleared her throat, glanced between Finn and Ian. “I take it you know what I am?” she asked Finn. He’d used the word “clan” before and he knew Ian, so it was a fair assumption.
He nodded.
“I appreciate your offer of assistance, and I mean this respectfully…but I’m not looking for an Alpha, a pack or a clan. I’m good at what I do and my partner and I have a good system in place. We operate alone by choice.”
“Fair enough. I might ask you for advice if you’re open to it. My mate and I have been discussing doing something similar to what you do. After Ian and his brothers rescued Liberty, we all realized that there needs to be something in place to help shifters with nowhere to go. I’m…ashamed I didn’t think of it sooner.”
She glanced at Ian, who looked like a sexy statue as he watched her, then back at Finn. She wished she could get a read on Ian but he wasn’t giving her anything other than heat and hunger. It was playing havoc with her system. Her dragon side wanted to jump the male, to kiss him senseless and never let go. Damn it, focus. “I’m open to that.”
“Good. You’re welcome in my territory without having to contact me.”
She blinked once. Even though she’d been in his territory before, it was incredibly generous of an Alpha to make that offer. “Ah, thank you.” She stiffened slightly, wondering what was behind the offer.
The male must have read her expression or scent because he gave her a wry smile. “No strings attached. Ian vouches for you, and even if he didn’t, what you did to help those women tells me all I need to know. As long as you follow my rules when you’re in my territory, we won’t have a problem.”
“Okay.”
He slid out of the booth then, gave her a nod, and left. And that was that.
Now that she was alone with the man she’d loved for more than half a century, Fiona wasn’t sure what to say or where to look. She wanted to just keep staring at Ian, to drink in the beauty of him. Even his raspy voice was sexy. And he made her think of her homeland. Made her think of home, period. Because at one time, he’d been her home.
“So you’ve been in the area for a while?” he asked, his voice even despite the heat in his eyes.
She wasn’t sure how he sounded so calm when she felt as if she could crawl out of her own skin. “Yes since… About fifty years.” There had been a year where she’d been held prisoner by her own family, but that was behind her now. And she didn’t want to tell him about that.
He didn’t look surprised by the revelation, which meant he’d probably already known, if Finn had done research on her. Which obviously the Alpha had.
“Are your siblings like you?” she asked when he didn’t say anything else, wanting to fill the pause between them. She assumed they must be. Rory had smelled like a wolf, but he must be a half-demon like Ian. Ian was one of the only beings she’d never been able to get a solid read on when scenting. She glanced out at the dance floor and found his brother and sister—and Liberty—staring at them. They quickly glanced away.
“That’s not something I want to talk about in public.”
She nodded, understanding.
“Where’s your clan?” he asked.
“Ah, well, that’s not something I want to talk about in public either.” She gave him a small smile. They could rot in hell for all she cared. Once she’d escaped, she’d destroyed one of her clan’s homes and she’d do a lot more if they ever came after her again. She’d never given them a reason to, and she planned to keep it that way.
“Fine. Have dinner with me. We can talk then.” His words were brusque, demanding. So very Ian. He’d always been like that.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” In fact, she knew it wasn’t a good idea. She’d kept her distance from him for decades because she was terrified her family would keep their promise and murder him. She’d angered her whole clan with the way she’d left. She’d destroyed their property, embarrassed and shamed them by rejecting everything they were—daring to have an opinion while being female. And dragons were ancient. They could hold grudges for a very long time. The best way to get at her would be to hurt Ian. She’d never gone after him, never looked for him all this time. For all she knew her clan assumed he’d meant nothing more than a way to escape them back then. It was what she’d told them anyway and they’d believed her.
His amber eyes went heavy-lidded, bringing up all sorts of memories. “I think it’s a very good idea. You’re not mated. Before I left New Orleans, you made it clear you were taking up with another male.” There was something else in his words that indicated he’d truly believed she’d been mated. And Ian wasn’t the type of male to settle for just words.
“That didn’t happen.” Clearly. After she’d kicked Ian out of her life to protect him, lied to him about her new mating, her clan had locked her up in chains, tried to force her to “see reason.” It had taken her a while to escape but once she had, she’d never looked back. They knew where she was. Once or twice over the decades she’d scented her family in her territory. She knew they’d been checking on her, probably wanting to make sure she wasn’t mated or with anyone they deemed unworthy. They might have even wanted to remind her that they were out there, always a danger, by leaving their scent behind. Probably wanted to keep her afraid of them.
His frown deepened. But surprisingly he didn’t ask more questions. “Why not have dinner with me? Catch up on old times?”
She let out a short laugh. “Because I think if we spend time together we’ll both end up naked.” There was no sense denying the truth. Unless…he had a female? But no, she couldn’t scent anyone on him, thankfully. She didn’t know how her dragon side would react to that. Not well, anyway.
His gaze heated at her words and he didn’t deny what she said. “I can’t promise that won’t happen. But I truly want to know what you’ve been up to. I’ve missed you.”
Her throat tightened at his admission. And she wished things could be different between them. She’d missed him too, but she couldn’t tell him that. She couldn’t give him any sort of opening. She’d never given her family a reason to come after her, had never shown interest in a male for that very reason.
Well, because her heart already did—and always would—belong to Ian.
It didn’t matter that she’d walked away from her clan; they would never let her mate with someone like him. Someone they deemed unworthy. And according to Finn, Ian didn’t even have a pack or clan. He might have found family, and in a way that was even worse. It was good for him, but she wouldn’t put him and his family in danger by sleeping with him. Because her clan would go completely scorched earth on his family. Not only that, she knew that if they slept together he would eventually mate with her. His control around her was so thin. Or it had been in the past. She understood that quite
well, because she was the same around him. He brought out her most primal instincts and she always felt on edge around him.
No, she would not risk his life for her own wants. She slid out of the booth.
“I really have to go, Ian. I’m truly glad you found family.” He’d been so alone when she’d met him. She’d thought they’d create their own family one day, that they’d have children… Her throat tightened and that familiar ache filled her chest, making it hard to breathe. She shoved those stupid fantasies away. That was never going to be her life. No sense in pretending otherwise.
He was out of the booth and standing next to her in the blink of an eye. He moved with a liquid grace, especially for someone his size. Even for a dragon he was huge. “This isn’t over,” he murmured.
Not trusting her voice, she simply turned away from him—even though it was impossibly hard—and met Ava at the bar. Tears burned her eyes but she refused to let them fall. Not yet anyway. Her friend wordlessly fell in step with her as they headed for the exit, thankfully understanding that she couldn’t talk just yet.
Only once they were outside in the fresh, cool air did she take a deep, shuddering breath and swipe at the rapidly falling tears. The surprisingly icy air cut against her lungs. “Will you drive?” Fiona rasped out, handing Ava her keys before her friend had even answered.
Once they were safely in Fiona’s truck, Ava glanced at Fiona as she started the engine. “So I’m guessing that’s the male you loved—still love, it looks like?”
Fiona nodded but couldn’t force the words out. Seeing Ian had rocked her to her core. She simply hadn’t expected to see him ever again. She’d resigned herself to a life without him. Seeing him now, clearly unmated and wanting to be with her… It was too much to handle. She hadn’t been with anyone since him. The thought of another male touching her—she simply couldn’t do it. Her dragon nature wouldn’t allow it even if she’d wanted to. They might not have officially mated, but her dragon had claimed Ian for her own.
