High House Draconis Box Set

by Riley Storm

Cheryl snorted. “You know just as well as I do, that we wouldn’t be happy with the way things have gone. Don’t act all surprised.”

  Aaric frowned. Victor kissed his treasure goodbye. There was no coming back from this.

  “Why on earth wouldn’t you be happy? Look at all the property we’ve bought. All the developments we’re making, capped off with the Outreach Center. That’s a massive project!”

  “It was, until you decided to slash funding by ninety percent!” Cheryl cried. “Why would you think we wouldn’t try to fight back after you promised so much? This city needs that infusion, and you gave it to us and then cruelly yanked it back, just because.”

  Aaric’s face turned to stone. “What on earth are you talking about? Slashing the budget?”

  There was a pause, then both faces turned to look at Victor.

  “Cheryl,” Aaric said, his voice eerily quiet. “You need to leave.”

  “But I—”

  “Now.” Aaric’s voice had dropped until it was barely audible. His eyes were drilling into Victor, his attention only on the other dragon.

  Well, shit.

  Chapter 16

  Victor stood still, waiting as Cheryl looked back and forth between the two of them, and then departed.

  “You tried to cut our funding to the Outreach Center?” Aaric asked tightly.

  Shifting his weight back and forth, Victor fidgeted uncomfortably. “It’s not quite like that, Aaric, I—”

  “Did you, or did you not, intend to embezzle that money in your own accounts?”

  “Fine!” Victor snapped, realizing he wasn’t going to fool Aaric; that ship had sailed thanks to Cheryl. “Yes, I was. I was going to take the money, and I was going to leave this shithole of a town behind and go live somewhere else. Somewhere more befitting of our kind, where I could live like the king I should be! We are dragons, Aaric. We don’t need to listen to what they tell us. They should be worshipping the ground we walk on.”

  Aaric rolled his eyes. “We aren’t their rulers, Victor. We are their protectors. You know this.”

  “Oh, screw off with that holier-than-thou crap. I don’t buy it. Never have,” he growled, smacking a fist into his palm. “It’s all her fault. If she would have just kept her damn mouth shut.”

  “Same old Victor,” Aaric said with a sigh. “Always blaming everyone else for his problems. Never acknowledging that you do anything wrong.”

  “If she’d just done as I asked,” he started to say, but fell quiet as Aaric’s stare grew harder and harder.

  “It’s not her fault for fighting back, Victor. It’s your fault for doing something you weren’t supposed to do in the first place. Can’t you see that? She only did what was natural, because you did something wrong. You started his. She had no obligation to let you screw her over. But you just can’t see that.”

  “Whatever,” Victor said, shrugging it off. “You wouldn’t know, so you can’t say. But trust me, she’s the problem here. I just hate dealing with her so much! She annoys me to the core. Should have just kept her mouth shut today, then I—what’s so funny?”

  “Nothing,” Aaric said, but he kept laughing. “Really, nothing, I promise.”

  “You’re full of shit. What the hell is so funny, Aaric?” he asked, crossing his arms in frustration.

  “I was just thinking that she probably thinks the exact same thing about you. Which means the two of you are more alike than you think. Almost as if…” Aaric’s eyes widened, and then he began to guffaw louder, leaning back against a table, holding his stomach with one hand. “Oh, my God, that’s too rich. Too rich. Amazing. I couldn’t have planned it better myself,” he gasped, tears streaming down his face.

  “What are you talking about?” Victor asked. “We’re not alike at all.”

  “Sure, sure,” Aaric said. “Not at all. Completely different. That’s why you can’t stop staring at one another. Or that your mind is always focused on her. Do you think she’s more attractive when she’s mad?”

  Victor’s brow furrowed. “Yes, but I don’t see what that has to—” He stopped talking abruptly as he realized what Aaric was hinting at. “Absolutely not. Nope. No way. Not her. Not possible. She’s too…too…” he grasped at the air, searching for words.

  “Yeah, exactly,” the fire dragon howled, wiping away tears. “This is too good.”

  “You’re wrong,” Victor said. “Wrong.” He turned to go.

  “Get your ass back here!” Aaric snapped sharply, all trace of humor gone from his voice. “We are not done.”

  Whirling, Victor stared at the other dragon, giving him his hardest glare.

  Aaric just shrugged it off. “You tried to steal. From your own family,” he accused.

  “I—”

  “I don’t care what your excuse is,” Aaric snapped, cutting him off.

  Victor felt the air growing warmer around him. A moment later, he saw Aaric’s skin begin to lighten. The circles of his eyes grew brighter, red flames slowly obscuring the pupil. Beneath the fire dragon’s skin, scales grew visible, the outer shell becoming translucent.

  “You must pay the price,” Aaric said. “Thief.”

  That word hit home harder than expected. Aaric was right. He’d tried to steal from his own people in an attempt to replenish what had been taken from him. For years, Victor had harbored an intense hatred for anyone who stole anything. A thief was the worst thing in his eyes.

  And that was exactly what he’d become.

  “I understand you were hurt,” Aaric said, his voice dropping an octave, becoming more melodic as his dragon shone through.

  “Hurt?” Victor laughed. “Hurt? That’s one way to put it. But don’t pretend like you understand, Aaric. You have your precious mate. Your Olivia. You love her. You think she loves you. But I want you to picture what would happen if she turned on you. Took all your money and walked out of your life with it while stepping over the shattered remains of your dignity and your heart. All your friends laughing at you, calling you a fool. Nobody there to give you a hand back up. Everyone treating you like you’re a joke, while inside, you somehow still long for what you had.”

  Victor’s own dragon burst through, his skin turning a beautiful turquoise as his scales shone through as well. Water filled the air, dulling the heat of the fire emanating from Aaric.

  “It fills you with shame, Aaric. To want someone that never wanted you. It eats at you, knowing you shouldn’t care, and yet wanting nothing more than to have her back. All around you, those who called themselves family laugh and make you the butt of every joke. Not once does someone say they’re sorry or offer to help. Nobody buys you beer or wants to be seen around you, because you’re a reject. A poor, dumb, dragon. They avoid you. Cast stares at you when they think you can’t see. And all this time, all you want is to be cared about one more time.”

  Cool water swirled in his palm, turning from a brilliant green to forest, to olive green and finally black as it spun faster and faster, growing more intense.

  “So, don’t you dare stand there and tell me that I tried to steal from family. I don’t have any family. That became clear to me when nobody cared about me when I needed it. House Draconis is a joke, so yes, I tried to take the money from it, in hopes that maybe it would help ease the pain I’ve been carrying all these years. Pain that was amplified when I was awoken, only to be told that it was a mistake. That once again, I wasn’t wanted.”

  His voice nearly cracked and that show of weakness lit a new burst of fury in Victor.

  He called in the full might of his power and prepared to strike Aaric. Opposite him, the fire dragon raised his defenses, the room growing brighter than if all the lights were turned on.

  “What the fuck?”

  Victor spun at the soft, familiar voice.

  Cheryl was standing in the entranceway, one hand still on the door handle, blonde hair swishing gently to a stop behind her head.

  Then she was gone, backing through the door.

  V
ictor came back around to see Aaric, his fire diminished, staring past him at the door.

  “Go after her,” the fire dragon said. “Deal with that. I have other shit I must attend to.” He leveled a finger at Victor. “But we’re not done with this conversation.”

  “Whatever,” Victor said and leapt after Cheryl, his brain full of confusing thoughts and emotions.

  There was one, however, that was more prevalent, that kept echoing in his brain, growing stronger and stronger.

  How the hell was he going to explain this?

  Chapter 17

  Cheryl was pushing her way through the crowd of employees and upset patrons, too stunned by what she’d seen to do much more than say ‘excuse me’ or ‘I’m sorry’ as she bumped into people, desperate to make her escape. She had to go, to get out of there.

  Why, her brain wanted to know. Why was she so eager to get away?

  They had been glowing! She’d seen fire in Aaric’s hand, and something dark and swirling in Victor’s. It wasn’t natural. What were they?

  Her panicked and confused brain needed space to try and process everything that had been going on inside the restaurant, and she wasn’t going to get it by milling around with all the other confused employees and patrons. She almost told them to run, that something was happening inside, but her mouth stayed closed, unresponsive.

  Get away. She had to get away. Get in her car. Drive…somewhere. Anywhere but here.

  Her hands were shaking so badly she dropped her keys trying to take them out of her purse as she walked up to her car.

  “Shit,” she moaned, her voice nearly cracking.

  “Let me help,” a deep voice said as she bent over, and long powerful fingers closed around her keys.

  “Victor.” The name emerged as little more than squeak as she looked up into his face. The normally playful greens of his eyes had gone flat. Serene, like water without a wind.

  “We need to talk.”

  The words were heavy, full of implications that Cheryl wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to understand.

  “No,” she said slowly, backing up another step. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”

  “You need to hear what I have to say,” Victor said heavily, his eyes darting around.

  “Your skin isn’t glowing anymore,” she observed, astounded at how calm her voice sounded.

  “Huh?” Victor looked at his arms, where they were visible through the torn suit. “Yeah,” he said, tugging off the arms completely. “Damn, I really liked this suit. Stupid Ursa whelps.”

  “You talk so funny sometimes,” she said. “I don’t get it. And you started that fight. It’s not their fault. Now give me back my keys so I can leave, please—and thank you.”

  She reached out to take the keys from his hand, but Victor didn’t let go. He stood there, tall and immovable, a wall of granite that she couldn’t hope to shove aside.

  “You’re in shock,” he said calmly, reaching out to lay a hand on her shoulder.

  Cheryl flinched away and he paused, hand hanging in mid-air for a second before he dropped it back to his side.

  “Sorry,” he said gently. “You’re probably terrified of me right now, aren’t you?”

  “No,” she said immediately, shaking her head vigorously from side to side. “Of course not. Why would I be? It’s totally normal. What I saw in there is normal. There’s a completely rational reason for it. This is a TV show, right? We’re shooting a show? That was special effects, definitely. Just some sort of suit you were wearing that lit up. It must be,” she said, laughing a very shaky laugh, her eyes darting all around the parking lot.

  “Cheryl.”

  “Where’s the camera crew? Where is everyone? They’re very well hidden. Is this a prank? Am I being pranked? Haha. Victor. You’re so funny!”

  “Cheryl.”

  “Am I going to be famous? Do I need to sign a waiver? What about autographs? Oh, I didn’t do my makeup today. When should I report to makeup? Are they ready for me now?”

  She tried to step around Victor to see, but the big man moved to block her path, one thickly muscled arm extending out to either side.

  “Cheryl!” he barked.

  Jerking in shock, she looked up at him. “Victor! How did they make your skin glow? That was so cool. I—”

  Fingers cupped her chin, and Cheryl had time to make one single surprised noise before Victor did something completely unexpected.

  He leaned over and kissed her.

  It wasn’t a peck on the cheek, or even on the lips. Warm lips covered hers, and Cheryl was swept up into it with a passion that sliced through the fog covering her brain. This, this was something she understood. Something she knew.

  And something she couldn’t deny she was enjoying one hell of a lot. The slight catch of stubble as his lips moved against hers. The strong but restrained press of his fingers against the back of her head, gently pushing through her hair, sending tingles down her spine.

  With her shock melting off, Cheryl gave herself more into the moment. Her lips parted willingly, her tongue sliding across his with a sensuality that surprised her. He was so masculine, so powerful, that the tenderness of his touch came unexpectedly. But not unwelcome, as her body responded.

  “Wait,” she said abruptly, pulling back as the heat of their kiss brought her brain momentarily back into focus. “I don’t like you.”

  Victor grinned. “And I don’t like you. But isn’t this good?”

  Then he kissed her again, and Cheryl answered by not stopping him. It was good. Better than good, really, because Victor was a great kisser. One who made the rest of her body shiver and feel weird things, amplified as one hand slid down to the small of her back, grabbing her in the same place the other shifter had earlier.

  Except this time, Cheryl found she longed for such a touch. To be brought in close, to feel the heat and press of his body against her. This time, it was welcomed. In fact…

  She broke away before her brain could complete the thought. “Wait. Victor. What I saw in there…”

  “I can show you,” he said. “But you’re going to have to trust me.”

  “Ha,” she said with a snort. “The last thing I trust is you, even if I’m making out with you in the parking lot for some reason.”

  “I think that reason,” Victor said strongly, “Is that you find me irresistibly attractive, just as I think the same of you. We don’t have to trust one another, or even like one another, to appreciate physical beauty.”

  “Maybe,” she allowed after a moment’s contemplation of his words, though she’d known the truth of them from the second he spoke. He was hot, the type of man most woman dreamed of having.

  All thick, bunched muscles and taut rear, clad in a—now ruined—suit that made him stand out from any crowd. It was enough to get her blood flowing just a little faster to even think of him. Having his hands on her, his mouth over hers, well…Cheryl could read her own body, was all that mattered.

  “But if you want to know the truth of what you saw, it’s going to require a change in our relationship,” Victor said, standing in front of her now, speaking calmly but in a tone that brooked no argument.

  “We’re not in a relationship,” she stated.

  He rolled his eyes. “Words may have many meanings Cheryl, and you know that. Don’t be pedantic. Nobody likes it.”

  She bit back a hot retort, mainly because he was right. Not like I’m going to tell him that.

  “So, do you want to learn the truth? Or are you comfortable accepting it was an optical illusion?”

  Frowning, Cheryl bit at her lower lip, chewing it uncertainly. Did she want to hear whatever he had to say? It sounded…serious.

  He was glowing, it had better be serious!

  “Do I take the red pill or the blue pill?” she muttered.

  “What?” Victor looked blank.

  “Never mind.”

  What did she do?

  Twenty years from now, aren’t you going to
want to say you had the courage to find out what it was you saw?

  “Why should I trust you now?” she asked. “Up until now, you haven’t exactly shown to be trustworthy.”

  Victor looked surprised. “I haven’t lied to you. I haven’t told you everything about me, but that’s hardly lying.”

  Fixing him with a hard stare, Cheryl waited, but he didn’t go on.

  “So, that bit where you told me you couldn’t fund the Outreach Center because the money wasn’t there? That wasn’t a lie?”

  Victor’s mouth had already been open to protest, but when she finished speaking, it snapped closed with a speed that surprised even her.

  “Shit. You’re right. I did lie to you about that.”

  “See.”

  “You have my apologies for that,” Victor said, sketching a quick bow. “At the time, I really didn’t understand how much you cared for the project.”

  “Well I do,” she snapped, suddenly forced to bite back some anger. “Sorry.”

  Victor just waved it off, but his attention never wavered as he stared into her face. “This is more than just about your job though, isn’t it?”

  “It doesn’t matter,” she said, determined not to lie to his face, not after she’d just called him out. But that didn’t mean she had to answer.

  Victor didn’t need to know about her personal quest, about her quarrel with her parents who lived far away now. That was her own personal battle, something she’d been fighting for many years. She didn’t owe him any sort of explanation.

  “I think it does,” he said softly, but didn’t pry. “So, do you trust me? Do you want to find out the truth?”

  “What’s it going to cost me to do so?” she asked quietly, sensing the gravity behind his words.

  Victor hesitated before replying. That in itself was enough to warn her this wasn’t a joke, that whatever he was about to say was serious to a degree the two of them hadn’t ever been before. At least, not with each other.

  “Your world,” he whispered softly, eyes boring into hers.

  Chapter 18

  How was he going to do this?