Trusting The Betrayed (Rogue Dragons Book 1)

by Emilia Hartley

  “Did you do all of this yourself?” he asked, clearly impressed.

  She laughed and shook her head. “You think too highly of me. The paintings are by friends. I traded my own art for them.”

  “Damn. I’m not half as talented.”

  “Like hell, you aren’t. You can make a grown ass man turn around and run in the other direction with nothing more than a look. You know how to make a girl feel special even if you aren’t interested in her. That’s a whole talent.” She set two glasses on the counter.

  He pinned her with his gaze. “Do you really think I don’t care about you?”

  She paused, her hand on the fridge handle.

  “If I didn’t care, I wouldn’t contemplate taking the tires off Trevor’s car and cramming them over his head so he can’t move.” His voice grew louder as he approached.

  When she turned, there was no space between them. She tilted her head back to look up at him, and her breath caught in her throat. The glowing intensity had returned to his eyes. She reached up, this time, and touched his cheek. He didn’t flinch, but his eyelids began to fall.

  “No. Let me look at them.” She’d never been so bold with anyone.

  He chuckled but did as she asked. As she watched, his pupils subtly changed shape. His breathing became shallow and haggard. He pulled her close, his fingers quivering with what felt like the same kind of need she felt in her core.

  The voice of reason tried to make her back away, but it was quickly drowned out by a flood of emotions. She’d never really put much stock in love at first sight, but there was an attraction between them that wouldn’t let either go. No matter where they went, they found each other again.

  Would it be like that once he left town? Evangeline wanted to believe she could find him over and over. In that moment, she embraced the idea, not wanting to face the truth.

  “I should get going,” he whispered. His breath warmed her skin.

  A shiver tried to shake her, but she held firm. Then, an idea struck her.

  She grabbed his open flannel shirt and dragged him out of the kitchen and toward her bedroom. He said something, but none of it made sense. She glanced back to find that a shade of red had eclipsed his face.

  “Don’t worry. I didn’t drag you back here to take advantage of you,” she said when she released him.

  Casey lingered in the doorway, taking in her bedroom from the faux fur blankets to the gentle glow of the crude neon sign. Meanwhile, she found her sketchbook and ripped the portrait she’d drawn of him from it. When she spun back to him, his narrowed pupils flicked to her.

  Her stomach flipped, but not out of fear. A tingle of excitement raced through her. All she had to do was pull him a few feet more, and she’d be able to push him onto her bed. But she didn’t. Instead, she passed the drawing to him.

  He stared down at the paper, blinking. “Is this me?”

  She bit the tip of her tongue. She’d never thought of herself as a bad artist. Portraits were difficult, but she’d always assumed she could pull them off.

  He snatched it from her and lifted it up. “Holy shit, that’s me.”

  Evangeline let out a sigh of relief.

  “How long did you work on this? It had to have taken you hours.”

  She shrugged. “Just last night. I’ll admit that I spent most of the night on it, and it could probably be better, but…”

  He closed the distance between them and swept her up in a hug. Her feet lifted from the ground, and she let out a light laugh.

  Still holding her, he said, “It’s perfect.”

  The electric jolt that slammed into her core was white hot. Stunned, she didn’t know how to react once he set her down. That white-hot heat still burned in her. It made her feel weightless.

  He stepped back, much to her disappointment. “I should probably let you get to bed. I never meant to come inside.”

  I know something else you could cum inside, she thought to herself.

  She nearly clapped her hands over her mouth, embarrassed by her own thoughts.

  But he was escaping. Casey rocked back a few steps before spinning and heading toward the door. She had to run to catch up to him. Before he could open the door, she grabbed his shoulder and turned him back to her. Rising to her tiptoes, she pressed her lips to his.

  The animal growl that escaped him only added to the heat burning inside her. She leaned into him, hungry for more but afraid that he would not want to reciprocate. There was nothing to fear, because his hand found her lower back as he deepened the kiss.

  His tongue swept over hers and sent chills down her spine. She stood, incapable of doing anything as pleasure blossomed in her core. All from a simple kiss. It wasn’t like she’d never done this before. It shouldn’t have been a new and exhilarating experience.

  Yet, she’d never kissed Casey before. He cupped her cheek as his lips left hers and trailed lightly down her neck. She let out a small sound when he nipped the skin where her neck met her shoulder. Again, he pressed his teeth to her, but didn’t bite down.

  If anything, he seemed to vibrate in her arms. She dug her nails into his shoulders, aching for him to go on.

  More, she wanted more.

  But Casey vanished from her arms. The door flew open before she could move. He descended the steps, stopped, and looked back to her. She could barely put more than two words together as he said goodnight.

  Yes, a very good night indeed.

  Biting her lower lip, she watched him disappear through the lower door. It locked behind him and left her to mourn the space now widening between them. At least she could hold onto the feeling of his lips against hers. She savored the sensation of his teeth on her, too.

  Nellie had made it clear that Casey was dangerous. Evangeline had watched his pupils become diamonds firsthand. Whatever he was, he was a damn fine kisser and a hell of a gentleman.

  Chapter Six

  Casey couldn’t control his beast as he made his way down the stairs. The dragon in him wanted to scrabble back up to Evangeline’s apartment. It wanted to curl up beside her and breathe her scent. He was done for.

  He’d found his mate.

  But he couldn’t stay and keep her. Zander was going to come for him and the others. The old dragon would burn Gavin’s cabin and mountain down to eradicate them all. Casey needed to convince Evangeline to go on vacation when the deadline rolled around. That, or pack up the guys and lead Zander far, far away from Evangeline’s home.

  Not that he thought the others would listen to him. They didn’t care about Casey. He was nothing more than a shadow in their lives, not even a supporting character in their stories. He couldn’t keep Gavin and Erik standing on his own. Dillon did his best, but not even that was enough.

  They had to come together as a whole if they were going to survive Zander’s wrath. Casey didn’t see that happening any time soon. He could try all he wanted, but he knew his warnings would be ignored. They weren’t a clan.

  They were just a bunch of assholes living under the same roof.

  Casey jerked his truck door open when he heard a horrendous rumbling. His first thought was to check the sky for Gavin. If the red dragon had gotten loose again, Casey was going to kick his ass out of the clouds. But the sound wasn’t letting up, and it wasn’t coming from above.

  Headlights flickered uncertainly, like they might give out over the next bump. Casey waited for the source of the sound and light to reach him. By the time the truck pulled up beside him, the left headlight had quit. The window jerked down, as if plummeting instead of rolling smoothly.

  “There you are!” Erik cried.

  Cold fear slithered through Casey’s core, chasing away the gentle warmth leftover from his date with Evangeline. Gavin must have lost control again. That was the only reason Erik would come looking for him.

  Just past Erik, Casey saw Dillon in the passenger seat. Both grinned like the fools they were, confusing Casey.

  “We looked everywhere for you,” Dil
lon said with obvious relief.

  Casey grunted. “What’s wrong now? Just tell me so I can go fix it.”

  Both shifters gave him a questioning look. Then Erik tossed his head back and laughed.

  “Problem solved, dude! We found you!”

  Casey cocked his head. “But Gavin. He must have escaped again…”

  “No. He’s been simmering in the jacuzzi all day. Didn’t know he even had a jacuzzi until I saw the steam column rising from it.” Erik shook his head, probably annoyed that he’d missed out on a jacuzzi for the first few days.

  “I don’t get it.” Casey released his truck door and turned toward them. “You came to town for me? And where the hell did you get this piece of rust on wheels?”

  Erik slung his arm out the window and tapped the door like he would slap a woman’s ass. “Just bought this baby. Old man down the mountain was practically giving it away for free.”

  “He probably couldn’t afford his tetanus shot,” Casey grumbled under his breath.

  “Don’t diss Beulah. She’s my baby,” Erik said.

  Casey rolled his eyes and pointed out the janky headlight. He told Erik to drive behind him so the local cops wouldn’t be able to see it. He also told Erik they would take a look at the wiring in the morning.

  The offer of help seemed to placate Erik and Dillon. Casey didn’t know why they’d gone looking for him, but he couldn’t ignore the little bead of warmth radiating in his chest. He stole another glance up at the glow of Evangeline’s window. If he could keep a promise, he would promise her forever, but he wasn’t sure how much longer any of them had left.

  That night, back at the cabin, Casey used his phone to send Evangeline a gift. It wouldn’t make up for her grandfather’s missing ring, but he wanted to add a piece of himself to the plushie collection on her bed. The idea of her sleeping beside a little dragon plush warmed him.

  ***

  The bell over the shop door dinged, but Evangeline didn’t look up from what she was doing. She had a client coming in an hour, and she needed to make sure all of her stencil lines were as straight as possible.

  “Who ordered a package?” Nellie asked.

  Evangeline finally looked up to find a delivery guy standing on the other side of the front desk. He had a digital tablet in his hand, and his lips were pressed into a firm line, like he had better things to do than wait on them.

  “I didn’t order anything,” Evangeline said as she stood and stepped closer.

  “You must have the wrong address,” Nellie told the delivery guy.

  He huffed. “Evangeline Abercrombie, Grumpy Sailor, Main Street…”

  She cocked her head. “That’s me.”

  Barely stifling his groan, the delivery guy thrust both the package and the digital device toward her. In a daze, Evangeline signed the device and took the box. It seemed almost weightless. When she shook it, nothing made a sound.

  She glanced back at Nellie, and her friend just shrugged.

  “The only way to find out is to open it,” Nellie said.

  “You’re so helpful.”

  Nellie tossed a pair of scissors at her, which Evangeline snatched out of the air. Jerking the scissors open, she used them like a blade to cut the tape down the box’s seam. Giant plastic bubbles sat on the top. Evangeline stabbed them with the scissors and scrunched the plastic in her hands to deflate the useless packaging.

  Underneath the bubbles was something soft and fuzzy.

  And very pink.

  She covered her mouth to mute the laugh that escaped her. The flutters returned as she shakily pulled a note from the box. It was printed, like a message the buyer had asked the seller to include.

  Add this to your stuffed animal collection and send me a pic, so I know you’re sleeping with it.

  Casey.

  She lifted the plush dragon from the box and held it up for Nellie to see, thinking her friend would squeal with the delight that Evangeline felt. Instead, the color drained from Nellie’s face. Evangeline’s flutters fled. She lowered the adorable stuffed dragon and reevaluated the gift.

  The little horns on its head and the fin that ran down it’s back were holographic, flashing pink, blue, and yellow when she moved it back and forth. It was so perfectly suited to her that she felt like Casey had taken a peek inside her to find the perfect gift.

  “You don’t like it,” she said to Nellie.

  Nellie made a pained sound. “Don’t hate me, but you really shouldn’t see that guy anymore. Take my word for it. He’s more trouble than all your exes put together.”

  Evangeline had been careful. She’d waited for the signs to show up, for the red flags that all her exes had displayed. So far, none of them had appeared. Sure, Casey seemed like a brute, but he was also a giant sweetheart.

  Though it was nothing more than fabric and cotton stuffing, this little plush dragon meant everything to Evangeline. Men so often took from her. They took her time, her patience, and sometimes even her money. She’d never had one give so freely before.

  Yet, Nellie refused to see what Evangeline saw.

  Evangeline picked at the pink fur on the dragon’s tail. “I know Casey is…different. I’m not exactly sure what that means yet, but I’m not afraid.”

  “Well, you should be.”

  Evangeline hadn’t expected Nellie to snap. The words hurt, cutting Evangeline like a scalpel. She bent and placed the stuffed dragon back into the box, closing the top flaps to secure it before she stashed it in the back room. She didn’t think Nellie would do anything to the dragon while her back was turned.

  Nellie’s disapproval stung, but Evangeline knew her friend was trying to protect her. That protection felt like a blanket filled with ball bearings, but it was well meant.

  So, when Nellie followed her into the back room, she faced her friend and asked why she hated Casey so much. Evangeline wanted a straight answer, but Nellie’s lips puckered, the clear indication a lie was coming.

  “I know all your tells!” Evangeline threw her hands in the air. “There’s a reason we don’t play poker anymore.”

  Nellie gestured wildly with her hands, like her body had a lot to say, but her mind couldn’t figure out the right words.

  Evangeline stopped her before she could say anything. “You don’t have to lie to me. I thought you trusted me, but I can see that’s not true anymore.”

  “That hurts,” Nellie said with a pout. She sighed. “I trust you with my secret, but I don’t know if they’ll trust you with theirs. I’m not about to spill their identity without their permission. I didn’t stay under the radar this long by messing in their affairs.”

  “That only kind of makes sense,” Evangeline said.

  Nellie nervously picked at her fingernails, but her hands were shaking. She avoided confrontation at every turn, so for her to have this much to say, it meant something. “If he wants you to know what he is, then he’ll tell you himself.”

  “So, you don’t like him, but you’re going to respect his privacy? Your standards are incredible.”

  Either Nellie respected the community she hailed from, or she thought Evangeline would lose her mind the moment she learned the truth. Evangeline leaned toward the second. While she’d known about Nellie’s magic for a while, it’d been quite the shock at first.

  Nellie sighed. “I’m still not completely sure I know what they are. I had my suspicions, but your gift is either a very big hint or an absolute coincidence, and those don’t happen often.”

  “A hint, you say?” Evangeline held her hand over the box.

  The day she and Casey had spoken in the grocery store parking lot, she’d seen something in the sky that hadn’t made sense. She’d later brushed it off as a sugar and serotonin induced hallucination, but now she questioned everything.

  Nellie retreated but waited by the door. “I can’t wait for them to leave. Every moment they’re here, my safety is at risk.”

  Evangeline’s heart rocketed into her throat. “What?�
�

  Nellie’s nostrils flared. “Let’s just say, I don’t think they’ll like to find out there’s a witch in town. I think it’s clear from history that witches…we don’t get to live long.”

  After Nellie left, Evangeline stood alone in the storeroom. She felt bad for her friend. It seemed all three of them knew how to live in fear. Evangeline hadn’t realized just how afraid she’d been all the time until recently. Isabella constantly worried about what her boyfriend would say every time they went out. Did Nellie also look over her shoulder when they went out?

  Her sorrow for Nellie warred with her feelings for Casey. If Evangeline continued to see Casey, she could be putting Nellie in harm’s way. Her emotions pulled her back and forth, and when the front doorbell chimed again, she still hadn’t come to a clear decision.

  She didn’t want to stop seeing Casey, but Nellie’s warning made her heart heavy.

  Six hours later, Evangeline walked home with her stuffed dragon still in the box. Nellie had taken one look at the box, pursed her lips, and looked away. If she thought Evangeline would trash the plushie, she’d been wrong. To throw it away was to let go of the kindness behind it, and Evangeline wanted to savor that feeling a while longer.

  No one waited outside her apartment. Evangeline had half-expected Casey or Trevor to show up, but she was all alone as she let herself inside. While it was a relief to not see Trevor, she missed Casey.

  Upstairs, she went straight to her bedroom and brought the stuffed dragon out of the box. She positioned it on the bed, took a step back, and snapped a photo with her phone. Spinning on her heel, she fell back onto the mattress and sent Casey the message he’d asked for.

  Barely a second later, the phone buzzed in her hand.

  I was hoping to see more of you in that picture.

  She laughed. As a general rule of thumb, I don’t send nudes.

  He didn’t respond right away. The three dots bounced, disappeared, then returned to bouncing. Her breath caught in her throat while she waited for him to figure out what he wanted to say.

  What if Nellie had been right about him? Evangeline’s mind wandered down dangerous paths. She absentmindedly stroked the stuffed dragon and tried to make sense of everything happening. Casey and his friends could have come to town to hunt down a witch. He’d said that he’d come to help a friend, but Evangeline had been lied to before.