“Hey, are you okay?” Beck looked at her with a concerned expression on his face.
“I’m fine.” She smiled, feeling anything but. Paige took a big drink from her glass, the champagne bubbled its way down her throat, making her feel a bit light-headed. It helped cool her down some. “I’m great! It was one of those things. Not something I want to talk about.” Please drop it! She willed him to stop.
“I’m sure you want to forget it even happened and move on.”
“Yes.” She nodded, meaning it. Paige downed the rest of her glass. She meant it wholeheartedly.
“Can I get you another?” Beck pointed at her empty flute.
“That would be nice.”
Beck flagged down a waiter and took a glass from the tray he was carrying, putting the empty flute down in its place. She snuck a glance at Flood. He and Sydney were in deep conversation, the other woman laughed at something he was saying. He was already over what had happened to them, by the looks of things. If he’d cared at all, he would have at least come over to check on her, to say hi, something. Not that she cared about him in any meaningful way, and if she had, she didn’t anymore. She’d meant it when she’d said their intimacy was a means to an end. They hadn’t even kissed or really touched, or anything that counted. There hadn’t been any emotion attached. Flood wasn’t her type at all.
She preferred guys like… Well, not Beck. Beck was too smooth. A little too good-looking. It didn’t matter anymore. Things had changed since she’d arrived a week ago; she wasn’t looking for a relationship. She needed time to digest what had happened. Starting a relationship off the back of the trauma they had just experienced would be foolish. If she was honest with herself, Flood had hurt her; as a friend, he’d hurt her. Not that she would have considered anything with him anyway.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Beck asked.
Oops! She’d been staring at Flood and Sydney. She brought her attention back to Beck. “Yes, great. I guess I’m still tired, even though I’ve slept a ton.”
“It’s going to take some—”
"Paige." His voice was deep and rough. As Flood said her name, goosebumps lifted on her arms. He said it softly, and yet despite all the chatter in the room, she'd heard him perfectly. He turned his dark eyes to Beck. "Can I have a word with the female?" Although he asked a question, it seemed to come out like a command.
Beck nodded once. “Be my guest.”
Paige wanted to ask Beck to stay. She didn’t want to be left alone with Flood. She was too mad at him right then.
“How are you?” Flood asked.
“Everyone keeps asking me that,” she snapped. “I’m fine.” Paige sucked in a deep breath. She couldn’t muster any politeness or fake smiles. Not with Flood. Not after everything.
His eyes seemed to darken. Like he actually cared. “I thought I would check.”
It’s a little late for that. “Well you don’t have to.” This wasn’t the place to have it out with him. Then again, there was nothing between them, so nothing to have out. “Look, what happened happened, we did what we had to do to survive. It’s over and I’d like to forget about it.”
He frowned. His eyes narrowed and his jaw tightened. Flood looked away, breathing out through his nose. It seemed like her words had affected him but it couldn’t be. He nodded, that look of…hurt gone. She had to have misread that particular emotion. “Sure. Of course. I came over because I wanted to thank you.”
Irritation rose up in her. “No need!” It came out harsher than intended. She was even more pissed with him than she realized. Why though? He didn’t owe her anything and yet…he sort of did in a bizarre way. They owed something to each other.
“Of course there is a need. If you hadn’t…been so selfless, we would never have made it out of there.”
She shrugged. “No biggie, like I said, I would like nothing better than to put it behind us.”
Put it behind us.
It’s over!
Forget it ever happened.
No! Flood didn’t want to do any of those things. He put his drink down on the tray of a passing server. This wasn’t going as planned. None of it was. The Paige he had known in that cell had been nothing but kind and sweet. This Paige was angry. He could scent it. Could feel it, could see it by the way she was looking at him. Like he’d hurt her somehow.
Was it something he had done? Something he had said? Maybe she was trying to tell him that she wasn’t interested and that he should back off. Who was he kidding? She was all out saying it to his face.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked.
Paige took a big sip of her drink. “Stop asking me that, I’m fine. You look fine too.” She was suddenly upbeat. Too upbeat. “The wounds look good.” She gave him a cursory once-over. It was clinical. Of course it was clinical. What else had he expected? “You should probably go back to Sydney. She’s looking over here at us. I think she wants you back.”
“I’m talking to you,” his voice turned gruff. “You don’t seem fine. What’s going on?” He was done pussy-footing around things.
“You told everyone,” she whispered. “About what happened.” Her eyes were wide. “About us…having sex.”
“There was a debriefing,” he said.
“I don’t give a shit about any debriefing,” she spoke under her breath. “I didn’t want anyone to know.”
He felt the blood drain. Of course not. Paige was ashamed. It was like she had said, she had been hoping to put this behind her and forget about it. It was a bad thing that others knew that she had rutted a male like him. “Very few males know the details. And even then, I divulged as little as possible. I respect you.”
She looked at him as if to say ‘yeah right’. She swallowed thickly. “Fine.” She shook her head. “Let’s not talk about it anymore, okay?”
His chest squeezed. “Okay,” he pushed out.
“Hey, Flood,” the female spoke in a sing-song voice that made him want to roll his eyes and groan in frustration. Couldn’t she see he was busy right then?
“I’ll be with you in a second.” He didn’t turn around. Said that just to get her off his back.
“Don’t let me hold you back,” Paige said, looking angry all over again. Her blue eyes blazed as they narrowed.
“You wouldn’t be holding me back. What’s going on?” He took a step forward and she took a step back.
“Nothing.” She shrugged and took a sip of her wine, trying hard to fake being relaxed. It didn’t work. After being holed up with her for days, he knew this female.
“There is definitely something wrong,” he whispered “Are you ashamed about what happened? About us?”
“There is no ‘us’,” she whispered back, her voice hard. “And yes, I’m ashamed.” With that, she turned and walked away.
Someone tapped loudly on a wine glass. “Can I have your attention?” It was Torrent. Fuck! Talk about shitty timing. Or maybe not. Maybe it was best to leave Paige for the time being. There was definitely something going on with her, and he planned on getting to the bottom of it.
Everyone stopped talking and turned to face the king. “Firstly, we need to bow our heads for the male who died trying to follow the helicopter when the females were taken.” Everyone in the room did as Torrent said. “Morite was an Earth dragon. He will be missed.” They stood in silence for a minute. “I wish to thank all of the efforts of the team who carried out the rescue mission. A big thank you to the Fire dragons for coming to our aid. It was a joint effort. A joint success, even though we didn’t apprehend any of the hunters. Thank you, Blaze. Thank you to our warriors.” Torrent held up his glass and Flood followed his line of vision to Blaze, the Fire King. The male held up his glass before drinking.
Torrent took a sip of his drink. “Then, to the human females. To Hayley, Kelly, Sydney and Paige. We salute you for being so brave. A special word of thanks needs to go out to Paige who played an integral role in the escape.”
Flood glanced
at Paige. She was squeezing her eyes shut, looking pained. Then she opened them and smiled. Flood could see it was forced. He had come to know her smile. How her eyes lit up and the tilt of her mouth. This was all wrong. Beck was standing next to her. Flood grit his teeth, having to stop himself from going over there.
“Really?” Sydney asked, frowning. “What did Paige do? She distracted that Tim guy. Big deal!” She rolled her eyes. “You were the one who got us out.”
Flood ignored the female. She was beginning to get on his nerves.
“We are hoping that something good can still come from this. King Blaze has graciously agreed for us to keep you females here at the Water lair, as our guests for the coming period.”
There were shouts of excitement from some of the males, as well as murmurs as others discussed it amongst themselves.
Torrent waited for the noise to die down. “If you so choose.” He looked from one human female to the next as he spoke. “We understand that you may not wish to remain with us and we would honor your wishes.”
“It would be wonderful if you could stay.” Tide stepped in next to Torrent. “You decided to apply to the shifter program because you wanted a chance at finding a shifter mate. We are hoping you haven’t changed your minds.”
“Exactly right,” Torrent said, nodding once. “With that in mind, we invited our top males, our leaders. All worthy to choose from as potential life partners. It was decided that only these males would be eligible.”
“Please understand that we are a base species,” Tide explained. “If we kept this open to all, fighting would ensue. Blood would paint the hallways. No,” he shook his head, “only the top elite ‒ the cream of the crop ‒ will do for females such as yourselves.” Tide frowned deeply. “Although, there is one who may not wish to take part.” Tide looked at the male. “Bay, do you want to be in the running?”
He shook his head, looking uncomfortable.
“Why not him?” Sydney asked.
Again, Flood ignored her. That was Bay’s business. It had nothing to do with this female.
“Apologies for the oversight, Bay. Everyone excepting Bay is eligible. Can the males in question put their hands up please?” Tide looked around the room.
Was this really necessary? Flood wasn’t interested in putting his hand up like some side of beef. It wasn’t like the female he wanted was going to pick him, at any rate, so what was the point?
“Put your hand up.” Sydney bumped against him. “Put it up,” she insisted, more animated this time. “You’re one of the top males.” She widened her eyes. “You’re single.” She knocked against him again. “You’re here, aren’t you? Put up your hand already!”
Flood stuck his hand up but only to shut her up.
"Thank you," Torrent said, and Flood pulled his hand down, crossing his arms over his chest. "A couple of house rules. You all have a week to get to know one another. To date. To try to win the female, you have in mind. It will ultimately be up to the female though. Each female can choose who she wants to spend more time with once the week is up. No fighting. If you fight, you're out. That needs to be very clear from the start."
There was more talking amongst the group. Many of the males were smiling broadly. Four females to eleven males, the odds were good. Acid burned in Flood’s gut at the thought of any of the males trying to win Paige.
Flood had attended a meeting earlier. He and Tide had been there when Torrent and Blaze had discussed this whole thing. He’d been so excited at the prospect of having a chance at being with Paige. Not just for the week. He wanted to get to know her. To find out what made her tick and now—
He’d been a fool!
“Enjoy the week ahead.” Blaze held up his glass. “The Water tribe deserves this. Flood put himself in the line of fire. He took several bullets to save these females. You have him to thank.”
The words were hollow, if nothing else they only served to make him feel worse. He nodded in gratitude. He was not the kind of male who would wallow in self-pity. Not a fuck!
“To Flood!” Bay yelled. Several more males yelled the same.
“I sincerely hope you find a mate this week,” Blaze added, his eyes on Flood. The male was grinning. He couldn’t blame him. The Fire King was oblivious.
Flood kept his arms tightly folded across his chest, trying not to scowl, since all the attention was on him.
“I pick Flood,” Sydney shouted from next to him. “I want Flood!” She grabbed his arm and pulled him towards her.
Flood felt his jaw drop. What?
“I don’t need a week to think about it.” She put her arm around his waist and wiggled her way under his arm.
“That’s fantastic news,” Blaze beamed. “The two of you must have bonded during your time in captivity.”
Was Blaze confusing Sydney and Paige?
Paige.
Flood looked over at where she was standing ‒ at where she had been standing. He felt himself frown. Where…was…there… What?! Paige was leaving. Beck had his hand to her lower back. The doors closed behind them.
Leaving.
She really didn’t want him. She was ashamed. Angry. Flood turned his head to the ceiling and roared.
Sydney jumped away from him. Everyone took several hurried steps away. Males put themselves in front of females, even though they didn’t stand a chance against him, not that he would damn well hurt an innocent human. A female at that. It made his hackles rise even further. Pissed him the hell off, which made him roar again. Louder this time. His nails erupted from their beds. Sharp and deadly. If he looked down, he was sure he would find a few scales on his chest. His teeth felt sharp in his mouth.
“The rules clearly stated that the females could choose after a week,” Tide spoke quickly, sounding panicked. “In other words—”
“You!” Flood pointed at the male. “This is your fault.” Adrenaline hit his veins as he marched towards Tide. “You did this.”
“Now, Flood,” Tide began, putting his hands up.
“Your advice was bullshit!” Flood growled, his hands curling into fists at his sides.
“Calm down!” Tide shouted. “We can fix this. In other words,” he went on, his eyes growing wide as Flood approached, “females are not permitted to choose right now.” He spoke quickly. “They have to wait the full allotted—”
Flood didn’t want to hear any more; he punched Tide square in the jaw. The moment his fist connected, he felt bad. Every ounce of anger drained from him. Tide had only tried to help. His advice had been utter crap but it had come from a good place. Once the anger left him, only confusion and hurt remained. What had he done that was so wrong? Was he really so shameful or was there something else? He needed answers.
“My apologies.” He bowed his head to Tide. Praying the male would let it go. Tide was a prince. He could end up in real shit for this. It wasn’t the first time he’d punched a royal. “I don’t know what came over me.”
Tide clutched his jaw. His eyes were glassy. “You didn’t break it.” The male attempted a grin but ended up wincing instead. “That means you went easy on me. No harm done.” He patted Tide on the back. “I think you’d better go.” Tide nodded in the direction of the doors, urging him with his eyes to follow Paige.
“Makes me want to do the opposite.” Flood smiled. “Since you gave such shitty advice before.”
Tide laughed as Flood strode from the room.
Chapter 19
Paige couldn’t stay a moment longer. She couldn’t watch Sydney and Flood. Sure, she was mad at Flood but that didn’t mean that she could just turn the feelings she had for him off. Truth was, she wasn’t sure what she was feeling. She hardly knew Flood but she’d hoped to get to know him. It had been a mistake to think like that. To think that things would stay the same after leaving that tiny jail cell.
“I’m sorry.” Beck put his hand to her back as the door closed behind them, drowning out the noise. “Do you have feelings for Flood?”
She shook her head. “No.” The lie tasted sour but she ignored it. She couldn’t have real feelings after such a short time. It wasn’t a lie!
“Okay then.” Beck looked skeptical. “Can I walk you back to your chamber?”
“Sure.”
He kept his hand on her lower back, which was uncomfortable. They rounded the corner and Beck stiffened. He stopped walking.
“Everything okay?” He looked like he was listening to something, his head cocked to the side.
“All good.” He smiled but it was tight. They kept on walking. “You sure Flood isn’t interested in…”
“Very sure!” He and Sydney had looked really cozy back there. She knew it was wrong but she hadn’t been able to stick around and watch. Why couldn’t he have picked someone other than Sydney? Why did it have to be her?
Enough.
It didn’t matter anymore. “Here we are,” she announced.
“Can I come in?” Beck gave her a practiced half-smile. She was sure it had worked really well for him in the past.
Was he flirting with her? “Um…I’m really tired. I think it would be best if I…”
“No problem.” He grinned, looking really cute. “I completely understand. How about breakfast or lunch? What about dinner? I’m game for all three.” He winked.
“That’s sweet but I think I might be going home. As in, back to my own home.”
Beck frowned. “No…you can’t leave. You heard the announcement. My best friend recently settled down and I’m beginning to think I’d like to do the same.”
“You and I aren’t going to happen.” She decided to take the direct route.
The Water Dragons Box Set: Books 1 - 4 (Complete) Page 34
