The bourbon in the cocoa had muted her worries earlier, but now that it’d begun to fade, she recalled the way no one wore a jacket. The air at the party had been toasty, so warm even she’d taken her coat off. She knew a large number of people could heat a small space, but this had been something else. Even outside, their company had made sweat trickle down her spine.
Moira hit replay on the video. The footage shook from her tremble earlier, but there was no mistaking what she saw. She sighed. Even if she wanted to write an article about this, no one would believe her. Not unless she amassed a huge amount of evidence. She certainly wasn’t going to get anyone to openly admit to being able to turn into a dragon.
Here was a story that could make or break her career. This was not the kind of secret she’d expected. Part of her thought she would find a wife locked away in Devin’s attic like in some Victorian gothic novel. Perhaps that was her English lit background tainting her thoughts.
She fired off an email to a co-worker in the video editing department, asking if there was a way to prove that footage was unedited. She didn’t add the video. That step would come later. The coworker would probably look at her like she’d lost her mind if she emailed the footage. She would have to bring it to him in person.
If she decided to run the story.
She groaned and reached for the aspirin in her nightstand. A throbbing pain stabbed through her skull. Moira wanted too many things all at once. Her core still begged for more of what she and Devin had shared on his kitchen counter. That devilishly greedy part of her would never forget what his touch felt like.
Moira didn’t want to give up on her career goals, though. Only a day ago, she’d told herself to write the damn dating profile and search for a new story. Now, she was caught between the mundane and the unimaginable with evidence of it on her phone, and she didn’t know who she could turn to.
This knowledge sat in her mind, a secret for her and her alone unless she could prove the footage was unedited. Even then, she doubted many would believe her.
The aspirin grated down her throat. Once they were down, she reached for her phone again. She didn’t open the footage. Instead, she texted Devin. Her heart stuttered as she waited for a reply she didn’t think would come.
Did you make it home okay?
Moira’s job wasn’t to date Devin herself. She had her career to think about. If she spent all this time flirting with Devin and decided to keep him to herself, then she would have no article to write. No matter what she told herself, she couldn’t shake the need to wrap herself around him and soothe the wounds in his soul.
The phone rang. Moira squealed and dropped it onto the bed. Devin’s number flashed at her.
“You should be sleeping off your hangover,” Devin said as soon as she answered. “Don’t you have work tomorrow?”
She’d missed his voice. He’d been gone all of an hour and a half, and she’d missed him. She would rather have him on the bed beside her, but hearing him over the phone was nearly as nice. She tried to push away the thought, but she couldn’t fight it. She didn’t have any fight left in her.
“No work tomorrow,” she informed him.
“Then who is going to write the article on Northern New York’s most eligible bachelor? Crystal needs an aunt.” Devin’s voice hummed along Moira’s skin.
Moira’s head throbbed dully. She let out a low groan and pressed her face into the pillow.
“Did you learn anything from the party? You’ve had three chances to interview me, but I’m still not sure what you could write about me.”
Moira recalled the several times she’d tried to start the dating profile. They’d overflowed with praise, noting the details about Devin that drew her into him, but as good as they’d been, she couldn’t bring herself to show them to anyone. Whoever read the article attempts would be able to see just how stuck she was.
“You should date more,” was all Moira said. “You don’t have to lock yourself away from the world.”
A low growl vibrated over the phone. “I don’t want to date.”
“Then why are you asking about the article?” Moira laughed, but it only made her head throb harder.
“I asked because I wanted to talk to you for a little while. Is that so bad?”
Yes. No. Moira wasn’t sure. She could love him, or she could destroy him. This shouldn’t have even been a question, but Moira wasn’t a very good person. She put herself before everyone else. It’d always been that way for her. That was why she hadn’t talked to her family in months, why she spent all her time working. Moira wanted a promotion more than she wanted a happy life.
She believed the promotion was her key to happiness. To her, nothing else would make her happy. Not love or affection or the soft rumble of a dangerous man’s voice.
“I’m no good for you,” she confessed.
“I should be the one saying that. I feel like I have already,” Devin said. “You’re a good woman. You’ll do the right thing.”
He hung up without even saying good night. His cryptic words echoed through her aching skull. She rolled over and clutched her pillow tight, wondering if Devin knew about the video she’d taken. He couldn’t know. She’d escaped before he’d seen her, but she knew nothing about what Devin was.
She never stopped to think about what Devin might do if she exposed him. Moira knew, without a doubt, that Devin wouldn’t hurt her. He would accept his fate and suffer.
***
The beast kicked and thrashed. It wanted him to go back to Moira’s. Night had fallen and he would blend in with the dark sky, but Devin forced himself to remain in human form. He wandered from room to room in his empty house until he ended up in the basement.
Surrounded by the cool dark, he lay on the floor. The bare stone comforted the heat flaring inside him. Someday, he would do as Atticus had done. He would disappear into the caverns beneath his house and fall into a peaceful sleep.
He would bother no one. Colton wouldn’t have to watch Devin’s every move. Frankie wouldn’t have to give him chance after chance to be a better man. It would be better that way. Not just for them, but for everyone.
Devin didn’t deserve the chances he’d been given. The beast inside him snarled and scratched. It would tear its way out of him and take what it wanted unless Devin could get it to sleep. He had a feeling the beast wouldn’t give in to sleep for a long while.
Not while Moira gravitated around him. Her voice sent the creature into a frenzy. Devin tried to harness it and keep it away from her, but he would lose control someday. He knew she would write the article and forget about him. He didn’t belong in her life.
Yet, a part of him hoped she would come to him. He wanted her on her knees before him, all his for the taking because she’d given herself over to him. He thought that might calm the greedy beast inside him. The creature wanted to take and take, but with her it would give. It would give her happiness, pleasure, and anything else she wanted.
If only she would come to him.
Because he wouldn’t let himself go to her.
The beast forced its way out. Its wings scraped the tall cavern ceiling beneath the house. The beast lashed its tail and turned toward the exit, but it couldn’t press its wings into its body and squeeze out. Unless the beast wanted to destroy its whole home, it was trapped in the cavern underground.
The dragon snarled. Tongues of flame licked the floor as it stamped its feet. Devin knew the feral creature would never destroy his home. No matter what it wanted, this was Devin’s small patch of territory, and it protected what was his.
Chapter Seven
Unable to stand being alone, but unwilling to talk to anyone about her problems, Moira bundled in an oversize knit sweater and her softest pair of leggings to go to the bookstore. The glowing lights overhead immediately soothed her, like a balm over a burn.
She let out a soft breath and pushed deeper into the bookstore. The coffee bar at the back knew her order before she could even ask. T
hey took one look at the dark circles peeking through her cheap concealer and pushed the toasted white chocolate latte into her hands without charge.
She thanked them, but the barista shrugged and said it was on the man in the corner. Moira scowled and scanned the small reading space until her eyes fell on a familiar face.
The barista scurried away, most likely terrified of Devin.
“He’s not that bad,” Moira called out. “Especially if he pays for a lady’s coffee,” she added under her breath.
He didn’t move from the cozy chair in the corner, so she went to join him. This trip should have given her a bit of time to organize her thoughts. Instead, she stood before Devin and felt her heart thunder like she’d just drunk four espressos.
“I didn’t think I’d see you here,” she said. She raised the paper cup in her hand. “Thank you for this.”
“It was my treat,” he purred.
Moira could have listened to the low rumble of his voice every day of her life. She sank into a chair beside him and sipped her coffee, letting its warmth fill her and bring her a little bit of life. Even inside the bookstore, she was cold.
“Are you following me, sir?” she asked, rather unbothered by the prospect.
This was her day off. She didn’t have to think about what article she would end up writing, or the video footage on her phone. She pushed her work from her mind and leaned into Devin’s presence.
He grinned back at her, a predatory kind of smile that made her heart stutter. She imagined those teeth on her skin. She wanted him to nibble his way over her body and to feel his tongue explore her folds once again.
“I feel I should warn you,” Moira began.
Devin’s features flickered with worry, and he leaned away from her.
She said nothing about what she knew, even though she should have told him by now. He deserved to know what she was holding. Instead, Moira confessed something else.
“You and I have already slept together,” she told him. “So, if you’re looking for the rush of seducing me for the first time, I won’t be able to give that to you.”
“No,” he breathed. Then his eyes narrowed, and he took her in.
“Obviously, I was a lot younger and probably in better shape. Oh, and I also had brown hair.”
Devin touched her chin. The rough pads of his fingertips raked over her skin like matches against a striker, leaving fire in his wake.
“I remember you well,” he said. “And you’ve aged like a damn fine wine.”
Moira watched him lick his lips. Her breath hitched and warmth pooled between her legs. She would have wrapped them around him right then and there had they not been in public.
She swallowed her emotions down, but it couldn’t snuff the flames licking at her from the inside. Devin’s hand fell away.
“I’m not here to seduce you,” he told her. “Running into you was just a happy coincidence. I couldn’t focus enough to work, so Atticus kicked me out early.”
Moira laughed. “So, this is where you went? Do you come here often?”
The fire in his eyes flared. “That’s a pick-up line. Are you sure you want me to answer?”
Moira shook her head and stood. She hoped he would follow, the thought sending a small thrill through her like he was the hunter and she was the prey. As she stepped into the mystery section, she glanced back. Devin’s gaze burned and heated her skin, but he didn’t get up.
She slunk into the shelves of books, staring at the titles while her mind spun. A man beside her pointed to a title and said something. All she could manage was a nod, as if she’d heard him. If he smiled and said anything else, she didn’t hear.
That would be it, she thought to herself. Now that Devin knew who she was and that they’d already slept together, he wouldn’t be interested anymore. He’d already accomplished this conquest. She wasn’t some new face for him to chase. The fun she’d had was over, and she would never be able to experience it ever again.
Or so she thought until a prickle ran up the back of her neck. Moira glanced over her shoulder to find Devin at the end of the shelf, casually watching her. He might have looked relaxed, but she could see the flames were still burning in his eyes. She wondered if those flames were real, if she could see through his eyes and into the beast behind them.
Moira waited for fear to hit her, but it never came. No cold rush flooded her veins. Her stomach fluttered, but only because of the heated look Devin gave her. Those ember eyes turned on the man who’d sidled up beside her. The man ducked and disappeared around the opposite corner. Devin uncoiled and prowled toward her. The sight of him made her heart do flips in her chest.
He trailed a finger down the side of her face and let his hand rest ever so gently at her throat. “I liked that brunette.”
She would have let out a stupefied laugh had she not been caught in the throes of unexpected pleasure unfurling in her chest. Twice now, Devin had wrapped his hand around her throat, and she couldn’t say she hated it. In fact, a contented sigh escaped her lips while he held her in his grasp.
Moira spared no thought for what people might think if they saw her and Devin. Her world had been whittled down to this narrow aisle, to Devin’s heated eyes and his hand at her throat.
“I shouldn’t say this,” Devin whispered. He gazed down at her, searching her face.
If he waited for her to agree, he would be waiting forever. Moira wanted to reach inside him and pull out the truth, all the other things he kept hidden from those around him. She knew he was a good person, if only he would share more of himself with others, then they would understand. She would understand better.
“I’m a monster, Moira. Someone should have locked me away a long time ago…” He paused. “But Crystal wants an aunt. If you wanted to deal with me a while longer, we could explore whatever this is a little more.”
Moira knew better. She should have kept a reasonable distance between her and Devin. Before she even walked into his house, she should have erected a wall to defend her heart. Instead, she’d left it wide open, and now she wanted Devin more than anything.
Perhaps his hand on her swayed her decision. Reluctantly, she stepped out of his touch. For a moment, his hand hung in the air and disappointment darkened his features. Her mind was her own, but her decision hadn’t changed.
Once again, the world presented her with danger, this time in the form of a man, and she ran headlong into it. Stepping around his hand as it dropped, she grasped the collar of his shirt and brought him down to her for a kiss to seal the deal.
Devin stood still, as if stunned, then melted into her. His arm wound around her back and pulled her into the heat of his body. She moaned happily and opened her mouth to him. Every kiss with him was a new experience. She could barely recall what it’d been like eight years ago, but the last kiss had been hot and passionate.
This kiss was more of a gentle wave. Devin slowly explored her mouth, as if trying to open doors to discover more about her.
When he pulled back, he breathed heavily, and his eyes were on her and her alone. Her cheeks warmed. She wanted to sink into him and let him carry her out of the bookstore. Instead, Devin leaned down and whispered in her ear.
“Dinner. My place. 6 o’clock.” When she let out a soft laugh, Devin made sure to add, “Don’t worry. I won’t be the one cooking.”
He pulled away and left her standing alone in the aisle. Her skin tingled where they’d touched. She needed more of him but couldn’t run after him and take him in the middle of her favorite bookstore. In a daze, she walked back to the café seating.
Her heart puttered nervously. Moira mentally flipped through her outfit options before deciding that nothing would work. At least she was already out and about. There were discount outlets nearby where she could find a new dress. Maybe a new pair of heeled booties.
Someone claimed the seat beside her. Moira thought nothing of her new neighbor until the man leaned in close and hissed to get her attention.
“I saw you were talking to the VanTassel monster,” he said.
Immediately, she bristled. Scathing words reached her tongue, but she didn’t have time to let out her ire. The man pushed photos into her hands. Her words died as she looked down at them.
They were kind of grainy, but depicted a black dragon crouching in front of a blue car. The next photo showed the dragon pulling a woman from the car. Then, the last photo showed the destroyed car, a Volkswagen Beetle, and the dragon flying off.
Moira didn’t have to ask. She already knew who the dragon was. The man must have, too, if he called Devin the VanTassel monster.
“I just thought you should know what you’re getting into.”
“What are you trying to do?” Moira feigned ignorance. “These are clearly doctored. Dragons don’t exist.”
Her heart hammered in her chest. Hadn’t she wanted to expose Devin the day before? She’d emailed her coworker to ask for help in proving her footage real. This man tried to do the same with her, and yet she wanted to push back. When she looked back to the photos, she blinked and turned away, unable to stare at them for long.
The wrecked car and the woman in his hand bothered her. She wondered who the woman was, but her features were lost. Moira didn’t know the whole story. How could she pass judgement on something she didn’t understand?
“You’re a journalist, right? I’ve seen your picture in the newspaper a few times,” the man went on. “You could expose him for the monster he is. I saw this happen with my own eyes eight years ago. I was hunting on my own, hidden in my tree-stand, and happened to have my phone on me when that monster touched ground.”
“I find it hard to believe that you did nothing when you saw this happen,” she said, trying to poke holes in a story she knew was true.
Dragon Desire (Tooth & Claw Book 1) Page 6
