Bad Dragons: Special Edition Complete Series
Page 24
Rainier nodded.
“But you’re a scientist.”
Rainier raised an eyebrow. “And that means what exactly? That I can’t have any beliefs? I believe some things happen for a reason. I don’t have any proof for it, and I know you’ll probably tease me for it. But I believe. I have to.”
Griffin decided that was probably a healthy reaction to how wrong everything had gone.
Most of all, Griffin was glad it felt like Rainier was finally being real with him.
“I wasn’t being fake,” Rainier said quietly. “People misunderstood me.”
“You said one thing to our faces and another to our backs,” Griffin said.
“I thought I was being polite,” Rainier said. “True, I thought rude things about people, but who doesn’t? I think I just overdid it, trying to be nice.”
“You could be really rude too, though,” Griffin muttered.
“I know,” Rainier said. “I was full of myself.”
“You called me stupid a lot,” Griffin said, narrowing his eyes at him.
A small grin quirked the corner of Rainier’s mouth. “Maybe I did. But you do act stupidly sometimes. I guess I’m open to changing my opinion on that.”
“Even though my stupidity caused Anna to get kidnapped?”
“As I said, I believe in fate. And besides…” Rainier pushed his hair back. “It was my fault, too, for putting you in the basement and pushing you too far.” He raised his eyes to Griffin. “I never gave you a chance. Not back then and not when I saw you here. I’m sorry for that. I can try to do better.”
Griffin nodded.
“That’s if you can try to be a little less wild with your temper.”
It was Griffin’s turn to fight back a smile. “I mean, if I don’t, you can always restrain me.”
Rainier laughed at that. “True.”
Seth sighed, slumping and folding his arms. “Great. Now if we can just get to Anna without killing each other, we might be able to take on Van and Byron.”
As uncomfortable as this new ceasefire was, Griffin was determined to stay in it.
Ever since that fateful day when they lost everything, he’d been wandering in a mist, numb and lonely. He hadn’t realized how much until he met Anna.
Hadn’t realized how much until she was taken out of his hands.
He’d never thought he’d be able to look at Rainier without wanting to punch him in the face, but if it meant getting Anna back safely, Griffin would try anything.
Even teaming up with other dragons.
33
Anna
I’m finished eating by the time Byron comes back, and I stare at him expectantly as he sits down at the table and continues to eat.
He’s oddly delicate with his steak, savoring it like he’s at a five-star restaurant instead of the back deck of a cottage in the woods.
Even now, this place feels a bit eerie to me. Though it’s filled with human things, it’s so new yet dated that it’s more unworldly than anything else I’ve seen.
Byron ignores me while he finishes his steak, and it’s hard to ignore his sheer physical beauty when he’s not talking.
Those long, tanned hands, that beautiful face focused on eating. Those golden eyes shaded by long, curled lashes.
That powerful body, gleaming in the sun in his tank top.
If only his personality—
“That is so fucking rude,” he says, slamming his knife down and sitting up in his seat angrily. He plants one foot on the bench he’s on and leans an arm on the table, glaring. “I wish you could read my thoughts. I’d be talking about what a rude, ungrateful—”
“Thanks, but not necessary,” I say, putting up a hand. “And if you don’t want to hear my thoughts, that works for me. But yeah, they are going to be rude because you kidnapped me.”
“Saved you,” he mutters, cutting off another piece of steak. “Those dragons are losers.”
I slam both hands down on the table. “What is with all of you calling each other losers? I swear, I could get along with any of you if you weren’t so horrible to each other.”
Byron’s gold eyes are wide as he just stares at me for a moment, shocked. Then he goes back to eating his steak. “There’s a lot at play that you don’t understand.”
“I understand perfectly,” I say, resting my chin on my folded arms on the table. “None of you want to understand each other because that would be hard. Whereas it’s easy to just claim everyone sucks and not try to work with them.”
“I work with Van just fine,” Byron says haughtily.
“Hm,” I say. “Really? Because Van doesn’t look like he’s working too well on his own.”
Byron’s hands go still, and then he lowers his silverware with a clink. His eyes pin me to where I sit, the gold in his irises intense. “You don’t understand anything about him. Or me. So shut your mouth.”
I stand up to leave the table. “I don’t need to understand anything about you. I didn’t need to be rescued, and I just want to go back to my friends.”
“Fine,” Byron says, standing also. I look up to meet his gaze, gulping when I realize how much bigger he is than me. Why does he have to be so hot?
As we glare at each other, I can feel something spark between us. Something like hate but tenser. Something that’s also drawing us close.
Great, I have to be drawn to even the shittiest dragon.
Byron sucks in his breath angrily and then turns and storms out, and I realize he heard my thoughts.
I stomp over to one of the steps on the deck and sit down on it, hearing the glass door slam shut behind Byron.
If he didn’t want his feelings hurt, he shouldn’t have…
But am I not doing what I just chewed Byron out for? Being super judgmental based on my first impression?
I don’t know if I buy that they actually meant to save me, but I don’t know if they are bad either. They at least didn’t attack any of the other dragons to get me. And all they’ve done so far is give me privacy to shower and some food.
I chew on my lower lip, feeling slightly guilty.
Then I think of Seth and Griffin and Rainier and how worried they must be, and my guilt fades.
Byron did this to them, and he needs to make it right.
I storm back to the glass door and slide it open and step in to see Byron sitting on the couch, watching something on the TV.
It’s an oddly vulnerable moment. His shorts are slightly askew, and I can see the deep Ken doll indentations of his hips just above the waistline. Powerful quads peek out at the hem.
I swallow awkwardly, waiting for him to look up at me, but he just shoves his hand in a bowl of popcorn and eats it while staring at the TV.
Looks like a monster truck rally.
I can’t believe they can actually get TV here.
“It’s a spell,” Byron said. “Van and I are the newest ones to this world, and the fae set us up pretty well.”
I take a seat on the chair farthest from him, still not trusting him.
I may not like him, but I need him if I’m going to get back to Griffin and—
“Oh, come on,” he says irritably, chucking a piece of popcorn at me. “Stop thinking about Griffin when there is clearly a superior dragon present.” When I dodge, he throws another. This time I dive forward, catching it in my mouth and chewing.
I flush as I realize what just happened. It’s a habit I have. One of my high school friends liked to chuck food at me, and I liked to catch it.
Byron’s mouth tightens, and he turns back to the TV, a twitch at the base of his perfect jaw. “If we hadn’t shown up, he would have flambéed you.”
“He pulled his attack.”
Byron frowns, and his lips purse perfectly. They look so kissable. He sighs. “Do you want to hate me or fuck me? Because I’m finding it hard to tell.”
I suck in my cheeks, begging for patience. “I thought dragons were supposed to be fuckable. It’s not my fault.”
“From what?” I ask. “You?”
He scowls. “From everything in this godforsaken world.” He stretches, relieving some of the tension in his massive shoulders, making my mouth go totally dry.
“If you like Griffin so much, why are you perving on me?”
I shrug. “I don’t know. Doesn’t mean I want to do anything about it.”
Byron raises an eyebrow. “Really? Have you ever been with two men? Because I think Van and I could give you an evening to remember.”
My mind goes blank as I feel blood rush to my neck and… other parts.
I do care about Griffin. I do care about Rainier. I do care about Seth. And yet…
I’m so incredibly attracted to Byron. Stupid, annoying, bitchy—
“If you won’t shut your mind up, I’m going to come over there and give you something to think about,” Byron snaps, pushing himself off the couch.
I’m paralyzed as I watch him stalk toward me, deadly and strong and beautiful.
When he puts a hand on either side of my chair and leans down so our faces are almost touching, I can’t help holding my breath.
“Tell me you don’t want this,” he says, coming closer so his breath is on my lips, teasing them. “Tell me you don’t want this shitty dragon to kiss you. Touch you.”
I clench my eyes closed, trying not to see him. Trying not to listen to the logic of everything he has said.
He’s right. Griffin hates Rainier. They’re going to keep fighting. I’m mad at both of them for not only letting this happen, but hurting each other. Also, I don’t know who I should be with, and—
Then his lips are on mine, and the soft, velvet feel of them is all I know in the world.
He lets out a low groan and deepens the kiss, forcing my lips apart as his tongue swipes deep inside. I writhe against the chair, trapped against it and swirling with pleasure just from kissing him.
On the arms of my chair, his hands are trembling slightly.
He drops to one knee, so tall that he can still reach me like this, and wraps one hand roughly around my neck, pulling me in close.
His tongue is voracious, claiming, bold, and I’m melting against him, hating him and wanting him and wondering when he’ll stop just kissing me and press that big body against mine.
Those pecs, those shoulders.
My hands reach up to touch him, and he freezes, then resumes the kiss. I run my fingertips over his biceps, marveling at how huge they are.
I don’t like Byron. I don’t know Byron. But I do know that somehow our dislike of each other only makes our chemistry more forbidden and extreme.
Dammit, I’m such a slut for these dragons.
He growls as he slowly pulls back, swiping his tongue out to wet his lower lip. “Don’t say that. Don’t even think it.”
“What?”
His thumb rubs over my lower lip lightly, and his gold eyes are serious. “Don’t judge yourself for wanting pleasure.”
“But—”
He closes his lips over mine again, parting them and letting his tongue explore inside. Then his hands entwine with mine, pulling them until they are around him, holding him.
When he has my hands in place, he pulls back from the kiss and cups my face, and his eyes look slightly lost as they wander over my features, falling to my lips.
When he kisses me this time, his lips are closed, pressed to mine reverently for a long minute, during which I can I feel my heart hammering in my chest.
I’m already wet for him, which—
He pulls away from me with a low growl, leaving me aching.
He paces for a moment in front of the TV and then looks at me almost as if he’s angry.
“There’s nothing wrong with desire,” he says, slightly breathless, his voice hoarse. “But you might want to be a little more guarded.” He swipes his hand over his mouth and then takes off for the stairs, going up them two at a time. When he’s at the top, he glares down at me.
“Damn, dragon heart,” is all he says as he disappears into what must be his and Van’s room.
34
Byron
Byron was offended by his reaction to the little human. So intense. So sharp. When she’d thought about being wet, he’d had to go check on Van as an excuse to remove himself from the situation.
None of this was going as he’d expected.
Byron had thought she’d be the one begging them for help. Begging them to mate her because he was obviously a superior dragon to the others he’d met.
Instead, she’d berated him. Talked to him like no human had ever dared. Openly complimented other dragons while insulting Byron for everything.
He slumped in a chair, scratching his head. She was rude and normal and didn’t take any crap from him.
So why did he sort of feel drawn to her anyway?
“She’s different,” Van said, sitting up on the bed, looking drawn and tired.
Byron eyed him carefully. “How are you feeling?” Light was streaming in through the blackout curtains Van sometimes kept drawn, so he had to be feeling slightly better.
Unlike false visions, real ones could bring on terrible headaches.
“What did you see?” Byron asked.
Van was quiet.
Byron didn’t want to push the other dragon. As his only ally in the Blur, he had no choice but to trust Van, and Van seemed to need someone around to keep an eye on things.
It was not how Byron had ever imagined a partnership, but he had to admit it worked.
Maybe he did like protecting someone. Having a shield and no one to use it for had grated on him even in the human world. He was so useful. Someone should want him. He’d been sure he would be picked first at the choosing ceremony.
Then it had gone so wrong.
Byron had then gone to the human world and surrounded himself with suck-ups and lackeys and anyone who would tell him he was as special as he thought he was.
But it was ultimately empty, and when one last attempt to show off had landed him here, he’d began to rethink his own ego.
But not enough to let that bratty human off the hook for calling him the shittiest dragon—
“She what?” Van barked out a laugh, pulling his black hair into a rough ponytail to keep it out of his face.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Byron said, folding his arms stubbornly.
“You kissed her,” Van said, and Byron hated how easy he was to read.
“Maybe.”
“What did you think?”
Byron licked his upper lip, and the adrenaline of kissing her came back as he remembered it. “Breathtaking.” He coughed. “I mean, it was fine.”
“Think we could seduce her?” Van asked. “The two of us? That’s what we have to offer that the other dragons don’t.”
“I think we could sell that,” Byron said. “She hates me, but she’s attracted to me.”
“Hm.”
Byron’s chest tightened as he wondered what the two of them sharing a mate would look like. He’d always wanted to be the center of attention in anything that happened in his life.
What would it be like to focus on someone else for once?
Van’s pale lips were smirking. “It might be nice.”
“Why?” Byron asked sharply. He couldn’t afford to get jealous right now. Not when having a partner was what gave him an edge over the other dragons.
“I don’t know. It’s something new at least,” Van said, bored. “Besides, humans seem to like it a lot.”
I like it a lot, Byron thought to himself.
Van’s grin widened. “So you think she would accept us?”
“I don’t know,” Byron said. “Maybe not yet. But she does have mixed feelings about the other dragons.”
“Hm
,” Van said. “So it’s going to be easy.” He stood and walked over to the window, staring out.
“Maybe,” Byron said. “But does it matter? It’s just a means to an end.”
“True,” Van said. “We just need to convince the oracle that she should let us back in the world. That means we need Anna to pick us, at least for now.”
“So we get back to the human world, then what?”
Van turned to face him, purple eyes glittering. “Then we can dump the human and rule as we should have.”
Byron flinched slightly. Van could be so cold at times.
Van raised a dark eyebrow. “You have a problem with that plan suddenly?”
Byron hesitated. He’d only known the human for a few hours, but he couldn’t imagine doing something to hurt her.
“Oh come on, neither of us has a heart,” Van said irritably, coming over to sit on the bed across from Byron.
“If we dump her, won’t the oracle throw us out?”
“She could get killed by something,” Van said helpfully. “We might just… not be able to protect her.”
Byron had been all in with Van on his plan when they’d first come up with it. When Van had gotten intel from one of his fae contacts that a dragon heart was in the Blur.
Byron had thought arrogantly that he would hate the human, as he hated most humans, for being weak and plain.
Or so he told himself she was when he met her.
But the truth was there was nothing plain about her. From the sparks in her vivid hazel eyes to the way her chin trembled when she told him off, she was magnificent.
“No,” Van said. “Dragons are just supposed to be attracted to dragon hearts. If you end up missing her once we get rid of her, I’m sure we can find another in the human world.”
Byron scratched his chin, considering it. To be honest, when he thought about doing anything to hurt Anna, doing anything that wouldn’t protect her, he felt nauseous.
Apparently, he’d found his heart. It was embarrassing.
Van’s face tightened imperceptibly, and he flopped backward on the bed, making it shake. He stared up at the ceiling pensively. “This is bullshit. We should stick to the plan. Trust me.”