by Abigail Owen
“They hunt renegade dragons for a living,” Lyndi whispered in Delaney’s ear. “One of their jobs is to protect humans from our kind.”
Oh. A small pinch of disappointment crawled through her. Finn’s focus wasn’t her so much as doing his job. That explained a lot at least, even if a ludicrous shard of disappointment poked at her like a bur in her shoe.
“You told her?” No mistaking the raised voice coming from the back room where the guys had all gone.
A door opened.
“Where do you think you’re going?” That was definitely Finn.
“To call my king. This is not okay, boss. You know what this means.”
King? They had a king? Or at least one of them did. What did that even mean?
A figure stalked past the door and Delaney bit her lip. Titus. She hadn’t pegged him as the exploding anger type, but given his glowering expression, pissed didn’t begin to cover his reaction.
Shit. Delaney looked at Levi who shrugged.
“Get back in here and close the door.” Finn again. She shivered at the command in his voice. That was an order for sure.
Sure enough, Titus slumped back past the door a minute later.
How would she react if Finn used that tone on her? Her lips quirked. Badly probably. She’d never been much for orders, even as a kid. Only… Another shiver shimmied through her, except this one was electric, waking up the nerves in her body as a mental image struck of how she’d respond if he used that tone in the bedroom.
Who knew she was a closet junkie for a control freak in bed? Delaney straightened. Not that she was. Of course not.
Lord she needed to put this day behind her.
“What was that about?” Sera asked.
Delaney shrugged. “Lyndi says they’re coming up with a plan to deal with Graff.”
“Good.” Sera reached over and squeezed her arm. “Hopefully this will all be over soon.”
“I hope so.” Delaney smiled at her friend. “I hate that you’re being affected by my problems.”
“Sera?” Aidan appeared at the door, the others behind him. “I’ll take you home.”
Sera flicked Delaney a glance that seemed to have a question in it. Was she afraid to be alone with Aidan? Why? She didn’t know what he was.
Meanwhile, Aidan made a face. “I meant with Kanta and Blake, of course,” he clarified stiffly.
What was the deal? While Aidan tended toward the serious, she’d never seen him bumble his words like that. Sera was gorgeous, so why wasn’t he jumping at spending time with the woman? Maybe the single-mom thing threw him off.
Sera nodded and gave Delaney a hug. “See you tomorrow.” Then she ushered Blake out of the house, Aidan and Kanta following.
Exhaustion oozed through Delaney at their departure. Today had been…a lot. Too much, maybe. “I think I’ll go to bed early.”
“Um… About that…” Levi stood and moved to sit beside her. “We’re moving locations a bit.”
She frowned. “Somewhere safer?”
“We think so,” he nodded. “But probably not what you’d expect.”
Ah. That’s why he seemed reluctant to tell her. Just one more thing to adjust. “Spit it out, Levi.”
“This building is a facade, covering where we really live.”
Delaney rubbed at her eyes. “I thought you all had your own houses.”
“We do, but just for…errrr…personal time. But we live together in a system of caves in the mountain this building is built into.”
Caves. They lived in caves. She stared at him, waiting for a grin and a punch line, but none came. “You want me to live in a cave?”
Now he did grin, his eyes crinkling. “It’s not quite what you think.”
They lived in caves. What else could that mean?
“Levi Rowtag, you know it’s more than caves. Stop making this worse.” Lyndi’s suddenly sharp voice snagged Delaney’s attention. She turned to find Lyndi glaring at him with a little more ire than Delaney would’ve expected.
Levi scowled. The Happy Viking who was a smiler scowled. At Lyndi. “I’m not making it worse.”
Delaney glanced between the two of them.
I don’t want to know. She’d had enough for the night. Her chair whined a protest as she stood abruptly. “Okay. Show me the caves and where I’ll be sleeping.” Maybe when she woke up in the morning she’d discover this had all been a dream. A trippy, psychedelic, dream.
“How about I take her,” Lyndi offered.
Relief whooshed through Delaney at that. She wouldn’t mind if Lyndi was the one watching her reactions to whatever it was she was about to see. “We’ll move you down there, and I can wait while you get ready for bed.”
Right. Because she couldn’t be alone. “Thanks.”
“Which room?” Lyndi asked.
“Mine.” Finn’s deep voice had Delaney swinging around, eyes wide.
Finn’s room. She was going to sleep in Finn’s room. A frisson of need snuck through the numbness that had settled over her. I’m in so much trouble.
“I won’t be far behind,” Finn said, though it came off more like a warning.
Or a promise. He was still watching her with an intensity that hadn’t dimmed since he’d kissed her outside. Where’d all those walls go?
Chapter Fifteen
After Delaney stuffed all her things back into her suitcase, she followed Lyndi back into the kitchen. The other woman led her to what appeared to be a wall to the left of the fridge. She pushed at a panel, and the wall whooshed silently up to reveal an imposing metal door with a panel to the right.
She glanced at Delaney and smiled at her expression. “The guys will have to get you put into the system, so you can let yourself in and out.” She put her hand on the panel, which scanned her palm print, and with a click deep inside the door, it unlocked. Lyndi pushed it open and beckoned Delaney inside.
Alice down the fucking rabbit hole, was the only thing Delaney could think at that moment.
Delaney took two steps inside and jerked to a halt. She had to force her feet to function, as she’d stopped dead when she got a look at the interior.
The “caves” were built into the natural formation of the rock inside the mountain but were definitely upgraded.
From what she could tell, standing beside the door, the cave went up for at least three stories, a spiral staircase winding up the wall and leveling out at each. A huge metal chandelier hung from the center, and lighting tracked along the bottom of the stairs. This didn’t feel like a cave with the bright, natural-looking light that seemed to flood the room from those two sources.
“Want a quick tour?” Lyndi asked.
“Why not?” Delaney squeaked.
She left her suitcase at the bottom of the stairs and followed her guide to the left into a living area with expensive furniture—all leather and metal—and a massive TV system. Off to the right was a game room with a pool table and another foosball table. Nice ones.
Home, huh? “Do they all live here?”
Lyndi followed her glance, perhaps seeing it through different eyes. “The guys do. The stairs lead to suites. Twelve in all. In theory, two dragons from each clan would be here, so twelve dragons in total.”
Delaney was dying to ask about the clans, but honestly was too damn exhausted at this point. No way could she take much more. She filed that question away for a later time.
“This way,” Lyndi said.
Now she led Delaney back through the living area to a massive modern kitchen, all gray granite and dark wood cabinets. Delaney plunked her hands on her hips. “They’ve been hiding this from me while I’ve cooked in that crappy excuse for a kitchen?”
Lyndi laughed then raised her eyebrows. “Wait. You’ve been cooking for them?”
Delaney shrugged. “I like to cook and they’re awful at it.”
“That’s very true.”
“That’s the important stuff. I’m sure they’ll show you more tomorrow, but how about we get you set
tled?”
Back in the foyer, they moved up the stairs, her suitcase thumping against each stone step that seemed chiseled from the side of the mountain itself. On the first floor, Lyndi left the stairs and moved to the first door down, opening it and waving Delaney through.
Only she didn’t walk into a single bedroom. The space was a full suite, all decorated in rustic woods, leathers, and neutrals. Every room was formed by the natural walls of the cavern, stalactites and stalagmites forming archways between rooms.
The first room was a living area, just for Finn. Off to the left was a small kitchen and dinette area. Then a long hall stretched deeper into the mountain. Lyndi walked back that way and into the first room on the left. Finn’s bedroom.
Delaney glanced around the masculine decor. A massive king-size bed, the base and backboard made out of a taupe suede material, backed up to a floating wall that presumably covered the entrance to an en suite bathroom. The space smelled like him, that bourbon and Coke scent she loved.
“You hanging in there?” Lyndi asked.
“At this point, I’m not even sure if I’m still processing anything.” She glanced at Lyndi. “Do you think that’s normal?”
Lyndi laughed. “It’s a lot to take in. You’re doing great.”
Great. Yeah, right. “Then I’ve done a good job of fooling you.”
“Why don’t you get ready for bed? You’ll feel better after a good sleep.”
At this point, sleep meant a break from this crazy world she’d landed in. Sleep sounded fantastic, not that she probably would. Lyndi didn’t say much until Delaney dressed for bed. Then she scrunched up her nose as she eyed Delaney’s choice of pj’s.
Delaney glanced down. Sure, her top was a bit on the thin side, but it was black, so it didn’t show anything. And the matching Star Wars shorts sporting Millennium Falcons were goofy but nothing sexy.
“Problem?” she asked.
Again with the nose scrunching. “It’s just that…” Lyndi sighed. “I’ve seen the way Finn is with you, the way he looks at you. That much leg on display could…” She trailed off and shrugged.
“You’re saying that Finn won’t be able to control himself?” She highly doubted that. The man screamed control.
Another shrug. “When he came in from chasing that other dragon…” Lyndi gave her head a shake. “I’ve never seen him act that way with anyone. He’s never had a relationship, even casual, with any woman as long as I’ve known him.”
Those words gave Delaney a little glow, but Finn also slammed up unscalable walls. “I’m sure he won’t notice.”
Lyndi snorted. “I’m sure he will.”
When Delaney still looked doubtful, Lyndi smiled. “Let me put it this way…stay dressed that way if you’d like to…errrr…work off some of your tension.”
Delaney laughed. She couldn’t help it. She’d known Lyndi a few hours, max, but already the woman felt like a friend. Hands on her hips, Delaney tilted her head. “Are you suggesting I get myself laid?”
Lyndi laughed as well. “Would you like to?”
Yes. Hell yes. Her nipples tightened, and a sweet ache settled low. But she should be saying no. After all today’s revelations, sex should be the furthest thing from her mind.
Lyndi smirked, her red-brown eyes dancing. “That’s what I thought—”
A knock preceded Finn into the room. He paused just inside the door, and glanced at Delaney, then at Lyndi. “I’ve got her now. Thanks.”
There went that fantasy. Zero reaction from the man. Delaney gave her new friend a glance that said, “See? He’s not interested.”
Lyndi winked and sashayed out of the room, closing the door behind her with a click that sounded way too loud in the quiet bedroom.
Delaney waited to see what Finn would do, fully expecting him to ignore her and get ready for bed or something. Instead, the second the door closed, the stoic expression turned intense. He crossed the room stopping only when he stood directly in front of her, searching her face, like he had earlier tonight. Shock pinged through her as though she were a pinball machine.
“So. Would you like to?” he asked.
Delaney frowned, not following. “Like to what?”
He didn’t say anything, merely smiled, those lips quirking in sexy challenge and that possessive light, same as when he kissed her, had his eyes glowing blue.
She gasped, and she stepped back. “Did you hear that?”
He shrugged. “Dragons have enhanced senses.”
“Ohmygod.” She whirled away from him, lumping mortification on top of the list of emotions she’d had to contend with today. “That was just…” She paused, then started over. “We were just…” She closed her eyes. Worse, now she had to share a room with the guy.
She expected to hear him laugh at her, or maybe let it go. She did not expect the hand that landed on her hip, slipping under her shirt and warming the skin at her waist. She held her breath as slowly, that hand slid around to flatten against her belly.
He stepped into her, and no way could she miss the thick erection pressing into her backside. “I shouldn’t even entertain the idea,” he whispered in her ear. “You’re under my protection, and I don’t want to take advantage of you, and…”
Her nipples tingled as her quick breaths caused them to rub against the inside of her shirt. “What if I said you’re not?” she whispered.
Finn groaned and brushed his lips over the spot just under her ear. “I wouldn’t believe you.”
He groaned again, but this one sounded more final, like he’d made up his mind. He went to step back, but she put a hand over his before he could move it. “What if I took advantage of you?” she asked.
He didn’t say anything, nor did he move. With her back to him, she couldn’t see his face to try to discern what he was thinking.
“Fuck,” he muttered. That one word said it all. He slipped his hand from underneath hers and the shuffle of his feet on the carpet told her even more.
Delaney turned to find him across the room, and disappointment lodged in her throat. “I guess the answer is no.”
He shook his head slowly. “It has to be. But not because I don’t want to. I ache, I want you so much.”
She opened her mouth to say something trite. But something in his gaze stopped her. Fear. He was afraid of getting too close to her. But why? Some rule about humans? Or something else?
…
Saying no to what Delaney willingly offered was the most difficult thing he’d done in a long damn time. Even now he was rethinking it, Deep’s words in the back of his mind and his body and the dragon inside him urging him to take. Claim.
Those sexy legs might be his undoing.
The way she watched him—with desire, yes, but also with an amazing kind of trust, even given all she’d learned tonight—had him on edge in a way he hadn’t expected.
A trust that he could uphold when it came to protecting her, but not when it came to more. When this was all over and Delaney left, he could remember her and this craving for her with a bittersweet regret. If he tried for more and had to watch Phoebe die in front of him all over again, this thing with Delaney would be tainted.
Even if that didn’t happen, Delaney couldn’t stay. She couldn’t grow old with him. He couldn’t tell her all the secrets. Hell, having her here now was against all the fucking rules.
Taking this to the conclusion he coveted wouldn’t be fair to Delaney, no matter how much he wanted her. The missing part of him would help for once, allowing him to keep that cold emotional distance. Except for a pulsing desire that seemed to melt away the block of ice around his heart.
Damn he wanted her. And they still stood, separated by the space he’d put between them, staring.
She crossed her arms, pushing up her breasts, the soft material of her t-shirt outlining her shape and the way her nipples strained against the material. With effort, he dragged his gaze back up to her face, ignoring his hard groin.
She pursed tho
se sexy lips, gaze assessing. Then muttered, “Screw this,” before crossing the space between them, her soft body flush against his hard planes. “I want you. I don’t know what you’re afraid of, but I want you.”
Holy fuck. Finn’s systems decided to shut down and he froze, experiencing the unusual sensation of a deer-in-headlights moment.
Briefly, he considered getting one of the other guys to stay in here with her, but all those off-line systems kicked back on to protest the mere idea of another man watching over her. Especially in the bedroom.
What was it about this woman that had him so…fixated? Possessive, even?
The sparkle in her eyes drew him in. She wanted him enough to push the boundaries, to remove the barriers he was throwing up, and, gods help him, he wanted to play with her.
A spark of his old self—when he’d been more carefree, more apt to tease—ignited within him. A side he’d thought had burned away long ago. Again, Deep’s words ate at his resolve. What if she could cure him? Make him stop seeing Phoebe? Make him whole again? What if….?
Whatever this was…it was too right to walk away from.
She went up on tiptoe, and softly brushed her lips over his in a kiss that he felt to the center of his soul. “Trust me,” she whispered. “We could be so good together.”
Protest and fear unclenched inside him, twisting to form something new, to add to the need flowing through his blood, scorching him from the inside.
But he had to try one more time. He couldn’t do this without her knowing everything. “I will never love you.”
There. Couldn’t get any harsher than that.
He expected a flinch or a droop to her shoulders, some outward sign of disappointment. Instead, she cocked her head, lips twitching. “Who asked you to?”
“What?” Did she just say that?
Delaney took a step closer. “You heard me.”
“You only want sex?” he asked slowly.
She smoothed her hands up his arms to his shoulders. “It’s not that so much as, given everything going on in my life, a relationship of any kind isn’t something I can think about. Not now. Not for a while probably.”
Finn’s body tightened painfully as possibility opened up before him.
