by Eden Ashe
He’d seen her temper for the first time when he’d been working security at the studio for a little over a month. Uncharacteristically drawn to the slight, slender, beautiful woman on every level, part of him had been waiting for the ugly side of her to rear its head after seeing the tantrums the other actors pulled.
It had, but not in the way he’d been expecting. Instead of sending her publicist or assistant out to complain about something, she’d gone head-to-head with the director over his treatment of one of his assistants. He’d been berating the mousy woman in front of the entire crew, and Daniel had been about to step in himself to demand the asshole back off when Shelby had come out of nowhere, sticking herself between the director and the sobbing woman. True, courage was non-existent in Hollywood, let alone anywhere in his world, yet it was something about this rarity that had reached inside of him.
He’d moved to stand behind her, prepared to go for the director’s throat if the idiot had made a move to touch Shelby.
When she’d turned to smile at him, Daniel would have cut out his own tongue easier than denying the urge to ask her out. It had confused the hell out of him when she’d said yes without hesitating, until he’d woken up to find a Hunter standing over him in her bedroom.
Disconcerted at the way she kept watching him now, he scrubbed both hands over his face before checking his watch.
“You still haven’t told me where we’re going,” she muttered.
“My place.” He crouched down against the wall, studying her. He told himself it was pure self-preservation. She was as beautiful as he remembered. He’d always loved her face. Her sunny blonde hair was longer than it had been, falling to the middle of her back, her soft curves, along with the wound he wasn’t up to seeing again, hidden behind the unflattering fabric of the blanket she wore. She may be an untrustworthy psycho, but she was a damn beautiful one.
“No.” She shook her head and glanced around, as if trying to find an escape route. “Just take me home. I’ll hire extra security, it’ll be fine. I’m not going home with you.”
“I need to get some weapons, and it’s the safest place I know.”
She snorted. “Like that’s a compelling argument. You need more weapons.” She pulled her knees to her chest, emphasizing their size difference and her vulnerability. “I don’t know what you have to do with this, and I am very sorry the doctor called you. Why your name was listed as my emergency contact, I have no idea, but I promise I’ll take care of it. It won’t happen again.”
He felt a slow, violent ticking start in his jaw. “Quit the act, princess. You know damn fucking well why I’m here, and why they called me. It was why you let me fuck you, right? Why else would you let a dragon touch that perfect body?”
Shelby didn’t react for a long moment before her mouth fell open, and without warning, she started screaming loud enough to shatter his eardrums. “Stop! Let me out!”
As if that was all it took, the ambulance slowed, and came to a sudden stop. Shelby pitched forward, landing against Daniel’s chest before he could protect himself.
When his mark hovered closely to hers, his emotions went into overload as her feelings flooded his system. He staggered under the onslaught. Her eyes flared, sensing the same. It took everything he had not to devour her right then, and let the dragon inside of him permanently stake his claim.
He lowered his head. For one spine-tingling moment, he debated kissing her. God, he had loved kissing her. “Keep the blanket wrapped around you,” he snapped, instead, as he set her as far away as his arms could reach, “and keep your head down. We’re going in underground, so there will be less eyes watching, but it doesn’t mean shit. We’re going to avoid cameras as much as we can. When we get to the elevator, keep your face turned into my chest, no matter what you see or hear. The last thing we need is someone recognizing you.”
“Wait.” Her good hand shot out, grabbing Daniel’s with more strength than he would have given her credit for under the circumstances. “You think I’m still in danger?”
Ryuu. She needed to stop. He shouldn’t care about her fear, but there was something about her that drew him in like nobody else could. Even now, the possessiveness he felt for her scared the shit out of him, screwed up his thinking. He knew he’d kill for her. Die for her.
He had no idea how much of it had to do with the fact his kind mated for life.
“Why the hell do you think I’m still here?” he asked, deliberately adding enough power to his temper to rattle the vehicle. If he couldn’t keep his wits about him, he needed to make her afraid of him.
Luca Dragan stuck his head in when the ambulance doors swung open. “All clear.” His dark blue gaze went from Daniel to Shelby, a slow, crooked grin tugging at his mouth. “You must be the mate. I’m Luca.” He shrugged, moving out of the way so they could climb out. “Too bad.”
A violent snarl tore out of Daniel before Shelby could say anything. Luca had all the charm Daniel was missing, and he was going to need the other dragon’s help in finding out what the hell was going on. That would be difficult if he killed him for looking at Shelby. “Watch it, Dragan,” he snapped as he climbed out, then reached inside for Shelby. She slapped his hands away before he could help her, carefully climbing out on her own.
Luca just shrugged again. “What? It’s a compliment. You’ve always had excellent taste in women.”
“We’re not dating.” She barely spared Dragan a glance before she turned back to Daniel and poked him in the chest with a finger. “He doesn’t actually like me very much.” Daniel wrapped his hand around her good arm and started to drag her toward the service elevator. “What did he mean by mate?”
“Nothing,” Daniel snapped. “Keep your head down, damn it. There are cameras everywhere.”
Luca hit the button for the elevator. “Do you prefer wife over mate? We mate for life, so the term means forever to us.”
Shelby stopped walking as she swung around to face Luca. “What are you talking about? Who’s mated?”
Luca went still, before his gaze swung to Daniel. “Fucking hell, you didn’t tell her?”
“Thanks, asshole, but no. I hadn’t. I’m not going to, either.”
She ignored Daniel as she kept her focus on Luca. “Tell me, what?”
“You two are mated for life.”
She turned toward Daniel, and stood there blinking for a long moment. She looked as if her head would explode. “Mated for life?”
Daniel’s jaw started to tick as Shelby’s scream echoed through the underground parking garage. Ignoring Luca’s humor, Daniel stopped walking.
She had planted both tiny feet firmly on the ground as her five-foot-two body squared off with Daniel’s much larger one. She swung her good arm out, temper seething in her pale eyes as she pointed at Luca. “If this is some weird ritualistic thing, I am not finding the humor in it. At. All.”
“Shelby–”
“Oh no.” She threw up her hand as she took an unsteady step away from him. “Don’t act like I’m doing something wrong here, Daniel. I’m pretty sure this one is all you.” Because she couldn’t move her left arm, she wrapped her good one over it. “You are taking me home right now,” she yelled. “I am not getting sucked any farther into either of your delusions. Rogue Hunters and mates and magically healing wounds. None of this stuff actually exists!”
“Welcome to the real world, princess.” He shoved a hand through his hair. Not stupid enough to give her time to realize what he was going to do, he moved in. He ignored her shouted protests as he scooped her up. He’d have preferred tossing her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, just so he didn’t have to deal with the fury in her eyes, but he couldn’t take the chance of ripping her wound open. While he was still absorbing the pain for her, he was damn sure his body wouldn’t have the resources to keep doing it if the stitches popped. “We don’t have time for this.”
“Oh, you need to make time,” she yelled, struggling to free herself from his grip.
“What the hell is going on? Answer me, you stubborn, arrogant, overbearing pain in the ass!”
Daniel ignored her. He didn’t like being questioned. He led all the dragon clans around the world because he made the hard choices. He never allowed himself to second-guess his decisions. His people came first. It was the way it was. The way it always had been. The way it always would be. He had no weaknesses, no emotional attachments to anyone or anything. Any vulnerability left his people open. They had been at war since damn near the dawning of time, and with Cage now at the head of the Hunters, peace was on the horizon for Daniel’s people for the first time in their long-ass lives. The last thing they needed was a chink in his armor caused by a woman with hair the color of sunshine and a stubbornness that matched his own.
She’d led a Hunter to him once already. No way in hell was he going to give the little traitor information that would put his people at risk.
5
Shelby sucked in a huge breath when the elevator opened directly into Daniel’s apartment. She’d expected Daniel’s place to be huge. After all, the man was a giant. He was a powerhouse of epic proportions, a massively built six-foot-eight, compared to her short five-foot-two. Anything normal size wouldn’t fit him. Having pictured him in a normal apartment or house always had the same effect on her as picturing a large, wild, untamed beast in a glass cage.
Daniel’s apartment redefined the word huge. The ceilings were at least two stories high, with windows so large it would take a full day to clean them. A studio, the only interior walls closed off what she assumed was the bathroom.
Despite the crumbling brick, everything was clean. Immaculate. There was a place for everything and everything was in its place. Shelves that lined the exterior walls were filled with weapons. A large couch sat at an odd angle in the middle of the room, almost as if it had been put there as a second thought, then forgotten about. Which made sense. It would be hard to sprawl out or get comfortable on any couch when you were the size of a large mountain. The kitchen sat against the east wall, a long black row of cabinets and shining stainless steel appliances, with a small island doubling as a table.
A neatly made bed was at the far side of the apartment, while in dead center of the large, open space was an old, black punching bag.
Completely functional–if you were a psychopath, she thought, as she eyed the rows and rows of weapons. It was completely lacking in warmth, no other workout equipment or furniture. There were no rugs or pillows or even curtains or books to warm the place up or give it a sense of identity. She frowned. The entire place felt…cold. It didn’t fit him at all. Underneath his gruff, silent exterior, the man burned hot down to his core. He deserved more comfort than this.
Damn it, she was doing it again. Somehow, from the very first moment she’d seen him, she’d had this fierce, almost uncontrollable urge in her to protect him from the world. Which was ridiculous considering the man threw off power like most people breathed. Not to mention the insane arsenal he was packing in this place. Something in his eyes pulled at her, insisting she help him.
She shivered as she turned back around to face him. For as exhausted as she felt, he looked worse. She suddenly remembered how insistent the doctor was he stay seated and rest.
If he hadn’t ignored her demand for answers, freaking her out more than a little, she would have felt sorry for him.
“Just so you know, Daniel, if I don’t know what’s going on, none of this is really happening.” She raised her brow in a dead-on imitation of the look he was currently giving her. “No way am I agreeing to be married, or mated, or whatever it is you think we’re doing here. Got it?”
“I’m a dragon.”
She gave him a slow, measured blink before she moved in. She pointed up at him. “Fine, keep making jokes, dragon boy, but I’m not kidding. None of this is happening until I know what the hell is going on.”
Luca choked as the muscle under Daniel’s left eye began to twitch. When she stood there, refusing to let him intimidate her, he took a step closer. Then another, until his massive body had her caged against the couch. She hadn’t even realized he’d walked her in a half circle as he’d stalked her. He slammed his hands on either side of her hips, leaving her with no way of escape.
His lip lifted in a sneer, his eyes deadlocked on hers. “Cut the act. It’s getting old, and I’m not buying it.”
Closing her eyes, Shelby counted to ten very slowly. Out loud. When she finally opened them, she stuck her face right in his. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!” she yelled.
His hands clenched, the huge, corded, bulging muscles of his arms flexed, and his Mack truck shoulders tightened. White-hot violence flashed in his eyes.
Then, as proof she had a concussion or was seriously hallucinating, his pupils lengthened to slits. His jaw tensed as the blood drained from her face, but in the second it took her to blink, his eyes were back to normal.
Not the same for her heart rate. She wasn’t hallucinating. She knew it. If she was dreaming of Daniel, this is not what they’d be doing. So, concussion it was. It was the only explanation.
Not caring if it made her weak, she closed her eyes in the face of his fury, sucking in a couple of steadying breaths. “I think maybe I need to sit. Your madness is rubbing off on me.”
He stepped back as he dropped his arms, giving her room to breathe. “You should rest.”
Shelby snorted at the understatement as she made herself open her eyes. He’d backed away farther than she’d thought, standing there with his arms crossed over his massive chest, the fury in his eyes banked to nothingness. Something she couldn’t identify, some emotion she didn’t want to name, landed hard in her belly, ratcheting up the odd pain in her chest.
“Can I take a shower first?”
He nodded once, his face still wiped clean of emotion. “Do you need me to carry you?”
She smiled at him–or came as close to it as possible with the rage of emotions storming through her. “I’m okay.” She wrinkled her nose before she blew out a breath, deciding to just say it. “You look like you’re about to pass out on your feet. Maybe we should both get some rest, and then we can start over with real answers after we nap?” When he kept that damnable eyebrow raised, she narrowed her eyes before she turned to stalk down toward the bathroom. “Fine. Okay, then.”
She’d almost reached the bathroom when his voice boomed out, stopping her in her tracks. “Shelby.”
“Yes?”
When she didn’t turn to face him, an angry sound reverberated through the room. “I meant what I said. I’m a dragon.”
She didn’t move as she tried to wrap her brain around Daniel being delusional. When she couldn’t get there, she shook her head and, without a word, continued onto the bathroom. She slumped against the door as soon as it was closed behind her. What did you say to a man who destroyed your life, hoarded weapons, then tried to convince you he was a dragon?
* * * *
Daniel could feel Luca’s eyes boring into the back of his head. He knew the other dragon had questions–he had questions. It was the answers he had issues with.
Shaking his head to clear it, he shoved a hand through his hair as he headed for the bedroom area of his apartment. “What did you find out?”
Like someone had flipped a switch, the humor in Luca was gone as he stopped in front of Daniel. The son of a psychopath, there wasn’t a moment of any day that Luca did not hold himself tightly in check. The absolute control was something Daniel admired, when it didn’t scare the hell out of him. Because in his experience, anything wound that tight, was bound to explode. When it happened, it would be up to Daniel to put Luca down.
Luca shrugged. “It was a Hunter, but there is no way of telling if she was the target, or you were.”
“Cage says the hit didn’t go through him.”
“Then it didn’t. If Cage said he didn’t authorize it, we have no choice but to believe him. He’d lose as much as we would if war broke out
again, with Seren caught in the middle. She’s carrying the first hybrid child.”
Daniel squatted catcher-style next to his bed. After hitting a couple of strategically placed knots on the floorboard, a trap door swung open to reveal a hidden arsenal. “It doesn’t explain why Shelby was shot.” Because he could feel the fury he’d been trying to bury for the last couple of hours start to boil in his blood, he focused his energy on keeping his face neutral. He was the leader. This was his problem. He would not drag his men into this. As long as they thought he had everything under control, they wouldn’t worry.
Any unknown in the Hunter world concerned him. A wild card, an unseen variable could mean destruction and devastation for Daniel’s people. The Hunters were a creation of the goddess Gwendolyn, meant to fight side by side with the dragons to protect the humans from the few dragons seduced by power. They were massively big, with super-human strength and senses, and dragons were the only known beings in the world capable of taking one down if it went rogue. Which was happening more and more lately, for reasons no one really understood.
He shook his head to clear it. As much as he wanted to go after the Hunters himself, his best option at the moment was to go through Cage.
He glanced at Luca. “How could no one have seen anything? It was a fucking movie premiere.”
Luca studied the huge-ass arsenal in the hidden room beneath them before he spoke again. “I don’t know. The Hunter couldn’t have wiped the memories clean of everyone there and hid it from the cameras.”
