by Eden Ashe
His lip lifted in a sneer, something in the depths of his eyes shutting off. “I don’t mean to.”
“Hey,” she murmured, pulling his face down to hers, “I like it. I can’t explain it, but nobody scowls at me. Nobody argues with me. Nobody does anything but smile at me, then rush to do my bidding, even when I am just talking out loud. It makes me feel…I don’t know, safe, I guess, when you scowl at me. Like I’m in the realm of normal and don’t have to be perfect.”
“You’re not making sense, princess,” he said quietly. “How is this anywhere near normal?”
She let out an unladylike snort. “My last male co-star spends more a month on his hair than I do, and he has less than Bain over there. His studio contract has a clause that assures he gets daily manis and pedis, along with weekly facials. He has a stunt double because his face is insured for enough money to make you cry.” She let out a harsh laugh. “Trust me. Nothing about my life in Hollywood is normal. At least you guys act like men.”
He didn’t move for so long, Shelby started to worry she’d offended him somehow. Then he hooked his arm around her waist and lifted her, only to deposit her in the office chair. Leaning down, he growled quietly in her ear, the sheer power behind the sound making her shiver. “I like you too.” Then he turned the chair around to face the computer screen. “Let’s do this.”
Shelby nodded at Broderick. “You heard my mate. Let’s do this.”
As she waited for whatever Broderick wanted to show her, she reached her hand up over her shoulder. The second he wrapped his around it, she smiled, lacing their fingers together.
* * * *
Shelby didn’t know how long they sat there, going over every second of video footage, frame by frame, from every angle Broderick could find. Which, considering the sources he had to download from, were many.
Her head was hurting, her back was stiff from hunching over for so long, and her eyes felt gritty. Broderick showed no signs of wearing down, but Daniel’s impatient warning sounds were getting more pissed off by the minute. He hooked his arm around her waist, lifting her out of the chair and settling himself in it, before getting her comfortable in his lap. When she tried to wiggle into a more comfortable position, his large hands clamped around her hips, holding her in place.
She didn’t know what they were looking for. She’d pointed out friends, the people who worked for her, the paparazzi and journalists she’d recognized. Broderick took careful notes, but Shelby wasn’t sure they’d accomplished anything.
Shifting back on Daniel’s lap slightly, Shelby rolled her neck in an effort to work out the knots. She glanced at Broderick. “I don’t know. Can you play the first video of me being shot from the beginning?”
“Shelby–”Daniel started, his voice a low warning.
“I know,” she murmured. “I just can’t see anything out of the ordinary. No one’s acting weird before, like they were waiting for the bullet to hit, or standing out of the way.”
“Give me a minute.” One of his hands rubbed absently at the back of her neck as he leaned toward the nearest monitor. “Enlarge this.” He tapped the screen. “Who’s she?”
Shelby dropped her head so he could work out the knot at the base of her neck. “You don’t recognize her? Wow.” Her brow furrowed when she felt both men turn to stare at her. “Okay, it’s Alicia Kincade.”
“You’re related?”
“She’s my half-sister, but we’re not close.” Shelby shook her head. “I don’t know her very well. She’s new to Hollywood, and it was her first part. Since I was the only person from filming she kept in contact with, she called a couple of days ago to ask if she could ride with me to the premiere.” She shrugged, aware of the way they were all gaping at her. “It was her first one. She was nervous.”
Daniel frowned. “I didn’t know you had a sister.”
“I have a couple. We’re not close.”
“Why do you think I’d recognize her?” he asked.
Shelby told herself it was ridiculous to be jealous. “She was a lingerie model before she started acting. Most men recognize her on sight.”
“Fucking hell, that’s where I knew those–ah, her face,” Broderick chuckled. “She’s been on every billboard and magazine in the country for the last two years.”
Shelby looked up at Daniel, who was still watching the footage. “She has. She’s, um, well, she’s very nicely made.”
“I’ll say,” Broderick drawled.
Shelby ignored them, while doing her best to pretend she wasn’t watching Daniel’s face for a reaction to Alicia’s goddess-like body.
“Dallas, come here.” When the other dragon came up behind them, Daniel jerked his head at Broderick. “Play it back, but stop it before Shelby gets out of the limo.”
If any of them noticed the way Shelby’s body stiffened, none of them spared her a glance. Instead, all three of them leaned forward in unison, watching footage replay.
Dallas leaned forward even more, his head cocked and his silver-green eyes narrowed. “Again.”
Shelby did not need to be there while they obsessed about a woman who spent her time in nothing more than a bra or bathing suit. Even if it was her sister. When he let her go without so much as a glance as she slipped off his lap, she muttered something about needing the restroom. She darted into the main area of the house just as they called for Luca.
She didn’t give in to the stupid tears burning at her eyes until the bathroom door had firmly shut behind her. This was so ridiculous. She knew it. Really she did. She’d experienced this with every other man she’d dated while being in Hollywood. She’d expected Daniel to be…well…
Different. Better.
Because he was. She wasn’t naive enough to think he hadn’t risked his life by healing her yesterday. He’d barely been able to stand or hold his eyes open for most of the day, but he’d done it because she’d needed him.
Sniffling pathetically, she dragged the back of her hand under her eyes. Damn. He was such a good man. So what if he was drooling over her sister. No one was perfect, were they?
She should have known this would eventually be a problem. It always was, because people always found out she didn’t exist anywhere except for on the screen. She was pretty to look at, but she had no personality beyond what she’d learned in her various roles. She didn’t know how to be a mate, a wife, or a normal human being. Let alone the queen of an entire race of mythical beings. It was a roll she’d never played, and it left her feeling empty.
“Shelby.”
She cursed at Daniel’s quiet voice, and dashed over to the sink. She splashed water on her face, pulled a Scarlet O’Hara and pinched her cheeks, then plastered her sweet, media-friendly smile on her face as she opened the door.
“We found the–what the hell, woman?” He bellowed. “Why are you crying now?”
Her mouth dropped open. No one ever saw past her smile. “What did you find?”
“The shooter. Why are you crying?”
Her hand snagged his as the jealousy that had been building in her chest faded. “Who?”
“Alicia. Why were you crying?”
A weird buzzing started in her head. Nausea welled up so fast, she had to reach a hand out to steady herself against the sink. “Daniel, that’s insane. She’s my sister.”
“We all watched the footage and we all saw the exact same thing. She didn’t pull the trigger, but she knew it was coming.” He took a step in, taking up all her space. The pad of his thumb gently wiped at her tears. “Why were you crying?”
“I was jealous. Daniel, are you sure?”
Real confusion flickered in his eyes. “Jealous of what?”
“Well...” she made a face, embarrassment staining her cheeks pink. “Of Alicia. I thought you were watching her just to watch her.” She shook her head before he could react, and just rushed on. “You’re sure it was her? Why would she want me dead?”
“I don’t know, but I’m sure as hell going to find out. S
top crying, damn it. I couldn’t even tell you what color the woman’s hair is. No one else exists in this world for me except you, princess, so get used to it.”
14
Her mouth dropped open. “I’m sorry, Daniel, what?”
He frowned at her as he felt the muscle directly under his eye start ticking again. “Ryuu. Just drop it, princess, alright? I told you I don’t know how to do this mate–”
Before he could finish the words, she’d leapt at him, winding her arms around his neck. She buried her face in his throat. “You’re good, Daniel.” When she locked her legs around his waist, he was sure the woman was trying to burrow into him. He had to grit his teeth against the intense pleasure at the thought. Then she sniffled, and he felt his head explode. “You’re really good at this.”
He let out a frustrated sound. She was trying to drive him mental on purpose. He knew it. “Then why the hell are you crying?” he demanded.
The damn woman only hugged him tighter for a long moment, until she finally pulled back. She lifted her head, her eyes meeting his for the barest heartbeat before she moved in, fusing her mouth to his.
Daniel staggered back a step as he felt the low, savage growl form in his chest as every muscle in his body tightened. There was nothing he could do about it. He wanted her–every bone in his body ached with the need to possess her again. Confused or not, he wasn’t about to fuck this up. He dragged her closer as his mouth ravaged hers. He backed her into the vanity and hitched her up onto it. He didn’t care that the other dragons were still in the cave. He didn’t care she had every reason to want nothing to do with him. The only thing he gave a shit about was the feeling of his mate as she made the soft, wild sound in the back of her throat that drove him to madness, diving into him with the same desperation he felt.
He knew he should be taking his time with her. He meant to, but his soul felt its mate and there would be no denying it now. The mark over his heart burned, flaring bright, waiting for hers to echo it. As it did, as he felt himself finally become whole again, his mouth dragged over her throat, desperate for the taste of her skin, his hands frantic as he tugged at the thin fabric of her a tank top.
He didn’t know how they got out of the rest of their clothes. He lost all rational thought the second he saw her naked skin. He kicked the bathroom door shut as he tugged her head back and forced her to look at him as he drove into her with one swift, powerful thrust.
When she bowed back with a scream, her legs tightening around his waist, his self-control simply failed. His sanity was gone. All that existed was Shelby. His Shelby. His mate.
He slammed his palms down on the counter, caging her in as she bowed up, meeting the desperation in him head on. Pleasure roared up his spine like a freight train, screaming for release. Eleven months was too fucking long without her, without this.
He pounded into her harder, faster, driving them both over the edge, straight into oblivion. Her body arched back as her orgasm exploded inside of her. The sight of her letting go so completely for him was all he could take. His head fell back on a roar as he gave in, the pleasure erupting inside of him as everything in the entire world went black, fading from existence.
Except for his Shelby.
Daniel didn’t know how long it took before reality started to intrude again on his subconscious. He only knew years wouldn’t have been long enough.
At some point after they’d both come down from their mind-blowing orgasms, they’d sunk to the floor, their bodies wrapped around each other until it was almost impossible to tell where one started and the other began.
He couldn’t stop touching her. As his fingers slid through her hair, he was aware he’d never experienced anything like this in all of his long years. He wanted to worship her, to give her the gentleness he’d never known he had inside of him, to protect her from feeling anything but joy ever again.
Ryuu. He didn’t know how to do that shit. He didn’t know how to make her life what she wanted it to be. Worse, he had no idea how in the fucking hell he was going to be the kind of mate she deserved, for however long it took him to find a way to break the binding.
He would break it. He knew that now. Letting her go was his only option, no matter what it did to him in the end. He would drag her down into his misery if he didn’t, forcing him to watch as he slowly destroyed everything he loved about her.
So yes. He would let her go. He just wasn’t stupid or masochistic enough to push her away when they only had a little bit of time left.
“Daniel?”
Her soft voice halted his spinning thoughts. He forced his face to soften as he lowered his gaze to her upturned face. His heart slammed violently against his ribcage at the warm, satisfied look in her beautiful soft green eyes. “Yes?” he asked on a murmur, his voice hoarse as he tried to keep his wild emotions from breaking through the small place in his heart where he’d shoved them.
“Nothing.” She grinned as she shifted on his lap, bringing them eye to eye as she wound her arms around his neck. “Just wanted to make sure if I’d died and gone to heaven you were there with me.”
He groaned as he went rock hard inside of her again. He caught her hips to hold her still, but she only leaned down to rest her forehead against his. God, he needed her. All the way to his core needed her. “You’re not going anywhere I can’t follow, princess.” He shoved his hands into her hair and forced her gaze to his so she could see the insanity burning behind his eyes. “You are not allowed to fucking die on me, got it?”
* * * *
Her breath caught at the fear in him. She didn’t understand why he couldn’t see how beautiful he was on the inside. Desperate to show him how much she needed him, she lowered her mouth onto his, her hips moving slowly over his.
When he reared up, ready to devour her again, to take their pace back to frantic, Shelby stilled, gently cupped his face in both her hands. “No,” she whispered, her eyes steady on his. “My pace.”
He growled at her, panic in his eyes. It nearly broke her heart. She needed to do this for him. Dragging her mouth over his shoulder, she let her hands slide slowly over the bulging muscles in his arms, deliberately keeping her fingers gentle as they soothed the water scars on his shoulder. She didn’t know how much gentleness he’d ever had in his life, and while she wasn’t naive enough to believe it was ever a term that should fit a dragon-man, she needed to show him.
She took her time with him. She explored his body as she kept their pace slow. She kept her eyes steady on his, so he could see what he did to her, everything he made her feel. In return, she gave him everything she was, until she was left raw and exposed.
She screamed his name as she went over that fine edge, her body quaking with aftershocks as he roared his release.
Shelby knew immediately she’d done something wrong. He was still with her, his body still tangled up in hers, but she didn’t have to be inside his head to know he was pulling back from her.
She felt it.
Then the animalistic growling started as he carefully got them both to their feet. Before she could ask what was wrong, he grabbed her shirt, yanking it down over her head.
“Get dressed,” he snapped.
She wanted to argue with him. She’d meant to make things better for him, not make things worse between them, but his face had closed off. Her eyes could no longer reach the one place in his where she always felt seen. Like he’d completely disconnected himself.
It took her longer to get dressed than it did him, but he didn’t open the door until he was positive she was decent. He strode out, every muscle in his body strung tight.
It took everything she had to battle back her tears as she watched him storm away. Damn it. This wasn’t how she’d meant this to go.
To make it worse, none of the other dragons would look at her. Even though they’d shut the door, neither her nor Daniel had been very quiet. She dropped her head, embarrassed, a blush tinting her cheeks.
“Hungry?”
Shelby’s gaze snapped up at the rough voice. Dallas glanced at her over his shoulder, before he turned back to the stove. Her blush went deeper, but as she turned to find Daniel deep in discussion with Broderick like nothing had happened, she blew out a breath. “Actually, I’m starving.”
“I made burgers.” He shrugged as she moved over to lean against the counter. “It’s all I can do on short notice.”
She let out a quiet snort. “Don’t worry. I’m lucky if I can find my kitchen on most days.” Shelby realized the second the words were out of her mouth how privileged she sounded. She shot him a sheepish grin. “People don’t expect me to take care of myself, and if I insist, rumors start spreading I’m in serious financial trouble.”
Dallas flipped the burgers. “Can’t you ignore the rumors?”
“Sure.” She worried at her bottom lip for a moment. He had an assortment of veggies laid out, ready for chopping. A wicked knife sat next to a cutting board. Moving over to the sink, she washed her hands, before turning her attention to the vegetables. She could do this. “They’re only rumors.”
“So what does it matter?”
Shelby gingerly picked up a tomato. She scowled down at it. “It’s not the rumors, not really. It’s the media. They’re relentless. They can, will, and have dug into every part of my life.”
Dallas studied her for a moment, before he raised a brow. He pointed at her. “That’s a tomato.” When she shot him a look, he shrugged, turning his attention back to the burgers. “Not to sound like an ass, but didn’t you give up the right to privacy when you decided to become an actress?”
“Of course,” she murmured. She set the tomato down and picked up the knife. She took a deep breath, and sliced it down the middle. She let out a relieved sigh when she accomplished it without taking a fingertip off. Since she didn’t think anyone wanted half a tomato on their burger, she concentrated on slicing each half smaller. “I don’t seek the paparazzi out, and then whine about my lack of privacy.” She shook her head, then scratched her nose with the back of her hand. “I don’t know. It’s hard to explain. People want you to fail. The entire world watches every move I make, just waiting for me to fall on my face. And whoever films it, gets rich. Nothing is private or off limits. If a reporter films my reaction to my co-star cheating on his wife, it will make him money. But if a reporter finds the father who abandoned me as a child, it will make him a heck of a lot more. They all want to be the one to break the next big story.” She shrugged, making a face at the tomato that was making more of a mess than she’d expected. “But, like you said, I’m the one who picked the career.” She hesitated. “You and Daniel are friends, right?”
