by Donna Grant
Darius could stand naked in the hospital, and she wouldn’t feel anything.
Like hell you wouldn’t. You’d definitely feel something.
She blew out a breath. Her subconscious was right. She felt something now, but she wouldn’t act on it. She couldn’t.
“Never again,” she murmured.
Claire eyed her suspiciously before she went back to her story of the men on an online dating site she’d signed up for. All the ones who wanted to talk to her were old, extremely unattractive, or just creepy. The few Claire had shown interest in hadn’t bothered to even acknowledge her existence.
If anyone needed to be “ridden well” as she put it, it was Claire.
If only Sophie knew someone she could introduce to Claire. Sophie hated when people interfered in her love life, but Claire was different. Claire had been through hell and back with a man who strung her along for four years promising marriage, and then left her for another man.
Claire still believed in love and romance and everything that went with it. She deserved a man who opened doors for her, who called first, who brought her flowers for no reason, and who always had her well-being in mind. She merited a man who couldn’t keep his hands off her, a man who only had eyes for her, and a man who pleasured her until she was limp.
It was ironic that Sophie once craved those very things, but fate had a way of forcing someone to realize how tragic and difficult life could be.
But Claire wasn’t her. Claire had a chance, and if Sophie could help, she would.
Instantly, an image of Darius rose in her mind. Claire might be her closest friend, but she wasn’t about to share Darius. Darius was a secret Sophie would carry to her grave.
“One loser after another,” Claire said as she scrolled through her “matches” from the dating site. “It’s ridiculous who they think I’d want to go out with. Eww,” she exclaimed at one individual.
Sophie swallowed her bite of sandwich and grimaced when Claire showed her the picture of what Sophie would’ve swore was a drunken mug shot.
“That does it,” Claire said with a shake of her head. “I’m deleting my profile. I might as well invest in a better vibrator, because it looks like that’s going to be my bed partner from now on.”
Sophie opened her mouth to say something, but she clenched her legs together as she recalled Darius. No vibrator or dildo in the world could compare to the real thing after him.
CHAPTER
FOUR
Darius knew walking into the hospital was a bad idea. As soon as he entered, his gaze searched for red hair instead of keeping his focus solely on Ulrik.
Ulrik’s path through the hallways had been casual, almost as if he were taking a stroll through a park. He didn’t look inside the rooms or talk to anyone.
Darius remained far enough behind him not to be noticed, but Ulrik was a Dragon King. He knew Darius was there. The way Ulrik acted was almost as if he wanted Darius to follow him.
And when Ulrik finally halted and leaned against a wall while eating a bag of pistachios, Darius knew why. He prayed he was wrong for once. Then Sophie came into view and it was like a punch in his gut.
Darius actually took a step back. His gaze was locked on her and his lungs seized. How had he stayed away from her? He hadn’t forgotten how stunningly gorgeous she was, from her pale skin that looked like cream to her vibrant red hair that had felt like cool silk in his hand.
He drank her in, as if he was starved for the very sight of her. From her oval face to her almond-shaped eyes to her incredible lips, she was hypnotic, spellbinding.
Magnetic.
Darius licked his lips, recalling the captivating taste of her. Even weeks later he could still recall how it felt to have her tight sheath clamped around his cock as she peaked and feel her nails cut into his neck from her grip.
Dr. Sophie Martin might appear as calm and cool as a porcelain doll to the world. But he’d seen her fire. He’d felt it. And flamed it higher.
She’d been wild and uninhibited in his arms. The mask she wore had been stripped away without his even trying. He wasn’t even sure she was aware of all she had shown him while in the throes of such passion.
Nor did Darius want to think about what he might have given away. He’d wanted her, but he had been wholly unprepared for his strong, visceral reaction to her.
It was why he’d kept away from her. Well, that among other reasons. Yet, now that she stood just down the corridor from him, he realized what an utter fool he’d been.
Darius forgot all about Ulrik, forgot why he had followed him into the hospital. Darius was about to go to Sophie and pull her into his arms for a kiss.
He watched as she looked at Ulrik. Then her gaze slid away and landed on him. Darius waited to see a look of delight or even a hint of a smile, but she turned away as if he were a stranger.
As if they hadn’t shared an earth-shattering moment weeks earlier while Edinburgh burned.
Darius was so shocked by the cold reception that he could only watch as she disappeared into a patient’s room.
When he blinked, Ulrik was walking away. Darius had no choice but to follow. He glanced inside the room Sophie entered and saw her standing beside the bed of a woman who had obviously been beaten.
Darius could hear Sophie speaking softly to the woman, telling her that she would heal, but if she didn’t take action against her husband that she might not be so fortunate next time.
He fought against his instinct to remain near Sophie. It was no accident that Ulrik entered the hospital or walked to Sophie’s floor. Ulrik did nothing without a reason.
There was a slim chance that it was purely coincidence that Ulrik had gone to Sophie’s floor, but Darius knew that thought was rubbish. But how did Ulrik know of Sophie?
Unless he’d seen Darius with her that night in the streets. Darius had been so wrapped up in the woman in his arms that he hadn’t paid attention to anything else. It had shocked him how easily she’d managed to make the world fall away.
Darius took one more look at Sophie standing straight as an arrow with her long, thick red hair piled once more behind her head. He wanted to yank her hair down and shove her against the wall to take her once more.
He hadn’t imagined the passion that blazed within her, and he wanted to prove it to her.
“Another time,” he murmured to himself.
Even as he wondered why after swearing to stay away from her.
Darius lost Ulrik in the throng of people entering and exiting the hospital. By the time he found Ulrik a few moments later, Ulrik was flirting with a pretty brunette.
Still reeling from Sophie’s reaction to him, Darius walked to a bench and sat, waiting on Ulrik. He was able to keep an eye on Ulrik as well as get a clear view of the hospital entrance.
Darius wasn’t surprised when Ulrik ended his conversation with the nurse and came to sit beside him. Neither said a word as Ulrik cracked another pistachio and popped the green nut into his mouth.
“I figured you’d remain behind and talk to her.”
Darius clenched his teeth. Shite. Just as he’d feared, Ulrik was there for Sophie. He and Thorn had taken great pains to make sure Sophie was never seen helping them heal Lexi. That meant Ulrik discovered Sophie from Darius’s carelessness.
Fuck. He’d really buggered things this time.
“What do you want with her?” Darius asked.
Ulrik tossed aside more empty shells and shrugged. “She’s attractive. If you like redheads. I’ve always found them to be extremely enthusiastic in bed.”
Darius didn’t respond. There was nothing he could say that would help Sophie’s case, especially when he wanted to tell Ulrik to kiss off.
Ulrik cut him a look, a sly smile upon his lips. “I didna think you’d be so careless as to get tangled with another female, Darius. Not after your … past.”
Darius took a deep breath and slowly released it, attempting to keep his anger under control. He’d woken from his lo
ng sleep as angry as when he sought out his cave. Consequently, it didn’t take much to set him off.
It took an incredible amount of effort for him to keep his mouth shut and his hands to himself when all he wanted to do was shift into dragon form and go for Ulrik’s jugular.
Instead, he took a page out of Constantine’s book. He pushed all the rage and all his emotions aside until there was nothing. Only then was Darius able to respond. “I’m no’ anything with the doctor.”
“Always the same response given. I was hoping you might be more creative.”
“How do you know I have no’ already contacted Con?”
Ulrik turned his head and shot Darius a smile. “Because of the doctor. You want to know what I’m about before you inform Con I’m here.”
That had been Ulrik’s gift before he went rogue and was exiled from Dreagan. He had always been able to figure people out, no matter what they hid.
“Con knows you’re here.”
Ulrik laughed and reached into the bag for another handful of pistachios. “If he did, he’d be here. Oh, wait. He can no’ get here fast enough since he has to drive.”
Darius wanted to wipe the smirk from Ulrik’s face. The crowd of people around them kept him where he was. The smugness in Ulrik’s voice as he mentioned how none of the Dragon Kings could shift and take to the skies threatened to break Darius’s calm, but he managed to hold onto it.
“My battle with Con is coming soon,” Ulrik said. “Pitting us against each other here willna do anyone any good. No’ at the moment, at any rate.”
“You’ve done what you wanted. You’ve clipped our wings,” Darius said. “For now.”
Ulrik finished chewing and swallowed before he said in a tight voice, “I wasna able to shift into my true form for thousands of millennia. Doona talk to me about having your wings clipped.”
For the briefest second, Darius saw the fury in Ulrik’s gold eyes before it was tempered. He’d gone a mere few weeks unable to take to the skies, but Darius had been able to shift. Ulrik hadn’t been able to do either for too many centuries to count. As awful as Darius imagined that was, it didn’t excuse Ulrik from the atrocities he’d committed in the past few years.
“If you hate Con so much, why no’ just go after him?” Darius asked.
Ulrik stood and wadded up the empty bag. “Because fucking with all of you is too much fun.”
Darius knew it was more than that. Ulrik was too cunning to waste time causing trouble. Each assault, each strike was calculated. “So you’ll destroy our entire race because you were exiled?”
“I wasna merely exiled, or have you forgotten so easily?” Ulrik’s half smile hardened, his gold eyes becoming icy. “All of you killed her. That was my right for her betrayal. And instead of wiping the mortals from our realm, you and the others chose to protect them. The verra ones who were going to try and kill me. The ones who were responsible for our dragons being sent away. You want to know if I’ll destroy all of you? I’ll do it with a smile on my face.”
“If you’re the only Dragon King left, you willna be able to fight the Dark Fae who will want to take over this realm.”
Not a shred of emotion crossed Ulrik’s face. Darius hoped to read something in his old friend’s visage to help determine what Ulrik planned, but once more Ulrik was proving to be a master at hiding his plans.
Darius stood, putting them eye to eye. “You want to fight Con? Then fight him. We all know what’s coming is between the two of you.”
“Do you now?” Ulrik chuckled softly.
“Aye.”
Darius kept his gaze on Ulrik even though he wanted to look around the hospital. Ulrik had proven in the past that he was more than capable—and willing—to kill any woman who could be a mate to a King.
Darius wasn’t going to allow Sophie to become mixed up in this. He’d do whatever was needed to keep her out of harm’s way—which meant away from Ulrik.
She was only involved because they had brought her in. Darius made it worse by seeking her out to make love to her. If he walked away now, there was a chance Ulrik would turn his attention from her.
“I want all of you to understand how it feels to be trapped in human form without any way out. Unless you have a warehouse big enough for you to shift and burn Dark bodies.”
So Darius had been followed. How had he not known of it? He was normally very attuned to that sort of thing. It grated on his nerves that Ulrik one-upped him again.
“So your focus is on me now?” Darius asked. “You saved Lily for Rhys, only to kill Darcy to hurt Warrick?”
Darius left out the part about how they saved Darcy who was living happily with Warrick at Dreagan.
Ulrik tossed the bag into a nearby trash bin. “Perhaps I’m here to save Sophie.”
Darius didn’t believe that for a moment. Ulrik had proven that he wasn’t to be trusted an inch. Yes, he had helped save Lily, but he’d also harmed the Kings in more ways.
“You doona believe me.” Ulrik dusted off his hands. “I could tell you all my secrets right now, and you wouldna believe them.”
“You’ve proven yourself a liar who is only after his own agenda.”
“And you were no’ after your own agenda two weeks ago when you took the pretty doctor against the building?” Ulrik asked nonchalantly. “You seemed rather intent on your agenda.”
Darius fisted his hands to keep from striking Ulrik’s smug face. So they’d been watched. By Ulrik.
Ulrik had seen her passion, her desire. He’d heard her cries of pleasure. The bastard. Darius wanted to make him pay for witnessing what he alone should’ve seen. Never mind the fact that he had taken her on the street.
Ulrik laughed softly. “That blank stare you’re giving me reminds me of Con. Unfortunately, your clenched hands tell a different story. You care for the doctor.”
“She was a female. It had been a long while since I had such a release. That was all.”
“Is it?” Ulrik asked with a smirk. “With that kind of passion? Doona bother with such lies, Darius.”
Darius closed the distance between them so that he was almost nose to nose with Ulrik. “Too many innocents have paid the price for our war. I doona want her—or anyone in that hospital—harmed because you believe I hold some feelings for the mortal.”
Ulrik stared at him a long time.
“If you wanted to hurt me, you’ve already done that by making sure I can no’ fly. You’ve done what you wanted. Leave,” Darius demanded.
“My plans are just getting underway. Besides, I’ve no interest in leaving Edinburgh just yet. Go ahead and tell Con. We can have our battle right here.”
Darius knew Con would never condone such a thing. Con took his vow to protect the humans too seriously to battle Ulrik to the death in front of them.
He moved in front of Ulrik to halt his turning away. “I’m no’ going to tell you again to stay away from the doctor.”
“Ahh,” Ulrik said with a sneer. “Is one of you finally going to step up and challenge me?”
Damn. Darius couldn’t. Con had already called that option.
“I didna think so.” Ulrik gave a bark of laughter. “What a pity. I thought the old Darius might’ve returned. But you’re still the same broken dragon.”
He glared into Ulrik’s gold eyes. “If you’re looking for a fight, I’m right here. Though it willna be a fair fight with you only having some of your magic.”
Ulrik’s smile was cold. “You think you know so much. You know nothing. None of you do. When it all comes down, you’ll realize just how many pieces of the puzzle all of you were missing.”
“Trying to change the subject?”
Ulrik held his gaze, his smile hardening. “No’ at all.”
A shout of pain pulled Darius’s gaze from Ulrik over his shoulder to a woman who was on the ground writhing in pain.
“Keep pushing me, Darius. I’ve no problem hurting any of these … beings,” Ulrik said.
Darius tho
ught of Sophie and the hundreds of people in the hospital. He recalled his oath to protect the humans, and though it went against everything he was, he didn’t slam his fist into Ulrik’s face as he wanted.
Or rip him apart. That’s what Darius really wanted to do.
The warrior of old, the lethal dragon that struck without remorse or hesitation reared its head. Darius thought he’d lost that warrior spirit long ago. He’d felt a stirring of it a few weeks ago—then more and more each day.
Then, today, he knew it was back. He was back. The dragon he’d been before tragedy struck.
Now he had a target—and someone to protect. Ulrik wasn’t going to know what hit him by the time Darius was through with him.
The woman’s screams became louder as people gathered around her and hospital workers rushed out to help her. This wasn’t the time to remind Ulrik of his place in the world. That would come soon enough.
Darius thought of Sophie working in the building behind him, saving lives. He pictured her olive eyes, her smile. And he managed to remain where he was, in complete control of his fury.
“One day soon you’ll know the secrets Con has been so desperate to keep from all of you,” Ulrik said as he walked away, his smile too smug for Darius.
The woman’s screams stopped and she was helped to her feet a moment later.
Darius wanted to talk to Sophie, but he followed Ulrik instead. Right up until Ulrik vanished into thin air a minute later.
CHAPTER
FIVE
Pompeii, Italy
Balladyn stared at the ruins of Pompeii, remembering how he tracked Rhi there. He’d searched all over the realm for her. Every time he got close, she slipped away. He felt her, just as she had felt him.
He still wasn’t sure why she stopped running from him. But he was glad when she did.
From the time she was a young hellion of a Light Fae, she’d run rampant over everyone and everything. It wasn’t just Fae who were drawn to her. It was everyone and everything—plants, animals, wind, water, and even the sun.
She was a force to be reckoned with, and she wasn’t even aware of it.
