by Rinelle Grey
Verrian slid into the seat next to her, and then instantly winced as a young man, obviously encouraged by Verrian’s performance, sang into the microphone, badly off key.
“I see your point,” Verrian said quietly.
Lisa gave a laugh. “You started it,” she teased him. “You made it look so easy everyone wants to have a go.”
He looked so startled and guilty, she relented. “But it was worth it.”
“Did you like it, Lisa?” Verrian asked eagerly.
The way her name rolled off his tongue made it sound almost melodic. She’d often grumped that her parents didn’t have an ounce of imagination, to name her Lisa of all things. She’d even tried to convince everyone to call her Madison at one point, but even when they remembered, she’d forgotten to respond, so the idea had died quickly.
Now she was glad it had. She couldn’t imagine anything more beautiful than her name on his lips.
It took her a few moments to remember what he’d asked. “Like it? Do you have to ask?”
She really meant it. Surely he knew how good he was?
Verrian leaned back in his chair and gave her a cheeky grin. “Oh, I know I was good, the applause tells me that. But I wanted to know if you liked it.”
For a minute, Lisa was thrown. Was this the same dragon who’d been putting himself down every time another dragon showed up to fight? Where had this confidence come from?
Maybe from not being attacked? She bit back a laugh. It was amazing what that would do for you.
Verrian’s voice lowered a notch. “You’re the only one here who’s opinion I care about.”
Her? He wanted to know what she thought? The tiny bit of Lisa’s heart that had managed to stay intact from his singing, melted into a puddle instantly.
He cared about what she thought, more than the huge applause he’d received for his brilliant performance.
Well, that, at least, she could give him wholeheartedly.
“It was beautiful,” she said softly.
It felt like you were singing just for me, she wanted to add, but wasn’t game.
She didn’t dare, because she wasn’t sure how she’d respond if he said he was.
The woman at the table next to them stood up and tugged on her partner’s hand. He resisted a little, but he was grinning. Both of them headed down to the space in front of the stage, and began dancing.
Once the ice was broken, another couple joined them. Then another. Then Olivia pulled Kevin down. The two of them danced, their bodies pressed up against each other, that new, almost magical love shining in their eyes.
Lisa felt her own eyes misting over. What would that be like? To be dancing with someone you thought might be the one?
Verrian watched them too, his eyes dark and focused. He turned to Lisa, and her heart beat a little faster as she anticipated what he was going to say.
“Do you want to dance?”
Did he dance as well as he sang? Somehow, Lisa was sure he did.
Accepting his offer was dangerous. It had been hard enough to resist him singing for her, but dancing, his body rubbing up against hers, there was no way she was going to be able to resist that.
And the truth was, she didn’t want to.
She wanted to see if she felt like Olivia and Kevin did. She wanted to experience a little of that magic, even if she knew it was just pretend.
She’d resisted this for so long, running away from her parents, Rita, even Ultrima. She’d done the right thing and kept her distance.
The desire for him hadn’t lessened any.
She suspected it wasn’t going to.
That lead her thoughts down a complex maze of pathways with many possible exits, none of which she really wanted to consider right now.
The reality was, she didn’t have to. She and Verrian had only slept together once. They could do it again with no risks whatsoever.
She’d already proved that she could resist him. It wasn’t like she was going to sleep with him again and then totally lose all self-control and be unable to help doing it again.
She was sure she could keep her distance if necessary, even if she didn’t want to.
That certainty gave her the confidence to return his smile and answer, “I’d love to.”
Verrian didn’t hesitate at all. He stood up and reached for her hand.
Excitement ran through Lisa’s body vibrating in time with the beat of the music. She put her hand in his, knowing she was accepting more than a dance. Once their bodies touched, she knew there would be no going back. Not tonight.
This was it. She was going to do it.
Not right now of course, but later, tonight, once they were back at her apartment.
That knowledge made the whole experience that much more intense.
Verrian stared at the other dancers as they wound their way through the mostly empty tables. Lisa bit her lip, doubts surfacing. Not doubts about doing this, but about Verrian fitting in. Would his dancing be so different that people noticed and wondered why?
She should have known she had no reason to worry. When Verrian began to sway to the music in front of her, his dance was a perfect mimic of the other dances around them.
He fitted in just fine, but that’s where the similarity ended.
Verrian’s body moved as if he was part of the music, and given his magical powers revolved around sound in all its variations, maybe he was.
Lisa felt a little awkward as she tried to copy his moves, her face heating.
What was she thinking, expecting that she could dance with Verrian? She could gyrate to a tune with the best of them, but she wasn’t even in the same league as he was. He could really dance.
He’d be sure to think that her dancing was, at best, inept.
She waited for him to look at her strangely, or frown.
Instead, he put his hands on her waist still moving in time with the music.
Instantly, Lisa felt less awkward.
It was almost as if she could feel the music flowing from him and through to her. She swayed to the beat, the intense waves just heightening the desire she was feeling.
All that was nothing compared to how she felt when Verrian pulled her closer, the length of his body pressing up against hers.
His heart beat against her chest in time with the beat of the music. Lisa could barely breathe.
This was like a fairytale come true. She’d never expected to meet someone like Verrian. Even if she had, she’d never expected them to be interested in her.
Yet, he seemed to be as obsessed as she was.
Maybe it was because they were alone, away from his family. Maybe all that would change as soon as it was safe, and they could return to the dragon clan.
If so, that was just more reason to take advantage of the situation now. To let herself go with the flow and enjoy this while she could. Lisa rested her head on his chest, letting herself soak up his presence.
She wasn’t sure how long they danced. One song blended into another, and all she was aware of was the music coursing through her, and Verrian’s body up against hers, his arms wrapped around her, his lips kissing her hair.
Finally, the music faded out. The spell broken, Lisa looked around the room, realising they were the last couple there. Even Olivia and Kevin had left at some point.
Her heart beat a little faster.
Time for them to head back to her place.
Chapter 32
Verrian reached for Lisa’s hand. They needed to get out of here and find somewhere private. Fast. Before he forgot that the humans didn’t see nakedness the same way dragons did.
“Have you got a minute?”
Verrian supressed a growl of annoyance. Was the voice talking to him, or Lisa? Either way, he was tempted to ignore it. He wasn’t in the mood for interruptions right now. Lisa though, was already turning.
Verrian bit back a sigh, and turned as well to see the band’s lead musician smiling at him.
He hesitated for a secon
d, torn between the need to get Lisa alone somewhere so that he could tear all her clothes off, and a very real desire to know what this man wanted to talk to him about.
He was fascinated with the human’s music, and wanted to know more about how it worked. But later.
The man gave him an understanding grin. “I won’t hold you up long, I just wanted a chance to introduce myself properly.”
Verrian looked at Lisa.
He could see the same heat in her eyes, but she bit her lip and nodded.
She understood.
She would wait while he talked to this man.
Verrian’s feelings for her only intensified.
It was hard to turn away from her, towards the man, and make his voice casual enough as he said, “Sure.”
The man held out his hand, as Verrian had noticed all the humans did in greeting.
He took it, and the man shook it up and down. “I’m Raven. And you’re Verrian, right?”
Verrian nodded. “And this is my friend, Lisa.”
The look Raven gave him said he could see quite clearly that Lisa wasn’t just Verrian’s friend, but he let it go.
Instead, he asked, “So where did you learn to sing like that?”
Lisa’s hand squeezed his, but Verrian didn’t need the warning. He’d already guessed that explaining that other sound dragons had mentored him wasn’t a human answer.
So instead, he shrugged and said, “I just picked it up, listening to music and stuff.”
“You learned to sing like that without any formal training?” Raven’s eyebrows shot up and his voice sounded incredulous enough that Verrian guessed he’d said the wrong thing.
He recovered quickly, adding, “I’ve sung with a few groups.”
His fellow sound dragons counted as a group, right?
Raven’s eyebrows came back down a little. “That’s still spectacular,” he said, though a little less disbelieving. He hesitated for a moment, then said, “Look, I don’t usually ask this of someone I’ve just met, but would you like to come and rehearse with us sometime, with the view to perhaps joining us? Depending on how things go of course.”
Verrian’s heart skipped a beat. The human was inviting him to join them.
A great honour.
One he knew he shouldn’t accept. He wasn’t who they thought he was. He probably wasn’t even going to be here for all that long.
Verrian was torn. The opportunity to get a chance to learn so much more about the human’s music, and from such an excellent source, was so tempting. Would it really hurt for him to hang out with these humans for a while? It wasn’t like he had anything else to do while Lisa was at work all day.
He opened his mouth to accept, but Lisa beat him to it.
“Verrian’s only here for a few more days, so it wouldn’t be fair of him to accept your offer, kind as it is,” she said.
Verrian wanted to object. He knew Lisa was trying to help, but he could speak for himself. He was more than capable of making his own decisions, even considering the fact that he needed to keep his clan’s secret.
He’d managed tonight just fine. No one here even suspected he wasn’t just an ordinary human, like them.
His mind stopped and focused on that. He was very good at deceiving them. Verrian felt a little guilty at that. Perhaps Lisa was right. Now wasn’t the time.
Besides, he had other things on his mind. He’d think more about this tomorrow. He’d need something to distract himself from missing Lisa then.
“I’m sorry,” he said regretfully.
Raven looked disappointed too. “Well, look, the offer stands. Even if you just want to jam with us while you’re here. It’d be fun.” He handed Verrian a card with a name and some numbers on it. “Anytime,” he said.
Verrian took the card, wishing he could say something different.
Wishing, just a little, that he could change the situation to make this possible.
He wasn’t quite sure why he was so drawn to this activity. It wasn’t like he hadn’t performed for his clan many times.
But this was different.
Tonight, a whole group of people who he had never met had clapped until their hands were sore.
For him.
Not because he was a prince. Not because he was a dragon. Not because he was part of their clan.
Just because they liked his singing.
That was a heady feeling.
Lisa slipped her hand into his, reminding him of another heady feeling, and another amazing experience he was about to have.
Excitement over mating with her pushed any lingering disappointment out of his mind.
“Thanks, I’ll keep it in mind,” he said to Raven. He waved to the singer, then turned all his attention back to Lisa.
She grinned up at him, then gave him a wink. The expression, the shared secret of what they were about to do, only added to his excitement.
He didn’t even look back as Lisa pulled him outside and towards a waiting cab. He was too busy hurrying to catch up to her, to slip an arm around her waist for a few delicious seconds before she reached out to open the door to a vehicle parked waiting, and he had to let go to jump in his side.
Neither of them said anything as the driver zipped in and out of traffic on the way back to Lisa’s apartment. Even if they’d been alone, Verrian wasn’t sure he would have talked.
This was too nebulous, too risky, to discuss it.
If they did, cooler heads might prevail. It would be easy to talk themselves out of it. The risks were great.
But he didn’t want that to happen.
Nor did he want to examine how much he wanted to do this, how much he needed to sink himself into Lisa’s warm body and pretend this—the bright city lights and sounds, people clapping and cheering his singing, the band inviting him to join them, and most of all, the way being next to her made him feel—was his real life.
Chapter 33
Lisa’s hands shook as she tried to fit the key into the lock. Predictably, the harder she tried to hurry, the longer it took.
Verrian’s hand slipped over hers, holding her fingers steady and together they finally managed to get it open.
His body bumped up against hers, sending a flush of warmth through her as they both rushed to get inside.
The apartment seemed unreasonably warm. Lisa flicked on the air conditioning as she dumped her bag on the table and then turned to look at Verrian.
She hesitated for a moment.
Both of them knew where this was heading and neither of them seemed to have any hesitations. But if he was going to pull back, now would be the time. She held her breath as she stared at him.
Was he still as keen as she was?
She didn’t even have a chance to judge his expression. Before she could move, he’d crossed the distance between them, his hands sliding around her waist and pulling her close.
Lisa’s body heated at the touch.
Well, that answered her question.
She wanted to let it go at that. Knew she should. But somehow, she couldn’t leave it alone.
“Should we be doing this?” she asked breathlessly.
“Shh.” Verrian put a finger against her lips. “Don’t say it. I don’t want to hear it.”
His words just increased her desire, the forbidden nature of it only adding to the allure. They were tempting fate, teasing at the edge of where desire met danger. Where the risk of being bonded for life touched the sheer exhilaration of giving in to the greatest temptation she’d ever felt.
Both of them wanted this enough that they were willing to risk being trapped. That was a heady feeling.
She’d always loved dancing with the forbidden.
With him it was different.
And it wasn’t just how quickly he could flick that switch from the everyday to wanting to rip all his clothes off.
A part of her actually wanted to talk to him about tonight, about how he’d felt singing in front of the crowd. She wanted to ask him
if he minded that she’d interrupted him before he could accept Raven’s offer, to apologise for stopping him joining them.
But he was right. If they stopped now, they might never do this.
And she wanted to. Very badly.
There would be time for all that discussion, all that rational thinking, later. When that boundary between risk and reward had been stripped to a paper-thin line.
Lisa kissed the finger he’d used to shh her, and his firm touch turned into soft caresses as he ran his finger across her lips.
Then he pulled his finger away and replaced it with his mouth.
Lisa sighed as her body melted against his without a second’s hesitation. The only time she’d ever come close to this feeling was last time she’d slept with him.
This was even better though. This time, there was no battle raging outside. No rush to get out of here.
They had all night.
And since this was probably going to be their only night, she intended to make the best of it.
She knew that as soon as she’d finished making love with Verrian, she was just going to want to do it again.
Which they couldn’t do.
Already her body was aching with that knowledge. Already she was imagining how impossible that was going to be. How had she ever imagined she could sleep with him again, then pretend nothing had happened?
Verrian ground his hips against hers, his kisses growing deeper and more urgent.
Her whole body was throbbing with need, and she hadn’t even removed her top. How were they even going to make it into the bedroom?
Lisa took a deep breath, or as deep as she could in between Verrian’s urgent kisses. She needed to slow things down, just a little. She reached out to put her hands on Verrian’s chest to push him back, just far enough so she could talk.
He captured one of her hands in his, raising it and kissing the tip of each finger.
Lisa opened her mouth to suggest that they should take their time, to get maximum enjoyment out of this one night they had, but before she could speak, he put one of her fingers into his mouth and sucked on it.
Any words her mouth had been about to utter were pushed aside for a groan mixed of pleasure and need.
