The man she didn’t know stared at her, cold and silent, but Duncan whimpered. Polly focused on him. He was a single, bitter man, who thought that life had been profoundly unfair to him because his wife left him after she caught him cheating on her. Every time they spoke, he had to tell her about everything that was going wrong in his life. Polly whacked the floor again, his time closer to his legs.
“Well? Who paid you, Duncan? Or were you going to get a share of the profits for holding me for ransom?”
He shook his head, and she hit the floor again, this time between his legs. The threat was clear, and Duncan caved like a plastic cup being stepped on by a sumo wrestler.
“It was Claire Perry! She came to my house herself and offered me ten thousand dollars to help her get you. I let a bunch of mice loose in the house thinking you’d stay in a hotel in town, making it easier, but you stayed! What else were we supposed to do?”
The other man rolled his eyes. “Amateur,” he grumbled.
“Claire Perry?” Polly stared in shock. Claire had lived around here years ago. She was a rich heiress who had disappeared down in Central America. Rumor had it she’d gone crazy and tried to kill someone.
What could she possibly want with Polly?
Chapter Six
Gilbert wrote down the quote he was given and promised to call the agency back. He hung up his phone and glanced over the list he had compiled. So far, he’d spent four hours researching and calling agencies that would allow him to hire bodyguards for Polly. It was clear she needed them. Even with police hanging around in the house as well as patrolling around town, he couldn’t take any chances, not with her safety.
The search was difficult, though. For starters, he had to consider the legality of things, and whether it was worth taking a few less-than-legal ventures. His automatic response was that, of course, it was. Polly’s safety transcended everything, but if he dealt with shady people who was to say he wasn’t putting her in more danger?
He started dialing the next number when Shane knocked on his door. Gilbert grunted at him, waving for him to come in.
“So, you live here now?” Shane glanced around the guest room.
Gilbert’s clothes lay on the bed and his computer sat on the desk. “Until we can figure out what Claire Perry wants with Polly, yes.”
Shane grunted. He sat down next to Gilbert and gave him a hard look. “What’s this about, Gilbert? I mean, besides the obvious?”
Gilbert avoided his eye. “Don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t give me that bull. I know the look of a man who is keeping a secret. Do you know Claire Perry?”
“No. I mean, we talked occasionally when she lived here, but nobody’s seen her for years.”
Shane squeezed the back of his neck, a flash of some unidentifiable emotion crossing his face.
“What?” Gilbert leaned towards him. “What do you know?”
“I can’t tell you.”
“Polly is in danger, you have to tell me!”
Shane grimaced. “Okay… but you can’t ask me how I know. I know that this is going to be a shocker, but Claire Perry didn’t disappear. She ran off with a dragon king from down in Central America somewhere. They tried to claim the Emperor’s Egg for themselves, and when they failed, took off.”
Gilbert’s eyes widened. Everybody knew that the Emperor, a dragon with the will and power to unite all dragon clans together in peace, had returned to them. The details were shrouded in mystery, though, and the Emperor’s identity was a closely guarded secret. His parents were trying to keep him away from the public eye, to protect him and give him some semblance of normalcy.
“Her dragon king,” he murmured, “was he from Belize?”
“I don’t know. Somewhere around there.”
Gilbert turned away. He pressed his hands to his temples. “That explains it, then.”
“Explains it how?”
Gilbert hesitated a moment. His mission was meant to be kept a secret. But with the information that Shane had given him… well, that much trust deserved some sort of return. And, if he was being honest, he could use the help, too. With a sigh, Gilbert sat back.
“I’m part of my clan’s king’s guard. I was sent here by our king… to find his daughter. To protect her. And at the same time, to research the disease that has been ravaging our royal line for generations.” Gilbert swallowed hard as Shane’s eyes widened. “Polly is our Queen Daughter. His heir. We don’t have any princes or princesses. And our king is dying. He won’t live long now. If Claire Perry is after Polly, it must be to destabilize our clan for her king.”
“You have to tell her that shit.”
Gilbert jumped. He turned to see Kayla in the doorway. He resisted the urge to curse. The last thing he wanted was everybody in the house to know who Polly was! “Kayla—”
“Look, dude, that’s something that she needs to know. I mean, this is crazy enough without knowing why it’s happening. So just tell her and then—”
“It’s more complicated than that.” Gilbert tried to indicate with his voice that the discussion was over, but Kayla put her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes. Gilbert felt annoyance rising in him. “So, what you’re saying is that I’m supposed to tell her that she’s secretly the Queen Daughter of my clan and that I have to take her back because we’re cursed, and she has to take on the curse herself and die a horrible death at a young age so that we don’t have to?”
Kayla’s eyes became huge. “What?”
Gilbert lifted one hand. “Exactly what I said. Our clan is cursed. If Polly takes her place as the Queen Daughter…”
“How long have you known?”
“Long enough.”
Silence hung heavy in the air. For a long moment, nobody spoke. Kayla’s face whitened with horror and even Shane stared at Gilbert in mingled fear and fury. Eventually, he stood and ran a hand through his hair.
“Wow. That’s… Okay. Look.” Shane took a deep breath and let it out. “Obviously this is weighing heavy on you. You wouldn’t have kept that a secret for… however long you’ve kept it a secret, only to spill it now unless something had changed. So, you know that you have to tell her.”
Gilbert scowled, but it was true. He was already regretting saying anything, but at the same time… he was relieved. It made no sense. He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I can’t tell her. It’s too heavy a burden. It’s not fair for her, to have the fate of all of us laid on her shoulders.”
Kayla came in and put a hand on Shane’s shoulder. “I know what it’s like to be lied to in order to be protected. It doesn’t work, Gilbert. She’s in danger no matter what she doesn’t know. I mean, two kidnapping attempts?”
“I agree.” Shane gave his mate a rueful glance. “I know something about the consequences of lying to someone to protect them. It doesn’t work out the way you would think. I know it’s hard, but you told us. Now you need to tell Polly.”
Gilbert sighed. He looked between them for a moment, wishing he had just kept his mouth shut. Everybody seemed to think he should tell her.
So do you, he reminded himself. The clan depended on it. It sucked, but she needed to know. He grunted something about telling her, then hid his face in his hands as Kayla and Shane left. Honestly, everything that was happening was too much to handle. He was used to stress and problems. He wouldn’t be a neurosurgeon if that wasn’t the case. He had dealt with people who were dying, people who watched their loved ones die.
It was different with Polly, though.
And it would only get more difficult the more he put it off. Now he not only had to tell her that a whole clan of people she didn’t know were relying on her to make a choice that could very well kill her... but also that it might be the reason why people were trying to kidnap her. He just needed to get this over with, like ripping off a Band-Aid.
His nerves churned in his gut as he sought her out. Since the attack in her house, she was staying in the mansion, where
the dragons could keep a close eye on her and ensure that she wasn’t in danger. He made his way to her door. It was only after he knocked that he heard her quiet sobs.
“Who is it?” she called.
“Gilbert. I can come back later.”
The door opened, revealing Polly. Her eyes were red and puffy, but she smiled at him and held open the door. He could almost smell the sadness washing over her.
“What’s wrong?” he asked at once, then winced at how stupid a question that was. What wasn’t wrong?
Polly’s lip trembled as she sank onto the bed. He sat next to her. Close but not too close. “I just got off the phone with my mom. She started to go on about how it’s my father trying to kidnap me and how I needed to get away from all you dragons. She wouldn’t listen when I said that it was Claire Perry. She sounded so scared. I’ve never heard her like that before.”
A twist formed in Gilbert’s stomach. For a brief moment, he considered whether it could be true. Not that the king himself had sent people to kidnap her, but that it was members of his clan. Duncan could have been approached by someone claiming to be Claire Perry, but who was actually someone in his clan. But who would have the audacity to do such a thing?
Time is running out. It’s not so much audacity as it is desperation.
“Polly, I—”
“I know what you’re going to say.”
He was silent, eyes wide.
“You’re going to tell me that she’s just worried and that everything is going to be fine. That between you, Shane, and Tyler, you’ll find whoever is after me and that my mom must be crazy. That my dad doesn’t even know I exist, let alone is coming after me.”
“That’s not exactly what I was going to say—”
Polly shook her head. She turned to him, her eyes refilling with tears. “I don’t need reassurances right now, Gilbert. I just need you to listen.”
He sucked in a deep breath and opened his mouth, but when Polly tensed, he closed it again. She could say what she needed to say, and then he’d tell her what he knew about her father.
“My mom and I were never really that close. What we have is because we didn’t have anybody else. We’ve had to rely on each other.” Polly’s gaze grew distant. “And I always feel like she expects me to be there for her every second, although she’s too busy to be there for me. I know it’s unfair. It’s not like she never had time for me. She worked hard so that I could have opportunities in life. She paid for my first semester at university. I love her, Gilbert. What if Perry goes after her to get to me?”
Gilbert wrapped his arms around her, unable to stop himself. He kissed her temple and she gave a soft gasp. Before he could pull away, mortified by what he had done, she let out a shuddering sigh and leaned into him.
“I’ll call up some friends and get a protective detail on your mother. I promise, nobody is going to be able to touch her.” He loved the way Polly felt in his arms, soft and warm. He found himself winding his fingers into her tight curls, breathing in her deep scent. There was a slight smoky edge to it, just enough to find if you were looking for it. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be noticeable. “You know, I never asked… do you have any siblings?”
Polly shook her head.
Did that mean that the mating bond between her parents had stopped Jessica from seeking out new male companionship? It had stopped the king… the sorrow of not having his mate by his side had aged him prematurely, making the cursed disease work faster than it otherwise would have.
From what he had heard, the king had doted on Jessica with everything he had. They had been everything to one another. Until she abruptly vanished, taking their newborn daughter with her. That day had destroyed the king, and the whole clan had been restless and uneasy since. He’d been urged to take a new female, to impregnate her. There were several female dragons who were selected for him; but he refused to touch any of them, his love and sorrow too deep to allow him to think of holding another woman.
How awful it was, for two people so closely bonded to be apart all these years.
“Polly…” His heart was heavy as he pulled back slightly to look into her eyes. He had to tell her everything…. But when she looked up at him with her beautiful liquid brown eyes, so lovely and bright, he couldn’t get the words out. “I won’t let anything happen to you. I swear, I will give my life to protect you.”
Polly shivered. “I don’t want you to die for me.”
It wasn’t what he had meant, but he didn’t clarify. He was going to dedicate his life, every fiber of his being, to finding a cure for this disease. Maybe he wouldn’t be able to save the king… but he would save his queen.
Chapter Seven
The feeling of his warmth beside her was so soothing that the fears that had been bubbling in her gut all day eased away. Polly snuggled deeper into his arm. She loved the smoky smell that surrounded him. It was sharper than around Shane or Tyler and smelled so homey. Like Applewood smoked bacon, a treat she still couldn’t resist when it was offered to her.
“What part do you play in your clan?”
She looked up at him to see his gaze distant. “My part? Well… I’m from Belize. My family was adopted into the clan something like a hundred years ago. We originally were Mennonites,” he added. “Not really sure how everything happened, just that my great-great-grandfather shifted when he was a very young boy and the local clan took him in. We’re not sure if his parents were shifters, too, or if his mother had a fling with a dragon. In any case, he was taken in. And me? Well, I was trained from a very young age to be part of the king’s guard.”
“King’s guard?”
“Yeah. We’re a dedicated group meant to protect the king.”
Polly didn’t want to pull away, but she had to in order to get a proper look at his face. She frowned. “If you’re supposed to be protecting the king, what are you doing out here? This is a heck of a long way from Belize.”
Gilbert half-smiled at that, though he looked a little… nervous. “I was sent to research ways to try to save him from a genetic disease.”
Polly nodded. She remembered him telling her about that.
“It’s my job to protect the king by saving him from what we can’t fight. My billions, it was all given to me by the clan to fund my research. And I realized that it wasn’t going to work out like that, it was going to cost a heck of a lot more, so I started building funding as well for the research. Now I wish I had focused just on research… my king is dying, and I don’t have what I need to save him.”
She saw the stress lines on his face and squeezed his hand. It must be horrible, to have something like that hanging over his head constantly. Her gaze sharpened as she considered it. “It’s not your fault.”
“I don’t know if it is or isn’t. But there isn’t anything to be done about it now, unfortunately.” Gilbert’s eyes darkened for a moment.
Seeing his dedication to something so important made Polly’s heart stutter. She had always thought he was handsome, but whenever she considered how patient and gentle he was with people… it made every bit of her ache for him. She looked away—she knew that nothing could happen between them. It didn’t matter if her body was on fire right at this moment, wanting to grab him and roll him back onto the bed. It couldn’t happen.
She wanted her first to be her forever. And that simply wasn’t going to be the case with Gilbert. They were just too different. For one thing, sooner or later he was going to go back to Belize…
“Polly…” Her name was whispered from his tongue like a prayer. When she looked at him again, she was shocked to see the fire in his eyes. So much desire there that it took her breath away.
Something tightened inside of her. She felt everything twist tighter, a heat building in her core. Her heart rate increased as she leaned forward. It was half unconscious, half thinking that a single kiss wasn’t a contract for forever. His hands slipped around her waist as he bent.
Their lips brushed, sending a tingling sensat
ion throughout her mouth. Something fluttered in her chest and she found herself launching herself at him all-out. He apparently hadn’t been expecting the attack, because the next thing she knew they were on the bed. His hands roamed her hungrily, like a starving man finally eating a feast. Their kisses grew deeper; she thrust her tongue into his mouth and he responded. Heat spread through every inch of her body. The tightness inside increased, and she found herself grinding against him. A short laugh of surprise and delight escaped her as she felt him harden against her core.
How easy it would be just to remove this barrier of clothing, to have what they both clearly wanted…
His hands slid under his shirt, cupping her breasts, but he suddenly stopped. He twisted his head breaking the kiss. Polly leaned back enough to put space between their faces. She trembled over him, wanting more, never wanting to stop. But as she stared into his eyes, her convictions came back to her.
Slowly, hating that she had to choose between this moment and the forever she wanted, Polly eased back. She swallowed hard as she looked away.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I didn’t mean to…”
“Don’t be sorry. I’ve been wanting to do that for years.” Gilbert sat up and ran a hand through his hair. He gave her a half-shy, half-apologetic smile. “That and much, much more. It’s just… well, circumstances.”
Most dragons believed that the first person they had sex with was their one true mate, their forever person. And if they weren’t, then having sex with someone who wasn’t their own true mate ruined them for said mate. Polly licked her lips. She knew that Gilbert didn’t believe that, at least not fully, but it was a pretty difficult thing to just ignore.
And besides, they were friends. To take this leap… would it ruin what they had? He’s been after you for years.
No, he hasn’t. He had feelings, she knew that, but he had never acted on them. That meant that he had reservations, too. Ones that weren’t just going to go away because they had kissed once. It wasn’t something that they could just ignore.
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