by Amelia Jade
“No, please don’t do that.”
Andria twirled her light brown hair around a finger, looking as innocent as possible. “I think…does it have anything to do with a certain white-haired person?”
Violet swallowed, uncomfortable with the glee in her friend’s voice. Why was she so happy? This wasn’t something to be happy about; it was something that needed to be stopped. Couldn’t she see this was making Violet miserable, and putting Ivore in danger?
“Can I tell you something?” Andria said, dropping the act as she noted her friend’s discomfort.
“What?”
“You need to trust them a bit more.”
“Them?” She frowned. What was Andria talking about this time?
“Um, the brothers, I mean. Ivore mostly.”
“Why should I trust them more? I don’t know them. You know them. You’re dating one of them.”
“Yeah…dating.” Andria looked away, but she didn’t elaborate, and Violet wasn’t in the mood to engage in girl talk. “Regardless, they’re stronger than you think. And, better.”
“That’s great, Andria. But I don’t care about them. I can’t care about them.”
Her best friend sighed. “Violet, listen to me. Please. You need to let go of the guilt. Just for once. Allow yourself to have some fun. To smile and be happy. You’re not in prison, which means you aren’t to blame. Do you understand me?”
“I understand you. But you don’t understand, Andria. I was there. I did it. It’s my fault.” She looked away, turning her back. “I can’t let that happen again. Not to someone as good and kind as Ivore. I just can’t, okay? I’m not risking that. It would be better if he just went away and left me alone.”
“How long are you going to punish yourself for something you didn’t do, V? How long?”
“I DID do it!” she shouted angrily. “Don’t you get that? I told you what happened. How can you say that I didn’t when you know that’s a lie?” she stormed off toward her room, trying not to cry.
Andria came after her.
“I know, because you told me. You didn’t do anything wrong, Violet Carolyn Walker. Do you understand me? You were a normal human being, and something terrible happened. That is NOT. YOUR. FAULT.”
But Violet was done listening. She closed the door, her only concession to their friendship being she didn’t slam it.
“I’m going back over to Cowl’s. Please, at least tell me you aren’t going to do anything stupid?”
Violet took several heaving breaths, trying to control herself so that her voice wouldn’t crack when she spoke. It wasn’t fair of her to be angry at Andria. She hadn’t done anything wrong; she was just trying to be a friend. She just didn’t understand it the way Violet did, that was all. Yelling at her wasn’t right.
“I’m going to do something stupid,” she said through the door, attempting a little humor.
Andria laughed. “Okay, glad to hear it. You’re my friend, and if you need me, I’ll be there for you, V. Don’t forget that, okay?”
A tear tracked down her face. Why was Andria so nice to her? She didn’t deserve that.
“I’ll remember.”
“Good. I’ll see you in a few days.”
Footsteps moved away from her room, and a few minutes later she heard Andria exit through the front door. Violet hadn’t moved, standing in the middle of the open space in her room, arms wrapped tightly around herself.
She was still standing there when someone knocked on the door. It was heavy and direct. Violet considered not answering it, but whoever it was, they were persistent. The door shook again. Finally, with a strong suspicion of who it was, she left her room and opened the door. To no surprise at all it was Ivore.
And he was hurt.
“Ivore!” she gasped, taking in the bruises to his face and the pained look as he breathed in. “Are you okay? What happened?”
“Be fine,” he muttered, wincing as he spoke. “Just need some time. I just wanted to let you know, it’s over. It’s done.”
“Come in,” she said, looking at the dried blood on his chin from a split lip, and the stains on his shirt. “Before people start to think you murdered someone.”
“Didn’t kill anyone,” he promised. “Barely touched them, to be honest.” He looked thoughtful for a second. “Actually, probably broke one of their jaws.”
“Who?” she asked, looking out the door to see if anyone was watching.
“Malkin’s goons.”
Violet froze. “What?! Just what the hell did you do?”
She went over to the stove, thanking Andria silently for turning off the meat before it burned. Dabbing a cloth under water, she walked back over to Ivore. She gripped his head and pulled it down to her level, but it was just too awkward.
“Sit,” she ordered, pointing at the couch. “And tell me what happened.”
While Ivore explained to her his conversation with Malkin she worked at cleaning him up, trying to remove as much blood as possible. He sat still, letting her work. She gently brushed the cloth against his face, using her fingers to stretch and pull the skin, too intent on getting him clean to realize what she was doing.
“So you went to his office and threatened him,” she stated after he finished telling her.
“No, it wasn’t like that. We went and had a conversation, and came to a mutual understanding.”
Violet snorted, the motion causing her to jolt his chin. “Sorry!” she exclaimed as Ivore winced. “Your face is all bruised up, but I think I’ve gotten most of it. You were a mess.”
“Yeah, I sort of started it without meaning to.”
She waited for him to explain, but he didn’t.
“Well, you look about as good as can be expected now.”
Ivore smiled. “Thank you for that. You didn’t need to.”
Violet tried to brush it off. “It was nothing. Really, I…” Her voice died away as they made eye contact, their faces less than a foot apart.
“Maybe it was nothing to you,” Ivore said, his voice softer, “but to me it was appreciated.”
Violet stiffened as his hand came up to touch her face much in the same way she had been doing to him. Minus the cloth, bruises, and blood of course. His touch was gentle, his skin supple and smooth. It was surprising. She’d expected them to be rougher, with more calluses.
His eyes had grown lighter, from navy to royal blue, the difference so stark she knew she wasn’t imagining it. How was that possible, she wondered? There was just so much about Ivore that she didn’t know. Like, were his lips as soft as his skin?
A split second later she found out that the answer was yes. Yes they were just as soft, and warm, and yet also that little bit rough and masculine. Breath hissed through her nose as she stood frozen, rooted in place and unable to react. Her mouth was moving of its own accord, but her eyes were wide open. She slammed them shut, not wanting to stare. That was rude.
He parted her lips, exploring her mouth with his tongue until she responded in kind. The room grew heated and warm, her body shivering as it tried to combat the sudden rise in temperature. Damn, Ivore was a really good kisser.
A good kisser.
Kissing.
They were kissing.
Violet’s eyes flew open and she shoved him back with both hands, getting to her feet and moving away from the couch where he’d been seated. Ivore was staring up at her, stunned.
“Violet?” he asked cautiously.
“You need to go.” She touched her lips, horrified at what she’d just done. “Please. Go.”
He looked confused, and more than a little hurt. “Look, Violet, I’m sorry. I just got carried away.”
“Please go,” she repeated, pointing at the door. “Now.”
“I don’t understand.” He got to his feet however. “One moment you’re warm, the next you’re like a wall of ice.”
“Of course you don’t understand!” she shouted angrily as he opened the door.
She wasn’t ma
d at him though. She was mad at herself. Things were a mess now, and like always, it was her fault.
This time when the bedroom door closed, she did cry. For a long, long time.
Chapter Ten
Ivore
His footsteps echoed throughout the lobby. The huge space was empty, even the front desk devoid of anyone. Why bother with security when the building was filled with dragons? It mostly lay empty now, unless someone decided to use it. Like now.
Ivore was pacing, continually looking at his watch. It had been two days now since he’d been thrown out of Violet’s house, and he was going crazy being unable to see her. The entire way home he’d cursed himself, angry at his own idiocy. Why had he thought it was a good idea to kiss her? Especially after the way she’d reacted to a simple hug just a few days earlier? It made no sense to kiss her like that.
But oh no, macho-man Ivore the ice dragon didn’t have to obey the rules of emotion. Nope, fresh off his fight with Malkin’s goons and high on testosterone he’d taken the leap and locked lips with her the first moment he could. It was his own fault that he hadn’t been able to see her since, and that fact made him even angrier. There was nobody else to take his fury out on besides himself. That always made things worse, when you knew you’d gone and screwed up.
So Ivore had spent the night drinking himself into a stupor and convincing himself that texting or calling her was a Bad idea, emphasis on capital B. He’d refrained, however, and the next morning he’d taken it upon himself to continue searching for a new home for her cupcake shop. He’d found it, and that was why he was now rather impatiently waiting for Violet to show up, so that he could give her the good news. From a distance.
If his own decisions angered Ivore, Violet’s actions left him utterly confused. It was obvious to everyone that she was interested in him. Everyone that was, except for Violet. As best he could tell she was doing her absolute best to convince herself that she wasn’t. What he couldn’t figure out was why. Their kiss had not been a one-way thing. Not at all. She’d kissed him back, and she’d used tongue as well. Ivore hadn’t dreamt that.
But just as things were getting heated, she’d freaked out and ordered him to leave, as if he’d committed a crime. It just made no sense! Where was he going wrong? The moment had been there, he knew it. The tension between them had jumped, their eyes were locked, and both of them were holding their breath. That was the moment.
Yet it hadn’t been.
He was at a loss for what to do with his mate. The only idea he’d been able to come up with was to continue on as business professionals. It was going to be hard, but if he wanted to be around his mate, it was all that he could expect. Something was better than nothing, and perhaps in time she would be more comfortable opening up to him.
Noise poured inside from the street as the door opened behind him. Car engines, the squealing of old brakes, and even a horn somewhere in the distance all reached his ears. Ivore kept walking for several more steps, his back to whoever had come inside. Taking a deep breath he finally turned around, willing himself to remain calm and not do anything dumb like blatantly check her out.
She was wearing black pants made out of some sort of stiff material, not the stretchy stuff that looked real good. A long dark red shirt that showed off precisely no skin below her neck and a light jacket completed the ensemble. Her dark purple hair was pulled back in a ponytail. Ivore got the point even before she shoved her hands in her pockets as they approached.
“Hi.”
Violet nodded. “Hi.”
For several seconds neither of them said anything. Then, like a balloon popped with a pin, they both spoke at once.
“So I was thinking, and—”
“What did you want?”
He stopped. “I wanted to show you a solution to a problem.”
Violet shuffled her feet. “What sort of problem?”
“A business one.” He put a subtle emphasis on the middle word, hoping she’d pick up on the point he was trying to make.
The stark frown that creased her beautiful features eased somewhat, allowing her eyes to open further, revealing the bright golden-brown coloring that he was obsessed with. She still didn’t say anything, but her demeanor changed just enough to make it clear he should continue.
“I have a solution to the location. Something that will work, and doesn’t leave a loophole for Malkin to somehow stick his fingers into it. Plus, the location is amazing.”
Violet crossed her arms in front of her. “You do?” It wasn’t much, but he could tell that her curiosity was working on the stern façade she was holding in place.
“The best part about it is, I think we can realistically start work on it tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow. You’re joking, right? This is a joke?” She looked over her shoulder at the door, as if contemplating leaving.
“No joke.”
“Where?”
“Here.”
Violet faced the banks of glass that wrapped around the exterior of the building. “Where? I don’t recall seeing anything for rent here.”
“No, not there.” He pointed at the ground. “Here. In the lobby.”
“What the hell are you talking about, Ivore?”
“Listen, this lobby is huge. It was designed to be a showpiece for the building, more than able to handle the hundreds of units that were originally put in. But after the military renovated the building, it’s only going to hold maybe a hundred d—people at best.” Ivore barely caught himself in time.
He didn’t tell her he thought that it was unlikely to be that many, let alone more. From what he’d gleaned the search for sleeping dragons was getting harder and harder, even with the scientist-dragon Kyen helping lead the military’s search teams. Dragons were masters at hiding, and nobody knew just how many of them truly had gone into the deep sleep. But he couldn’t tell her any of that. Not yet.
“So what are you suggesting?” She seemed open to the idea, which excited him. It was going to work. He knew it was going to work.
“So what we do, is we simply take over this entire section.” He pointed.
“Ivore, that’s prime real estate. It’s right on one of the busiest roads in town. There’s nothing but other shops up and down the road here. High-end ones. Are you sure you can get that?”
Now he revealed his final bit of information. “I already have.”
Violet shook her head. “No way.”
“Absolutely. Look at this place, it’s not needed!”
Violet swung her head around the lobby, and he knew she was forced to admit the truth of it. The lobby was trapezoid-shaped, growing smaller on the sides as it headed toward the elevator at the back. But the door wasn’t centered. In fact it was far off to the right, for whatever reason.
Ivore had gone to the head of the dragon program, Colonel Mara, and expressed his idea to her. She’d taken one look, and as soon as she’d heard it was for his mate she’d given it her stamp of approval. Buoyed by her support he’d immediately contacted Violet. Now all that remained was for her to give the approval.
“You’re serious?”
He gave her a mild glare. “Yes, I am. And I wish you would stop doubting me. Whatever my faults may be, I don’t think I’ve given you any reason to doubt that I’m anything but sincere and truthful.”
Violet hurriedly looked away. He’d seen the shame in her face as her eyes pinched slightly, annoyed at herself. Ivore was willing to put up with a lot for his mate, but there came a time where he had to stand up for himself as well. Just because it seemed too good to be true for her, didn’t mean it was.
“So we’ll have the left side of the lobby here?” she asked, her voice still tight, but loosening as she spoke.
“Yes.”
“Wait. Is the store going to be in the lobby? Like will people have to enter the building?”
“Nope. We’re going to remove some of the windows and it will have a direct entrance to outside.” He let a smile play over his fac
e now.
“I can’t believe you got permission for that.”
“Well, I did. And not only that, but we have permission to put four tables outside on the sidewalk. That, the location, the rent will be cheap, plus I know that everyone here liked your cupcakes. It’s a perfect setup. What do you say?”
Violet looked around, dazed, but then abruptly fell silent. Her shoulders hunched over and she started biting at her lower lip unhappily.
“Is something wrong? I thought this is what you wanted.”
Violet shook her head.
“I don’t understand. Where did I go wrong?”
Chapter Eleven
Violet
The pain was almost unbearable.
Ivore had been so happy, so proud, and now because of her he was thinking that he’d screwed up. She couldn’t let him down like that. He needed to be happy. She could deal with being miserable; that was normal for her. But with Ivore she didn’t want to drag him down with her. It was that thought alone that brought her back from the dark spot to where she’d been going.
“You didn’t. It’s not you. Ivore, trust me. This is amazing. I can’t believe what you’ve done here, for me.”
“For us,” he said stubbornly. “For the business.”
“Yes, for the business.” She wasn’t ready to concede the first point. Probably would never be.
“It’s just…” How did she tell him she didn’t want to be near him? That she couldn’t be near him. “I’m not sure I’m comfortable being in such close proximity. You know, to all your friends, and you and everything.”
Ivore looked away. “Right. The professional thing.”
“Yes.” She hung her head in shame. If she could just be stronger, then it might work. But she wasn’t. She was weak. It was all her fault.
Ivore sat on the edge of one of the two upraised gardens that flanked the doorway, resting his rear on the tiled lip. “Can I ask you why that’s so important to you? Why do we have to remain professional when it seems that both of us want more?”
She shuddered at the soft tone of his voice, and at the emotions his words provoked in her. Was it true? Did she really want something more?
