Silas had let go of Dacea. He was already pulling Katherine, glassy eyed and limp, off of Hailey. She wasn't moving. His Mate who had fought so hard wasn't moving. With shaking hands he cupped her face. Nothing happened. Her head hung limp in his palms. "Céile?" The muscles in her neck tightened. "Céile. Wake. Up." A demand that only had one correct answer. She had heard it and obeyed. Her eyes blinked and she released her breath in a soft whoosh.
Hailey’s unfocused eyes looked at him first and then turned to the side to Katherine. They stretched wide in surprise. "Hailey?" he asked pulling her up. She was slow to move but eventually got to her feet and swayed. "Hailey?"
"Hmmm?" she responded dreamily not really looking at him.
"Are you ok?" Dacea was already looking her over and feeling for any major damage.
"Peachy," she groaned. Her voice was coming back to her as he poked a tender spot.
"Well that was effective. Nicely done," Silas said coming over to them. "Wendell is contained downstairs. I called the Council and let them know he was all theirs if they wanted him."
Dacea nodded but was still focused on Hailey. "I think I need to sit down," she said as her hands started to shake. "But not there," motioning towards the tangled damp sheets of the bed.
"Outside," he barked. "The cold air will clear your head." Silas narrowed his eyes at Dacea's tone. Somewhere between fearing for her life and needing to care for her, he found his earlier anger. Dacea led her from the room, practically dragging her down the steps and outside with a hand gripped around her upper arm. He was bidding his time since she was in shock, but he wouldn't last long. Once again Hailey had disobeyed him. And once again she had almost gotten herself killed by Katherine.
Outside he walked her to the car while glaring at his driver. The man needed a lesson in how to wrangle in a stubborn, accident prone woman. Had he kept her in the car, none of this would have happened. Then again he wouldn't be feeling an immense amount of pride had she not came after them. Hailey, as unconventional as her technique was, had fought well. She would be bruised but from what he could see she would be fine. Lord knows she had had worse.
Hailey had stopped shaking. She softly touched a finger to her jaw and winced at the tender spot. He saw the sun glint of the ring. In the excitement he had forgotten about that. Pride be damned, he was still furious...about a lot of things.
"How are you feeling?" he asked tightly.
"Not horrible."
"Good," he gripped her shoulders facing her and let go of his anger. "When I tell you to do something I'm trying to keep you safe. Why must you insist on putting yourself in these situations? Stay in the fucking car means stay in the fucking car!"
Being yelled at was not the reaction she had expected. It took her a moment to catch up with his change in mood. "I couldn't just sit there while you and Silas were inside."
He was seconds from changing. His dragon was furious for being held back while she was hurt, and coiled under his skin waiting for his chance to come out. But Dacea knew that his dragon couldn't be trusted around Hailey. He wanted to protect her and keep her safe. When she pulled foolish stunts as she had earlier he wanted to hold her in reassurance that she was alright. His dragon wanted to love Hailey but Dacea had held him back.
For the safety and sanity of everyone around, he turned and walked away.
"Where are you going?"
"Away from you."
He heard her curse behind him and yelled, "You are the most infuriating person I've ever met."
He turned, rounding on her. "Me? You think I'm infuriating? Try looking in the mirror before throwing that accolade around." He kept catching glances of the ring. Each glint distracted him. "Why are you wearing that?" he asked before he could think better of it.
Hailey paused looking at her hand and laughed. The sound was so sweet he swayed, getting lost in it for a moment. With her head shaking, she stepped forward into him and wound her arms around his neck, her hands threading through his hair like they had a million times before. Her body was only an inch from his. One precious inch was all that separated him from insanity.
"What are you doing?" he growled with battling emotions.
"Getting off my ass."
"Pardon?"
"I love you, you crazy, sexy and incredibly frustrating man. Be my Mate."
Dacea wasn't sure what he was hearing. His brows rose in surprise and the look of disbelief was one he couldn't hide. His hands hovered over her hips. He wanted to pull her against him. Wanted to, but didn't. She waited smiling brilliantly up at him. When he didn't respond, she dropped the smile and huffed out an irritated breath. Hailey unwound her arms and dropped them to his chest where they fisted his coat.
"Drop the attitude. Forgive me. Get over yourself and mate me dammit!"
The ferocity of her words, the complete sincerity of them rocked him. Hailey waited. Her fists tightening in his wool coat. She was so sure of herself. The confidence in her eyes broke his soul open from jail he had condemned himself to.
Christ, he loved this woman. He laughed finally putting his hands on her hips. The sound was alien to his ears. Closer, his dragon demanded. For once, Dacea agreed. With a slight push he moved her back against the car. Their bodies flush against each other with only layers of clothes preventing his much needed skin contact. It had been just shy of two weeks since he last felt her lips on his. He lowered his head and hovered for just a second. He heard the words but still he tested her. Would she come the rest of the way to him?
Another frustrated sigh and she was tugging at his coat, pulling him towards her. Dacea hadn't known he was starving for her kiss as well as her touch. He hadn't known he was as lonely and unhappy as he had been until he felt her love surrounding him. Their kiss was everything and nothing at all. It was just a soft, simple kiss. They had had hundreds of them before but this one, and every one they would share from here on out would be cherished.
He found he was at peace with himself, his dragon, his instinct and most importantly, with his Mate for the first time in weeks. All the pieces of himself were coming back together and mending the broken skeleton of a man he had been.
When it was over, their foreheads rested against each other. "I love you about as much as I want to strangle you," he told her with a laugh.
"So that's a yes?" She smiled expectantly.
"That's a yes."
Smolder
Preface
Soon.
The word popped into her head out of nowhere. Sitting on the deck, Darby had spent the spring morning enjoying the hint of summer warmth in the air. She frowned looking around wondering if she had actually heard something or if it was just her mind playing tricks. Her frail hands closed the notebook she had been writing in--a recount of the various plants in the area and what spells they were best suited for--when the word had formed. Not sure she had heard right, she sat still, intently listening to the sounds of the mountain.
Soon.
Her eyes brightened as she inwardly begged to hear the word again, hear the voice again.
Soon.
Her laugh was tinged with tears as she lightly covered her mouth with her hand. After all this time, she had almost given up. Almost, but not completely. Darby closed her eyes and waited to hear the voice again, the voice that had haunted her for months.
Soon.
Of all the things she could have felt, bashful was not one she imagined for herself. She tilted her chin towards her shoulder listening for the voice, feeling instead the breath of the whisperer on her cheek. Her lips parted savoring the warmth. She smiled as a tear crept out of the corner of her eye.
Soon.
Turning toward the sound, she reached out with every sense she had. Grasping to feel any little thing from the whisperer that she could. The voice, the word, it soothed her soul like she had not felt in months. It gave her peace. It spoke of love. It promised her home.
Soon.
"Please," she begged back in a whisper. Please
say it again. Please say something else. Please stay with me. Please don't leave. Please take me with you. She wasn't sure she was begging for just one thing. Darby had pushed herself to the edge of her seat, her face searching without seeing, but it was gone. She knew, she was alone again but this time she didn't feel the unending loneliness, just wild anticipation.
She opened her eyes and saw first the mountain on which her home was nestled upon. She smiled at it knowing it was smiling down on her. They were old friends, that mountain of hers. It had heard or possibly had spoken. She had taken care of it for years, it was repaying the favor.
Darby eased back into her chair. She picked up the notebook but did not open it. The news she had been waiting for had finally found her. The news she had dreamed of every night and thought of every day. It was here. It was coming.
"Soon," she told the forest that had once again began to move. "I'm going to die soon."
Chapter One
He knelt in front of her with a bouquet of red sunflowers. They looked like a sunset exploded over the soft slim petals. His hair was thick and dark, just begging for her fingers to slide their way through their silky locks. The smile he wore was devilishly handsome. But it was his eyes that had caused her breath to hitch in her throat. Such love and devotion stared at her from those amber spheres. Hailey felt his love shining out of those eyes of his, felt it to her core. This man was everything to her, and he was finally getting off his ass and on his knee to ask her to mate him.
Apparently her declaration of wanting to spend forever with him was not good enough. He had to do it his way and that meant waiting three months for him to finally get around to this. Hailey’s patience had been wearing thin on the subject. Every time she would ask about their mating, he would smile, a secret hiding in the expression and tell her to not worry about it. He must have forgotten who he was talking to because worrying was a favorite pastime of Hailey’s.
But now, in this moment, he was getting around to doing what she had dreamed countless nights on. Sharply dressed in one of her favorite suits, he looked cleaned, pressed and sexy as hell. He wanted to look nice for her, she realized. Dak knew how much she enjoyed looking at him in a suit, it was like lingerie to a woman. Hailey however was something of a mess. She had been painting a bookshelf and for some reason, the paint was more attracted to her than the wood. She had blue smudges all over her arms and legs, matting a few pieces of her hair and a big spot on her cheek where a mosquito had bitten her and she slapped at it.
Dak reached into his jacket and pulled out a box. It was small and one every woman knew the shape of by heart.
“Céile,” he paused, mischief glittering his eyes. The anticipation that has nestled in her chest and the smile that had been growing on her face faltered. His expression wasn’t right. It didn’t match the situation. He was too excited, too mischievous and too playful. “Will you… hold these for me?” He handed her the flowers and bent to…tie his shoe?
What the fuck?
Hailey stared open mouthed, gaping and hands full. Without thinking, she flipped opened the box and found it to be empty. Her breath was ragged as color began to creep up her neck. This wasn’t the proposal she had thought it was going to be. Hell, it wasn’t even a proposal! What was he playing?
When Dak was done tying his shoe, he stood and took the flowers and box back from her. “Thanks,” he grinned and she wanted to smack him. “Oh wait, no. These are yours.” He handed back the flowers. “How’s the painting going?”
Still a bit shell shocked, Hailey took back the flowers but didn’t say anything. Her eyes were wide and she felt she had no control over her features as her mind raced. How could he just? When he knew that she? And then he?
Dak was smiling at her, knowingly. The Bastard.
“Sorry, Céile. I’ve got to get this box over to Dane.” He tossed it in the air and caught it. Her eyes followed the flip. “What would you like for dinner later? I’ve been craving Mexican, myself.”
Hailey finally found her voice. “T-that’s fine.”
“Good.” He kissed her cheek, the non-painted one and then walked passed her over to Dane’s cottage.
She found that even though he had given her flowers, she still wanted to throat punch him.
*****
Dane was watching from his window and opened the door for Dacea when he got close. He waved at Hailey, who was still standing in the same spot but her confusion had turned to annoyance. Soon enough she’d have smoke rising from her as anger boiled inside. Dacea held back his laugh until the door closed.
“That was mean, but really funny.”
“Yeah, I couldn’t help myself. She stopped asking me about the mating so I needed to do something to get her back on track,” Dacea said as he settled himself at the small round table in Dane’s dining room. Coffee was poured and both of them took a minute to savor.
“Does she have any idea what’s really going on?” Dane asked.
“As far as I know, she is clueless.” He had only a week and a half longer to keep this up before he could reveal what has actually been going on. Dacea had been planning their mating for three months in secret. He found her Pinterest page early on and had gone off of her wedding album in preparation. Hailey had two Pinterest accounts but it didn’t take much to figure out that Boo Stikuwitsharpclaws was her. Her cat’s full name wasn’t exactly common.
When Dacea did propose to her, it would be hours before the ceremony. He wasn’t giving her a chance to change her mind, not that she would at this point. Their relationship had grown exponentially in the past few weeks. It had taken a few days after she moved back in for things to get back to normal. They had tip toed around each other until one night she snapped and said “this is stupid,” he happened to agree and they put the past where it belonged and moved forward, together.
“What inspired that little show out there?”
Dacea sipped his coffee. “I wanted to shake her up. What better way than to think I was proposing?” He had entirely too much fun doing it too. Already his mind was turning over other ways to almost propose.
“I’d watch yourself when you sleep. She looks pissed and out for revenge.”
Dacea looked out the window to see Hailey angrily flinging paint onto the bookshelf. She had a little fire in her, but so did he. Dacea could take the heat.
“So what’s up next?”
“I meet with her father later today.” He’d never met the man but felt it necessary if he was going to be making Hailey his wife in the eyes of dragons and humans alike. The ceremony would be modified to cover everything but done in a way that no one would think it was anything other than a tradition from his family.
He was surprisingly nervous to meet Hailey’s father. They had become close over the past few months and he wanted to do right by her. Her mother would not be joining them today, if ever. When he had spoken on the phone with James, he had hinted at a separation. He didn’t think Hailey knew this yet so he was keeping his mouth shut on the topic. It was not his news to share.
“Well, I think I’ve been here long enough.” Dacea handed the jewelry box to Dane. “Not sure what you might need this for but I told her you did so have fun with that.”
“Gee, thanks Boss,” Dane said dryly.
“We’ll leave at two for the meet and greet.”
Dane nodded and checked his watch. “Alright, I’ll have the car ready. Good luck,” he said, still looking outside. Hailey was now glaring at Dane’s door.
Dacea chuckled. Yeah, he was in for it when she finally found her voice, but Dacea was ready. Her anger was adorable and reminded him of a kitten swiping at him with its little claws. He’d sweeten her up later that evening. She never stayed mad at him long anymore and this anger he’d take in stride since it was needed in order to keep up the façade they had set in place to keep her from finding out the truth. She’d see it for what it was when the time came and forgive him for everything.
Eventually.
*****
Through her binoculars, Charley caught the dramatic little show they put on and rolled her eyes. It was all a bit too lovey dovey for her. Charley never understood the romantic types. Why put love first when there was money and power to be had? Besides, her life didn’t lend well to husband, kids and a white picket fence, and she wouldn’t curse anyone with genes like hers. Her mother was an angel and her father was unknown to her, a sperm donor who fucked up her life for being whatever the fuck he was. She didn’t know exactly what her other “half” was and she had no notable attributes from her father. But she smelled wrong. That’s how people knew she was a half breed. She smelled like two different things, but no one could name the dark side of her. And that’s what it was, dark, twisted and infernal It made sense in a screwed up way, half light and half dark and all kinds of fucked up.
So instead of fighting to be accepted by the creatures of the world, Charley decided she’d rather just hunt them. She got paid well to do it too. Part bounty hunter, part mercenary, Charley was one of the best at what she did. Her skills came at a price though.
She’d been hired recently and had been thrilled to see the name in her inbox. Dragons were her favorite targets but only because no one was usually stupid enough to try and kill them. They were giant, explosive, temperamental lizards. What was not to love? This job was paying better than anything previously, but it had to be if she was to take down the head of the Sept, a near impossible task.
She said near impossible, not impossible. She knew she could do this and she was going to have a bit of fun while she did.
Charley sat high in the tree of the neighboring house. Her perch didn’t give much in the way of sights but she did have a good view of the pool and the two houses nearby. Today was all about information. She had been following him for weeks at this point and was soon ready to strike. She’d hit him where it would hurt the most first, make him suffer a bit before she took his life. The human, Hailey was blissfully unaware of any danger to her or her family. Her innocence in most things was just plain sad. But she’d die before having to witness the true ugliness this world had to offer. She’d die naive and that was the only gift Charley would give her.
The Hailey Holloway Complete Series Page 52
