by Rinelle Grey
She looked up, a little startled, and stared at him uncomprehendingly for a moment.
Calrian wondered if he’d inadvertently spoken the wrong words. “Rowan said I should offer to help you dry the dishes?” he suggested. “I would be happy to do so, if you would explain what to do.”
That seemed to snap Rylee out of her confusion. “Of course. There’s a tea towel there. You just dry them, then stack them with the same ones in the cupboard there.”
The job seemed simple enough, though Calrian did have to concentrate a little for the first few dishes. But the silence, as he worked next to Rylee, wasn’t in the least bit uncomfortable.
In fact, it was something he could get used to.
Calrian shook his head. He needed to stop thinking like that. Needed to stop wondering if he was ever going to find his clan and if all this searching was pointless. He couldn’t even begin to think of settling down with Rylee without having exhausted all possible options to find his clan. He owed them that much.
He was a prince. A leader of his clan. If his brothers and sisters were all still asleep, or worse, gone, then his clan had been leaderless all this time. He had an obligation to them, one that took precedence over any personal wishes he might have.
No matter how tempting they were.
“I’m sorry about Rowan earlier,” Rylee said, breaking the silence. “He misses having a dad around, that’s all.”
Calrian wanted to ask more, like what had happened between her and Rowan’s father. But Rylee’s face was closed. She wouldn’t meet his eyes, concentrating instead on the washing up with far more attention than the shiny clean plate she was holding needed.
“That’s all right,” Calrian said, not sure what else to say. “He’s a good kid.”
They returned to working in silence, Calrian listening to the TV in the other room with half an ear. It would have been hard not to as a young woman was having a loud argument with… a parent, Calrian suspected, who objected to her choice of mate.
“Thanks,” Rylee said, when the last dish was dried and put away.
“It was no problem,” Calrian insisted.
And it wasn’t. The task certainly hadn’t been onerous in the least, and the company certainly had been pleasant.
Commenting on that wasn’t in line with keeping his distance, as Rylee had requested, so he didn’t voice it, just smiled at her.
She smiled back.
They headed into the living room and sat down. Rylee picked up some metal sticks and some long, thin, pliable material, and began to do something, moving her hands in a quick rhythm that was strangely hypnotising.
“What are you doing?” Calrian asked after a few minutes of staring at her.
Rylee looked up, her eyes meeting his, but her hands kept moving as though of their own violation. “I’m knitting. Making slippers.” She held up one of the sticks with a square of the long string tangled together into some kind of pattern. He could see that it was similar to those on her feet.
Even human clothes were different to dragon clothes. If dragons bothered with clothes at all, it was simple leather coverings. Nothing like Rylee’s knitting.
“That’s amazing,” Calrian said.
Rylee blushed and shrugged. “My mum taught me when I was little. I find it calming. Plus, it’s useful.”
Calrian nodded, and watched her for a few moments, but he could see that his attention was making her nervous. Her fingers fumbled, and she almost dropped the metal sticks once. So he forced his attention back to the TV, only peeking at her when she became relaxed again, careful not to do so for too long and be noticed.
He had no idea why he found her so fascinating. Perhaps because the things she did were so unfamiliar and foreign to him. Or perhaps it was just the Mesmer bond that still throbbed in the back of his mind, making it impossible to ignore her.
It didn’t matter where she was in the house, he was achingly aware of her.
Achingly aware that he couldn’t have her.
He knew the drill. The things you couldn’t have always preyed on your mind the most. He tried to tell himself that was all this was—the fact that he couldn’t have her, combined with the powerful magic of the Mesmer bond.
But it didn’t matter. It didn’t make it any easier to bear.
Sometimes, for short periods of time, he managed to forget about the aching desire. Usually though, those moments were when he was closer to her, or interacting with her in some fashion. Right now, when they sat on opposite sides of the room, their distance was painfully obvious.
“Time for you to get ready for bed,” Rylee said to Rowan firmly, after music began to play and words scrolled across the screen, a sign Calrian was coming to recognise as indicating that yet another TV show was coming to an end.
Her son grumbled, but not too much. He got up off the couch and headed into the bathroom to clean his teeth. He was half way across the room when he paused. He turned around to Calrian and asked, “Where are you going to sleep?”
Calrian froze. He’d forgotten about Rylee’s worry that her son would figure things out. He hardly dared look at her for fear that her son would guess where he wanted to be sleeping. He hoped though, that she’d answer the question before the silence became too painfully obvious, because he had no idea what to say. They’d discussed this possibility, but he couldn’t remember what they had decided.
“I’ll take care of Calrian,” Rylee said, her voice firm. “You worry about cleaning your teeth.”
But Rowan didn’t budge. He looked from one to the other, waiting for an answer.
Rylee sighed. “Calrian needs to stay close to me, so he’ll be sleeping in my room.”
Calrian watched her son closely.
Rowan stared at each of them one last time, his eyes widening a little. He opened his mouth, as if to say something, then snapped it shut. Then he just nodded and disappeared into the bathroom.
Rylee sighed and bit her lip. “I don’t think that went so well.”
“I’m not sure it could have gone better,” Calrian pointed out.
Rylee gave a humourless laugh. “I guess not.”
Calrian suspected that if they found one of his brothers or sisters tomorrow, she’d be glad to get rid of him and the problems he was causing.
And he couldn’t say he blamed her.
Chapter 8
“We’d better get going,” Rylee said. “We need to be back before Rowan gets home from school.”
She had no idea how long it would take to find Calrian’s brothers and sisters, or if they would even be able to find them, but she couldn’t help feeling excited. This was far more fun than the weekly shopping that she’d decided to blow off. And a little dangerous too.
That thought sobered her a little. Rowan was safely off at school, and Rylee hadn’t even told him what they’d planned to do, knowing he would want to come with them if she had.
If anything happened to her, she’d never see him again.
But it wouldn’t, would it?
Even though she no longer had any doubts about the fact that Calrian was a dragon, she still found it hard to really comprehend what that meant. He’d said the enemy dragons threw lightning. That thought was more than intimidating.
But he’d also said they should be unaware that he and Rylee were even there. And that if there was any risk to her at all, they’d leave at once. He seemed certain that the car could outrun a dragon.
She’d be fine. And once she helped Calrian find his family, he’d no longer be alone. He wouldn’t need her as much. And maybe he’d be distracted from his focus on her. Maybe his family would have more of an idea how to find his clan than he did, and then she’d be able to escape his tempting presence.
That thought made her feel more sad than relieved.
As if guessing the turn her thoughts had taken, Calrian took a step closer to her, his strong presence and his masculine scent hitting her full force. “You don’t have to do this, Rylee. You have already d
one so much for me.”
She was going to miss him so much when he was gone. Miss his presence, his sweet, caring nature.
The way her blood heated and her heart leapt whenever he looked at her or said her name in that deep, sexy voice of his.
Rylee bit back a sigh. This Mesmer bond was really messing with her mind.
Yeah, she could blame it on that, but the truth was, she wasn’t sure she’d react much differently without it. He was not only the sexiest man she’d ever met, he was also the most considerate.
She still couldn’t help smiling to herself when she remembered him helping her with the washing up last night. Eric had certainly never done that. And she didn’t think her father had ever helped her mother either. After her mother had died when she was in her late teens, up until she was married, the job had fallen to her.
Yes, it was certainly easy to understand why she felt this way about him, even if she knew it couldn’t come to anything more permanent.
“I want to do it,” she told him earnestly. “I want to help you.”
And she did.
She’d never had any brothers or sisters, but if she had, she knew she wouldn’t be able to rest while she didn’t know where they were, and most especially not when they might be in trouble.
“It could be dangerous,” Calrian warned, as though trying to convince her to change her mind.
“No kidding,” Rylee joked. But it fell flat when Calrian just stared at her, confused. She gave a humourless laugh. “I know,” she said more seriously. “But you can’t do it without my help.”
“No,” Calrian agreed readily. “But I can wait until I am fully recovered, and do it then.”
“You said that if you did, then the other dragon would be more likely to detect you, right?”
Calrian just nodded, his expression sombre.
“Then going now is the least dangerous option.”
“For me, yes, but not for you.”
Why was he arguing with her? It was like he didn’t want to go.
That was when it hit her. “You’re afraid they might not be there, aren’t you?”
Calrian’s face closed up, and he turned away. “That is certainly a possibility,” he agreed, his voice dull. “But it is not the reason I’m hesitating.”
“What then?”
Calrian didn’t say anything, nor did he turn back towards her. Rylee put her hand on his arm, a current running through her and raising goosebumps over her whole body at the touch. She was just about to push him for answers again when she heard boots stomping on the steps outside.
She’d forgotten to lock the door again after Rowan had left. Her heart thudded in her chest.
“Quick, hide,” she hissed, even as the door was creaking open.
Calrian disappeared into the bedroom as the door swung open, and Rylee was sure her father could see the bedroom door moving. Or he would have, if his eyes weren’t focused on her. “Good, I caught you before you left to go shopping.”
“I’m just getting ready to go,” Rylee said, hoping her voice sounded normal. “Did you need something?”
Hopefully not something from the shops since she wasn’t really intending to go there.
“Actually, I just wanted to talk to you.” Her dad frowned and folded his arms, a sure sign that Rylee wasn’t going to like whatever he was about to say.
“Can it wait until later? I was just about to leave,” she tried.
“No, it can’t,” her dad said firmly.
Rylee held back a sigh and waited.
“Look, I know you think you have to do all this by yourself for some reason, to look after Rowan and keep him safe, but it’s ridiculous. Eric is his father, and he should be here, helping you.” His jaw jutted out, and it was clear he wasn’t going to budge.
Rylee’s body flooded with adrenaline at the mention of her ex-husband’s name. She searched desperately for something that she could say that would make him drop this conversation and go away. “Look, I told you Eric and I are over. So that’s irrelevant,” she tried.
Her father wasn’t going to give up that easily. “You never did tell me why you left him,” her dad began.
“Yes, I did,” Rylee interrupted. “I said he was controlling and a bully.”
Her dad held up a hand. “Yes, that’s what you said, but that’s not a reason, that’s an excuse.”
Rylee felt her eyes widen, and she stared at him in disbelief. “It sounds like a damn good reason to me. What’s this about?”
“Look, I just don’t think you gave him a chance,” her father insisted. “Did he ever beat you?”
Rylee didn’t even know how to respond to that. She just gaped at him.
Her father took that as an invitation to continue. “He always provided for you and Rowan, he didn’t cheat on you, and he loved you. What more could you want?”
Rylee felt her eyes fill with tears. There was no point in even explaining. She didn’t think her father could ever understand. Especially not since he was doing exactly the same thing to her right now. “Look, can you just go?” she forced out, her voice wavering. “I need to go shopping.”
She needed to get him out of here before she burst into tears and further embarrassed herself.
“Just think about it, okay?” her father insisted.
Rylee needed him gone. Now. “Sure, whatever.” She gave him a slight shove towards the door.
Her father took a few more steps, then turned and said, “I just hate seeing you and Rowan alone. You shouldn’t have to struggle. Shouldn’t need to get a job just to put food in your son’s mouth. If you sorted things out with Eric, you wouldn’t need to.”
“Just go,” Rylee said desperately. “Please.”
This time, to her relief, her dad stepped outside the door.
As Rylee pushed it closed, he said again, “Just consider it.”
Rylee closed the door the rest of the way, then leaned against it, breathing deeply, trying to keep the tears at bay.
He didn’t understand. She’d been stupid to come here. Stupid to think that her father would take her side.
Did he think leaving Eric had been easy? That she’d made that decision without agonising over it for months? Years even.
Did he not even realise that she’d spent weeks after she’d left crying and feeling guilty? She might have been over most of it by the time she’d arrived here, but there were still moments when staying positive was hard. It had taken her a long time to believe that she might be able to move on.
And now he’d brought it all up again.
“Are you all right?”
Rylee looked up, startled, to find Calrian staring at her, his expression concerned.
She’d forgotten he was even there.
She didn’t want him to see her like this. It was embarrassing.
She sniffed and wiped her hand across her face. “Yes, I’ll be fine. I just need a minute.”
It was Calrian’s solemn nod that was her undoing. He didn’t push her, didn’t ask her any other questions. Didn’t do anything except stand there.
Unable to stop them any longer, the sobs burst out of Rylee in big, ugly gulps.
Calrian pulled her into his arms, not saying anything, just letting her cry on his strong shoulder.
Chapter 9
Calrian held Rylee while she cried, feeling completely helpless. He wasn’t sure why her father’s opinions were so different from hers. Rylee had said that the man was controlling and a bully, yet her father had argued that he was not. Why did he not see what she saw? Was there something Calrian was missing?
Human relationships were far more confusing than dragon bonds.
He had issues with the conversation he’d overheard, but he doubted those were the same as hers.
He, for some reason, had been consumed by an unreasonable jealousy when her father had suggested she return to her former mate. He had no right to feel such things, but they assailed him none the less.
He’d had
to fight the urge to come out of hiding and tell her father that she was his. To insist that this other man could not be worthy of her, and that her father should never mention his name again.
The only thing that had stopped him was the fact that this other man was Rowan’s father.
A man who shared a child with a woman had first rights among dragons, always. Even if the couple were not mated, it was unacceptable to interfere in the relationship until it was clear it was completely over.
Was it possible that Rylee was uncertain it was finished? She seemed to want it to be, but Calrian had no idea what constituted something being done for humans. She had seemed worried about Rowan missing his father. If there was any chance of that relationship being salvaged, he should not interfere.
And yet, he could not let go of the fact that Rylee had claimed the man had been a bully. Certainly not a point in his favour. That thought reminded him of her question earlier, about what happened when a dragon made a mistake in choosing a mate.
Did it mean she felt that she’d made a mistake in choosing Eric?
Her father clearly disagreed. He’d said the man loved Rylee. That was not enough, obviously. Ultrian had claimed to love Sarian, and look what he had done? Calrian could easily believe her mate loved her. Rylee was obviously very loveable.
The question was, what did Rylee feel?
She’d made it quite clear earlier that humans prioritised love over more practical matters. If she still felt something for her previous mate, then Calrian would not interfere, no matter what she said she wanted.
Was there a possibility that her tears were an indication that she regretted leaving her former mate? If so, then she must also be regretting the bond that tied them together and made her feel desire for him against her will.
He winced, aware of how he would feel if he were in a similar situation.
Of course, if he were mated, then he would not feel desire for another, even under the influence of the Mesmer bond. So the situation wasn’t exactly the same, but he wasn’t sure if that was better or worse.
