The path loaded onto the GPS led her around the lake. She scowled at it through the trees until she turned down a narrow lane and found herself before what looked like a castle. It was a small castle, built out of red stone. Atop it was a white dragon, sleeping with his head over the edge of the tower.
Zara laughed at sight of the dragon on his castle. The sound of the Jeep’s engine must have woken him, because Asher stirred. His head popped up and he excitedly leapt onto the ground. The Jeep trembled before him.
Asher shifted back and caught her in his arms before she could step away from the Jeep. He spun her around before setting her down and stealing a kiss. The world kept moving for a moment, a heady feeling consuming her and rushing to her head.
Once she returned to herself, she gestured to the small castle.
“What are we doing here?”
“This is my new place! I bought it. It’s all mine. I’m a dragon with a castle.”
Zara laughed. It was more like a cackle, but she couldn’t help herself. His enthusiasm was infectious. She grinned alongside him as he led her toward the castle.
He paused and leaned around the entrance, cupping his hands around his mouth so he could shout at the lake. “Try knocking this down, you mother fucker!”
Her gut turned heavy. She felt like she was sinking all over again. Asher acknowledged that he owed her a story. It was high time for it.
Inside, the house was modern and cozy. There were overstuffed couches and a TV mounted on the wall. Everything was shades of black and white save for the two paintings. One was the lake, dreary and ominous just like she remembered it. The other painting was the portrait of Asher.
How both had survived, she didn’t know. Yet, she was oddly grateful. It told her that Asher had pulled those pieces of her out of the water. Even after she walked away, he’d gone back and found them.
They sat down and Asher explained who Zane was. He wove her a story of betrayal and loss. While this clan was trying to repair themselves, they were still struggling with the fallout of what happened ten years ago. Zara understood what it meant to be haunted by one’s own life.
She was only just now shaking off those ghosts.
“I would understand if you don’t want to move in with me here, but I thought you might feel safer in a stone house. These walls should hold up against almost anything. Should they fall, you’ll have ample time to get out and to safety. I won’t let you down again.”
“It wasn’t your fault,” she said. “The spell, the house. Neither were your fault. I hope you know that.”
Asher hung his head. There were shadows over his eyes. She grabbed either side of his face and forced him to look at her. She gave him a small, reassuring smile.
“I mean it. You didn’t fail me. I don’t think you failed Zane, either. Things just happen to be shitty. Can we move forward from that? Will you forgive me?”
He leaned back as if startled. “Forgive you? For what?”
“For walking away. I was…I just…”
“Zara, I was never mad at you for that. I understood.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his scent. Asher clutched her tight. The fox in her yipped. It filled her with a need. Her teeth grazed the skin of his neck. Overwhelmed by a great desire, she bit down.
Asher groaned. He melted in her hands.
What had she just done? That was one of the most brazen things she’d ever done. Once distant and aloof, Zara had just marked her mate in a greedy attempt to claim him. Asher leaned back, his hand over the bite mark, and laughed.
It wasn’t a bitter sound or exasperated. Instead, he sounded giddy. When he reached for her cheek and drew her in for a kiss, his blood was on her lips. It smeared between them.
Asher never thought a woman would mark him. He was still so afraid that Zara would leave and never come back. Gifts weren’t how to win a woman over. There was still so much he needed to do to show her that he would always protect her. Then, surprisingly, she marked him.
The pleasure that radiated through his chest and into his core was unlike anything he’d ever experienced. He let himself revel in it while Zara explored the castle. He’d bought it just for her. No one would be able to touch her behind the thick, stone walls. Here, she would feel like the queen she was always meant to be.
Not a pawn in someone else’s life. Not a brood mare to produce kits.
A queen.
She let out a squeal when she found the art room he’d had the designer put in for her. It was the very top of the tower, right under where he’d napped earlier. The windows all around it let in light from every angle. There she could create her next masterpiece. There, she could watch the dragons fly over the lake and keep an eye out for Zane’s antics.
She bounded down the stairs, her heavy boots making a racket. He lived for that sound. He watched the way her short, dark hair bounced, and her eyes flicked from surprise to surprise. But her hands were still naked. Which meant she hadn’t found the ring yet.
“Have you searched the Jeep thoroughly?” he called out to her.
She stopped in the doorway between the living room and the kitchen, her back to him. He couldn’t see her face to read it, but her hesitance meant she’d found the box. It also meant she hadn’t opened it.
“Why don’t we go take another look?” He couldn’t shake the tremble in his voice.
Fear danced around his heart, cold and cruel. If she’d found the box and didn’t open it, what did that mean for him? Or worse, if she found it, opened it, and still left it in the car? Asher touched the claiming mark on his shoulder to reassure himself.
His scared fox was growing more and more daring by the day, yet they’d only known each other for a short while. He couldn’t blame her if this was too fast. All she needed to do was ask him to slow down and he would drop to a crawl for her.
Outside, he found the ring box in the center console. Things had definitely been rummaged through, and the box was on top of the mess. Zara had found it, alright.
She stopped a few feet away from him. Trepidation made him pause. The wind tousled her hair the way he wanted to. The dragon in him shoved him toward her. He took a stumbling step toward her and dropped to one knee. He shouldn’t have done it yet. She clearly needed more time.
Still, Asher opened the ring box and presented it to her.
Surely, she would run away again. He was used to women leaving him. If Zara left again, he would break. Spending his money had kept him busy while he gave her the space she needed, but if she said no and left, he would dive into that lake and let Zane kill him.
Well, maybe that was an exaggeration, but it felt accurate.
Zara gaped down at the ring in his hands. “That’s nothing like the one in the magazine.”
“Wait. What? A magazine?” Asher thought he’d missed a subtle hint. Like she’d left an ad for a specific ring out. This wasn’t it. It wasn’t what she wanted.
But she cackled again. It was a deep belly laugh. “Did you really miss the tabloid with our faces all over it. The media thinks we’re getting married and they picked the most obnoxious ring. This is…it’s way better.”
She pulled it from the box. The black diamond was held aloft in two raven claws. It sat high on her finger but he like to imagine it leaving a nasty scar next time she had to deliver two jabs.
“You took the ring. Does that mean you’re saying yes?” His heart pounded. Thunder rattled in his ears.
She gave him the slyest grin. “You never asked anything.”
“Damn it, Zara. Will you marry me?”
She jumped into his arms and nuzzled his neck again. He almost missed her whispered response.
“Yes.”
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Asher (Keepers Of The Lake Book 4) Page 14
