by Eden Ashe
There was heat in his eyes when he finally set her on her feet and leaned back against the door, his stance casual. He crossed his arms over his ginormous chest. “Very much,” he drawled.
She could still feel his tension as if it were her own, but he wasn’t treating her like she was breakable. She wasn’t sure why it mattered so much when she wasn’t even sure she trusted him. But she liked that there was at least one male out there who didn’t handle her like she was made out of spun glass.
He blinked, then shook his head. His eyes narrowed on her, the moment of humor and softness gone. A low laugh rumbled in his chest suddenly, and one light brown brow jacked up. “Get comfortable, sweetheart. I’m here for a while.”
As if to prove it, he pushed off against the door and walked across the living room, then flopped his massive frame onto her oversize L-shaped couch. He sprawled out and stretched his long, muscled frame, then dug his phone out of his back pocket. He tapped out something on the screen, then tossed it next to him, crossed his feet at the ankle, and tucked his arms behind his head.
“I should be kicking you out,” she murmured on her way toward the back of her spacious, totally female, white and pink flowered apartment. She opened her bedroom door and smiled, like always. She loved the look of all the antique lace and delicate roses. It was old-fashioned, and Adrian called it grandmotherly, as if either of them knew what that even meant, but Lily loved it, every inch. She raised her voice so he could hear her. “You know that, right? Luca will have a fit if he finds out I let you in my apartment.” As her kind-of sort-of brother-in-law, and a genuine good guy in bastard clothing, Luca took her safety personally. He never would have left her with Bain if he didn’t trust him.
A male snort came from the living room. “Who said you’re letting me?”
She laughed, she couldn’t help it, and for the first time since Adrian’s disappearance, it came out as a real sound. “For the record, when you explain tonight to him, and I promise he will make you, I wouldn’t tell him you didn’t give me a choice. Not if you want to keep breathing.”
She closed her bedroom door on his response and let herself sink down on her soft bed. Oh gods, what was she doing? She didn’t make impulse decisions, and the last person who should be making himself at home in her apartment was the Destroyer.
But despite how much of an ass he’d been at the reception, he’d come after her, and his growl, well…
She didn’t understand. His growl calmed her. It should have terrified her instead of making her feel safe.
She shook it off. Needing to figure him out, she hurried to change out of her dress. She tugged on a pair of pale pink pajama shorts and a matching tank top before dashing into the bathroom to wash her face and comb her hair.
When she was done, she considered changing. When Bain or any of the other dragons spent the night, she dressed in the frumpiest nightgown she could find, but these pajamas showed off every curve she had.
What the hell was she doing baiting a dragon? She stared at herself in the mirror.
Nervous, she grabbed an oversize lightweight sweater on her way out of the bedroom and pulled it on.
He jerked up into a sitting position. A delicious thrill ran up her spine. Damn Adrian. She didn’t know what she was doing, was making it all up as she went, and he was supposed to be there to keep her on solid footing.
But he wasn’t. And she felt brave. Emboldened and determined to play it out, she went over and curled up on the other end of the couch. She may be making the biggest mistake of her life, but he felt right. He felt…
Safe.
His body went rigid as he scowled down at her. “What the hell are you doing?”
“You’re safe, so I’m staying close to you tonight.” When he gaped at her, stunned and a little panicked, she grinned and scooted a little closer to him. Safe wasn’t something she experienced often, and she fully planned on taking advantage of it while she could.
CHAPTER FIVE
A low warning growl sounded in Dallas’s throat an instant before he jerked awake. Lily’s breasts were mashed against his chest, her eyes sleepy and holding the same stunned look he knew was on his own face.
“We’re not alone, are we?” she whispered.
His lifted a brow at the three angry, pissed-off dragons glaring down at them.
Gabriel Morgan, The Behemoth, didn’t give him time to answer before he bellowed, “What the hell is going on here?”
Dallas kept his face neutral as he glanced down at Lily, who was staring wide-eyed at the dragons. Uncomfortable with the feeling that was spreading in his chest, he sat up slowly and carefully maneuvered her so she was mostly hidden on the couch behind him. While he wasn’t sure what he was still doing there, the look he sent them all was lethal. As quickly as she’d dozed off on him last night, he doubted she’d had a good night’s sleep since word had come down of Adrian’s disappearance.
Not that he cared. But if she trusted him enough to sleep on top of him, she’d eventually loosen up enough to tell him where her brother was.
That was it.
Because Luca looked to be the most pissed off and about a heartbeat away from ripping out his throat, Dallas focused on him. “What’s going on?”
Luca looked from Dallas to the half-naked Lily behind him and back again. His dark blue eyes narrowed at Dallas.
Dallas growled a low, inhuman sound. “Keep your goddamn eyes off her, Dragan, unless you want to lose them.”
As murder flashed in Luca’s eyes, Gabriel grabbed the back of Luca’s neck to stop his forward momentum. He raised a brow at Dallas, his voice calm. “Explain. What the hell is going on?”
“Fuck off. I’m not explaining anything.”
When Lily poked him in the back he turned his head to find her staring up at the dragons that apparently took her safety to epic levels. “I got spooked after Bain kissed me,” she admitted quietly, “and then it wasn’t Bain but one of Porter’s goons, which is ridiculous because they’re all supposed to be dead. Dallas stayed with me because I was afraid.”
Because her trust issues were legendary, Dallas tensed as she looked at each one of them in turn. Even though, for obvious reasons, Dallas had never been given Lily-duty, he knew the drill. The closest she allowed any of them when they spent the night was on the couch, while she locked herself—literally—in her room.
Dallas was immediately defensive at the smile that lit her face, and if he hadn’t been worried about his life, he was the second she opened her mouth. “He was comfier and warmer than my bed, so I decided to sleep on him.” She ignored the murderous look he sent her over his shoulder and smiled sweetly at all of them. “Anyone got a problem with that?”
“Yes,” they all snapped at her at once, including Dallas.
“Tough,” she snapped back.
Gabriel Morgan crouched in front of her. “Lil, Porter and all his men are dead. You know that. Adrian and I killed them all.”
Her head bobbed. “I know. It was probably just my imagination.” She scanned all their faces until her gaze landed on Gabriel. “Where’s Bain?” she asked quietly.
Luca answered. “We found him this morning. He’d been shot up with some kind of poison. Not enough to kill him,” he rushed on when Lily started to panic, “but just enough to make him violently ill.”
Broderick Thornheart spoke up for the first time. “That’s why we’re here. We found evidence of a skinwalker on the castle grounds. We thought the worst, and that something had happened to you.”
His head was going to explode. He knew it. He could feel the pressure and rage building in his skull. “How the fuck did a skinwalker get onto the castle grounds?”
“That’s what you need to figure out.” Gabriel stood. “I need you to go pack a bag, Lil. You’re going home with Luca until we get to the bottom of this.”
“No, I’m not.” She shook her head. Dallas could feel her fear, and while he didn’t blame her one damn bit, he wasn’t going to allo
w anyone to railroad her into anything. He was head of security, which made it his job to figure out how the skinwalker was able to get past his men. But the others on the king’s Elite Guard would have to work on that since his dragon was demanding he give Lily precedence.
So he agreed with her. “The hell she is. She’s staying here, and I’m staying with her.” He raised a brow at the other three. “You can all make yourself useful and go do guard duty.”
The easy façade Gabriel always projected slipped, and temper flashed in his pale blue eyes. “I’m going to ask one more time. What the hell is going on here?”
Dallas growled low, and to his surprise, he felt some of the tension ease out of Lily. “What the hell is going on here is that we were sleeping, and it’s too goddamn fucking early for the damn inquisition. No one is getting past me to get to her, and since none of you have any idea what the hell is going on yet, go the fuck away until you do.”
Though there was still worry in her eyes, Lily smiled sweetly at all of them. “What he means to say is, we’re tired, so can we do this later? Please?”
Dallas snorted at her, but he didn’t correct her. Instead, he cocked a brow at the other dragons and waited.
Finally, Gabriel looked at the others and jerked his head toward the door before leveling a look at Dallas. “You have until five o’clock this afternoon to call me and let me know what exactly is going on between the two of you. If I have to hunt you down, it will not end well for you.”
Dallas had no idea what the hell was going on. She was way too timid for him, and he had no idea why he’d even followed her last night, let alone why he was still here.
But he was going to start bashing heads together if these idiots didn’t get the hell out now.
So he growled until they finally took the hint and left, leaving him alone with the one woman he wasn’t sure he trusted himself to be alone with.
She was waiting with wide eyes for him to look at her when he finally shifted his gaze to hers. She offered him a hesitant smile as she curled up on the opposite corner of the couch. “I’m, ah…sorry for falling asleep on you last night?”
His brow jacked up. “Was that a question or a statement?”
To his surprise, she smiled at him. “Fine. I’m not really sorry. I meant it. You are all warm and comfy, too warm and comfy for me to leave and go to my bed.” Her teeth tugged on her full bottom lip, drawing his attention to her mouth. “Besides, you weren’t arguing. I woke up at one point with your hand molded around my breast.”
The muscle under his eye ticked once, because no way could he have been that stupid, or possessive, in his sleep. It was bad enough he could see that she was interested in him when rumor was she’d never been interested in anyone. He wasn’t going down that road. Even if she had breasts that made him want to beg and legs he was sure he’d fantasize about until the end of time itself.
Part of him was aware she’d be perfect mate material. Because she was a Hunter, he wouldn’t have to worry about his emotions ever coming into play, and she was hot. Hotter than the fires of Hell hot. Sex wouldn’t be a hardship.
She was exactly what his father had told him to look for in a mate. Pretty enough that bedding her for eternity wouldn’t be a hardship, but not someone he’d ever have to invest any emotions into. Because emotions had no damn place in a warrior’s life.
He shook his head, clearing the thought before she somehow read it on his face. Because she was still watching him with that expectant look, he crossed his arms over his chest and planted his feet, bracing himself against the words. “I’m sorry.”
* * * *
Lily’s mouth dropped open. The rumor was the Destroyer apologized to no one, ever. As in ever, ever.
“It’s okay,” she murmured, surprising herself. And because it did surprise her, she frowned at him as she slid off the couch and headed for the kitchen. She needed chocolate. She needed to clear her brain, but chocolate was going to have to do for the moment until she had breathing room.
Dallas must know of her issues. Everyone did. Her past wasn’t a secret. Not even Adrian knew every scary detail, but her issues were well enough known in the dragon and Hunter world that no one usually touched her for fear of sending her into a meltdown. Because she would, and had, melted down before. She’d been younger then, and in less control of her emotions. But there was still a knee-jerk, bone-and-soul-deep need in her to avoid any and all physical contact.
She had gotten better thanks to Adrian’s patience, even learning to seek out Luca’s bear hugs when she was feeling vulnerable. But it still should have freaked her out to wake up to find Dallas’s hand wrapped firmly and possessively around her breast.
But it hadn’t freaked her out. She’d liked it. She’d stared down at his hand, wondering if the dragon was becoming attached to her, because dragons were only possessive of what they considered theirs. Amused by the thought, she’d snorted and fallen back asleep.
Dallas apologizing, though, made her brain hurt and had an ache settling in her heart. It seemed wrong somehow. He was so strong and powerful and confident, she couldn’t imagine him needing to apologize for anything very often. He made a decision and executed it, even if it made everyone in his life hate him.
She came to an abrupt stop in her kitchen and laughed quietly at the small mountain of chocolate bars on her table.
“What are you smiling at?” Dallas snapped as he walked in behind her, going through her cabinets in a search for a coffee pot.
“Micah.” She scooped all the candy bars into her arms, walked over to the drawer next to the refrigerator, opened it, and dumped all the bars into her nearly empty stash drawer.
Micah was Luca and Seren’s older brother, and there wasn’t a dragon alive that trusted the oldest Dragan sibling. Soulless and empty of emotion, he was a stone-cold killer. Even Lily had heard the rumors of the women and children that had gone missing since he’d taken over the Dragan underworld after killing his psychopath father.
“What the hell do you mean, Micah?” he asked, snarling. When she looked up, Dallas was glaring at her. She was sure he was killing Micah in his head. Before she could think about it, she rushed over to him and rested her hand lightly on his arm. “He worries about me, and he’s really awful about tears, so he brings me chocolate to cheer me up. He always somehow knows when I’m running low. I’ll come upstairs after closing the shop, and there’s a box of candy bars on my doorstep.”
“Micah Dragan is more likely to boil you in chocolate for the fun of it than supply it.”
Lily didn’t shy away but held his gaze instead, trying not to smile at the adorable confusion written all over his face. “I’ve never actually caught him, but Seren doesn’t believe he’s evil, and she said he used to always do things like this for her. Only instead of chocolate, it was a hot cup of coffee when she was on a long shift at the hospital.”
“I promise you, it’s not Micah. There is no soul in that man. Luca, maybe.” When she furrowed her brow in confusion, he growled quietly before turning his back on her and continued his search for caffeine. “They’re going soft. All of them, especially Ashborne for letting Shelby get under his skin. All you have to do is look at Seren to know that anyone who risks taking a mate has lost their fucking minds.”
Sadness swept through her. “Seren doesn’t regret mating to Adrian.”
“Bullshit. If she wouldn’t have mated to the idiot, she wouldn’t be walking around now looking like she’s had her heart ripped open.”
Lily lifted her chin and crossed her arms over her chest as hurt welled up inside of her. “That idiot is my brother, and he loves—loved—Seren with everything inside of him, and if they wouldn’t have mated, she wouldn’t have her beautiful little Ava now.”
Dallas slammed the cabinet closed and snarled, making her jump. He turned to glare at her. She met his temper head on, refusing to back down. Finally, he sighed. “I’m sorry,” he growled. “I have…issues with males taking a mate i
n our world. I didn’t mean to call your brother an idiot.”
Whoa. Two apologies in one day. Now she was starting to worry about his mental health. She should be afraid of him. He was the freaking Destroyer, and she was the very thing he destroyed. But there was so much pain and rage and hopelessness in his soft green eyes that she didn’t want to be afraid of him.
Besides, the rumor was, he had every reason to hate Hunters. He had found the woman he wanted to take to mate more than a thousand years ago, but a Hunter had killed her before they could finalize the mating. When Dallas had retaliated, killing the Hunter who had taken his woman, a band of Hunters had struck back, killing Dallas’s entire family.
Her heart ached for him. For the first time in Lily’s life, she didn’t want to play it safe. She was so attracted to him it hurt to breathe, and she wanted him to want her, too. She wasn’t sure how to get past his unreadable mask to get to the man she was starting to suspect was almost as broken inside as she was.
But, in Lily’s head, if he could make her feel this safe in a world that had gone upside down with Adrian’s death, why couldn’t she fight to make him feel safe, too?
When she grinned, he shifted uncomfortably, his hand hesitating before he cleared his throat and adjusted himself. “What?” he demanded, his eyes narrowing on her.
She took a step toward him until the tips of her breasts brushed against the fabric of his button-down shirt. His hands fisted at his side, and his jaw was clenched so tight it had to be causing him real pain. He dragged a hand over his face. “Well? Why are you smiling at me like that?”
She didn’t answer him. Instead, she cupped his face in her hands, pulling him down to her level. When she had him where she wanted him, she searched his eyes for a long moment.
And then she kissed him.
CHAPTER SIX
Her mouth closed over his, as sweet as it was erotic, and it took everything Dallas had not to dive into her and devour. Instead, he leaned back against the counter, letting her take them wherever she wanted them to go, while he tried to figure out when the hell he’d taken the trip down the rabbit hole. She was seducing him. And he saw no reason not to let her.
