by Rinelle Grey
“This is my apartment.”
The relief in her voice was evident. Lisa threw her keys onto a small table inside the door, walked across to the large, white lounge, and threw herself down on it with a sigh.
Verrian followed her more slowly, taking a moment to look around the room.
He had been so busy running from dragons and reporters, he hadn’t even stopped to wonder what her home might look like.
It was a far cry from the slightly dingy room they’d stayed in at her parent’s house. This room wasn’t large, but it was clean and white, with accents of red and purple. It suited her
Verrian sat cautiously down on the couch next to Lisa, careful not to get too close.
But even that small motion reminded him of the many places he hurt, and he held back a wince. Sitting in the car for so long hadn’t really helped.
Apparently, he hadn’t hidden his pain very well, because Lisa sat up instantly and said, “Are you okay? Does it hurt?” She paused for a long moment, then drew in a deep breath and said, “Do you need to be healed?”
His injuries weren’t bad enough to prevent the instant flare of heat at the thought. Not because of the healing sleep, of course, but the coupling afterwards. Its main purpose was for a couple to share energy to help a dragon regain his strength after the Mesmer ritual. The fact that it was intensely pleasurable was just a bonus.
For a second, Verrian hesitated. His body strained eagerly at the borrowed clothes, more than ready to test it out, and find out if the amazing experience they’d shared last time had been a product of the Mesmer ritual, or something else.
Of course, completing the Mesmer ritual again would hardly be a fair test. In fact, there was always the risk that completing the Mesmer ritual again with the same person would just make this feeling between them, whatever it was, more intense.
Even more concerning, what if he found out it wasn’t? What if his testing revealed that he actually felt something for Lisa?
Verrian shied away from the idea. He was still a young dragon, not even thirty yet. His younger brother might have tied himself to a human already, but Verrian wasn’t in any rush to follow him. He had no wish for a permanent mating, with a human or a dragon.
Trouble was, he kept forgetting that when he was around Lisa.
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” he said reluctantly.
Lisa frowned. “Not a good idea? Why not? I don’t think Ultrima is going to find us here.”
Verrian shook his head. “That wasn’t quite what I meant.” He didn’t know how to explain what he did mean. It was still so nebulous in his own head.
And admitting to what he did understand was even harder.
Lisa’s face fell. She turned away, and Verrian bit his lip. He’d hurt her, again.
“You’d probably prefer that a dragon helped you,” she mumbled. “One of your own kind.”
Verrian shook his head, but she couldn’t see it. “No,” he said firmly. “That’s not the case at all. Just the opposite in fact.”
Lisa’s eyes flew to his, startled. “The opposite? What do you mean?”
Verrian hesitated. “I mean that it’s probably not a good idea because I want to, too much.”
This time, understanding flared in Lisa’s eyes. along with an answering desire that almost made Verrian forget his resolve.
“Oh,” she said.
She got it. He could see it in her eyes. He probably didn’t have to say anymore. But he wanted to.
“You know the risks, if we sleep together three times, right?”
Right now, he had a safety net. If he forgot himself and slept with her, it wouldn’t make a permanent bond. If he’d already slept with her a second time during the Mesmer ritual, that safety net would be gone.
If he gave in to temptation after that, he’d be mated for life.
That thought should have sent a chill down his spine, but all it did was raise goosebumps on his skin. Goosebumps he wasn’t even sure were fear or anticipation.
What had the Mesmer done to him?
He obviously couldn’t trust himself around her. As evidenced by the fact that he’d been ready to bed her back in the ruined house. Even the possibility of Rita or Ultrima turning up at any minute hadn’t held him back.
Here, with no one else around, and hopefully no danger, he wasn’t sure how long he could hold out.
Best to keep that safety net intact for as long as possible.
Lisa knew that as well as he did. She swallowed, and nodded her head.
Verrian suspected she was as close to throwing caution to the wind as he was. What was it, this feeling that was so intense it would not be ignored?
He shied away from the possibilities. He didn’t want to face them right now.
Instead, he said, “My wounds are minor. I was concerned that I might have broken my wing, but it is only bruised. I will heal on my own. Dragons heal quickly, even without the Mesmer. In a couple of days, these wounds will be fully healed.”
Was it his imagination, or did Lisa looked disappointed?
That thought sent his heart into a weird rhythm, one that almost seemed to sing to him.
“Do you need me to, I don’t know, bandage them or anything? I mean, I don’t know anything about first aid, but I could look it up.”
Verrian quickly catalogued his wounds in his head. A couple of them were in quite tender areas, and places he didn’t really want Lisa touching right now. Or, more to the point, he did. And the fact that his wounds wouldn’t stop him from making love to her at the drop of a hat proved that they didn’t require any attention.
Reluctantly, he shook his head. “I’ll be fine.”
She stared at him a moment longer than his comment warranted, her intense gaze sending heat swirling through his body. Finally, she nodded. “Well, you’d probably like a shower at least. I don’t have any spare clothes, but I do have a bathrobe. You can wear that tonight, and I’ll buy you something better in the morning.”
Verrian nodded. “That sounds good,” he agreed. “Except, ah, what’s a shower?”
Chapter 25
Lisa showed Verrian to the shower, explained how to turn the hot water on, then left quickly, before she had to look at his naked body again.
She didn’t quite trust herself to be around his hot, sexy nakedness right now.
Especially not when he’d as much as admitted that he wasn’t undergoing the Mesmer ritual because he didn’t trust himself around her.
That he wanted her too much.
That thought made her whole body hum with excitement.
The healthy dose of fear that went along with it only seemed to add spice to the feeling.
She knew all about the dragon’s mating for life. She’d seen Karla get sucked in, and had already decided to be damn careful not to get caught up herself.
The dragon’s mating bond seemed even worse than human marriage. At least if you decided a marriage wasn’t working, you could back out of it. There was no backing out of a magical bond, no matter how much you ended up hating someone.
The sort of feelings she was having towards Verrian couldn’t possibly last forever. Their intensity had to fade eventually. Then what would she be left with? Probably a whole parcel of brats. Like she’d make a good mother.
No, she should be staying well away from Verrian.
But she couldn’t help reminding herself that they’d only slept together once.
They could do it again before they were in real danger.
She shook her head. Verrian was right. They certainly shouldn’t sleep together right now if it wasn’t absolutely necessary.
What if he was injured more seriously in the future? Her heart skipped a beat at that thought. But she forced her mind past the fear of encountering a dragon again, to consider the deeper issue.
If she’d already slept with Verrian now, when it wasn’t necessary, and he was injured again, then there was no way she’d just let him die. She’d sleep with
him again, even if it meant being bonded for life.
That seemed like the worst possible thing to base a lifelong connection on.
Even knowing all that, and even agreeing with it, it was hard to hide her disappointment that Verrian didn’t really need healing. She’d thought she had a really good excuse to sleep with him again.
One that meant she didn’t have to admit that she just plain wanted to.
Just her luck that her dragon didn’t need healing. Not like Karla. She’d had a reason to sleep with Taurian a second time.
What was she talking about? Taurian had been nearly dead. She was certainly glad Verrian hadn’t been injured to that degree, because she’d had to bring him a lot further than they’d moved Taurian.
It was good that Verrian could heal without help.
Even if it did mean she didn’t have any excuse to sleep with him.
She heaved a sigh. This was far more complicated than she’d imagined, even without taking her feelings into account.
What was she going to do with Verrian here all day? Get him some clothes for starters, but that would have to wait until tomorrow. She could take one more day off work, then she’d have to go back. Better to save up as many leave days as she could. She might need them in the future.
She stared around the apartment. Could she convince Verrian to stay here while she was at work all day? She could show him how to use the TV and computer, maybe that would keep him entertained. It would have to do.
At least she didn’t have an issue with where he was going to sleep. She was relieved that she’d bought that sofa-bed after all, even though she hadn’t had a reason to use it up until now.
Sleeping in the same bed would have just undone all their resolve to be sensible, she was sure of it.
While Verrian was in the shower, she pulled out the bed and made it up with clean sheets. She was just finishing up when she heard the shower stop.
She busied herself in the kitchen, not wanting to stare when he came out of the bathroom.
Even so, she couldn’t help looking up.
The white towelling robe covered everything adequately, but Lisa couldn’t help thinking that he was naked underneath it. That thought sent a hot flush through her.
Verrian’s eyes, meeting hers, indicated that his thoughts weren’t far from the same idea.
Lisa swallowed.
It was so erotic, knowing he was thinking about this as much as she was. Knowing he wanted it as much as she did.
Knowing they couldn’t.
Intensely, frustratingly, crazily erotic.
It was going to be a long week.
“Is this where I’m sleeping?” Verrian asked. His eyes were dark, slitted dragon eyes.
Lisa nodded, not trusting herself to speak.
She grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge and drank half of it, but the cool liquid didn’t put out any of the flame in her belly.
It did make it easier to speak though. “Well, it’s been a long day, probably a good idea to get some sleep.”
Verrian nodded, but he didn’t move towards the bed.
Lisa would have to walk right past him to get to her own room.
Taking a deep breath, she put the water bottle down and made her move.
Verrian stopped her with a hand on her arm.
Lisa stared up at him, his close proximity only fanning the flames.
He was the one who had said they shouldn’t sleep together again. Didn’t he realise how much he was tempting her?
Was he trying to?
He stared down into her eyes, the fight just as obvious in his stance.
“Thank you,” he said softly.
His words didn’t make any sense. Was he thanking her for understanding why he wasn’t sleeping with her? What?
Her confusion must have shown on her face, because Verrian elaborated. “Thank you for opening your home to me, and making sure I’m comfortable. It’s very kind.”
Oh. That.
He kept thanking her, as though he wouldn’t do the same thing in her situation.
“It’s no trouble at all,” Lisa managed. She wanted to pull her arm out of his hand and retreat back into her room before she did something they’d both regret. Something like melting into him, getting as close as possible, and throwing caution to the wind.
The same war showed in Verrian’s eyes.
His head moved a little lower, his eyes on her mouth, his breath hot on her lips.
Lisa’s heart beat a little faster. She should stop him, but she didn’t want to.
Her mobile ringing loudly made her jump and broke the mood.
Lisa fumbled for it in her pocket as Verrian stepped back.
She hoped none of the disappointment showed in her voice as she answered without even looking at the number, “Yes?”
“Lisa? It’s Karla. You called a couple of times. Is everything okay?”
She’d forgotten all about calling Karla. A lot had happened since then. “Uh, not really. Well, it is, but it wasn’t.”
“What happened?” Karla demanded.
The events of the last couple of days rushed through Lisa’s head. Where to start?
There was only one place really. With the reporter who’d caused all their problems.
“Rita published the photo of Verrian in the Mungaloo Chronicle.”
There was silence on the other end of the line.
Lisa added a few more details. “We had people showing up on my doorstep non-stop.”
“But not Ultrima, right?”
Lisa winced. She glanced over at Verrian, and couldn’t help being reminded that this was all her fault.
She took a deep breath. No point in hiding it. “Not at the house, no, but we couldn’t stay there. My dad was furious, and almost threw us out. So when it was dark, we left.”
“You left?” Karla demanded immediately. “Don’t you realise how dangerous that is? If you’re not around people, Ultrima is going to find you.” Her voice rose with every word.
Lisa felt guilty. Karla had warned her, and she hadn’t listened. Before Karla could continue in the same vein, Lisa interrupted her. “He already did.”
“What?”
“We hid at the abandoned house, where we went with Taurian. I didn’t think anyone would find us there, but Paul was tracking me with his fiancée’s phone. I suspect the Trima dragon followed him.”
“What happened?” Karla asked sharply.
Lisa winced. “Verrian fought him. Not Ultrima, another dragon. Rita was there again too, she was with Paul, and took more photos. It was bad. But Verrian beat the other dragon and we escaped just as Ultrima arrived. He chased us all the way back to Mungaloo, but he stopped when we reached the town.”
Lisa thought that was everything, wasn’t it? Oh. “And Paul sent the police after us, but we lost them.”
“Is Verrian okay?” Karla demanded.
Lisa looked him up and down. Now that the blood was washed off, she could see that his wounds weren’t all that bad. Not as bad as Taurian’s had been, anyway. “Yes, he says he’s fine, and will heal in a couple of days.”
“Good.” Karla paused for a moment, then moved on to the other part of Lisa’s news. “So Rita took more photos? That’s a problem. I guess we’re going to have no choice but to confront her now. We can’t let those photos get out.”
That, at least, Lisa didn’t need to feel bad about. “They won’t,” she said firmly. “I took her memory card. She doesn’t have any of the photos. And I think we talked her into not publishing the story in the future anyway.”
“How?” Karla asked sharply.
“By pointing out that if Ultrima isn’t trying to hide from the humans, then there is nothing to stop him flying into Mungaloo and blasting everyone. Since she’d been with us when we were chased by him, I think the dangers were pretty fresh in her mind.”
“And you took the photos anyway, you said? So she doesn’t have any proof. That’s going to buy us some time at l
east. Good job, Lisa. I should have known we could count on you.”
Karla’s words made Lisa feel good. Even if she knew she didn’t deserve it. “All we have to do is lay low,” she said.
“Where are you now?” Karla asked. “Are you back at your parents?”
There was no hiding it. “No, we left Mungaloo. We’re at my apartment. In the city. There wasn’t anywhere else to go.”
Karla was silent again. Then she said slowly, “Actually, that’s a pretty good place for you to be. There’s no way Ultrima is going to risk going into the city. Are you right to hang out there for a while?”
Lisa hesitated for a second. She could see a few problems with remaining here with Verrian for an extended period of time. Namely, she wasn’t sure how long they’d be able to resist each other.
Somehow, she suspected that Karla wouldn’t be overly concerned about that. She was only worried about their physical safety, which Lisa didn’t think would be an issue.
She’d have to deal with her attraction to Verrian herself.
“Yeah, as long as we need,” she said.
“That’s good,” Karla said. “Because things are a little crazy here. What with Chase and Wayrian being mated and…”
Lisa’s hand clenched around the phone. “What?” she demanded. “Chase and Wayrian are mated?”
She couldn’t hide the shock in her voice. She didn’t even try to.
Two days. She’d seen Chase two days ago. He hadn’t even known Wayrian then. How could he be mated to her?
There had to be something wrong. This wasn’t like the Chase she knew.
“Yes, turns out he and Wayrian fell in love, and Ostrian was trying to keep them apart.” Karla’s voice was amused.
Lisa wasn’t.
“Put Chase on,” she demanded.
They had to have blackmailed him into it somehow. Either Karla and Taurian, to try to keep the peace, or Wayrian and her grandfather. There was no way Chase could have changed that much in such a short amount of time.
“I’m not sure he’s really in the mood for chatting right now.” The amusement hadn’t left Karla’s voice. In fact, she actually laughed. “I think he has other things on his mind.”
