by Donna Grant
“All right,” she said with a nod when he sat up and began piling food onto his plate. “I’ve not had a serious relationship for nearly seven years. But not for lack of trying.”
“Men are idiots,” V said. “But before that? Was there someone?”
Claire cleared her throat and shifted in her chair.
“I’ve made you uncomfortable,” V said. “Forget the question.”
“No,” she told him. “It’s just not something I’ve spoken about in a long time. It’s rather embarrassing, actually.”
His gaze caught hers. “Doona fear telling me anything. I will never laugh at you.”
She smiled, believing every word. “There was this guy. We dated for four years and lived together the last year. I was the type who didn’t want to live with someone until I was married. He always had good reasons—or at least I believed they were good at the time—not to propose. And I felt wrong even bringing it up. But after so many years, it was like we’d come to a fork in the road.”
“Aye. That’s exactly it,” V said and took a bite of an omelet.
“He strung me along for a long time. Then, one day, I came back to the flat after work and all his things were gone. He left me a note taped to the bedroom that said it was over.”
V slowly lowered his fork, anger churning in his ice blue eyes. “Tell me this man’s name.”
Claire reached over and took his hand while smiling. “I love that you say that in a tone that makes me think you would hurt him.”
“Because I will.”
“There’s no need. It was a long time ago.”
“He hurt you.”
She lifted a shoulder and twisted her lips. “That’s love and life. I’ve learned that the hard way.”
V blew out a breath and went back to eating. “Did you love him?”
“Maybe. I don’t know. If you go by the romance novels I read, then the answer is no. And, when I compare what I had to Sophie and Darius, then it’s a definite no.”
V finished off the omelet and picked up the last two slices of bacon. He handed her one. “So you’ll settle only for true love? Is that it?”
“That’s exactly it.”
“Even if it means you spend your life alone?”
She nodded. “Even then. Isn’t that what Dragon Kings do?”
“It is.”
They stared into each other’s eyes for a long moment. V then stood and walked around to her. She took the hand he offered and let him pull her to her feet.
“I know the clinic is closed on the weekend,” he said. “I’d like to spend the day with you.”
“There’s no other place I’d rather be than with you.”
His grin was slow and heart-stopping. “Verra good answer.”
He then took off his boots and pulled off his shirt before tugging her toward the bathroom. She quite enjoyed watching him remove his clothes. When he was naked, she walked to him and slid her fingers into his long, dark hair.
“Shall I cut it?” he asked.
She shook her head. “I love it long. Just as I love this,” she said and scraped a finger along the shadow of a beard that accentuated his strong jaw.
He quirked a brow. “Is that so?”
“It is.”
“I like you like this,” he said and lightly slapped her bottom.
Claire laughed. “I can’t stay naked all the time. But I’ll make a deal with you. When we’re in your room or at my house, I’ll keep my clothes off if you will.”
“I’ll gladly take that deal,” he said and turned on the shower. “What do you want to do today?”
“I don’t care. I just want to spend time with you.”
“There is a place I want to show you.”
She winced as she thought about her attire. “I might need to run home and grab some fresh clothes.”
V grinned sheepishly. “I might have told Darius last night that Sophie would be doing you a huge favor if she gathered some clothes for you.”
“Really?” Claire asked in surprise.
He frowned at her. “You’re no’ mad?”
“Why would I be? You solved my problem.”
“No’ when I want to keep you out of clothes,” he grumbled.
Claire’s laugh turned into a shriek when he picked her up and carried her into the large walk-in shower.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
It was nearly an hour later before Claire and V emerged from the shower. They’d had to cut their morning short when V was called away.
She walked from the bathroom in just a towel after blow-drying her hair. On the bed, just as V had told her, was her overnight bag. Claire walked to it and unzipped the suitcase to see what Sophie had packed.
Claire pulled out a pair of jeans, two shirts, underwear and bras, socks, boots, and the two most important cases she never traveled anywhere without—her pre-packed toiletry and makeup bags. She and Sophie had traveled enough together that Sophie knew exactly where they were in her house.
Claire would really owe Sophie for getting everything together. She turned forward to grab the jeans she had tossed aside. As she did, her foot went under the bed and made contact with something.
“Bloody hell,” she grimaced as pain shot up her pinky toe.
She grabbed the hurt appendage and rubbed it to try and diminish the pain. Then she dropped down and looked under the bed to see what she had hit. Her eyes widened in surprise when she spotted the sword.
Claire hurriedly stood up and dressed in everything but her boots. Then she kneeled back on the floor and bent to look at the sword again. This had to be the weapon that V had told her about. Why then was it under the bed?
Her fingers ached to touch it, but it wasn’t hers. Obviously, V wanted it hidden. Whether to keep it out of sight or so she didn’t find it, she didn’t know, but she wasn’t going to ruin their time together by poking her nose where it didn’t belong.
V had been welcoming and open about who he was. She could destroy all of that by letting her curiosity rule her. V had said she could ask him anything, so instead of pulling the sword out and looking at it with fear that he would walk in on her, she decided to just ask him about it.
Claire straightened and sat back on her haunches. She was reaching for her toiletry and makeup bags when the door opened, and V entered. His gaze went from her to under the bed.
She swallowed nervously, feeling as if she had gotten caught. Which she pretty much had. V closed the door behind him but didn’t say a word. And that only made things worse.
“I stubbed my toe,” she told him. “I bent down to see what it was, but I didn’t touch the sword.”
V walked to the couch and sat on the far end. He rested his arm along the back of the sofa and jerked his chin to the weapon. “Take it out if you want.”
Claire hesitated, not sure if V was angry or not. It wasn’t always easy to tell with the Dragon Kings, and she was still getting to know V.
“Claire,” he urged softly. “It’s fine.”
She blew out a breath and leaned forward once more. Her cheek rested on the rug as she reached under the bed and wrapped her hand around the metal. At first, she didn’t think she could move the sword, but then she felt it give a little. She tried to lift it, but she was shocked at its heft. But she didn’t want to drag it on the floor, it didn’t matter that it was a rug.
This was a Dragon King’s sword, a weapon so powerful that a group had decided to steal it and keep it away from V. It deserved to be treated with care.
In the end, Claire had to use both hands to get it out. She didn’t look at it, though. She rose to her feet and brought it to V.
He grinned at her and leaned forward so that his forearms rested on his knees. “There’s no need to be nervous, lass.”
“You hid it.”
“I doona know why I put it under the bed, but it wasna to hide it. Touch it. Look at it. Tell me what you see.”
Claire licked her lips and found her knees shaking. Sh
e wasn’t sure what it was about holding the sword, but she felt lightheaded. Not wanting to make a fool of herself and fall, Claire sat cross-legged on the floor and rested the sword on her legs.
She rubbed her thumb along her fingertips since they felt as if they tingled. Surely, it was just her imagination. Or was it? The sword was made of magic and belonged to a powerful supernatural creature.
It took her a moment to become aware of the silence in the room. She looked up to find V watching her with such intensity that a shiver ran down her spine. Oddly enough, she drew courage from the determined look in his ice blue eyes.
A lock of his long hair fell forward, and he absently raked it back with his hand, never taking his gaze from her. That’s when she realized that he was waiting to see what she would do.
Claire drew in a deep breath and then slowly released it. She looked down at the sword. She was awestruck by the beauty of it—if such a weapon could be called beautiful. But it was.
She ran the pad of a finger along the pommel, which had double dragon heads facing away from each other with their mouths open showing their long fangs.
The grip looked like dragon scales, some shaded darker than others. Claire couldn’t help but think of the Silvers she had touched the day before. Every time V held his sword, it would be like touching a dragon.
Her inspection continued to the guard, which was dragon claws curved toward the blade. And the blade itself was as wide as V’s large hand. At the top near the guard was a Celtic knotwork design in the metal.
She ran her eyes all the way down the weapon to the point at the end. Just by looking at it, she could see that it was razor-sharp.
Finally, Claire looked back at V. “I know very little about swords, but this one is exquisite. I think my favorite part is the scales on the grip.”
“Aye,” he said with a crooked smile. “I love that part, as well. Actually, I love everything about it.”
“I can see why.”
He glanced down. “You rubbed your fingers a moment ago. Why?”
She shrugged, “They tingled a bit.”
“Did it feel as if something moved from the weapon into you?”
“Yes,” she replied emphatically. “That’s exactly what it felt like.”
“Interesting. It has done that to me every time I’ve touched it. Or it used to. Once I got it back in Iceland, I felt nothing for weeks.”
She automatically reached over and put her hand on his arm. “Do you know why?”
“Nay.”
“So you feel nothing when you hold it now?”
He swallowed but didn’t answer. A full minute passed before he said, “I feel it now.”
“That’s great,” she said. “Maybe you just needed some time with it.”
“Maybe,” he mumbled.
She cocked her head at him. “What do you mean?”
“It wasna until you that the sword responded to me.”
Claire blinked, unsure that she’d heard him correctly. “Me?”
He nodded. “I doona know how, but you gave me back my connection to the sword.”
“Me?” Claire said again, hating how loud her voice had become. “I’m no one. Just a mortal without any sort of special ability or magic.”
V leaned forward and wrapped her hand around the grip of the sword. “You can tell yourself you are no’ special, but the fact you feel the magic of the sword says otherwise. My weapon chose you. It’s not something any other Kings’ sword has done before.”
“What?” she asked in shock.
“I doona know how, but you also have a connection to the sword, lass.”
“Is that why you’re with me?”
He gave her a look of confusion, but then his expression evened out. Without a word, he took the weapon from her and set it aside. Then he pulled her to her feet as he stood. His large hands cupped her face, cradling it as he stared into her eyes.
“I’m with you because every time I see you, I crave to touch you. I long to kiss you, and I hunger to claim your body. The many reasons I want you have nothing to do with the sword, and everything to do with how I feel when I’m with you.”
All the words she wanted to say jumbled in her head and refused to fall easily from her tongue. So, she rose up and put her lips on his. It was the only way she could tell him that his words had not only been what she needed to hear, but they also touched her deeply.
He wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin atop her head as they both looked out the window. In a matter of days, they had shared many things. It brought them closer, holding them tightly as their bodies bonded.
“It’s easy to believe we’re the only two people here,” she said. “Right up until you step out of this room.”
“So we doona leave.”
She smiled and leaned back to look at V. “I don’t think we could get away with that for long.”
“I disagree,” he replied with a sexy grin.
Claire smoothed back V’s dark locks. “You’ve shared so very much with me, but I still have a secret I haven’t told you. Actually, it’s one I’d rather show you.”
“You doona need to.”
“I do.”
“Do you want to do it now?”
She nodded. “It’s at my house.”
“That doesna matter.”
Making the decision to tell V was much different than actually doing it. Her nervousness grew on the way to his car, and it intensified as they drew ever closer to her house.
When they finally reached it, her hand shook so badly, she couldn’t unlock the door. V finally had to take the keys and do it for her.
“It’s all right, lass. This can wait.”
She shook her head. “No. I really want to do this.”
“Your words and actions doona fit.”
“Please,” she said and took his hand. “I’m just nervous because I’ve never told a single person.”
V forehead furrowed. “No’ even Sophie?”
“Not even her.”
“Then show me,” V urged.
Claire pushed open the door and walked into the house, still clinging to V’s hand. She dropped her purse and keys next to the door and made her way to the kitchen table where she pulled out a chair and motioned for him to sit.
Then she went to her bedroom and retrieved her laptop. She set it up on the table before him and opened it. After a few seconds, the screen brightened to show him the page.
“I doona know what I’m looking at,” he told her with a shrug.
Claire knew this was her chance to close the laptop and tell him to forget it. V would do it. He was that kind of man. Though he knew she had a secret, he wouldn’t push her to share it until she was ready.
She’d thought she was. Now, she wasn’t so sure.
Then she thought about everything he had shown and told her. He’d held nothing back. Not his sorrow, not his pain, not even his fears of the future. And especially not the fact that she was able to touch a weapon belonging to a Dragon King.
She wasn’t used to anyone being so open and honest. Perhaps it was time she tried to do the same. Besides, she really did want V to know her deepest, darkest secret. The one she had kept to herself for years.
The one that she trusted him enough to share.
“Perhaps this will help,” she said and moved the pointer over to click on another tab.
There, the blog (Mis)Adventures of a Dating Failure showed. V said nothing as he looked at it before going back to the other tab. He turned his head to her. “This is you? The blogger I’ve heard all the women at Dreagan talking about is you?”
Claire nodded.
His face split into a wide smile. “You chose to share this with me?”
“Yes,” she replied.
“Ah, lass,” he said as he pulled her onto his lap. “Give me a few months. I’ll change your mind about men.”
Her heart was near to bursting. “You already have, my Dragon King.”
CHAPTER
THIRTY-FOUR
Southern Ireland
Dark Palace
There was something in the air, a scent Balladyn recognized well.
Impending battle.
He stared out one of the many windows of his chambers on the top floor of the compound. The last time he’d fought alongside others, it had been during the Fae Wars when he was still in the Light Army and one of the strongest warriors Usaeil had.
Until the queen betrayed him to the Dark.
He should have died, but Taraeth spared him. The king had done so for his own reasons, but in the end, it was Balladyn who killed him and took over his position. For centuries, Balladyn had dreamed of ruling the Dark. Once he took the throne, he’d thought it was merely the fact that Rhi wasn’t beside him that manifested his malcontent.
But he was beginning to think it was something else entirely.
Ever since his visit from the white-haired Reaper, Fintan, Balladyn’s thoughts had been on the future. There were things in play that couldn’t be undone.
Rhi clashing with Usaeil was one of them. Balladyn knew firsthand how powerful Rhi was, but would it be enough to topple the queen?
At one time, Balladyn and Ulrik had made a pact to take out Usaeil themselves, but Ulrik was now part of Dreagan again. And Balladyn wasn’t going to go there. He detested everything about the Dragon Kings.
Ulrik had been different because, while he was a King, he hadn’t been part of Dreagan. That had changed. Which likely meant that any pact Ulrik made—especially one with the Dark King—meant nothing.
Then Balladyn thought of Rhi.
Whether she wanted to admit it or not, she was going to need all the help she could get while going after Usaeil. And Balladyn was no fool. The Dragon Kings would be right there with her.
Even him.
He was the true reason for Balladyn’s animosity toward the Kings. The bastard had broken Rhi in a way Balladyn had never seen before. And all the while, Balladyn had held love inside that could have healed her. Except he hadn’t had the nerve to tell Rhi.
Though he could admit now that he’d known deep inside that she would reject him. And he wouldn’t have been able to handle that. So, he’d remained her friend, loving her from afar.
