Dillon had followed her and was in the process of setting her plants down.
“I hope you don’t mind my asking,” he began, hand on the back of his head like he was ashamed of what he was about to ask. “But do you mind making dinner tonight?”
The tension in her chest vanished as she laughed. “I don’t mind making dinner. It’s the least I can do!”
Dillon grinned. His smile creased the corners of his eyes and brought a sparkling light to them. When he turned, she reached out and touched his arm to stop him.
“Wait. Weren’t your eyes blue earlier?”
He didn’t look back at her at first. She thought he would pull away and leave. Then, he slowly twisted so she could see his eyes. His pupils had narrowed into slits and the blue around them swirled with yellow.
Her breath caught in her throat. He stilled beneath her hand.
“Why is that happening? To your eyes, I mean.” Isabella’s heart raced, easily outpacing a galloping horse.
Dillon’s nostrils flared. His chest rapidly rose and fell. Isabella ran her hand up his arm until her fingertips found their way beneath the sleeve of his t-shirt. Her chest flared with heat when his gaze dipped to her lips.
Then he ducked his head. “It means I need to go.”
Dillon left Isabella standing alone. She clenched her fist, already missing the warmth of his skin.
She nearly called out for him. Her nipples had hardened, and a part of her wondered what it would feel like to press them against his chest as she wound her arm around his neck.
Isabella had to shake her head to expel the wayward thought. Later, she would have to look up if horniness was a side-effect of pregnancy. That was the only explanation she could think of.
* * *
Dillon wanted her.
This frail human woman with her gentle eyes and soft-spoken voice. He wanted to crush her against his body and taste her lips. His beast agreed, clawing its way toward the surface because it wanted nothing more than to turn around and go back. The beast told him to kick the door closed and take her so that every other dragon would know she belonged to him.
Not knowing what to do with these feelings of his, Dillon went back to the truck and busied himself. Isabella didn’t need him getting horny around her. If he couldn’t handle his own urges, then he wasn’t a man. Dillon didn’t want to be that asshole. He wasn’t like Erik, who brought women home every weekend in that disaster he called a truck.
Dillon grabbed three boxes, all of them smelling like Isabella. The scent didn’t help. His dragon roused and slammed against his insides, demanding release. It’d been his word that allowed Isabella to stay in the cabin, but Dillon was starting to think he would need to put distance between them.
When he got back to her room and found her kneeling on the floor with the grey bunny in her arms, his determination to stay distant shattered into a thousand pieces. She looked up at him with her big, innocent eyes and flashed the brightest smile.
“Take a break,” she said. “The truck doesn’t need to go back until tomorrow. You should meet Persimmon now and let her know you’ll be living with us.”
Dillon suddenly became very aware of his teeth. His gaze focused on her exposed shoulder. He wanted to claim her and take her on the floor, but he knelt opposite her and held out his hand to the little rabbit.
Isabella let out a small gasp. “You’re shaking.”
“Huh?” He hadn’t realized it until she’d pointed it out, but there was a tremble in his hand.
Holding back his beast’s urges was taking more out of him than he’d thought. Dillon didn’t have to do it that often. If anything, he was the most well-behaved dragon of the clan. His beast never wanted anything more than the sky and a nap.
Now, he could feel it gnashing its teeth inside him, his skin growing tight as if the beast took up more and more room by the moment.
Isabella passed the rabbit over to him and stood. He watched her in stunned silence as she left.
Dillon didn’t know what he’d done to make her run away. He’d kept quiet for the most part and hadn’t made any sudden moves. His presence had bothered other human women before. They always gave him wild-eyed looks as if they expected him to shove them into an unmarked van and drive away.
He’d given up on trying to assure them he would never harm someone that way. There were a few instances in his life where women looked to him for protection, like when he worked as a bouncer at clubs or security at events. Unless he wore a shirt stating that he was the help, women steered clear of him.
He should have known that Isabella would run away eventually, but why did she leave her rabbit in his care? He scratched the tiny creature’s nose, careful to be tender with it.
The sound of footsteps approached the door. Dillon thought Casey or Gavin had come to take the rabbit away and kick him out. He let out a sigh, resigning himself to the loneliness that had been plaguing him recently.
“I did what I could with what’s in the fridge,” Isabella said, kneeling in front of him. She passed him a plate with a thick sandwich on it. “You don’t strike me as a vegetable kind of guy, but that’s all there was. I’ll try to make something heartier for dinner.”
He stared at the plate. “You made me a sandwich?”
She frowned. “Do you not like sandwiches? I should have asked what you prefer. It was wrong of me to assume. I can go make you something else.”
Dillon quickly shook his head. “No, no, no. I don’t mean it like that. It’s just, I wasn’t expecting you to do something so nice.”
Her frown quirked into a quizzical half-smile. She reached out to gather her rabbit, and he let the slick bundle of fur slide back into her arms.
“You didn’t have to do this for me, but you did. Thank you,” Dillon said. He meant it with every ounce of his heart.
“Oh, I assumed that’s why you wanted me to stay. I thought it was my job to make you food.”
He jerked back, alarmed. “That’s not what I meant when I asked if you could cook. I didn’t mean to make you think that. You don’t have to do anything here.”
She scooted closer so that they faced the same direction. Her leg pressed against his, and she rested her head on his shoulder.
“You’re nice,” she said. “I’m not used to that in men. It never occurred to me that you might not want anything from me. Even as I say that, it doesn’t feel right. It feels like I’m lying to myself.”
“If you wanted, I would make every meal for you. It probably wouldn’t taste good, but I’d still do it.” Dillon clenched his fist to keep his hands to himself. He was grateful that he had a plate in the other hand. “That’s what I do around here. I help my family. Now that you’re here, you’re family, too.”
She leaned back from him and studied him for a moment that stretched on a little too long. “Even though I’m not tied to anyone here? I’m not anyone’s girlfriend. No one is paying me to be a maid or anything.”
“You don’t have to have purpose to be a part of a family.”
They watched Persimmon explore the bedroom and the boxes for a while. The rabbit took her time, sniffing every nook and cranny.
“Can I tell you a secret?” she whispered.
Dillon gave her a small nod. He would carry the world’s secrets on his back for her. Perhaps he was being foolish. Maybe his beast needed to vent some pent-up energy. He might ask Erik to take him along the next time he went out.
But the only woman Dillon could imagine in his bed was Isabella.
She sighed through her nose before pulling in a deep breath, like she was steadying herself. “Evangeline and Nellie know already, so you don’t have to worry about keeping it from them. I’m more worried about Gavin because this is his house. I’m scared to think of what’s going to happen when he finds out.”
Dillon took her hand in his and rubbed his thumb along her skin. She offered him a shaky smile.
“I’m pregnant,” she said.
His
beast snarled. Not out of jealousy or betrayal or anything so bitter. The beast wanted to hover over her and protect her from the world. Leaving her side would be impossible now. He wouldn’t want to let the child’s father anywhere near Isabella or the baby.
“Are you…happy?”
Isabella’s smile widened, growing more confident. “I’m ecstatic. Over the moon, to be honest.”
Dillon didn’t know how to ask this. From what he understood, Isabella had just left her ex-boyfriend. Did that mean she would go back to him now that she was pregnant? Dillon didn’t know if he could handle watching her go. He barely knew her and yet he felt like she was a part of him now.
His beast needed to stop imprinting on women. Barely a day in her presence and Dillon had committed himself to her without her knowledge.
He pinched the bridge of his nose.
“You’re not happy,” she said, her voice dragged low by fear.
His eyes snapped open. “That’s not what I…My problem…”
Isabella leaned forward to peer at him. “Your eyes are blue and yellow again. Does that mean you’re talking to your dragon?”
No, it meant his beast was making demands that he could not fulfill. Dillon could not keep this woman as his own. She belonged to no one. Her life was hers to do whatever she wanted with it. She owed him nothing, not even friendship.
The thought broke his heart. He didn’t know how he’d let himself get so attached to her. His loneliness and exhaustion had gotten the better of him. It’d made him imagine a relationship that couldn’t happen.
18
Isabella wondered what she’d done wrong when Dillon stood and left her alone. Perhaps telling him that she was going to have a baby had been a bad idea. She would have to hope now that he wouldn’t tell Gavin and get her kicked out.
She looked around at the boxes piled all around the room. If she unpacked them, she would only have to pack them again in a month or so. Grown men didn’t want her and a baby hanging around. She would have to find her own place.
The idea of leaving Dillon behind bothered her. His kindness had warmed her. Unexpected as it was, she found herself craving more. Now, she’d gone and chased him away with her news.
Now he would never come back. No man wanted to spend time with a woman who bore the physical evidence of another man’s touch. For the next nine months, anytime Dillon looked at her, he would only be able to think about Tommy.
The thought saddened her far more than she expected.
Instead of unpacking, she scooped Persimmon up and put her back in her cage. When the bunny was safely tucked away, Isabella got her phone and texted Evangeline.
What does it mean when their eyes change?
Isabella twisted her lips, wondering if that was enough for Evangeline to understand what she was asking.
Dillon helped me move my things inside and his eyes changed from blue to yellow. Did I do something wrong?
Her phone remained silent. Isabella chided herself for trying to ask questions while Evangeline was working. Her friend was super busy with her own business. It was silly to think that Evangeline would set everything aside to answer such a silly question.
Then the phone chimed, and Isabella’s heart thumped. Evangeline’s message appeared at the top of the screen, prompting her to tap it.
He’s so hot for you!
Isabella blood warmed beneath her cheeks. She was glad no one was around, because her face was probably an embarrassing shade of red. Her fingers trembled as she typed her response.
That’s silly! was all she could manage to say.
Evangeline’s only response was a string of eggplant emojis. Isabella clamped her hand over her mouth to smother her embarrassed laugh. She quickly locked her phone and shoved it under her pillow. To her, Dillon was a nice guy who wanted to help her out. She didn’t see what Evangeline was trying to project.
Dillon had run away the moment she’d told him that she was pregnant.
Realization hit her like a truck. He’d stuck around because he’d liked her, but when he learned that she was with another man’s child, he’d vanished. She swallowed back the pain of being dismissed. Evangeline had been right, but Isabella’s situation had ruined her chances.
“Great,” she muttered to herself.
Her laptop sat on the bed. She should have been writing, so she could make more money. Her fans were waiting for the next series and she was only halfway through it. Instead, Isabella busied herself by searching for her sheets and comforter.
She couldn’t bear the thought of writing happy relationships. While she was with Tommy, they’d been her escape. She’d written those stories with the idea that they were practically fairy tales. Then Casey had come and swept Evangeline off her feet, and Isabella knew the love in her books could actually exist.
Only, she couldn’t have it.
Soon, she would have the love of a child. Isabella told herself that would be all she ever needed, but the lie felt flat and bitter in her mouth. The hope for a full family with a mother and a father still lingered in her heart.
But who could she find that would want to care for another man’s child?
19
Isabella wriggled her nail under the envelope flap and tore it open, certain the bill would be minimal. She hadn’t used her credit card in weeks, not since the last set of book covers for her business. That bill had been paid off already, so this one should have been all zeroes. Or maybe it was a letter from the credit company asking why she hadn’t purchased anything because they liked to make sure people were using their cards.
The paper she pulled out of the envelope had the familiar bill format. She unfolded it, and her stomach plummeted to the ground.
“I can’t pay this,” she whispered, tears burning her eyes.
Somehow, the bill had come to nearly a thousand dollars. She scrambled back inside and grabbed her purse, dumping it out to check her receipts. As she frantically flattened every crumpled receipt, they all said the same thing.
Cash.
She’d paid everything with the cash withdrawn from her savings account, just like she thought. The credit bill didn’t make any sense, but she checked her online orders, just in case a company accidentally double charged her. Again, she found nothing out of the ordinary.
So, why was her credit bill astronomical?
“Everything alright?” Dillon’s rumbling voice entered the room.
She looked up, certain tears were flooding her cheeks. Dillon’s lips parted and a look of panic widened his eyes as he fumbled forward.
“What is it? What’s wrong?”
Isabella swallowed. His concern warmed her, though she knew he probably didn’t care.
He touched her cheek and tilted her chin up, so she had to look at him. The gentle stroke of his thumb along her cheek eased a bit of the ache in her chest and allowed her to breathe again. For a moment, she could believe that Dillon wanted her.
It was a dangerous daydream. If she allowed herself to believe in it, then she would only find herself with a broken heart when the bubble finally burst.
“I can’t pay this,” she whispered. She pulled away from Dillon’s touch and wiped at her cheeks with the back of her hand. “I can’t pay it right now. This is going to take forever to pay off. The interest is going to kill me.”
“I don’t mind helping you cover necessities.”
She shook her head. “I didn’t…” Tears choked her again. She probably looked like a mess. Her cheeks had to be red again. “I didn’t buy anything.”
Dillon immediately straightened. His eyes narrowed. Her heart lurched, terrified.
“I d-d-don’t know how this happened! I promise! T-t-this isn’t my fault.” Hiccups interrupted her tears now.
She never meant to make Dillon angry. Incompetence seemed to be sewn into her very being. She couldn’t avoid it, no matter how hard she tried to make her life better. He probably thought less of her for getting knocked-up, too.
&nbs
p; A growl left Dillon’s throat. She flinched.
“I’m scaring you,” Dillon said, his voice filled with regret. “I should leave.”
Isabella’s head snapped up, but Dillon was already gone. She never imagined a man as large as him could move so fast. Confusion left her head feeling hollow. She couldn’t figure out what just happened.
Her immediate reaction had been to blame herself when Dillon’s anger had surfaced. Years of loving the wrong men had left her with janky instincts. Without Dillon standing over her, her pulse slowed, and things started to make sense.
“He’s not angry at me,” she said as she came to the realization.
She wiped away the last of her tears, shook herself, and got to her feet. Dusting off her knees, she came up with a plan. She would have liked Dillon to accompany her, but he’d already vanished, and she wasn’t sure if hunting him down was a good idea.
She didn’t know anything about the dragon men. If she found Dillon, she might interrupt something he needed to do. Not that she knew what he would need to do. That was his business, not hers.
This bill was her business. She snatched it off the floor and marched out to her car. It wasn’t much, just an old sedan she’d bought off a neighbor for a grand. It got her back and forth, and that was all that mattered. With the keys in the ignition and the bill on the passenger seat, she called her ex.
She got him to agree to meet at a neutral place. Never again would she step foot in his trailer. The idea of being alone with Tommy sent a shiver through her core. He’d never hit her, but the threat had always been there. Every time he moved, she’d flinched, waiting for the punch that never came. The stress of not knowing when he would finally snap had left her feeling fragile.
Inside, she claimed a table in the far corner and adjusted her sweater even though she wasn’t even showing yet. If Tommy found out that she was pregnant, she would never get rid of him. He would haunt her until she terminated it. He never wanted her to have anything that made her happy.
Rogue Dragons Series: Box Set Books 1-5 Page 16
