Their breaths came ragged once they stepped away from one another. Daphne didn’t know what to do. She didn’t want to walk away, but she didn’t think he would invite her inside either. And she definitely didn’t dare sip the coffee in her hand for fear of losing the taste of Ford on her lips.
“I put my number in your phone while you were getting dressed,” he said, voice still husky. “If you need anything, help, food, anything, just call.”
Daphne desperately wanted to make a joke about needing sex, but she didn’t want to ruin the moment. Ford would run at the first suggestion of taking this any further.
“I could use a ride,” she said after remembering that she’d walked to town. The walk back would be murder.
Ford just nodded and went to fetch his keys. He seemed grateful to stay with her a little longer. She told herself he was only trying to keep her safe after Zander’s phone call. Ford had said, himself, that he wouldn’t be her mate.
If that was so true, then why wouldn’t her longing go away? Why couldn’t she think of anything else?
Ford dropped her off at the cabin. They hadn’t said much to one another on the drive, perhaps because Daphne had kept her sexual advances to herself for once. The moment she saw her brother’s truck, her attention slipped away from her own needs and focused on the needs of others.
Her brother approached her, his eyes on Ford as he drove away. “That’s where you’ve been?”
Daphne stiffened. “Not that it’s any of your business.”
“We don’t know anything about that guy. Zander could have hired him to spy on us.”
Daphne’s beast snarled and snapped at her brother. She wanted nothing more than to take a bite out of him for being a presumptive ass, but she needed to keep herself together.
“I get that you’re stressed out right now,” she said. “That doesn’t mean you need to police my private life. What I do in my free time is my business. And, theoretically, the less time I spend here, the less any of Zander’s spies will be able to get from me when I go back. Right?”
Casey jerked back as if slapped. He ran a hand through his hair, a gesture Daphne had always known to show that he was thinking. If she let him think too long, the gears would overheat and burn out, though.
“Look,” she said. “I’m safe and sound. I got a…troubling phone call last night, and Ford didn’t want me going out on my own. He gave me his bed for the night…”
Both of Casey’s brows rose. “That man must really have a thing for you if he gave up his own bed.”
Her heart clenched. “That’s not—Ford’s just a nice man. He was looking out for me.”
“Men, especially male dragons, don’t give up their beds for just anyone. If you tell me you think he’s your mate, then I’ll trust him. No man mated to my little sister is going to fuck us over.”
The hand around her heart squeezed tighter. She struggled to find her voice, like it was trapped behind the fist in her chest. “Ford isn’t my mate. And before you ask, no, I don’t want to talk about it.”
She pushed past her brother. Her great morning had been kicked into submission after that interaction. The time she’d spent with Ford was special to her, but now that her brother and the others were making demands of her, she felt her mood slipping.
After she took the girls to the fields to practice some more, Daphne would book herself a room in a hotel. That idea didn’t settle quite right with her either. Zander had eyes on her. She didn’t know who would be watching her. It could have been one of Gavin’s dragons, but seeing how tight this small clan had become, she doubted it.
Inside, Evangeline and Isabella were in the kitchen, sharing a jar of pickles. They had their heads bent together and were in the middle of what looked like a private conversation. Daphne paused, feeling out of sorts. She didn’t belong in their tight-knit relationship, but she had nowhere else to go, either.
Then, Evangeline’s head perked up. Daphne expected a sour expression to twist Evangeline’s lips. Instead, her face brightened, and she welcomed Daphne forward. Around the same time, Bree appeared. She pulled a shirt over her head, her bracelets jangling on her wrists as she moved.
“We were just comparing dick size,” Evangeline said, a little too loud, like she was hoping the men would hear. Her gaze darted to Bree. “You’re welcome to join us. We need to figure out who has the biggest dick in the clan.”
Daphne held up both hands. “Ew, I don’t need to know how big my brother’s dick is.”
“I bet it’s Gavin,” Bree said as she opened the fridge door. “We all know the men with the biggest dicks are the weird quiet ones. Gavin appears and disappears without notice. He doesn’t talk much…That sounds a little like Dillon, too.”
Isabella’s cheeks flushed. “It’s not like I have a great frame of reference. All I can say is that he’s bigger than my ex.”
“That’s because your ex was packing a micropenis.” Evangeline bit the tip from a pickle.
Daphne couldn’t help the chuckle that rose out of her. She accepted the strawberry that Bree passed to her. The whole interaction almost made Daphne feel like she belonged. Every time she saw her brother and fell into the pit of worry he’d dug around himself, she recoiled. Here, beside these happy women, Daphne could relax.
“I can kind of confirm your suspicions,” Daphne said as she reached for another strawberry. “I saw Gavin’s dick when we were teens. Before you ask how, know it’s not that weird when you grow up as dragon shifters. He’s definitely bigger than some of the men I’ve been with.”
A roar shook the ceiling above them. “Why are you talking about my dick?”
Isabella slapped her hand over her mouth. Evangeline laughed so hard she sloshed pickle juice onto the floor. Daphne didn’t even bother holding back her laughter. It’d been too long since she’d been able to take shots at Gavin and her brother.
They’d all been close growing up, but their adult lives had torn them apart. Just as Daphne threw herself into her new job in the clan, Gavin had started to learn how to take over the clan from his father, and Casey had been close behind as they’d always assumed Casey would be his second-in-command.
Turns out, they’d been right. Only, they weren’t taking over Zander’s clan.
“Go back to your witch hunt!” Evangeline shouted at the ceiling.
Thunder rumbled down the stairs. Gavin burst into the kitchen, his finger pointed at Evangeline.
“I’m not hunting her!”
Evangeline’s crooked smile spelled trouble. Daphne grabbed her arm and told Bree that it was time to go. She couldn’t have the new dragon challenging a clan leader just because she felt a little cocky today. While it was great that Evangeline was feeling better, poking Gavin wasn’t a good idea.
“I’m not hunting her!” Gavin shouted after them.
Daphne shot a questioning look at Evangeline as they got into the car.
“He’s hot for our friend, but she’s terrified of him. I don’t think Gavin realizes what he’s doing. He’s gone all dragon brain.”
Last Daphne knew, Gavin had mated with a human named Tiffany. While Daphne hated Tiffany, she had never questioned Gavin’s love for her. He’d seemed committed up until Tiffany went back to her parents and never returned.
Could it be that they loved one another, but were never mates? Of course, dragon shifters dated throughout their life. How else would a dragon find their mate? Daphne had never stopped to wonder if serious relationships could be mistaken for mate bonds, though. If that could happen, then…?
Daphne shook herself from her daydream. Ford had been very clear about his past. Just because she had feelings for him that seemed intense, that did not mean that his wife hadn’t been his mate.
And yet, he referred to her as his wife. Never his mate.
Daphne’s chest tightened. Her dragon brushed against her skin like a cat. If it knew something she didn’t, the beast didn’t give any of it up. Daphne let her head fall against th
e window.
Their training session went far better than Daphne could have anticipated. By the end, all three dragons had taken to the sky at one point or another. Bree had gotten better at steadying herself while Evangeline’s attempts had gotten her airborne for only a minute or two before she dropped. Daphne enjoyed flying alongside them and seeing the change in the two new shifters.
They were infinitely more confident. Daphne had never taken so much pride in training any shifters before. This wasn’t about showing Zander that she could be useful. These sessions were about helping people who could be Daphne’s friends.
Daphne found that was what she wanted. She yearned for the close bond she saw between Evangeline and Isabella earlier. Maybe then she would have some help unpacking everything burdening her mind.
While Daphne was distracted, smoke poured from Evangeline’s nostrils. The air around them darkened with soot, grabbing Daphne’s attention. Evangeline’s beast hunkered low in the grass, her eyes narrowed and flames flickering in the darkness of her muzzle. Daphne attempted a slow approach, but a growl of warning stopped her.
Bree shifted back to her human form and scolded Evangeline, but the words only made the flames in her muzzle brighter. Daphne put her tail between Bree and Evangeline. Daphne should have seen from the light in Evangeline’s eyes at the cabin that her dragon had something to prove.
It seemed that the breakdown from the other day had wounded Evangeline’s beast and now she wanted to make up for it. Starting a fight with another dragon probably seemed logical to Evangeline’s beast because she thought she could win.
While Daphne hadn’t anticipated this day ending in a fight, she slapped her tail against the ground in warning. If Evangeline wanted to attack, then she was more than ready. Energy coursed through her body until she crackled with it.
She snapped out her wings, making herself look larger. She caught the hint of movement just before Evangeline struck. Daphne leapt away from Bree so she could spare her from the fight. Evangeline pivoted and pounced.
Flame dripped from her snout. It sizzled on the ground, leaving charred marks and little fires. Daphne jumped into Evangeline’s space, making sure to sweep the ground with her tail to put the fires out. Her tail distracted Evangeline just long enough for Daphne to grapple her.
She shoved Evangeline to the ground, keeping a clawed hand on her snout while putting her back foot on Evangeline’s wing. While Evangeline’s beast must have wanted to prove her strength, unsurprising with everything that had been going on, she wasn’t prepared to fight a born dragon. Daphne had been doing this all her life.
Evangeline bucked and tried to throw Daphne off, but Daphne leaned and put even more of her weight onto Evangeline. When Evangeline tugged on her trapped wing, she whimpered.
“Are you done being an asshole?” Bree shouted from across the field.
Evangeline snarled. Daphne thought she would try to escape again, but the fire in her mouth died. Seeing the fight bleed out of Evangeline, Daphne backed off. She waited a moment, one eye on Evangeline, but it seemed the fight really was over.
Daphne shifted back and found her bralette and dress while Bree jogged to join them. Returning to her human form should show Evangeline’s dragon that Daphne didn’t see her as a threat. Sure, it was a snide thing to do, but Daphne hoped it made Evangeline think twice about what she’d done before ever trying it again.
The moment Evangeline shifted back, she asked, “Can you teach me how to do that?”
Daphne shrugged. “Sure. I spent enough years kicking your mate’s ass. I learned quite a bit.”
Bree and Evangeline laughed. Daphne went on about how she and Casey fought pretty often growing up. He would be able to teach Evangeline, too, after Daphne went home. The mention of going home dragged their smiles down into scowls. Daphne barely knew Bree and Evangeline, but now she didn’t want to leave.
“I’m starving,” Daphne said. “Do you want to go out for lunch? I know a great place with an amazing cook.”
The two women agreed and called Isabella and another friend that Daphne hadn’t met yet. Daphne couldn’t recall the last time she’d had a girls’ day. Not that the scant hours left of the day could be called a girls’ day, and the meal they were about to order certainly wouldn’t be considered lunch. Daphne didn’t care.
She grinned, excited to feel like part of a group that actually wanted her there.
57
Work dragged. Normally the hours flew by for Ford. He lost himself in the rhythmic tick tick of his knife against the cutting board or the roaring flare of a pan being flambeed. His thoughts were consumed by a single woman. She danced through his mind, making him cut his fingers while prepping vegetables.
His co-workers wondered what was wrong with him when he nearly set himself on fire. He hadn’t been paying attention to the flames. They were of no concern to a dragon, but the other line cooks and servers didn’t know that. He had to stay focused or else he would out himself as not human.
The bandage on his finger annoyed him since the wound had healed hours ago, but someone had witnessed him cutting himself, so now he couldn’t take it off. Ford wanted to go outside and bang his head against the brick wall to see if he could get Daphne out of his mind. Then he heard her voice.
He paused, a chill rippling through his body. For a moment, he wondered if he was imagining her presence. He couldn’t want someone so bad that he hallucinated her voice, right?
A server pushed through the swinging kitchen door and he saw her, across the room. Their eyes met before the stainless-steel barrier settled between them again.
Great, he thought. She brought more of those damn dragons with her.
He recognized Bree if only from the stack of white gold bracelets on her wrist. The glimpse of floral tattoos told him that Evangeline was there, as well. When he crept up to the window of the kitchen door, he saw two other women beside her.
One of the line cooks sidled up beside Ford to figure out what he was looking at. The line cook whistled.
“The girl in the dress has legs for days. Am I right? And cowboy boots. Do you think that means she likes to get dirty? It’s probably just for show. Not many girls like that anymore. Still, I’d fuck her.”
Ford snarled. He caught himself and smothered the sound, but the line cook gave him a weird look.
“Ah, I didn’t know she was with you…” The line cook backed away and went back to work.
His beast’s possessiveness still hummed through him. Ford shouldn’t have wanted Daphne that much. The kiss she’d given him returned to his lips like an echo of the past. Hunger swirled in his gut. No, it was deeper. It was primal and demanded more.
He’d never felt like this with anyone else. Desire had always been a part of his marriage, but not like this. The beast clawed at him from the inside out, digging deeper and deeper the longer he ignored it. Soon, the beast would turn on his lungs.
He told the creature that he couldn’t sleep with anyone if he suffocated. The beast backed down, though not by much. It still hungered for the woman sitting in the dining room. If only Ford could whisk her away from her girlfriends and lift the hem of that dress over her hips. He knew that women travelled in packs once they were together.
What was he thinking? He couldn’t have Daphne. All of this dreaming and lusting would get him nowhere. Even if he could bury himself deep inside her, that didn’t mean he would feel fulfilled in any way. She wasn’t meant for him. He’d already lost his chance to satiate the emptiness inside him.
Daphne’s laughter grew louder, enticing him like a siren’s call. A smile split his lips, but he didn’t let himself go to her yet. He went back to his job and tried to focus until all the orders had been taken care of. He told himself it wasn’t to avoid the emotions trying to swell inside him.
He couldn’t have her, no matter how boldly his beast demanded. Ford had to walk carefully around her lest he fall into a pit of his own making.
* * *
Her ache nearly overwhelmed her. It distracted her from the conversation at the table. The woman with the white streak in her hair was bemoaning Gavin’s advances, which would have captivated Daphne under any other circumstance.
“I’m going to curse him soon,” Nellie grumbled.
Both Evangeline and Isabella served Nellie with a stern look. Isabella chided Nellie for using more magic. Evangeline asked Nellie what she was doing at a table with three dragons if she hated dragons.
“I’ve known you your whole life,” Nellie said. “I doubt you’ve changed much now that you’re like her.” Nellie gestured to Daphne.
“I’m still a big scary monster,” Evangeline pressed.
“No, you’re a dolt with a superiority complex. I heard you started a fight you couldn’t finish. Bet that didn’t feel great.”
The kitchen door opened. Daphne’s stomach sank when a server walked out. She scowled and admonished herself for her creepy behavior. Following Ford to work every day was the kind of thing stalkers did. Was she a stalker now?
When she heard the creak of the kitchen door, she didn’t look up until Ford’s scent reached her nose. He wore a grimace as he stood over the table. Daphne held back her laughter.
“Your server made me bring your plates out,” he explained, his voice low and filled with frustration.
The other women looked around, his remark going over their heads. Daphne knew, though. The restaurant employees were about to gang up on him just to see Ford and Daphne hook up.
He passed plates out to everyone at the table, but when Daphne expected her order, Ford was already on his way back to the kitchen.
“Hold up,” she shouted at him. “Where’s my food?”
Rogue Dragons Series: Box Set Books 1-5 Page 47
