The sound of bags hitting the floor startled her and made her yelp.
She spun in her seat and found Dillon staring down at the newspaper on the table. A look of betrayal twisted his countenance. His chest inflated, like he would say something. She watched him quickly deflate, shake his head, and stalk out of the room.
Her gaze dropped to the bags on the floor. Thinking they were groceries for dinner, she picked them up and started to unpack them. It became very apparent this was not what she thought when she pulled out a pack of rabbit snacks.
“Oh,” she said under her breath.
She found a bottle of rose bubble bath, a pair of fuzzy socks with rabbits on them, and a bag of peanut butter candies, too. No man under this roof would want anything to do with these items. Which could only mean Dillon had bought them for her.
The newspaper now under the gifts seemed to accuse her of treachery. She scowled down at it while her heart tried to make sense of what had happened.
She gathered the gifts in her arms and padded back to her room to put them away. When she found her door open, she didn’t hesitate. Just as she thought, Dillon waited for her inside. He crouched near Persimmon’s cage with a finger through the grate for Persimmon to sniff.
“I didn’t know you’d be leaving,” Dillon said without turning around.
Had anyone else gone near Persimmon during an argument like this, her heart would have raced. Tommy would have used the rabbit against her, used it as a hostage. Right now, she suspected Dillon hadn’t come to her room for any nefarious purposes, but to instead to find comfort in Persimmon’s company.
Isabella closed the door behind her so no one could eavesdrop on their conversation. “Gavin agreed to let me live here, but he made that decision without knowing about…you know. He won’t want to deal with a baby in seven months. They scream and cry and Gavin doesn’t seem like the kind of person who can handle that.”
Dillon stood upright. Without meeting her gaze, he came to embrace her. His forehead rested against her shoulder. She held him, one hand on his back while she threaded her fingers through his hair with the other.
“I can’t ask you to stay,” he said.
Though he said he couldn’t ask her, the words carried a tone that almost seemed to beg for him. Her heart couldn’t handle the desperation coming from him. The need he expressed called to a similar need inside herself.
She’d ignored it all week, trying to tell herself that she didn’t need a man. Yet, every time she came across Dillon in a hall or in the kitchen, she had to fight to keep from reaching for him. Nothing felt as good as the moments when he held her like this. When her body pressed against his, and she could feel his strength, she felt at ease.
She couldn’t change her situation, though. The baby would come, and she would have to have a home set up for them.
“Don’t get me wrong,” she whispered to Dillon. “I love it here. I love the mountain view. I love making food for you and the other guys. I love being able to see you every day. But out of respect for the others, I’ll need to find my own place soon.”
Even though she spoke of leaving, her fingers tighten in Dillon’s shirt. As he straightened, he lifted her with him. Her feet left the floor. He cradled her against him, so steady that she had no fear of falling.
He brought her to the bed, where he turned and sat. She adjusted, one knee on either side of him so she could wrap her whole body around him. Though she told herself she needed to remain just friends, she couldn’t help but want to break her own rules.
“I remember the first time I saw you,” she said. “I’d walked Evangeline to work that morning and stood outside the shop, so I could watch you through the window. You didn’t see me, but I certainly noticed you. You’re so much taller and wider than the others. I had eyes for you and you alone, but I didn’t think you would notice me.”
Dillon’s fingers pressed into her flesh, a tight grip that told her he never wanted to let go. “I saw you. I would have chased you down if I hadn’t overheard you mention a boyfriend.”
Isabella lurched back. “You heard what I said outside the shop?”
Dillon nodded.
Then another voice joined, shouting from another room. “We have great hearing!”
Dillon growled Gavin’s name under his breath. Isabella fumbled out of Dillon’s grasp She paced back and forth several times before yanking the door open and shouting back to Gavin.
“How much have you heard?” Her voice echoed down the hall.
When no answer came, she nervously picked at the curls over her shoulder. Gavin was going to kick her out for sure. She hadn’t found a new place to live yet. She never should have kept her pregnancy a secret. Transparency would have saved her from this moment.
Just as her fear and anxiety were about to get the best of her, Dillon pulled her into his arms. She released a breath and drew in a fresh mouthful of air.
“I have nowhere to go,” she said into Dillon’s skin.
“You don’t have to go anywhere unless you want to,” he assured her.
She didn’t know how he could be so sure. This wasn’t his house. He didn’t get to say what happened here.
Dillon must have heard her heart start to thump again because he pulled back and cupped her face, so she had to look at him. He gave her a sweet, reassuring smile.
“We would never let anything bad happen to you. You’ll never be homeless.”
“You can’t promise that.” She hated how whiny her voice sounded.
“I would promise you the world and find a way to follow through,” he told her.
The hurried beat of her heart shifted from fear to desire. Before she could move into him, Dillon’s lips descended upon hers. His hands slipped lower until one rested on her neck and the other explored her narrow frame. She tilted her head back to give him full access. His tongue pushed past her lips and drew a moan from her.
She needed his touch, needed the way he made her feel. Ravenous for affection, she grabbed him by the front of his shirt and tugged him closer. He responded with his arm around her lower back.
A thunderous crash broke them apart. Isabelle’s first thought was to check on Persimmon, but the rabbit’s cage was still perched on the dresser. As she came back to the present, she realized the sound had come from somewhere else in the house.
Dillon clutched her tight, so she could feel the tension bound in every muscle of his body. Fear doused the heat that’d warmed her core, as if someone had thrown a bucket of ice-water over her.
She pushed against Dillon’s chest, but his embrace was unbreakable. Panic soured her stomach and sent bile rising along the back of her throat. She fought to break free of his grasp.
He startled, as if only now noticing her. His brows furrowed into a deep V before he finally let go of her.
Isabella pressed the heel of her hand to her chest. She hadn’t expected to feel so trapped in the arms of someone she trusted. It was like when they were at the grove and he hovered behind her, except multiplied times a hundred.
Dillon seemed wounded when he refused to look at her. “Stay here. We have a visitor.”
Alone in her bedroom, Isabella wanted to kick herself for being so silly. Dillon only wanted to protect her. He never meant her harm. The man had never given any warning signs before. Yet, she’d reacted like he’d tried to hurt her.
She covered her face with both hands and counted to ten, but guilt and shame still clung to her like heavy weights. While she tried to deal with her unreasonable panic, Dillon had gone to check out the threat. Though she was only a human, she didn’t want to leave him on his own.
Creeping into the hall, she could already hear voices. Gavin spoke to an unfamiliar visitor, both barely keeping the venom from their voices. Stepping closer, she glimpsed a man slightly older than Gavin. He had the same burnished auburn hair but kept long and tied back. A thick moustache over his upper lip added some years to his appearance.
When his eyes slid
to her, she startled. But, if he thought anything of her presence, he said nothing.
“I heard you summoned one of my loyal dragons,” the man growled at Gavin.
“Don’t look at me. Casey wanted to talk to his sister. Even you aren’t so much of a monster that you’re going to keep a brother and sister apart.” Gavin turned his back to the man.
The gesture seemed to offend the visitor, deepening his scowl. “And what is it that you need her for? Do you really think you can camp out here in the middle of nowhere and make your own little clan? I didn’t think you were that stupid.”
Gavin let out a feral snarl but didn’t face the older man.
“Good afternoon, Dillon,” the man said, speaking slowly and enunciating every syllable like he thought Dillon was slow.
Isabella’s jaw tightened, annoyed on behalf of Dillon.
The man gestured to Dillon. “You can’t make a clan with trash like this. Right, Dillon? In a clan this small, you can’t possibly hope to live up to my son’s expectations.”
Gavin spun around. Isabella saw only a blur until the man’s back hit the wall. He didn’t slide to the floor but found his feet and looked as though he would launch himself at his son. Gavin appeared in front of him and shoved him back into the wall.
Isabella had known that Dillon and his friends were dragons but seeing their power in action scared her. The wall behind the stranger had buckled. Even the wall frame underneath had snapped under Gavin’s strength.
“Don’t talk about my clan like that,” Gavin growled.
The man didn’t throw Gavin off, but pushed Gavin back by standing and coming to his full height. A flicker of dismay passed over his features, as if he realized he was shorter than Gavin.
Dillon happened to look over his shoulder. He did a doubletake when he saw her lingering in the hall.
“I told you to stay in your room,” he hissed when he reached her.
He put both hands on her shoulders and tried to turn her around. She dug in her heels, but Dillon was stronger. He managed to guide her back to her bedroom and locked the door behind them.
“Who is that?” she asked, hushed and hurried.
Dillon blew a breath out through his lips. Wisps of smoke floated toward the ceiling. “That’s Zander, Gavin’s father.”
Evangeline had mentioned that the guys were living under a deadline. Instead of doing what Zander had asked of them, they’d struck out and decided to form their own clan. It seemed that Zander had not taken kindly to the news.
Dillon steadied her with both hands on her elbows. “I won’t let him hurt you. I won’t let anyone get through me.”
Before he could hold her close again, she put a hand out to stop him. She couldn’t tell him that she could barely breathe when he tried to shield her. Instead, she brought up another concern.
“What about you? Is Zander…is he going to try to hurt all of you?”
Dillon’s silence said enough.
Her heart cinched tight, caught between love and fear. She’d just taken the first steps with Dillon. While there were plenty more that needed to happen before they could have a happily ever after, she still hoped for one. She’d found someone who could be a good father. Even though his concern for her sent her into a small panic, his protective instincts proved to her that he was unlike any other man she’d thought she’d loved.
Dillon didn’t smother her to hold her back. He did it to keep her safe. Her brain couldn’t seem to tell the difference in the moment, but now that she could see it, she could work on calming herself when it happened. At least, that was her plan.
She didn’t know how much time she had left with Dillon. Gavin held his own against Zander, but the way he spoke, she suspected Zander could summon more shifters. What would happen when Zander sent an army of dragons after Dillon and the others.
“Zander tried to throw us out like trash,” Dillon said. “He doesn’t know that he gave up on his strongest shifters.”
Chapter Eight
Dillon tried to be confident for Isabella’s sake, but he trembled on the inside. He didn’t believe himself or any of the others to truly be Zander’s strongest shifters. Night after night of watching over Erik and hunting down Gavin had led Dillon to understand why they were here and not with Zander.
Zander might be an asshole, but Dillon knew he could offer protection. Being on their own out here, they were vulnerable. They didn’t have the numbers to hold Zander off. If they could get maybe even three more dragon shifters on their side, then maybe they would stand a chance.
Evangeline would change and become a dragon shifter, but an inexperienced dragon wasn’t enough.
Dillon’s eyes fell on Isabella. She tugged on the ends of her curls and looked up at him like she heard the lie in his voice. He wanted to take her into his arms, but he didn’t dare while Zander was still under this roof. Dillon would need his hands free.
He sighed. “Maybe you should move out.”
She stepped forward. “I don’t want to leave you alone! You don’t have to do this by yourself.”
He didn’t tell her that she was only a human. What could she do against Zander? Dillon’s entire being had focused on her the second he realized she’d followed him toward the living room. Her presence had brought his dragon to the surface and made it thrash with rage. How could he fight Zander and the clan if he couldn’t control himself while she was around?
Every few weeks, this clan got messier and messier. No one expected to find mates out here, but Dillon started to believe that’s just what he’d done. Isabella filled his mind all the time. Their rooms were only a thin wall apart. He listened to her when she roused in the morning, when she shuffled over to Persimmon with food.
He cupped her chin. “The only thing I will ever ask of you is that you stay safe.”
Isabella didn’t want to hide for the rest of her life. She didn’t want to be the broken creature everyone assumed her to be. While her past had left scars and riddled her with insecurities, she knew she could move forward if only the people around her would let her.
Instead of arguing with Dillon, she pressed her lips into a firm line and nodded. Though she wanted to stand alongside Dillon’s gentle soul in the face of this fight, she had to think of more than just herself now. Torn between her budding feelings, her desire to become stronger, and the small child now growing inside her, she froze.
Thankfully, Zander didn’t stay much longer. The fight between him and his son had ended in a standoff. Which was good for the cabin. Dillon led Isabella back into the living room where she could inspect the damage. She covered her mouth with her hand, all too aware of the drywall dust now coating everything.
“I’ll give Casey a call,” Dillon said before breaking off to find his phone.
Gavin paced back and forth, nearly vibrating with the tension still trapped in his muscles. Isabella kept her distance from him until she couldn’t stand his growls any longer. She whirled on him and threw her hands in the air.
“Do something with yourself!” she said. “Pick up the broken wall pieces. Sweep up that shattered lamp. I don’t care what you do, but you’re not going to feel better until you put yourself to use.”
Gavin snarled at her. She wanted to flinch, but she’d faced mean men before, and Gavin wasn’t like them. He was just riled up. So, she gave him a pleading look, silently begging him to listen to her advice.
He bent and snatched a piece of crumbling drywall from the floor, almost doing it out of spite. Second by second, piece by piece, his actions became less spiteful and more intentional.
Isabella let out a breath and rolled her shoulders. After everything, they would be hungry. While she cooked a big meal full of protein and carbs, Dillon and Casey hauled in fresh two-by-fours and sheets of drywall and began cutting away the broken bits.
She wished she could do that to herself. If only she could dump the jagged pieces of herself into that same trash bin, then she could start anew. Instead, she would h
ave to work through the ways Tommy had changed her. It would take time, time she wasn’t sure Dillon had.
Every now and then, she snuck glances at him. She found herself entranced by his shirtless form and the way his muscles worked as he lifted the drywall into place. Tall and towering, he’d only ever shown her his gentle side. With her, he was careful.
The only issues he could have had with her had been her own fault. He wasn’t to blame for her panic. She wanted to give him a chance but didn’t want to put him through her fleeting moods. If she didn’t tell him how she felt, then she might never get a chance to tell him.
The wall had patches of drying putty, but it was once again whole. She told Dillon to order another lamp and have it delivered and then told Gavin to set the table. Gavin did as he was told and was in the process of gathering plates as Evangeline entered.
Evangeline dropped her bag near the door and stared in awe. “I didn’t know they could behave like this.”
Isabella ducked her head. This was not because of her. The plates on the table, circling the food she placed bowl by bowl, were there because these men needed it. They needed each other and the others they’d brought into their lives as a reminder of what they were fighting for.
Gavin and his clan weren’t fighting against Zander because they all held a grudge against him. They fought to be their own men, to be free from a power that would seek to control their every move. Isabella had fought for that very same freedom, and while it was taking her forever to finally detach herself from Tommy and how he’d changed her, she understood that she wasn’t the only one on a journey here.
Evangeline bumped shoulders with Isabella. The gesture brought up the corners of her mouth until she wore an infectious grin. She glanced around the table, watching others take their seats, and found Dillon staring at her. His lips had parted into a small O. Yellow danced around his irises like his beast was watching her, too.
***
Dillon stood on the edge of the ravine. Night had fallen over the mountain, but he could still see Erik’s hunched silhouette as the man shuddered under the force of his second beast. Dillon wanted to be anywhere but here.
Finding The Forgotten (Rogue Dragons Book 2) Page 6
