The Dragon's Heart (Dragon Lore) (18 page)

She took her time with him. She explored his body as she kept their pace slow. She kept her eyes steady on his, so he could see what he did to her, everything he made her feel. In return, she gave him everything she was, until she was left raw and exposed.

She screamed his name as she went over that fine edge, her body quaking with aftershocks as he roared his release.

Shelby knew immediately she’d done something wrong. He was still with her, his body still tangled up in hers, but she didn’t have to be inside his head to know he was pulling back from her.

She felt it.

Then the animalistic growling started as he carefully got them both to their feet. Before she could ask what was wrong, he grabbed her shirt, yanking it down over her head.

“Get dressed,” he snapped.

She wanted to argue with him. She’d meant to make things better for him, not make things worse between them, but his face had closed off. Her eyes could no longer reach the one place in his where she always felt seen. Like he’d completely disconnected himself.

It took her longer to get dressed than it did him, but he didn’t open the door until he was positive she was decent. He strode out, every muscle in his body strung tight.

It took everything she had to battle back her tears as she watched him storm away. Damn it. This wasn’t how she’d meant this to go.

To make it worse, none of the other dragons would look at her. Even though they’d shut the door, neither her nor Daniel had been very quiet. She dropped her head, embarrassed, a blush tinting her cheeks.

“Hungry?”

Shelby’s gaze snapped up at the rough voice. Dallas glanced at her over his shoulder, before he turned back to the stove. Her blush went deeper, but as she turned to find Daniel deep in discussion with Broderick like nothing had happened, she blew out a breath. “Actually, I’m starving.”

“I made burgers.” He shrugged as she moved over to lean against the counter. “It’s all I can do on short notice.”

She let out a quiet snort. “Don’t worry. I’m lucky if I can find my kitchen on most days.” Shelby realized the second the words were out of her mouth how privileged she sounded. She shot him a sheepish grin. “People don’t expect me to take care of myself, and if I insist, rumors start spreading I’m in serious financial trouble.”

Dallas flipped the burgers. “Can’t you ignore the rumors?”

“Sure.” She worried at her bottom lip for a moment. He had an assortment of veggies laid out, ready for chopping. A wicked knife sat next to a cutting board. Moving over to the sink, she washed her hands, before turning her attention to the vegetables. She could do this. “They’re only rumors.”

“So what does it matter?”

Shelby gingerly picked up a tomato. She scowled down at it. “It’s not the rumors, not really. It’s the media. They’re relentless. They can, will, and have dug into every part of my life.”

Dallas studied her for a moment, before he raised a brow. He pointed at her. “That’s a tomato.” When she shot him a look, he shrugged, turning his attention back to the burgers. “Not to sound like an ass, but didn’t you give up the right to privacy when you decided to become an actress?”

“Of course,” she murmured. She set the tomato down and picked up the knife. She took a deep breath, and sliced it down the middle. She let out a relieved sigh when she accomplished it without taking a fingertip off. Since she didn’t think anyone wanted half a tomato on their burger, she concentrated on slicing each half smaller. “I don’t seek the paparazzi out, and then whine about my lack of privacy.” She shook her head, then scratched her nose with the back of her hand. “I don’t know. It’s hard to explain. People want you to fail. The entire world watches every move I make, just waiting for me to fall on my face. And whoever films it, gets rich. Nothing is private or off limits. If a reporter films my reaction to my co-star cheating on his wife, it will make him money. But if a reporter finds the father who abandoned me as a child, it will make him a heck of a lot more. They all want to be the one to break the next big story.” She shrugged, making a face at the tomato that was making more of a mess than she’d expected. “But, like you said, I’m the one who picked the career.” She hesitated. “You and Daniel are friends, right?”

“No.” His lip lifted in a sneer. “We’re dragons. We don’t do the mushy friend thing.”

She barely managed to not roll her eyes at his sneer. Daniel had reacted the same way, so had Luca, yet here they all were because he needed them. Her teeth worried at her bottom lip as she glanced up at him. “Ok, but you know him pretty well, right?”

“Not really.” He shrugged as he seasoned the burgers still frying. “We prefer to be solitary creatures unless we find a mate.”

She frowned at him. Geez. It was as bad as trying to have a conversation with Daniel. Pulling teeth from a rabid bear would probably be easier. “What do you know about Leanora?”

He snapped the burner off and shoved the frying pan to the back of the stove. His face was furious as he growled at her. “What do you know about that bitch?”

Surprised at his reaction, Shelby struggled against taking a step back in fear. She could feel Daniel watching her. She didn’t doubt for a minute he’d go off on his friend if he scared her. “Just what she did to Daniel.”

Mistrust flickered in his eyes. “He told you?”

She nodded slowly. No way was she going to tell him how she’d found out about the woman to begin with. It wasn’t anyone else’s business. “Yeah. He told me.” She took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. “Dallas, I need help. I’m Daniel’s mate. I know he’s a dragon, but I have no idea what any of this means, or what I’m supposed to do.”

It didn’t surprise her when his face closed off. “I’m not the person you need to be talking to about this.”

“Yeah. Well.” Her shoulders slumped slightly. “My mate is angry at me. I don’t know why or how to fix it.” She sighed, before straightening her shoulders and smiling at him. “You’re right–it’s not your problem. I’ll figure it out.”

He didn’t say anything for a long moment, before he dragged both hands over his face. “Look,” he said quietly, his intense silver-green eyes on her as he leaned forward, his voice low. “That bitch fucked us all up, but what she did to Daniel…I’m surprised he never went off the deep end into sheer, absolute insanity. Hell, none of us would have fucking blamed him if he had. When he came back, everything about him was different. He’d shut off, disconnected himself from everyone he’d cared about, and led us into war. Until that moment, we had been leaderless. We were rogues, barely civil and nearly feral. Not only was no one brave enough to try to rule us, we would have killed anyone who tried to subjugate us. But as Daniel led us into war, it wasn’t to control us. It was to make us stronger, to fortify us from any outside attack. He became our king that day.” A chill rippled down her spine as his eyes bored into hers. “His mistrust in people isn’t bone deep, Shelby. It goes past the core of him into the very soul of what and who he is. He hasn’t allowed himself to feel anything for anyone since. If he mated to you, you’re the only chance at happiness he’s ever going to fucking have again. Ever.”

Shelby’s knees wobbled. What chance did they have of making it work if he’d only mated to her by accident?

Not sure of anything at the moment, she smiled at Dallas, because smiling was what she did. “Ok, then we’ll just have to figure it out. Need help with those burgers?”

He shrugged. “I’ll get them. You need to eat before your mate’s head explodes.”

Shelby took the plate he handed her, loaded with a juicy hamburger and chips. She wasn’t sure how he’d managed it, but she knew when she was dismissed. She took her burger over to the couch where she could see Daniel without openly staring at him.

She loved observing him. He was so intense in everything he did. She didn’t know what she’d done to cause the disconnect, but she knew she had to find a way to fix it.

The pieces to the puzzle that was Daniel were starting to form a solid image in her head. The urge to save him, to give him a life of happiness was becoming undeniable. She didn’t know what she would do if he wouldn’t let her give it to him.

After she ate half of the massive burger Dallas had made her, she set the plate on the coffee table, and curled up into the corner of the large, comfortable couch. She was exhausted suddenly, her eyelids too heavy to hold open. There was a bed in the cave, but she was content where she was. Even though Daniel was going through every millisecond of video footage from the shooting, being near him calmed her in a way she hadn’t experienced before. It felt right to be with him.

“Hey.”

His gruff voice startled her awake. A beautiful face hovered inches from her own. She smiled sleepily. “Hi.”

“Come on.” He scooped her up gently. “Let’s get you to bed.”

Shelby didn’t know where she found the energy to wrap her arms around his neck, but she didn’t want to let him go yet. Her eyes were already drifting close again as she rested her head against his chest. “Will you stay with me, Daniel? I like sleeping with you.”

“Yeah.” He brushed his lips over her temple as he lay her down. “I like sleeping with you, too.”

She shifted over so he had room next to her. Even knowing he was upset, the second he stretched out on the bed, Shelby curled up against his side. The need to touch him was too great. He hooked his arm around her waist, hauling her closer.

“Sleep, woman. I’m not going anywhere.”

She yawned into his chest, then tilted her head back, somehow managing to pry her exhausted eyes open enough to search his face. “Promise, Daniel.”

The pad of his thumb brushed over her bottom lip, before he dipped his head. He kissed her lightly. “You’ve got me, princess.”

It wasn’t a promise. Shelby knew it. He would never make a promise to her he knew he might not be able to keep. More than his words though, it was the way he was holding her that convinced her to let it go. Because when he touched her, she could feel the possessiveness in him all the way down to her soul.

15

Daniel held her, not bothering to sleep. No way could he afford a repeat of last night. Even if he managed to forgive himself for trying to choke his mate to fucking death, the other dragons were too close. He’d be dead before he could pull himself back to reality.

She’d devastated him in the bathroom earlier. The way she’d opened herself up, giving her soul to him. Thanks to the mark that linked them, he could feel her falling in love with him. The woman was perfect, and he couldn’t compete with that. She wanted to believe in the good parts in him, so she did. It didn’t matter the bad in him outweighed the good. Not only had she forgiven him for everything he’d done, she was trying so damn hard to heal the wounds it had left in
him
.

Ryuu
. How the hell was he not supposed to love a woman who could not only accept the darkest places inside of him, but fight so fucking hard to help him forgive himself?

As if aware of his troubled thoughts, Shelby shifted closer to him, stretching her perfect body out against his side. Her hair fell across his chest in soft waves, but it was the way her arm wrapped around him in sheer possession that scared him. What would he do if she fought him on breaking the bond?

Battling the contentment that begged him to sink into sleep with her, he closed his eyes, allowing himself to take in the feel of her, warm and trusting against him. He couldn’t let it last. He knew it. He just had to get the strength up to set the wheels in motion to change it.

Finally, with a low growl, he sat up. The effort it took to get himself to his feet so he could leave her disgusted him. She was turning him soft, and in his world, soft meant weak. He needed distance from her, badly.

The other dragons had made themselves at home in the cave. Luca had replaced Bain on watch, so the young one was sprawled out on the couch. Dallas had made himself a pallet on the floor next to the cave entrance, while Broderick had settled his large frame in an easy chair, his long legs stretched out in front of him as the computer worked to analyze the data he still thought was out there.

It left nothing for Daniel to do, which annoyed the hell out of him.

“Aren’t you just a giant ray of sunshine this evening?” Dallas drawled from the floor. “Blondie come to her senses and kick your ass out of bed?”

“Go to hell.”

Dallas snorted. “We both know I’ve been there for years, buddy.” The light-haired dragon scrubbed a hand over his face before he pushed himself into a sitting position, bracing his back against the cave wall as he studied Daniel. “Seriously, Ashborne. You look like shit. What the hell’s going on?”