The Dragon's Heart (Dragon Lore) (11 page)

He went still, his body rigid for the space of a single heartbeat before he hauled her in closer with a ragged sound. “Your shoulder,” he managed to rasp out, even as he wrapped himself around her.

“Shut up.” It was mostly healed. Even if it did hurt, she wouldn’t have cared. “I’ll live. Just…just don’t let me go yet, alright?”

His hands tangled in her soft waves, and she heard him breathe in, as if he needed her scent as much as she needed his. They’d solved nothing, but she needed this. Right now, she just needed this.

Luca cleared his throat from where he lay on the couch directly behind Daniel. “How sweet. Just do me a favor. If you’re going to do the nasty, don’t forget the invisibility spell. Daniel’s naked ass is not something I ever need to see. I have enough trouble holding onto my sanity most days as it is.”

9

The sudden realization of what she was doing snapped Shelby back to reality. Shoving her fists up between them, she wiggled until he let her down. As soon as her feet were firmly back on the ground, she forced herself to move away from the man who had broken her heart. “Daniel, I–” She blew out a breath, reminding herself nothing had changed. He still hated her, and she still had no answers. Crossing her arms over her chest, she gave him the same arched-brow look he was giving her. “I need a phone and a computer. I have to start letting people know I’m alive.”

Daniel mimicked her stance. She frowned when he made it a thousand times more intimidating and effective than she did. “You’re not talking to anyone yet. Not until we find out who shot you.”

She tapped her foot once. “Have we ruled out you?” she snapped. “You haven’t exactly done a good job at even pretending you don’t hate me.”

He ignored her. “If I wanted you dead, princess, you would be. I don’t
try
to do anything.”

She sighed, feeling like a brat. “I know. Daniel, I’m sure you don’t want to hear this, but I have a life and commitments. This is my career. I can’t just hide and let things happen however they happen, not if I ever expect to work again.”

He bared his teeth at her as he leaned in. “Does this life include a boyfriend? Because I told you, you are my mate. I don’t share.”

She went on her toes, sticking her face in his as she pointed up at him. “Not that it’s any of your business, but no. I don’t have a boyfriend. I haven’t been able to look at anyone else without getting physically sick. What I do have, apparently, is a stubborn as hell mate who needs to start opening his mouth and answering questions before he starts demanding–”

Whatever else she was going to say was lost when a feeling of absolute relief flooded her. Before she understood, he shoved his hand into her hair yanking her against his chest and closed his mouth over hers. He kissed her speechless, and only when she went pliant against his chest did he finally pull back.

“Are you done?” he asked as he lifted his head, not even breathing hard.

She wasn’t sure she could remember her name at the moment, let alone figure out what the hell he was talking about. “Done? What?”

“Yelling at me,” he said, dryly. She was sure there was amusement in the depths of his silver eyes. “Are you done yelling at me?”

Her pulse did a jig. Damn it, his humor was endearing. “No.”

“Okay, then.” Without a word, he dropped his shoulder. Before she could protest, she was upside down over his ginormous shoulder staring at his butt.

Damn, did the man have to have a nice ass, too?

“What?” he asked.

Shelby tried to crane up to see his face. “What, what?”

“You’re muttering under your breath, princess. What isn’t fair?”

Oh. “You,” she snapped, as she slapped her hands against his lower back. “You are not fair, damn it. Is there anything about you not perfect? And why are you carrying me? I’m not helpless.”

He snorted as he set her down when they reached the bedroom area. He immediately braced himself in what she had started to think of as his pissed off warrior stance–feet planted, arms crossed over his chest, face somehow deadly and closed off at the same time. “We need to talk.”

Closing her eyes, she counted to ten. Out loud. Through gritted teeth. “You think?” she finally managed.

“Shelby.”

He said her name so calmly, as if she hadn’t been saying the exact same thing for the last twelve hours. She wanted something to hit him with. “What?” she asked, her voice a near shout.

“I am the Dragon King, and you are my mate. No one raises their voice to me.”

* * * *

There. He’d said it. His little hellion had to realize how massively powerful he was, and that she was playing with fire. Literally.

She stared at him, blinking slowly for several long moments. “Wait–you’re the king?” she asked, as she sat down hard on the bed. “As in
king
, king? As in king of all the dragons in all the land?”

He nodded once.

“Wow.” She blew out a breath and shook her head. “I honestly have no idea what to say about this.”

He nodded again. “Good, then you understand. No more raising your voice to me, or giving me commands.”

She snorted as she stood back up. “Oh, no, I’m still going to do that. I’m your mate. You chose me. Besides, if you’re the king and I’m your mate, that means I’m the queen, right?”

“That’s not how this works.”

She ignored him, her gaze thoughtful. “I like the idea of being queen.” She canted her head as she flashed him her famous, million-dollar smile. “Does this position come with a castle? I could totally get into being a queen with my own castle.”

“Stop that, damn it,” he snapped. “That smile’s the reason we’re in this position in the first place.”

His woman grinned wider, her pale eyes sparkling with mischief. “So…is that a yes on the castle?”

He dragged a hand down his face. She was going to drive him to drink. He was sure of it. “Do you want a castle?”

“Do I want–” her words cut off as her mouth dropped open. It almost made him smile. “Are you offering to buy me one?”

“If it would make you happy, yes.”

“But…” Shelby sat on the bed again, slowly this time. “You don’t like me. You didn’t mean to mate with me. This,” she said, waving her hand between them, “is an accident. Why would you buy me a castle just to make me happy? Geez, I was only teasing.”

It felt like someone had sucker punched him in the gut. How didn’t she realize that liking her had gotten them into this mess? That had him saying the wrong things, doing the wrong things and constantly making an ass of himself?

It didn’t surprise him he’d chosen Shelby as a mate. It surprised him he’d done it unconsciously, because he prided himself on his absolute control, but now that she was back in his life he remembered how much he’d liked her. He’d never met a woman who could match him in temper without being a total bitch. More, he’d never met a woman who actually
liked
him. While he had plenty of experience with sex, Shelby was the first one he’d ever wanted out of bed, too. Even more confusing, she seemed to want him for more than his bedroom skills as well.

It didn’t make sense. He had no illusions about what a moody, grumpy bastard he was. Not only did he hate to talk, he expected his rules followed immediately. He was used to women wanting him because he was apparently, as his sister liked to say, dark and mysterious. But they never understood why he couldn’t just shut the bastard part of himself off after the sex was over.

He’d thought Shelby was the same, but the longer he was with her, the harder time he had believing she was capable of hurting anyone, even him. Butcher knife incident aside, fierce hellcat temper aside, she genuinely seemed to like him. More, if he was honest, he loved her temper.

It shook him to the very core of who he was to realize he wanted to make this work with her. Whatever he had to do, whomever he had to kill, however far he had to go, if there was a way, he would move mountains to make it work.

The problem was–it was never going to. They belonged in two separate worlds, and they always would.

She yawned suddenly, her eyes barely staying open. It had been a hell of a day for her, and she hadn’t had near enough rest to recover from her blood loss. The last thing she needed now was for him to lecture her about why they would never work.

Without thinking, he moved in, his arm hooking her around the waist as he lifted her clear off the bed. As her eyes went wide, he tossed her back onto the mattress so she landed in the middle. “Sleep, princess. I’m not going anywhere.”

She used one hand to push her mass of hair out of her face, before she braced herself on her elbows, canting her head. “You look exhausted, too.”

No. No way in hell was he sleeping in the same bed with her. “I’ll crash on the couch.”

“Fine.” To his surprise, she pushed herself into a sitting position. She tried to climb off the bed. “Then I’m not sleeping here, either.”

He clenched his jaw so tight he heard something crack. “Fine,” he gritted out, “but stay on your side of the bed.”

The damn brat did a half-curtsey while kneeling on the bed. “As you wish, my Lord.”

He wasn’t sure if he wanted to laugh or strangle her. She really needed to learn his position as king of the dragons was serious. It was not to be taken lightly. But as he flopped onto the bed next to her, exhaustion won out, and before she’d even made herself comfortable, sleep had claimed him.

* * * *

Daniel no longer knew how many months had passed, the occasional drip of ice cold water onto his left wing, his only company in the damp darkness. The pain was driving him to madness, and yet the relentlessness was the only connection he had to the thin line between life and death. The only assurance he was still alive.

A rough, charmed stone band encircled his neck, forbidding him any movement–or any opportunity to escape or shift. The mad queen wasn’t stupid. She knew royalty or not, Daniel would tear out her throat and eat it if he ever got free.

He’d been enchanted by her in the beginning, but it had taken him too long to realize she held him bound by magic. It shouldn’t have been more powerful than his own, but she’d somehow gotten his blood. Dragon blood was the most powerful magic in the world, and Leanora had found a way to use his own against him, binding him. He growled, a low, violent rumbling that echoed in his head and reverberated in the miniscule enclosed room.

He should have known she belonged to the bastard, Alexi. Madness attracted madness.

“Daniel…” He jerked as her slender hand touched his shoulder. He hadn’t heard her approach. It meant his senses were starting to dull.

“Daniel, wake up. You’re scaring me!”

He snapped his head up. Instead of relief when he realized he wasn’t in the cave any longer, fury ignited like a firestorm within him.

He didn’t know how he got free. He didn’t care. He grabbed her, pinning her beneath him. As his claw encircled her throat, squeezing the life out of her, Daniel smiled.

* * * *

Shelby couldn’t breathe. Her body bucked up against Daniel’s, her hands shoving at his chest and the solid mass of cold, lifeless fury he had suddenly become. It was no use. He outweighed her by two hundred pounds of muscle. She didn’t have a chance against him.

“Speak, woman!” he roared, his pupils lengthening as his talon tightened around her throat. “What did you do to me?”

“Daniel.” As she gasped his name, his gaze suddenly focused, the terrifying, faraway look in his eyes fading. Reaching up, she grasped both sides of his face so he had to see her. “Can’t…breathe.”

His entire body went rigid as he stared down at her. Suddenly, in the space of a heartbeat, he was on the opposite side of the bed. He doubled over, sucking in huge gulps of air. “Shelby?”

“I’m here.” She didn’t know which one of them was shaking harder, but she was familiar with nightmares. Wherever his head had taken him, it had tormented him.

Moving as slowly as she could so as not to spook him, she stood up and closed the distance between them. Her heart was still pounding furiously as she reached out to slide her fingers into his golden-brown hair. He went still when she touched him, before he let out a choked sob. His arms banded around her, hauling her closer to him as if trying to get her all the way inside.