Page 78 of The Heart of the Dragon

"Not wrong. In fact, right now I'm considering pushing you onto that table and riding you fast and hard. How does that sound?"

I could see she was about to tell me what she thought of that idea and I doubted it would be good. But her eyes widened, and her pupils dilated, giving me the real truth.

"I—"

I slammed my hand over her mouth and stopped whatever bullshit words she was about to fling at me.

"Don't lie to me. My senses don’t lie. Neither do your dilated pupils and racing heart. You may not want what I am about to do to you to happen in public, but you do need it. And it's my job to take care of that need."

I gave her a few extra seconds to let that sink in before I uncovered her mouth and let her go.

"You're an asshole." She flung the word at me as if it might somehow hurt, but she was very wrong. I'd been called so much worse in my lifetime and deserved every one.

"Agreed. Now can we go upstairs or do you need me to prove myself here?"

"I'm not having sex with you! In fact, I need a break from you. I will meet you later at dinner." With that she turned on her heel and stomped her way into the house and up the stairs. I stood there on the terrace listening to every footfall as she slammed the door and flipped the lock.

As if that would keep me out.

For now, though, she could have her time and space. I'd given her what she needed the day before and I could do it again.I knew a little about what it was like to go through hell after finding out the truth.

"Trouble in paradise, little brother?"

I flinched at Isaac's voice as he came up behind me. "Not now."

"That seems to be the theme of your life. You ever ask yourself why you keep having all these problems?"

"If you're about to give me some sort of family philosophy about me needing to be the better person for once in my life, I'm going to bite your head off. And that is NOT a metaphor."

Isaac laughed. "I think part of the reason we can't get along is because we are too alike. Until my life was turned upside down by a curse, and then a trip to the fae realm made it even crazier, I cared about no one but myself."

"Then that's how we differ. I hate myself as much as I hate everyone else."

"Even her?"

That was an asinine question and we both knew it. One that would not get an answer no matter how much he goaded me. "Rose got the short end of the stick in all of this. She deserves better."

"We all do. You have no idea how badly I wish I could go back in time and right some of the wrongs."

"Because of Ian?" It was Isaac's turn not to answer the question as we both stood there staring out over the field and the cliff on the other side. The bluff this property sat on couldn't be more perfect. Not only did it have a moody vibe, but it had been built into the island in the most defensible location.

"Isaac!!" We both heard Kitra screaming and took off at a run. Magic washed over us when she came around the corner and screamed again. "No. No. No. Don't change."

If we were younger we'd have had no chance to stop it. Fortunately, we were both far experienced with our magic and were able to stop the change before it was too late.

Isaac was across the terrace and inspecting Kitra for some kind of damage before I could blink. Even I had to admit his power and speed were impressive.

"What is it? What's wrong?"

"It's the portal. Someone has found it."

"That’s impossible," Isaac reminded her. "Your magic is shielding it."

"We know it is on this side, but we have no way to know for sure what's happening on the other side, but I'm telling you. I know something is happening. There's no mistaking the feeling." She held up her hands and her magic shimmered up and down her arms before settling into small pools in the palms of her hands.

"What is that? Some sort of perimeter alarm?" I asked, fascinated by the level of magic she now possessed. She'd come a long way from the days of being a meek stepdaughter to the king. But it was also more than a little frightening for one person to possess so much power. Goddess forbid our uncle or any other power hungry supernatural found out about her. They'd want to take that for themselves.

"Yes. I guess you could call it that. I sensed it first, but then this happened. Something or someone is definitely trying to get my attention."

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