Page 20 of Cursed

Focus,Shayla…

His lips curl into a small smile, probably feeling my attraction to him through our bond.

“Do you think you have made peace with your dragon?” I ask. “Will he help me get to my other mates?”

Rourke’s eyes glow with his dragon’s spirit. His body heats another few degrees as his dragon rises to the surface to acknowledge me. “Yes. We are on the same page now. And we will do what we must to keep you alive and happy.”

“But… are either of you jealous of my bonds with the others?” I ask. “Is that why you don’t want to go?”

There’s a deep rumbling growl that rattles my insides. I flinch, worrying I’ve upset the dragon.

Faster than I can track, Rourke has pressed me up against him, his arms around my waist. I look up at his cobalt blue eyes, wondering what I might see there. Damn, why is he so beautiful that it hurts to look directly at him?

In a deep, unworldly voice, the dragon answers through Rourke, “I promised… aliveandhappy. The others make you happy. I will protect them, too.”

“Even Quade?” I fear they have the most to overcome.

“Even the mu… the wolf,” Rourke grins, though I can tell he wanted to say mutt, and his dragon stopped him.

I stroke Rourke’s cheek. “Thank you. Both of you.”

A purring sound vibrates through me, and my pussy throbs with arousal.

Holy leapin’ lizards!

I blush and hide my face. I can’t believe I reacted to a purr like that. I try to push away, feeling strange about my rekindled feelings for Rourke and, apparently, his dragon.

“Hey.” Rourke cups my cheek and guides my attention back up to meet his eyes. With his regular voice, he says, “It’s… a normal reaction for a dragon’s mate to have to a purr. He wants you to know that. Don’t feel ashamed. And I don’t want you to feel obligated to act on any attraction you might feel because of our mate bond connection. Also…” He frowns and glances away. He’s thinking of the past. “I didn’t mean any of the stupid things I said in which I might have insinuated you were… less than honorable about your sexual exploits.”

“You mean when you strongly suggested that I was a gold-digging whore?” My voice is calm, but I still feel the burn from that insult.

His palm smacks his own face. He lets me go and steps back. “I really don’t deserve a mate, let aloneyou.” He turns away, ashamed. “I was lashing out because I wanted you and I thought I couldn’t have you. But that’s no excuse.”

“Well, come on, with a loving father like yours and a pleasant mother like mine, we should make a perfectly screwed-up pair,” I say with a bit of humor.

Branden comes up behind me and wraps his arms around my waist, tucking his head into the crook of my shoulder. “Even if I don’t like risking it, we will leave tonight to meet with the others.” He kisses the spot where his mate bite is, and I shiver. “I know you are suffering being away from them.”

“As soon as it’s dark,” Rourke assures me.

* * *

Beyond even seeing my other guys again, I’m happy we are leaving soon. We only have some basic rations to eat here anyway. It’s winter, and I don’t want to starve because there’s nothing to forage. Although, I guess with a dragon and a vamp, they could have hunted something with ease.

Fortunately, Branden had brought me a set of clothes. At least Elfhame doesn’t get as cold as the mortal realm because I didn’t really have much in the way of clothing. And I didn’t buy much for the winter season since I usually just wear my uniform.

I slip on a pair of jeans, a long sleeve tee, and a sweatshirt. The sweatshirt is one of Arden’s, which is more like a dress than a shirt on me. I inhale his calming scent that lingers on the fabric—wild berries and a pine forest after a rain, with a hint of sandalwood from his soap. I sigh. It eases my longing for him. I pull out a knit cap—Landis’. He doesn’t have a strong scent, but with it, I feel his shadow energy.

Then, in the backpack, I discover the shawl Quade gave me. I thought it had been lost forever during the fight with Drake.

“How?” I ask as I spin to look at Branden.

“I found it on the ground when I went looking for you. I knew you’d want it.”

I throw my arms around Branden’s neck and hug him. “Thank you so much.” I give him a kiss and then use the shawl as a scarf around my neck. I’m instantly toasty. “I wish I hadn’t lost the shoes you bought me for the dance.”

“I will buy you all the shoes you’ll ever need in the future.” He boops my nose.

It’s so wild that my murderous, assassin-trained vampire mate is so sweet and silly with me.

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