Page 63 of Edge of Darkness

“Yeah.” Connie nodded. “Isn’t that just damn well disturbing?”

Beckett downed half his drink. “By the dragon gods, let’s hope that’s not the case. We need to get in contact with Kage immediately.”

“I’m calling him right after I call Ward. Hopefully he’ll be up,” Hudson said.

“I think we also need to talk to Axel,” Connie said. “I’d like to hear him tell how he killed Nox.”

“Do you doubt him?” Beckett asked.

“Of course not. If anybody had a reason to kill Nox, it was definitely Axel. I’d just like to hear a play-by-play of it,” Connie said.

“Wasn’t Denisha there too? Or was it Maia?” Beckett asked.

“Definitely something we need to ask Kage. Whichever one of his lieutenantswasthere when Nox was killed, I’d like to talk to her too,” Hudson said, taking a long sip of his drink.

“I think it was Denisha,” Connie said.

“I’ll check with Kage,” Hudson said. “Maybe we need to call another meeting at Isadora’s restaurant and get all the leaders there. If we’ve got clones running around—”

“We’re going to have another battle on our hands,” Connie finished. And this timetheirmate would be in the middle of it.

“Well, if that’s all, I’m going to bed,” Beckett said, standing. “I’ll see you guys in the morning. Good night.”

“Good night.”

Connie nodded to the other dragon. “Night, Grand Lord.”

After Beckett left, Hudson dragged his phone out and checked the time. “Guess I’ll call Ward now.”

While Hudson talked to the king of the gargoyles, Connie refilled their drinks. He wandered around the living area aimlessly, listening with half an ear to what Hudson and Ward were discussing.

Apparently Ward’s castle had some structural problems, and he wanted recommendations of people qualified to work on such things. Preferably paranormals, Connie gathered.

Which Connie understood. Having humans in your territory was bad enough. Having them in your home was a whole ’nother ballgame. And the gargoyles tended to be more territorial than even dragons. They were also a lot more vulnerable because they turned to stone during the day.

Connie shook his head. He didn’t know how the vamps or gargoyles stood it. Dragons did sleep, but they didn’t need as many hours as a human. Five was more than enough for them.

Speaking of sleeping, Connie’s thoughts turned toward the guest room and its occupant. What was Kit doing at that very second? Was he taking a shower? Or had he gone straight to bed? Oh damn. Kit didn’t have any clothes with him, so what was he sleeping in?

Connie swallowed. Was Kit sleeping in the nude? Was his mate literally right down the hallway, naked? His dragon perked up, and the insane urge to bust into Kit’s room and find out grabbed Connie about the throat.

His breathing picked up and a deep rumble started in his chest. His mate was so close. So. Damn. Close. He could be in Kit’s room in a matter of seconds.

“Could you hold on just a moment, please, Ward?” Hudson lowered the cell phone and cleared his throat loudly. “Connie?”

Connie wanted to lick and kiss every square inch of Kit’s delectable skin. Maybe nibble on it a little—cover Kit in love bites so everybody would know exactly who the human belonged to.

“Connie!”

The power in Hudson’s voice shook Connie out of the spiral he was in. Shocked, he looked down at his hands. He was well on his way to partially transforming. “Dammit!”

Lurching to his feet, he tossed his cell phone on the table next to Hudson. Stomping through the living area, he entered the bedroom, stripping as he went, and then opened the sliding glass door. He flung himself into the pool.

He sat at the bottom, fuming. This was absolutely ridiculous. The fact that he had no control over his dragon when it came to Kit was horribly embarrassing. By the dragon gods, this had to get better. It simply had to.

Or he was going to spend a lot of time sopping wet.

Once he was assured he had control of his dragon, and the need for air was becoming pressing, he surfaced. No more thoughts of Kit showering or sleeping.

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