Page 31 of Edge of Darkness

Behave? He hadn’t behaved a day in his life. Behave. Right. Didn’t his king know Connie liked playing with fire?

CONNIE FOLLOWED Hudson through the house and out to Hudson’s private garage. The lights flashed on one of his convertible sports cars as Hudson unlocked it.

He waited for Hudson to open the door for him. They had done this enough for Connie to know it was something Hudson insisted on. It gave him a nice, warm spurt of pleasure to know that his king could be as gentlemanly as he could be brutal.

Hudson’s territory extended for quite a distance, but eventually they left it as they drew closer to San DeLain. And, of course, the closer they got to the city, the more insane the traffic became.

They arrived at the fancy movie theater, and once more Connie waited for Hudson to open the passenger door for him. Once he was out, Hudson tossed the keys to the valet.

They walked inside, Hudson’s hand low on Connie’s back. The theater was packed but not too terribly bad. The interior looked like any other movie theater, just much more upscale. Once they were seated, a waiter took their drink orders and hurried off.

The movie they were seeing was the latest action-packed adventure from one of the industry’s leading actors. Connie was almost giddy as he waited for the movie to start.

There were sure to be plenty of high-speed chases, explosions, and gun battles. He’d been in a couple of those during his life, and it was much more fun to watch on the big screen than it was to live it.

The waiter brought their drinks just as the lights dimmed. Connie settled in to watch the movie, absurdly happy when Hudson linked their hands together.

“DAMN, THAT might’ve been the best movie that actor has ever made.” Connie blinked rapidly as the lights came up after the movie was over.

“I think you might be right. I hope they come out with a sequel,” Hudson said, standing.

“I bet they do. I’m pretty sure they have a blockbuster on their hands.” Connie got to his feet and started scooting down the row with Hudson right behind him.

There were a lot of people in there with them. Seemed like he wasn’t the only one who’d thought seeing this movie tonight was a good idea.

Connie scanned the crowd, unable to help himself.It was habit, and he was pretty sure Hudson was doing the same. He inhaled discreetly. The air current was heavy with a variety of scents—food, alcohol, perfume, hair products, and so on.

Plus the scent of humans, of course. He’d even picked up a paranormal or two in the theater with them. The skin between his shoulder blades itched as he took note of the many humans whose gazes caressed Hudson as they walked by.

Not that he blamed the humans.

Hudson was a striking man with his long, dark auburn hair. The braid that hung by his face drew attention to his big, brown eyes. It didn’t hurt that he obviously kept himself in shape, either.

But there was a dangerous and mysterious aura around Hudson. Humans were drawn to it even as their instinct warned them away. Their hindbrains warned them that there was a predator in their midst, but that allure still pulled at them, drawing them to Hudson.

That he completely understood, because he was drawn to Hudson also.

Still, it made him twitchy that so many watched his king. He continuously scanned the crowds as they left. Nothing happened, but he refused to let himself relax.

They walked out of the movie theater, hand in hand, toward Hudson’s vehicle. He didn’t lower his guard until they were pulling out of the parking lot.

But before they left, Hudson dropped the top on the convertible. They chitchatted as Hudson drove, the wind blowing Connie’s hair.

Hudson found a parking lot with a guard. After they parked, they started toward the boulevard. The smell of the ocean smacked Connie in the face, and he inhaled deeply.

Connie had joked on more than one occasion that if he hadn’t been born a dragon, he’d probably have been a merman. He’d always loved the water and was so grateful Hudson’s territory had two large lakes on it.

As they walked along, Connie took Hudson’s hand. For the most part, no one paid much attention to the fact that two men were holding hands, although they did get a glare or two from the odd human.

He didn’t understand the hang-ups certain humans had about sex and gender and probably never would. It simply wasn’t a thing for dragons. They fucked whoever they wanted and in as many combinations as they wanted, and no one even blinked at it.

You certainly wouldn’t see a dragon clutching their pearls about sex.

The biggest problem with dragons, outside of their fierce need to protect their hoards, was the fact that they were possessive and arrogant. They tended to take what they wanted; at least, the older generation of dragons did. The newer generations, Connie’s generation, understood this little thing called consent. At least they had a better grasp of it than the Ancients.

Connie saw a little Mexican place that had tables set right by the beach and pulled Hudson in that direction. There were fairy lights set up in the palm trees above them, along with soft lighting along the boulevard. It was damn romantic.

After they placed their orders, the food was quickly brought out, along with a couple of margaritas. Connie was impressed with how fast the service was, considering the crowds.

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