Page 41 of Dragon Unleashed
“Against my better judgment, yes.”
Her expression shifts into something I can’t quite read, her scent—though—thatI understand perfectly.Jealousy. My beast hums at the thought. “And—how’s that going?”
“Not well,” I admit. “Every female she’s brought has been excruciatingly wrong. Though, I understand my mother’s determination. Without a mate, I can’t take the throne.”
“I see.”
Her jealous scent intensifies, and I bite back a smug smile. Still, her eyes are strangely unreadable. I can’t take it. I have to put her out of her misery.
“The last woman was a flamingo shifter. Arrogant to the core, her kind is.”
“A flamingo?” Paige chokes on a laugh. “As in, pink bird with super long legs?”
I grin. “You have them here, too, then.”
“Not the marrying kind, no. The flamingos here remain birds as far as I know.”
“Well. Esma had a personality as ostentatious as her inner creature. She certainly believed she was worthy of being queen.”
“After a title, then,” she says sadly. “I imagine that gets difficult. Trying to find love when all anyone sees is the power.”
“Exactly.” I feel oddly honored that she understands. That somehow, this woman sees straight through to my soul.
“No matter, though. I’m sure my mother will switch her focus to Leo in my absence; it’s only fair that he suffer for a while instead.”
“Leo is …?”
“My younger brother. A thorn in my side at times, but I trust no one more.” A smile graces my lips even as my insides churn with fear. What if I never get back? What if—somehow—my life ends in this library, and my entire family pays the price?
She cocks her head, studying me. “You sound close.”
“We are.”
“You miss them.”
“I do. And I worry for my kingdom. Without a dragon on the throne, the hoard grows bolder in their attacks.”
She lays a hand on my arm, and I nearly jolt at the unexpected touch. My flesh warms beneath her palm, a shiver of awareness spreading up my arm.
“We’re going to find a way to get you home,” she says solemnly.
Our eyes meet, and I inhale the scent of her arousal. My own desire flares immediately, and I find myself straining to go to her, to close the distance and kiss her until she can’t remember why she stopped it before. I want to hear her moan my name, to beg me to touch her and to let herself touch me. Her scent tells me she wants it too, but she doesn’t move closer.
Instead, she withdraws her hand and lies down, resettling herself beneath the covers with enough space between us to remind me of the boundary she’s put there.
I exhale, my own need battling for control, but I force it aside. What she needs now is protection. And as long as my dragon draws breath, it has sworn to give it to her. I lie quietly, unsure what to think of all the problems that presents until, eventually, Paige’s breaths slow and become even with sleep.
Long after she’s nodded off, I remain awake and aware of the threat hanging over us now. The dark energy I sensed earlier worries me. It’s like nothing I’ve ever encountered before, and if it truly is nothing more than a shadow, no weapons will work against it. Not a flail and not even a dragon. My beast huffs at that, but I ignore him, my thoughts inevitably drifting back to the sleeping woman beside me.
Her shoulders rise and fall with the steady breaths of sleep. Seeing her lying beside me does strange things to my head, and it hits me then:
The figure Paige saw earlier is nowhere near as dangerous as my feelings for the woman beside me.
What I feel for her is improbable.
Impossible, even.
We’re from different worlds, different times, and yet my dragon calls to her as he would his mate. I’m not sure I have the strength to leave her behind when the time comes for me to return home,
