Page 65 of Dragon Unleashed
A walk of shame in yesterday’s clothes is not what I had in mind for this morning, but here we are. And I can’t afford to answer the questions that would come from being late again. Or worse, being seen exiting the basement.
I’m just finishing pulling my shirt down over my head when a throat clears behind me. I whirl to see Aries standing before me, back in his human form. He’s even managed to retrieve those sinfully sexy sweatpants and pull them on.
I watch as he approaches me, wishing like hell I’d thought to bring a toothbrush down here.
“Thank you for keeping me safe and warm last night,” I say.
Something like pain flashes in his eyes.
“I’ll be safe at work,” I start, but he snorts.
“You’re only safe if I’m near you.”
I shiver because, even though I’ve only known Aries for a short time, I can’t help but agree with him. I do feel safer when he’s near me.
“Listen, Hoc and the others will be up and about, so you’ll have to stay down here for a bit. I can come back when the coast is clear and help you get back upstairs,” I say. He starts to interrupt, but I hurry to add, “I think you should check out the passageway you found in my closet today. Everyone who works here will be focused on their duties, so wherever it leads, you should be able to get in and get out without being seen.”
He studies me, looking like he’s about to argue, but then finally, he nods. “All right, Paige.”
Before I can move past him to leave, he grabs me and yanks me toward him, covering my mouth with his. The kiss is passionate. Desperation laced in every delicious slide of his tongue over mine.
Desperate for what, I can’t be sure, but I have the sense that Aries is hurting. I want to ask, to find out what it is that could be affecting this man—this powerful dragon—but I keep it to myself. Likely because I’m afraid that the answer will be that he’s homesick.
And the idea of sending him home now breaks my heart.
So, I let Aries kiss me to the point of senseless, until nothing matters but his hands on me. His mouth on mine.
Then, he steps back to let me leave, and I have to force myself to put one foot in front of the other even as it takes me further away from what I really want.
Him.
Upstairs, I manage to slip out of the basement access door unseen. I’m just rounding the stacks toward the break room—coffee is all that matters now—when I run smack into a body.
Hoc grunts in surprise, and I jump back, heart thudding.
Trolls don’t have the same sense of smell as other supernaturals but still. I do not want him catching a whiff of what—or who—I did last night.
“Hoc!”
“Paige, are you in a hurry?” His brows lift in dry amusement.
“Coffee,” I explain sheepishly.
“Ah.”
I wait for him to ask why I didn’t bother getting any coffee in my own apartment. Or why I still haven’t done a grocery order. But he doesn’t. Instead, he glances past me to something over my shoulder.
He frowns. “Blossom, you’re supposed to be in section five already. Ted and Ned were due to be relieved twenty minutes ago.”
I glance back and find Blossom standing near the water creatures section with a to-go mug in her hand. “I live for nothing else, Hoc,” she says sarcastically.
“But?” Hoc asks knowingly.
“I need your darling daughter to accompany me. Girl stuff,” she adds hastily.
Hoc shakes his head. “Go,” he says to me. “We’ll catch up later.”
I hurry to join Blossom, sending longing looks to her coffee.
