Page 27 of Charming the Dragon
She didn’t even blink an eye at them now hugging, and she said, “It worked, Nathan! It worked!”
Even though the rational thing was to push her away, he rubbed her back in slow circles and took a deep inhalation of her scent. “It did.”
She tilted her head back. “Now what?”
Now, I should kiss you.
But he pushed that thought aside. “I need to try accessing the system here and see if there’s a way to contact the outside world.”
“Of course. While you do that, I want to go check out the other rooms.”
He studied her closely. “Will you be all right?”
“I should be, now that I know I can turn on a light.”
Unable to resist, he lifted a hand and lightly traced her cheek. “Check in with me every fifteen minutes, just so I know you’re okay.”
As he continued to brush his finger up and down her cheek, Hayley’s breathing quickened and her pupils dilated slightly.
His inner dragon thrashed against the walls of his mental maze, but they held.
Still, the sound reminded him of what could happen if he actually kissed the human.
Human.He’d temporarily forgotten that Hayley was human, and he couldn’t do that again. She might say she was interested in dragon-shifters, but if his beast came out? And there was a frenzy? She’d run. Then he’d have to be locked up to protect her, for months and months, until his beast calmed down. It wasn’t something any dragon-shifter wanted to experience.
Especially since he’d already had one human run away from his dragon half, and that’d been without the intensity of a mate-claim frenzy.
After stepping away from Hayley, he cleared his throat. She blinked in confusion, but he ignored it. “Just check in with me every fifteen minutes. That way, we can share what we find and compare notes.”
She frowned, but then bobbed her head. “Sounds like a plan. I’ll do my best with the time, but my mobile battery is low and I don’t want to waste it keeping track of the time. I might need to invest in a watch after this.”
It would be so easy to tease her about losing the watch at every opportunity, or putting it on upside down, or a million other little things. But that kind of teasing was dangerous because he might start to like her.
No, the best thing was to put distance between them, and fast. “Right, then I’m going to get to work.”
He sat in front of the main computer terminal, ignored Hayley, and started investigating. His top priority was finding a way to contact Kai or Bram.
Because if he stayed alone with Hayley Beckett for too much longer, he might do something they’d both regret later.
Chapter Eight
Being able to switch on a light whenever she wanted made all the difference to Hayley. No, she didn’t want to live down here forever or anything. However, she could keep her panic mostly under control as long as she could see.
And if the lights did go out again, she might not completely freak out if Nathan stayed by her side since something about the dragonman calmed her. Well, tamed her panic. It did nothing to calm her racing heart or how she reacted to his every touch.
Even now, more than five minutes later, just remembering his solid chest against her cheek as she hugged him earlier made her breasts grow heavy and wetness rush between her thighs. It wasn’t just that he was toned and probably looked amazing naked. No, his scent both turned her on and made her feel safe. Which was odd, but the truth.
A small voice in her head postured that maybe she was his true mate. In other words, if he kissed her, it’d set off a mate-claim frenzy that wouldn’t stop until she was pregnant.
They also said that a dragon’s true mate was usually their best chance at happiness. Part of her longed for the fairy tale—to always have someone there for her, in all ways, and to do the same for him.
However, she was far too cynical. Between her ex-boyfriends and the constant battle to get respect with some of her male colleagues, Hayley struggled to believe a guy would support her and not try to make her feel less.
Thinking about her job reminded her of how much she loved it, despite the challenges. And to do what she loved, she needed to find a way out of this place.Yes, get out and get to work.
With a clear head, she went toward the back of the long, narrow bathroom she’d found. There was a faucet, a shower, and a toilet. And when she tested the faucet, water came out. Whoever had designed this secret bunker really had thought of everything.
But at the back of the space was a door, one that wasn’t noticeable at first and blended into the wall. However, up close she could just make out the outline and a switch hidden in the wallpaper design. Not wanting to end up locked in a different section on her own, she rushed back to the pantry, grabbed the broom she’d seen, and returned to the bathroom. Standing as far away as she could while still being able to reach the button, she used the broom handle to push it. The door swung away from the wall and stayed open. Only a few dim lights highlighted some sort of rock cavern beyond.
