Page 34 of The Dragon Recruit
She searched his gaze, and the mixture of determination, anger—for her, not at her—and something she couldn’t define made her want to share more with him. This male seemed different from the others. In a good way.
Her dragon spoke up.Of course he is. He tests males for bullshit right away, aye?
Antony cupped her cheek, and despite her better judgment, she leaned more into his touch.
She nearly placed her hand over his when his phone rang. With a curse, he said, “Sorry, but I have to take that,” before picking it up.
He didn’t try to hide his conversation with her, albeit it was one-sided. Something about the press and news getting out.
After he told the person to take care of it, he hung up and grimaced. “The dragon hunters have uploaded videos and made posts about an upcoming dragon civil war, and it’s catching fire.”
“And, sadly, fact-checking means nothing anymore, aye?”
“Unfortunately, yes. However, I have some of the best PR people in the world on tap, and they’re trying to mitigate the damage as best as they can. But the sooner we can find the rest of the rogue dragon-shifters and whoever is making this gas, the better. Humans like a villain to pin things on. So if we give them one, along with some strategic events or interviews with dragon-shifter leaders, it might stop the pitchforks.” He turned on the engine. “Which means we need to hurry to the Peak District. I need to make several calls along the way, but just know that later, once we have a moment, I want to know you better, Iris Mahajan. Much better.”
His cryptic words made her heart thump harder in her chest. Did he really want to woo her and kiss her and work on demolishing the wall around her heart?
Her dragon spoke up.He’d better. Otherwise, I might have to try. He’s not like other males.
No, he’s not. And yet, I’m still worried about this blowing up in my face, like the last time I let someone in.
That was over a decade ago, and we were young, aye? And Antony’s isn’t some young male, out to prove himself. He’s done that already, has confidence, and realizes strength doesn’t always mean using brute force.
Iris wasn’t sure how to respond, especially since the more her dragon talked, the more she wanted to stop fighting her attraction and give Antony a chance.
Eventually, as Antony took call after call, she fell asleep to dreams of her laughing at something Antony said before taking him to bed and claiming him as her own.
Chapter Eleven
For the first time in a long time, Antony wished his job was a little less demanding. Between him sharing his past with Iris, her comforting him, and him learning about the arsehole who’d made her double-down to prove her abilities, he’d made a decision—to stop pretending he didn’t want Iris Mahajan.
And he wanted more than a mere romp in the sheets. He wanted to let her shine, make sure everyone bloody well knew how good she was, and then take care of her at home. Make her laugh, make her moan his name, and maybe try to build a life with her.
It’d taken him hours of driving to finally accept he wanted all of that, of course. Because he still worried that his past would repeat and another woman he fancied would end up hurt.
Or dead.
Then he remembered not only was Iris highly skilled, she could also shift into a dragon. While yes, she had weaknesses to certain drugs and weapons in that form, she had a lot more strengths in it, too.
Not that the dragonwoman had any idea about his plans for her. She slept most of the way, and he couldn’t bring himself towake her. Yes, because she needed the sleep. But also because it showed she trusted him. Maybe not completely, but it was a start.
When he finally turned onto the last single-track road leading to their destination, the car bumped along the uneven ground and Iris slowly woke up, rubbing her eyes as she asked, “Where are we?”
Ignoring how her sleep-tinged voice sent a rush of wanting through him—would she sound that way waking up in his bed too?—he replied, “Nearly to our destination.”
“You still won’t tell me more than that?”
“Whilst this car is heavily protected against any listening tech or devices, I want to wait until we’re inside our destination, which is even more secure.”
She glanced out the window. And while he could only see what the headlights highlighted, her keen dragon eyesight would see the sharp peaks and rugged beauty of the Peak District. On either side of the car were high, jagged hills. Ones that would hide them from almost everyone, including anyone flying overhead.
Within minutes, Antony turned into the secret entrance and waited in front of what looked like a solid rock surface. However, a pole appeared from the ground, until he could allow it to scan his retinas. Then the rock surface slid to the side, creating a space big enough for him to drive his car through.
Once he pulled his car to the side and turned off the engine, he said, “Follow me. We’re nearly there, and I promise to fill you in.”
She nodded, and they both exited the car. The space looked like a sealed-in cave, but he went to a section on the far east side and placed his hand against the stone. It moved aside, and he had to both scan his palm and his retina again. Then he said, “Code Bravo-Oscar-November-Delta Eight-Niner.”
Iris raised her eyebrows. “Really?”
