Page 36 of To Spark a Dragon's Love
Malachy moved so fast. It didn’t seem possible.
A cold chill filled his absent chair as Malachy slammed Cain against the wall with the knife he’d fed me steak from pressed against the man’s throat.
“You will not insult my mate.” Malachy roared.
I reached for my glass and almost spilled it, squeezing my thighs together to calm down my lady bits. Because that was the hottest thing I’d ever witnessed.He called me his mate.And then he’d defended my honor like it was nothing. I was shaking as I took a sip of wine.
It was definitely time to leave.
Cain’s eyes widened as he raised his hands in the air. He tried to smile, but a burning hatred shone from his eyes.
“Guardian,” Kieran’s voice held a note of warning even though I saw the pained look on his face. “Neutral territory.”
“Of course it is.” Malachy hissed as he withdrew the knife.
“If you’re itching for another fight, why’d you have the ceremony here? Or do you need the laws for dragon protection on your side now, guardian?” Cain’s laughter was hollow, mocking.
Malachy didn’t answer him.
His tortured gaze sought mine, meeting my eyes from across the room, and my heart leapt to my throat. I caught a moment of truth before he shuttered his expression again.
For me.
He’d had the ceremony here for me.
I really need to leave.
“Cain, you’re disrupting the peace.” Kieran strode forward. Lucan was a scary dog at his back. “If you came to taunt my guests, I’ll have to tell you to leave.”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m going.” Cain glanced around the room. His seething glare landed on Riley, then Ember, and me. “I can’t believe it’s come to this.”
He took a step toward the door as Kieran and Lucan closed in, not giving anyone his back as he spoke to Malachy, “When you realize you’re finished and useless now, come find me. I have a score to settle with you,guardian.”
There were a few outraged gasps from around the room. I tried not to be hurt that they hadn’t come when Cain called me a whore, but I guess disrespecting the guardian was taboo.
Malachy didn’t flinch, though.
And he didn’t stop looking at me.
I wished I could reach across the distance and yank on the widening chasm in my chest to pull him closer.
As if he understood, Malachy made his way back to his spot at the table. My pulse quickened with every step. Cain stormed out of the room. The guests returned to their dinner as if nothing happened.
I’d had enough excitement to last a lifetime.
It was going to take me a least a week of solitude to recover from all this fun.
“Can I walk you home?”Malachy held out his arm.
“Yes,” I breathed out the word, beyond grateful for the escape. Everyone was laughing again and enjoying themselves as if the drama was expected. Maybe they dealt with this sort of thing all the time.
But I was used to it being me and Harper alone in the house and my overstimulation meter was tapped out for the evening.
I smiled at Riley and Ember, hoping they’d continue to enjoy the meal. We received a few teasing cheers at our departure. Malachy ignored them like he ignored pretty much everything.
I got the feeling he was used to being set apart.
The night breeze was a beautiful thing. It instantly soothed the heat that had been building in me all day. I leaned into it for a moment, closing my eyes and just breathing.
