Page 14 of Shifting Desire
His gaze flicks to my lips, then back to my eyes.
“Anytime.”He kisses my forehead and then he’s gone.
And I’m left standing in my apartment, heart racing, with the strange, inescapable feeling that I’ve just stepped off a ledge.
Chapter Six
Malichai
Guarding What’s Mine
Ican’t sleep.Notthat I do much of that anyway.Dragons don’t rest easily, especially not when their hoard is unguarded.And she is my hoard.
Not gold.Not jewels.Not power or relics or the things men and dragons spill blood over.No, my most treasured thing in this world lives in an apartment with beautiful wooden floors and big picture windows, but two locks on the door that wouldn't stop a determined squirrel, let alone someone who wants to hurt her.
I want to bring her back to my home where I can keep her safe ...tied to my bed.
Because danger lurks around every corner and she is vulnerable even if she doesn’t know it.Something, someone might be coming for her and until our bond is set and she is beside me, she won’t be protected.
I heard rumors earlier tonight.Whispers in the underbelly about movement on the west side.Ravik’s name was mentioned.And when Ravik Morgrave surfaces, blood tends to follow.
He’s not making direct threats.Yet.
But I know how he works—coils like a viper, waits until your back is turned, then strikes low.Cowardly and cruel but effective.
And I’ve seen what happens to the people I care about when I let my guard down.
So tonight, I sit on the rooftop across from her building, crouched on the edge of the ledge, silent and still as stone, watching the dim light glow behind her curtain.
She’s there.Probably curled up with that ridiculous turquoise fuzzy blanket and a second bowl of rice because she “forgets to eat like a whole person” unless someone reminds her.I picture her mismatched eyes flicking between book pages, her socked feet tucked under her, hair a new shade, maybe purple tonight.Or teal.She changes it like armor.Like maybe if she glows bright enough, people won’t notice the cracks underneath.
But I see them.I always have.Except they aren’t fissures showing her weakness but weathered spots that let her light shine through.
She’s trying so damn hard to survive in a world that never made room for her.Half-fae.Half-human.All heart.And not a single person in her life has ever made her feel like enough.
She is.More than enough.Too much, sometimes.And still, never enough for herself.
