Page 71 of Awaken the Dragon
He’d lost his father tonight. The father he hadn’t seen in two hundred years. Odd that the time away hadn’t lessened the grief of watching him die. While the question of his pain was still fresh, the pride that swelled inside him when he’d watched Shola banish Hoan still shined bright. Just like she had.
Her body had been engulfed in light as her feet had lifted from the ground and raw power streamed from her fingers. It was as if that power had been created for the specific purpose of defeating this demonic. Of course that’s what she’d told him about how she came to be, but he’d been convinced she was more than that. When it was over, she’d landed gracefully on her feet, dropping her hands to her sides. The look on her face was calm, even while eight dragons stared at her in awe.
She hadn’t said a word to him, but instead had walked right up to the golden yellow dragon and said, “You’re even prettier in this form, Ziva.”
Theo had no idea how she’d known which dragon was Ziva, but she’d picked correctly, and Ziva had immediately shifted back to human form. She pulled Shola in for a hug that should have appeared, at the very least, odd, since Ziva was naked and the wisp of material that was supposed to be an outfit on Shola was soaked and sticking to her skin. The other dragons, all males, thought the sight was quite enjoyable and showed their appreciation with mighty huffs from their noses.
“In your dreams,” Ziva quipped and looped her arm through Shola’s.
Together they’d walked out of the throne room and Theo didn’t see them again until each member of his team had found clothing and two of the Nobles had come up to Theo as they stood just outside the emperor’s personal rooms.
“We are happy to see you, Theo...or ah, Emperor,” the Drakon named Byou said.
At one time in his life, the emperor’s throne had been all Theo thought he had. It had taken some very hard choices, daring steps and tragedy to show him another life—one where he could orchestrate his happiness. But then she came along and showed him that love and loyalty could still exist, and it could once again be strong and impenetrable.
That was his priority now, what he needed to dedicate all his efforts and attention to before anything else. Leaving Byou, the highest ranking Noble Drakon, in charge of the realm, and swearing that he would be in touch, Theo led his group of renegade dragons out of the Far Realm.
Now he sank deeper into the tub with his arms stretched along the lip and closed his eyes. So much had happened, yet he still knew so very little. Not about vampires and dragons and what would happen next in that regard—war was imminent. The thought wasn’t a happy one, but a realistic one. He would definitely have to get with Bleu to figure out how they planned to monitor things on the Human Realm moving forward.
“I hope I’m not interrupting.”
Theo didn’t move, and he didn’t open his eyes. “When we first met, I wondered why I never heard you sneaking up behind me. Usually I can hear someone approaching. But not with you,” he said.
“I have more bracelets. I can wear them at all times so the jingle-jangle will announce my arrival.” Her tone was light and he was glad. They’d been through a lot of heaviness lately.
“I don’t hear you approach, because I feel you.” He opened his eyes.
Turning his head slightly, he watched her standing in the doorway wearing a long red dress. Her feet were bare and her hair loose, lips were tilted in a small smile, but her dimples were still prominent.
“I feel each breath you take as if it were my own. I feel full and at ease.”
“Balanced.” She interrupted him. “I know because I feel the same way. I always had to work harder to maintain my balance. Oya said it would come, that I would grow into the feeling with ease.” Shola shrugged. “I did not believe her.”
He sat up in the tub and hot water sloshed around. “I should have told you everything,” he said, repeating the words that had been rolling around in his mind since she’d looked at him with so much hurt in her eyes at the Tower.
“I can say the same.” She gave a nervous chuckle and shook her head. “We are such a mess.”
“I don’t know, I think we kind of made a great team today.”
She stopped smiling.
“So great we both ran to our rooms to take a soak in the tub. Yours is obviously taking a little longer than mine.” With a slight nod of her head she motioned to the water now dripping on the floor and then to the water inside the tub.
He followed her gaze, but he really didn’t need to. His dick had gone hard the moment he felt her enter his bedroom.
“Maybe I was waiting for company,” he said.
She tilted her head. “But I’ve already taken a bath.”
“Not with me.”
She touched a finger to her chin and twisted her lips while looking around. “Hmmm, I think you might be right about that.”
“Join me,” he said and held his breath for every second that she hesitated.
While there’d been so many things on his mind since returning from the Far Realm, the most pressing had been if Shola were going to be in his life. There was no question he wanted her to, but he would never think of forcing her. She’d spent her entire life believing shehadto do something. He wanted everything she did from this point on to be what shewantedto do.
She stepped into the bathroom, touching the material of her dress at her thighs and pulling until it began to ease up her legs.
