Page 53 of Tempt the Dragon
Chapter Fourteen
He couldn’t wait until they were alone, so the second they were outside the conference room he reached for her arm, pulling her to a stop.
“What do you think you’re doing?” He really wanted to ask if she was out of her mind, volunteering for such a dangerous job, but he knew that wasn’t going to go over well with her.
“I’m doing what you’ve been telling me allalong I should do.” The blatant accuracy of her response slapped him like a splash of cold water and he dropped her hand before taking a step back.
“I didn’t know it would lead to this.” Which sounded super weak and borderline ridiculous. Of course he’d known they’d end up at the burial site, that’s what this entire operation was about. He just hadn’t considered Mel would be such an integralpart in the plan.
She looked energized and ready to take on the world, but just when she was about to respond to him again, her phone rang. On a sigh she grabbed it out of the pocket of the shorts she’d worn for their training and stared down at the screen. When she looked up at him again it was with a frown. “I’ve uh, gotta take this.”
He nodded, not sure where this conversation withher was going anyway. Leaning against the wall while she walked away, he closed his eyes to the pressure that had begun to rest in the center of his chest. What was happening? One minute he’d been elated watching her transformation to a Drakon, flying high with the wind against his scales and a beautiful yellow dragon at his side. The next he was listening to the woman he loved volunteer to go soloonto grounds where powerful witches and lethal vampires resided. His temples began to throb with what he knew was going to be a hell of a headache, because he wasn’t sure how to wrap his mind around all these quick changes.
“Are you okay, Aiken?” Startled out of his thoughts, he opened his eyes to see Ravyn standing in front of him.
“No. He’s not. Let’s go into the den. He’ll be more comfortablethere.” Shola hadn’t waited for his response, but instead had looped her arm in his and started walking him down the hallway, across the foyer and into the den, where she presumed he’d be more comfortable.
He wasn’t so sure of her theory but he dropped down onto one of the black leather couches, letting his arms fall at his side. Shola sat right beside him while Ravyn settled in a chair acrossfrom them.
“You’ve been through a lot in the past week haven’t you?” Shola had the ability to sound like a courageous leader one moment and a doting mother the next. He half expected her to take his hand momentarily as a way of reassuring him through this conversation she assumed he wanted to have.
“I don’t really have time for this right now. I’ve gotta go plan a trip to the Congo. IsBleu getting the jet ready?” They were a group of dragons, so using a private jet wasn’t normally their mode of transportation. But since they were carrying valuable cargo this time around, he figured the jet would be best. He also presumed Bleu would’ve thought of that already.
“He’s making all the necessary preparations,” Ravyn said. “And let me just say that I know how it feels to be hitwith a lot of changes at one time. Remember, I was the human who was attacked by killer mummies before I was introduced to your world of dragons and other freaky things.”
He did recall how Ravyn came to be part of their clan. Steele had seen her in his dream and decided instead of leading her to the Reaper to kill, he wanted her for himself. That was before she’d stolen a cursed dagger, whichhad led to the revelation that she was a witch and Steele would have to die to save her life. Another example of how the Selection process had a bitchin’ sense of humor.
“I’ve been a Drakon for two hundred and ninety years, I’m used to facing all sorts of things.” That’s all he had by way of rebuttal to her statement.
“But you’ve never dealt with being in love.” It was a quiet and potentstatement. He wasn’t ready to deal with how true it also was.
Now, Shola did reach out to touch his hand. “If it makes you feel any better, she’s just as deeply in love with you as you are with her.”
“How do you know that?” He knew Mel loved him. She’d said it many times in the past. But she hadn’t said it once since their reunion.
Ravyn chuckled. “You’re kidding, right? You two don’teven try to hide the feelings you have for each other. The day I talked to Mel she never once denied loving you—not that I came right out and asked her. But her focus was just on her job as a hunter, not on accepting or denying what the two of you felt for each other.”
He hadn’t known Ravyn had talked to Mel. The pool games between her and Reese had been the contact with the clan he’d beenmost concerned with. “Things between us have always been complicated.” But he’d thought they’d finally had their breakthrough.
“Falling in love can be a jarring experience. I think only movies and books make it look easy, while in reality we’re left navigating the rocky waters on our own.” Shola sighed. “I remember fighting against the attraction Theo and I had for weeks.”
“Well, Steeleand I didn’t bother fighting the physical. That’s the one area we didn’t have to argue about. Wanting each other on that level was a given,” Ravyn added.
Aiken closed his eyes and shook his head. He also pulled his hand from Shola’s grip because not only did he not want any visuals of his clan members being intimate with their mates in his mind, he definitely didn’t want to be touching oneof those mates’ hand while those images threatened to surface. “Stop. Stop right there. Don’t need to know these types of specifics from you two.”
Shola laughed first. “Oh come on, the way you guys talk about giving in to the dragon’s most primal needs. I know you’re not shy.”
“Not shy, just totally grossed out by hearing you talk about Theo and Steele in a physical sense. So let’s justput that in a bag and toss the bag out the window.” He’d opened his eyes just in time to see Ravyn laugh at him.
“All we’re saying is that getting to the point of accepting your love and the Selection process isn’t easy, but once you get there it’s pretty wonderful,” Ravyn told him.
He leaned forward, dropping his elbows on his thighs. “I know that. I’ve never been afraid of the Selectionprocess. The moment I realized Mel was the one selected for me, I fully accepted it.” To be honest, he’d grabbed hold of that realization like a lifeline because finally—since he’d left his family on the Far Realm—he was being accepted again.
“Then what’s going on with you? Why were you so against her going to the Congo? You should be happy to have her back—and working with us no less, that’sgotta be a good thing.” Shola sounded almost as confused as Aiken felt.
“It does sound good, doesn’t it. A little while ago I thought it was damn near perfect. But now—” He dragged a hand down his face. “How am I supposed to let her walk onto that burial ground knowing there’s a really good chance she might not make it out?”
Ravyn shook her head. “The real question is why do you thinkyou have the right to stop her?”
