Page 40 of Red and Her Dragons (Dirty Paranormal Fairytale Haremlan 4)

“Wanna go for a walk?” she asked. “I need to check the traps and maybe lay a few more.”

I nodded and took her hand, wondering if this was my chance to get her back.

15

EMILY

It had been so long since I had as much fun as I had sitting with Cassie and her men. All we did was sit around, talk, and have a good time. The fun was a different type of fun though. Not like hanging out with Bret, Jax, and Marcus. Time with them was different, though I couldn’t explain how. It just was.

Despite having a great time with my newfound friends, I missed Marcus. He had been gone for a few hours. I wondered if he had found anything while he was flying. Or maybe he was in some sort of trouble. I hated that he and the other two were also in danger, that this whole thing went far beyond an accident from a man during his first few shifts.

Marcus was right though. Bryson had a hidden agenda when it came to the deal he made with the humans. And I was willing to bet everything I had that he was the culprit to the war.

I was starting to get worried when he arrived on the porch. The second his eyes settled on mine I felt a pull toward him. One that I couldn’t deny if I tried. And I knew this from experience because I have tried. Many, many times. Especially during the first few months of living with the wolves. Eventually, I gave up. Because why did I need to give up that feeling? It wasn’t like it was going to go away.

As it turned out, the feelings I had for Marcus, and the pull toward him, helped me through a lot of long, dark nights, especially the more horrible, nearly endless days. The point was I learned not to fight the feeling long ago.

Marcus leaned against the railing next to me. I smiled at him as relief flooded through me. After sharing a joke and him threatening to leave me, I clung to him. The feeling of his arm pressed close to my side reminded me of how it felt to have his arms wrapped around me.

Cassie resumed the conversation with her men while Marcus chuckled and resettled himself against me. It wasn’t much longer after that that I suggested we go for a walk. I had a hit in my intuition that I needed to check on the traps and maybe add a few more.

So that’s what we did.

Ten minutes into the walk, I looked over at him and smiled. He seemed so at peace. Even with a stupid war looming over the horizon.

“What?” he asked, catching me watching him.

“You look happy,” I said.

“I am. For the most part,” he said.

“Yeah?” I asked.

“Yeah.” He chuckled.

“What makes you so happy right now?” I asked.

“Is it really that hard for you to guess?” he asked in return.

I shrugged. “Maybe.”

He stopped walking, grabbed my hand, and spun me around to face him. I met his intense gaze, and my breath left my lungs in a rush. He pushed me against a tree and slammed his mouth into mine.

The way he kissed me was intense. There was so much emotion behind the way his mouth moved with mine. My heart skipped a beat because it was almost as though he was kissing me for the last time.

When he pulled away, we gasped for breath, and he rested his forehead against mine.

“That’s how much I’ve missed you,” he said.

I chuckled softly. “Well, why didn’t you say so?”

He shrugged. “Doesn’t matter now.”

He started to pull away from me. I caught his arms, preventing him from walking away from me. “Where are you going?”

“You made your choice,” Marcus said, sounding resigned. “I’m trying to respect that.”

The tone in his voice confirmed the suspicion I had of him kissing me for the last time. My breath rushed out of my lungs. I wasn’t sure where this was going, but the idea of him never touching me again cut deeper than a knife. Panic started to fill my center.

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