Aaron turned, and the world tilted.
Golden sparks in green eyes pierced the fog in his head.
She raised her chin. The dark cloud of auburn hair around her face kissed the honey-brown skin of her neck.
The amber pendant nestled in the dip between her delicate collarbones caught the light from above, throwing her face in relief. Cheekbones slanted down to meet a heart-shaped chin.
She was sensuous yet had just a hint of obstinacy in those eyes to make her intriguing. Those luscious, unpainted lips. He wanted to sink his teeth into them.
Aaron had wanted to shut out the world since Zayn's death. He hadn't thought that when he decided to face reality it would be like this.
Months of holding back all emotions shattered, and the feelings he'd tried to smother for so long rushed to the forefront.
"Guardian?" That husky voice called him back to the present.
She was addressing him. His black pants and shirt with the armband were a dead giveaway that he was part of the mayor's elite team of Guardians of the City.
His senses reached out to her. A flare of silver zinged between them on the psychic plane before disappearing so fast he was sure he'd imagined it.
Heat slammed into his chest, and the breath whistled out of him. "Who are you?" He reached up to rub the spot over his chest where it throbbed.
"Hope."
3
Hope
He looked at her, and his pain sliced through her as if it were her own.
Those cobalt-blue eyes drew her in, inviting her to drown in them. It was as if he saw straight to her soul, to who she was.
If she let him, he'd strip away her barriers.
His unleashed dominance thrummed against her nerve endings, and Hope's will dissolved.
She wanted to reach out and pour herself into him, to push away the grief that dragged down his spirit.
"Hope?"
Little sparks of awareness skittered over her skin.
He chuckled.
The sound tugged at her lower belly, reaching parts of her they had no business reaching.
"I've been looking for hope."
"Oh?"
The man nodded, eyes intent, framed by long hair that flowed down his back. Cheekbones jutted out, sloping down toward an unruly beard that clung to his features.
Hope wasn't partial to beards or to unkempt men, but the look suited him. He felt untamed, wild…and so sexy.
Her dragon shifted, restless, jolting a pulse of heat through her.
One side of his lips twisted, in a smile or a sneer, she couldn't tell. He looked like someone who was trying to hold on to his control. Or someone who was trying his best to not fall over.
He was drunk.
Even in his inebriated state, those glazed eyes held an edge of threat. His T-shirt molded itself to his chest, outlining rippling muscles that marked him out as a warrior. Tattoos ran up the side of his right arm, disappearing into the sleeve. He looked lethal.
Yeah, this man had a mind of his own.
Reaching out a finger, he brushed her cheek.
Sizzle.
A jolt of electricity coursed through her. His touch arrowed straight to her core.
On the psychic plane, her dragon lunged for him, anxious to get close, to wrap her wings around this man and inhale his essence. Her dragon recognized this male. Wanted to bond with him.
She reined in her beast.
If she let things progress, they'd sleep together, and Hope knew it would not be casual. The Guardian’s life was in danger. From her.
Her dragon felt connected to Aaron somehow.
It would only make the parting—and they'd have to part—that much more difficult, for both woman and dragon.
Best to stop it before it started.
Besides, she didn't want to hurt him.
She didn't know this man, so why was she so affected by him? Enough to care about his emotional well-being. It didn't make sense at all.
She pulled back, her action so sudden she bumped into the person behind her.
"There, there, darlin’." Hands gripped her waist, straightening her.
Hope turned and looked up, and up. The man was so tall he could only be a shifter.
He grinned down at her. The smell of alcohol from this one was so strong she could have lit his fumes on fire.
There was a growl.
The Guardian slid his body between her and the other drunken male. His warm and very masculine arm snaked around her waist, holding her flush against his back.
Awesome. Typical male domination.
The two were getting ready to go head to head in a bar. Not quite conducive to the low profile she'd been trying keep.
The scent of eucalyptus and pine surrounded her. It was as if she were transported to an open hillside. A wildness to the smell sank deep into her soul. It called to that untamed part of her. The one that had her breaking rules to come to this city.
Faced with a back so broad it blocked off the rest of the bar from sight, she watched the muscles bunching under his shirt. She flattened her palm against those muscles, and they shifted under her touch.
"Get your hands off her, Cain," the Guardian growled at the shifter male.
His voice rumbled, setting off tiny vibrations over her skin.
Hope peeked around in time to see Cain fold his arms over his chest.
He was as tall as her Guardian and broader. The shifter was an absolute tank of a man.
"Says who?"
Anger was clearly a sobering emotion. Both males stood tall, chests thrust forward, and ready to beat the hell out of each other.
"Says me."
Hope came around to stand at right angles to both.
Slapping a hand on each of their chests, she shoved. Muscles straining with the effort, she managed to hold both of them back.
Each man was bigger than her, yet she'd stopped them. She'd given away how powerful she was even in human form.
Hope darted her attention from one man to the other. Their gazes were fixed on each other, fists curled by their sides.
Her breath whistled out in relief.
They were too engrossed in their macho game of out doing each other.
Amber eyes glowing bright, Cain's gaze dropped to her. He canted his head, nostrils flaring.
He must have caught her scent. He knew she was not human, that she was a shifter.
Stepping back enough that he was out of her reach, Cain raised his hands. "Sorry, bro." He grinned at the other man.
Huh? He was backing off?
Cain clapped the Guardian on his shoulder.
Right, so they knew each other.
"Good to see you looking more like yourself, Aaron."
Aaron. So that was his name. Both the dragon and the woman inside her jumped at that small intimate piece of knowledge.
The Guardian grunted. His muscles vibrated with tension, reminding Hope her palm was still flat against his chest. His very male, ripped chest.
She let her palm stay there a second longer before letting it drop to her side.
"What are you doing here? Did the Council send you to keep an eye on me?" Aaron thrust his jaw forward.
"Why would they do that, hmm?" Cain grinned, transforming him into a charismatic male.
No female stood a chance.
Good thing she wasn't attracted to him.
Her head was too full of the other complex brooding man whose gaze was focused on her face. She had her hands full with the Guardian.
Cain widened his stance, lips twisting in a smirk. "You are more than capable of defending yourself, immortal warrior and Ascendant that you are."