“She’s not out publicly, and she wants to keep it on the DL for now. You know how this business is.”
Tension eased from her shoulders and the fire in her eyes died to smoldering embers. At least she was still there.
“I dunno,” she mumbled, the pain in her eyes hurting his heart. “You two looked awfully cozy when I caught you on set together. Then when you both went back to work, you guys were whispering to each other like—” she swallowed hard “—lovers.”
“More like a friend begging her not to tell anyone that Stark Bradford’s bodyguard was a girl. I’m not proud of that, but my head can get pretty far up my ass when left to my own devices for too long.”
She leveled a long, hard look at him, letting her gaze take him in from top to toes. He’d never felt more exposed, but he wouldn’t hide behind his public persona with her anymore. Never again, if she’d allow it.
“Wyntir, I don’t want anyone else besides you. You’re more than I ever thought one person could be, and I certainly never imagined I’d connect with someone like you. Or anyone else besides Fara, to be honest. And I’m standing here dying to know if you feel the same. I sure as hell hope so, but if not, I’ll respect that.”
The time she spent glaring at him felt like hours, months even. But in the end, she huffed and pressed the button to open the elevator doors. So that was it. She’d heard him out as she’d promised, and now she was leaving him to a lonely fate. He probably deserved it.
But when she stepped out of the elevator, she gave him an unreadable look and held out her hand. “Come with me.”
Chapter Nine
Stark had no idea where he was being pulled as Wyntir charged through the school, marching to the nearest exit and throwing the doors open. She hauled him out to the empty playground, where she came to a stop in a patch of grass that looked like prime kickball real estate. Wyntir released him and pointed at him as if to keep him in place as she stepped back into the field.
“Don’t move,” she said and then shifted before his very eyes.
Her wings spread out elegantly on either side of her as her sprawling form rose up before him, and for a moment, Stark couldn’t help but wonder if she had brought him out here to torch him right there on the playground. He certainly wouldn’t have blamed her.
But to his surprise, the gaze in those massive reptilian eyes was not hostile. In fact, he had a hard time reading her expression and not just because it was more like a dinosaur’s than a woman’s at the moment.
She swung a wing forward and lowered it to the ground as wind and dust billowed around him. He covered his face, heart pounding as his jaw fell open at what he beheld. Wyntir had lowered her wing to him, offering him a place on her back—to ride a dragon.
“Oh my god,” he murmured. “Wyntir, are you sure?”
She snorted a puff of smoke from her nostrils, but Stark could tell there the smug smirk on those leathery lips was at his reverence. It was no small honor to have this offered by a dragon. And the thought of being given that reception by Wyntir not only told him all was well between them but filled him with a greater warmth and joy than he’d ever felt before.
Running a hand through his golden waves, he took a deep breath and a big step as he began climbing Wyntir’s wing. Moments later, he clung to her neck before she spread her wings and beat them off the ground, launching into the air with such force that Stark was thankful for all those countless hours with personal trainers perfecting his action hero body. He never thought that part of his job would ever bleed into real life, but at the moment, he didn’t mind one bit.
He laughed with the free, exhilarating feeling that came with flight as they rose into the air and watched Los Angeles sink below. He’d flown in countless jets before, so the view wasn’t a surprise to him, but from his perch on Wyntir’s back, it was such a radically different experience that he hardly knew how to handle the rush.
So, he channeled it—his love for this unbelievable woman could do nothing but grow, after all. He scooted as high up as he could on her shoulders and watched the towering skyscrapers dwindle below. What a wild ride! Wyntir seemed to love his enthusiasm, and she dipped down through the air to spiral dramatically.
Stark felt like he was gliding through the air with an angel—a guardian angel. His grin broadened as he realized the dot of white growing larger by the second was familiar to him. His house.
Wyntir hovered near his pool for a moment, whipping the surface into a froth, before landing in the grass. He wondered vaguely about her magic glamor that prevented prying human eyes from seeing her in dragon form. When she’d given Blaise a ride, they’d disappeared from his view, but he was able to see her shape during his ride. Must have to do with the fact he was on her, not just looking at her. Not that it mattered at this moment in time.
He’d barely slid off her back before she shifted back to her human form, causing him to stumble forward and into the arms of a very human and very naked Wyntir. She wrapped in him an embrace before he found her face and acted on instinct.
He kissed her, fiercely, grasping the sides of her face and groaning into it as he walked her backward, her hands exploring everything they’d been so hungry to feel before. His skin was on fire. He felt her fingers counting his abs under his shirt before he pinned her against the French door. She gasped as she felt his hardness in his pants.
“Not very professional,” Stark teased as he held his bodyguard by the wrists against the doors, smirking at her.
She grinned back at him. “We tried that, remember?” she said with a soft laugh. “It’s not our style.”
He pulled off his shirt and tossed it aside, sending up a silent thanks for all the body work he’d put in for the film. Not to mention good genes.
“Now that we’ve been working together for almost a week,” he said, sliding his fingers way up her thigh. “Care to check out the bedroom?”
She didn’t bother speaking. She just reached behind her and slid open the door. They stumbled through the living room and up the stairs, their lips glued together until the back of her knees met the edge of the bed. Resting his hands on her hips, Stark relished the way his palms fit so perfectly on her rounded curves. Then he pushed her.
She fell back easily, willingly, with a big-ass smile on her gorgeous face, and she didn’t go alone. Digging her fingers into his shoulders, she pulled him down on top her.
“Took me long enough to get you here,” he whispered against her lips, his body soaking up every ounce of heat from hers.
“Patience is a virtue.”
“It’s hard to be patient when we’re pressed together like this.”
“For once, I agree with you.”
Their kiss deepened, their tongues dancing around each other, and he busied himself with exploring each curve and valley of her naked body. His hands skimmed up her sides, and his breath caught in his throat as he allowed his fingers to wander over to the enticing rise of her breasts. His touch was gentle and tender, even as her nipples hardened under his hands. He could barely keep himself contained.
Slowly, he pulled back from her lips and let his mouth wander to her neck. He laid soft, little kisses as he made his way to the valley between her breasts, and then his tongue hiked up to her right nipple. Wrapping his lips around it, he sucked her hard bud into his mouth, his tongue dancing around it at a steady tempo.