Her eyes watered. His heart twisted, a wrenching pain filling his chest. He released her chin and gently dragged his knuckles along her jaw. Her eyes drifted shut and she leaned into him. Her trust in him boggled his mind.
She barely knew him, and yet she was content in this vulnerable position. He could wrap his hand around her throat, could push her off her stool and throw her back against the bar. Yet, as he watched, her lips parted again. This close, she smelled like beeswax and mint.
“When did you put on lip balm?” he asked.
The corners of her mouth lifted. “I needed to make sure my lips were soft in case you decided to finally kiss me.”
“Finally? We’ve met all of three times and you think that’s waiting too long to kiss you?” He was astonished by her directness.
“Am I the only one here that wants it?” Her voice dropped, the low purr of her beast joining her words.
She wasn’t, but he couldn’t just tell her that. Not if he wanted to keep this from leading down paths he didn’t dare tread again. His heart had been closed for years. It would never open again. Not for anyone, not for this woman near tears in his hands.
“Looks like you are.” The words hurt to say. They dragged along his throat like thorns, leaving him bleeding on the inside.
He forced himself to release her and turn his back to her. She didn’t make a sound behind him, but he knew from the mirror behind the bar that she wore her devastation openly. He wished he’d never invited her inside. His promise to take care of her while she was in town had to be broken.
His beast thrashed and clawed at him. Enraged, the creature filled him with fire. Every ounce of his being burned and ached, but he couldn’t turn back to her. He couldn’t love another woman the way he’d loved his wife, because he would just fail her in the end.
Chapter Five
Daphne should have been relieved that Evangeline woke the next day. Instead, her thoughts were filled with the man who’d left her hanging the night before. Daphne wanted to both curse Ford and fuck him. The two feelings weren’t mutually exclusive, but she knew the moment she got the hate fuck out of her system that she would go back to longing for him.
So, she distracted herself by getting Evangeline ready. A permanent sour grimace had graced Evangeline’s face since she’d woken. The new dragon shifter seemed distant. Daphne knew that Evangeline was meeting her beast for the first time, but apprehension hugged her lungs, like she was waiting for disaster to strike.
Nothing happened while they worked their way through stacks and stacks of pancakes. With two new dragon shifters and a pregnant woman on the premises, there wasn’t enough food to go around. After the giant mixing bowls were broken out and every utensil in the kitchen had been dirtied, the feast was over.
“You don’t have to do anything you’re not ready for,” Daphne assured Evangeline in her softest voice. “But you should come with Bree and me. We’ll be in a big, open area where you’ll have all the room in the world to figure things out. In this stage of things, there’s really no such thing as a mistake. It’s all just part of the learning process.”
Bree snorted. “I almost started a forest fire shortly after my change.”
Evangeline’s upper lip curled. She glanced around the kitchen, her pale hair fanning out around her. “Where’s Casey?”
The slight growl in Evangeline’s words worried Daphne. It meant Evangeline’s beast was pushing for control already. As Evangeline’s eyes widened until they could see the whites all the way around, Daphne sucked in a steadying breath.
She stood, approached Evangeline, and grabbed her by the jaw. The gesture mimicked the way Ford had held her the night before, though it was far more forceful. Here, Daphne had to be the dominant. She had to make sure Evangeline’s beast knew not to fuck with her. So long as the new beast understood this rule, then it wouldn’t make any attempts to escape before Evangeline was ready.
“Pay attention when I’m talking to you,” Daphne snarled.
Evangeline’s lips drew back from her teeth in defiance. This was going to be a long day. Daphne wanted nothing more than to curl up in bed and beg someone to take care of her. Instead, she had to babysit two new dragons. The newest was well on her way to being a problem child.
If Evangeline couldn’t find balance with her beast, then she would always be a liability. She wouldn’t be able to go back to her tattoo parlor, she wouldn’t even be able to go shopping. Her life would be over.
As badly as Daphne wanted to drag Evangeline out to the field, she knew that if she denied the new shifter time with her mate, then things might only get worse. She hated indulging this behavior, but no situation was ever perfect.
“Go, find Casey. Let him help you calm your beast. Do not forget that we’re leaving in twenty minutes, though.” Daphne let go of Evangeline.
Slowly, without breaking eye contact, Evangeline stood and pushed past Daphne.
Bree whistled. “Today is going to be a long day.”
Evangeline took more time than Daphne wanted, but they made it to the field before the day was completely wasted. Daphne and Bree tried to convince Evangeline to shift, but Evangeline wound her arms around her middle and shook her head. Bree was understanding and commiserated, saying her first shift had been the hardest.
Bree ended up being the only one to shift. She wanted to learn how to fly finally, and Daphne knew that being a flight instructor required human communication. She could show Bree how to do it, but more often than not verbal cues made the process a hundred times easier.
Every so often, Daphne’s mind slipped back to the man she’d been spending her evenings with. She missed him and what they could have had the night before. She wasn’t asking for the kind of forever the others had. Even without that kind of pressure, Ford still wouldn’t give her a chance. All she wanted was a single night.
Just one.
With him.
Evangeline shouted. Daphne’s attention snapped to the moon-colored dragon wobbling in the air above. Bree would plummet if she couldn’t stabilize herself. Daphne cupped her hands around her mouth to tell her what to do, keeping her tone stern and commanding even though she knew it was her fault for being distracted.
She should have been issuing directions, not thinking about boning a man she barely knew.
“What’s wrong with you?” Evangeline spat. “Bree could have fallen, and you weren’t even paying attention! She could have gotten hurt, and it would have been your fault.”
When Daphne spun on her, she found Evangeline’s eyes glowing with her beast’s light. She should have known this outburst had been caused by the beast. Because the last thing Evangeline remembered was Daphne’s beast running toward her, Evangeline’s beast must have been born with distrust for Daphne.
“Dragons can fall from surprising heights without sustaining much damage,” Daphne said, trying to remain calm when she really wanted to fight. She’d never given in to the urge before. Her beast’s bloodlust had never gotten the best of her.
“I’m not sure you really care about us.” Evangeline’s words were laced with venom, the kind that made blood boil. “We’re in danger, and you’re out here pretending like there’s nothing wrong. We counted on you to make us better, but you’re just Zander’s pawn sent to make things worse.”