“Hardly. You three are more work than you’re worth.”
To be fair, they’re worth over a million parchels, so that’s definitely the biggest lie I’ve ever told in my entire life.
“You’ll miss us when we’re gone. Admit it.” His shoulder bumps against mine, teetering my balance just slightly.
I hum for a moment and the sound of it seems to draw him closer. When I look up again, his head is tilted toward mine, his mouth just an inch from the smile upon my lips.
“Yes, I’ll definitely miss my pain in the ass dragons when I’m out living a luxurious life.”
His lips pull into that half smile, and as he leans closer, a mixture of want and terror rips through me. Goddess, do I want him.
But at the same time, I want nothing to do with that reckless want.
I look away from him. My gaze holds hard on the flickering flames kissing against the metal of the bread pan. The rapid beat of my heart thunders through me as I try to catch my breath, busying myself with removing the food from the fire.
When I stand with the food, Chaos has already set out two plates, and the moment I sit the pan down at the center of the table, he starts cutting into it. The blade sinks into the soft, cheesy bread and it takes me a moment to realize my sweet dragon is serving me.
“Sit down.” His command is a whisper against his lips.
And I obey.
I sink into the small wooden chair and he slices a large hunk of bread off for me. Strings of cheese make a line between my plate and the pan, wafting a strong and delicious scent all around us.
“Shit, this smells fantastic.” His compliments shower around me, flooding me with more emotion than I’ve felt in years.
His appreciation always seems to catch me off guard, making me forget my breath and voice. He isn’t nearly as fierce and intimidating as he looks.
“Thanks.” The quiet word disappears right off my tongue in a whisper that I can barely hear.
What the fuck is wrong with me? Why are all these feelings drowning me right now?
I tear a small piece of bread off, and the moment it touches my tongue, I hum as the flavors fill my mouth. I don’t cook much. There isn’t much food to cook usually. Even this isn’t too fancy. But it’s good.
“It’s good, right? My girl’s a good cook.” His arm bumps mine in a playful way and it takes me a moment to realize he just called me his girl.
Chaos is confusing. Alluring and charming and confusing.
In a weird, very strange way, I think he’s just overly friendly. All the small teasing brushes of his arm against mine, the compliments, the new possessive nickname, it must just be how he was raised. I bet his mother is proud of him.
She should be.
His Adam’s apple works as he swallows a big bite of food before devouring the rest like the animal that he is.
Yes, he’s a total gentleman.
I have got to stop appraising him. He needs to stop complimenting me, and above all else, I need to remember that he and his friends are basically hunting me.
“I think I’ll go to bed early.” I stand and quickly deposit my plate in the sink. My behavior is off the wall, I know, but my heart’s pounding a mile a minute while fear of being caught starts to twist my stomach. It’s all very hard to think through.
He doesn’t have time to reply as I quickly move away from him before I lie down. My arms hug my pillow beneath my head as I bury my face into the soft material, attempting to block out the bright evening skyline.
It’s too early for bed, but it’s the only thing I can do to avoid the man seated at my kitchen table.
I just have to make it a little longer. I just have to keep my eye on the prize. I just have to keep a wall between me and these three shifters for another day or two.
A suffocating feeling of anxiety starts to push within my chest.
The bed dips, dropping my stomach right along with it. A strong body wraps around mine, his palms pushing low against my abdomen with a trail of heat.
