Gazing down at her, Adrian kept smoothing his palm over her abdomen and breasts as if he couldn’t stop himself from touching her. It was erotic and calming, and as Layla heaved another sigh, he beamed with a smile that went all the way through him, lighting up his eyes. She reached up, stroking his jaw and soft stubble, then down his neck to his strong, lean chest, painting him with her fingertips as much as he did her. It was lovely, slow and tender, and as they touched each other in the afterglow, Layla felt the Bind between them brighten.
“You are a wonder of a woman, Layla Price.” Adrian spoke, still tracing her skin with his fingers.
“Don’t you mean Wonder Woman?” Layla grinned, her fingers skating up to touch his striking jaw again. “If you’re Batman, then I should get to be a superhero, too.”
Adrian turned his head, pressing his soft lips to her fingers. “Wonder Woman ain’t got nothing on you.”
Adrian’s voice held a trace of southern accent in his lazy bliss, reminding Layla of his bayou alter-ego John LeVeque. Which suddenly reminded her of the massively dangerous game they were playing in the wider world, and how this was only a brief reprieve. Quindici’s words before her debut suddenly came rushing back, and despite the afterglow, Layla sighed, her ecstasy slipping. Deep inside, a faint edge of that fearful darkness tried to open, though it was quickly rolled back by her Dragon’s bliss after such a profound and incredible lovemaking. But Adrian felt it through their Bind and reached up, clasping Layla’s hand and pressing a kiss to her fingers as his beautiful eyes sobered.
“What’s wrong?” He asked quietly.
“I don’t want to go back to the real world.” Layla spoke, meeting his gaze.
“I don’t either.” He murmured, watching her. “I want to stay here with you, doing this over and over until we bring down every room in the house.”
His statement made Layla smile, though it was hard to stay smiling now with everything suddenly flooding through her brain. “What are we doing, Adrian?”
“Enjoying the afterglow.” He smiled against her hand as he kissed it again.
“No, I mean. What are we doing, going after the Crimson Circle?” Layla frowned, unable to stop thinking about it. Beyond the dome, crickets chirruped in the night, moths and fireflies swirling lazily now that the destruction was over and peace had settled in. “Are we just going to get ourselves killed?”
“Maybe.” He kissed her fingers one last time, then lowered her hand to his color-smeared chest, pressing it to his heart. “But I would risk it all for you, Layla. You know that.”
“I do.” She spoke, feeling his sincerity, feeling the strength of his heart beating beneath her touch. “But what if the price this time is losing me? What if I die, or if you die? Or if I go bad, like Hunter? Now that I can change into my Dragon fully… it could be really bad.” Inside Layla, that dark void tried to open up again – and yet again, her Dragon’s slow heat rolled it back.
“I won’t let you go bad.” Adrian spoke with a sudden fierceness, pressing her hand deeper to his heart, a heat in his intense blue-green eyes. “Not now, not ever. Your Dragon is a powerful creature, but already you’re able to hear your human voice of reason inside its mind. Not everyone can on their first shift, Layla. That shows you have more control over your inner darkness than many people. And the Circle already want me dead. If I run again, it’s only a matter of time before they catch me. Their resources far outweigh mine.”
“Which are now diminished by one hundredmillionEuros.” Layla’s lips quirked.
“I am going to insist Dusk pony up for that bidding war he started.” Adrian lifted an eyebrow, a flash of anger moving through him. “He was only supposed to out-bid the third nearest person. Not crank the whole damn thing up into the stratosphere.”
“He’s jealous of how I feel about you.” Layla spoke, smoothing her hand over Adrian’s chest. “Give him a break, huh?”
“Dusk can be as jealous as he wants to be.” Adrian snorted, settling on his elbow and cuddling his hips closer to Layla’s. “But he’ll damn well pay me back. He’s got the funds. He’s a sight wealthier than anyone we know, Layla – far wealthier than I am.”
“How so?” Layla asked, intrigued. It was something Dusk never spoke about, just how much money he had stashed away. He was so meticulous about making nice things last that Layla had once thought he didn’t have much money other than his Head Concierge income. But hints had been dropped around the Hotel that he was wealthier than any Hotel patron and many of the Owners, only it was a wealth he couldn’t touch.
“You know Dusk is the last of his clan,” Adrian eyed her as he smoothed his hand over her belly again. “What you don’t know is that the Egyptian Crystal Dragons were the wealthiest Lineage in the Twilight Realm before they got massacred. They have secret hoards of gems and precious metals all over the world, hidden deep in the earth.”
“Hoards?” Layla blinked with a slight grin. “Come on. Like the treasure of Smaug, hoards?”
“You joke, but this is real, Layla.” Adrian spoke back soberly. “The Egyptian Crystal Dragon clan were once the most brutal conquerors in the Twilight Realm, and the Tunisian clan were second. Since they killed each other off, the Czech and Swiss clans have risen to prominence, thanks to King Markus Ambrose’s brutality in killing off anyone who even hints at becoming his rival, but once that honor belonged to Dusk’s people. Since Dusk is the last, he’s inheritedalltheir spoils. His clan left their vibrational imprint on their wealth so future generations could find it – the caches call to the ones who are supposed to have them. Dusk has discovered a few, and well,ostentatiousis the mildest term one could use.”
“Wow.” Layla spoke, processing it. “So he’s what, like Scrooge McDuck, diving into a swimming pool of money?”
“Like Scrooge McDuck times a million.” Adrian spoke soberly. “My wealth is tied up in industry, Layla. I have money but in order to liberate it, I have to withdraw it from investments, which hurts my overall capital and resources. Many key players in the Twilight and Human Realms operate like I do, and I learned from them. My clan didn’t always have exorbitant wealth. My father built his wealth over time, and I followed in his footsteps. But Dusk has no investments that will suffer if he makes a withdrawal. He simply liberates what he needs from the bowels of the earth, whenever he needs it.”
“But won’t the gems and such run out eventually?” Layla asked, frowning.
“Eventually.” Adrian shook his head with a wry smile. “But what he’s found so far makes my wealth look like a pile of coal. And he says he can feelthousandsof caches out there, just like the ones he’s already discovered.”
“If someone ever… captured Dusk. Could they use him to get to his wealth?” Layla frowned.
“You’re thinking about King Markus, aren’t you?” Adrian eyed her shrewdly.
“Or Hunter.” Layla nodded. “Or the Crimson Circle. Or anyone powerful enough, really.”
“Technically, yes.” Adrian nodded. “Why do you think Dusk pretends like he only has what he earns from the Hotel? Not to mention keeping a low profile with his magics.”
