Which means the last resistance I had to this bond has been snuffed out. I don’t care if my nemesis put a ring on her finger. She was never truly his. The moment she saw through my camouflage at the wedding and I heard her voice in my head, heard her practically begging me to take her, I knew this bond was meant to be. She’s mine now.
I’m almost done with my text to Zaire when there’s a knock on the door. Morwyn for his promised checkup. As always, his brown hair is as wild as Einstein’s and his tall, ropy body is dressed in blue scrubs and a lab coat.
He folds his wings away as he enters the foyer, the membranous appendages passing smoothly through his lab coat thanks to our dragon magic. “How’s she doing?”
“Better.” I give him a recap, and he disappears into her room.
Seconds turn to minutes, and I pace outside her door again. I can’t stop myself. Fucking Morwyn. Why does he have to be alone with her? Probably touching her. Talking to her. Alone. A growl percolates in my throat, and it takes everything I have to keep my dragon at bay.
Something tight within me loosens when he finally emerges from the room.
“Well?” I bark.
He shoots me a stern look, eyes narrowing. “She’s much improved.”
I release a relieved breath. “So I should continue with the meds and stay near her so that she heals faster?”
Morwyn frowns. “She should only take the pain meds if she needs them. And as for staying close to her,that depends. What do you plan to do about your attachment? You do know if you keep a hostage forever, it defeats the purpose.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
“I heard your growl, Connor. Your dragon is unusually protective of this woman. Unusually possessive.” He squints at me as if he knows, as if he can see the bond between us.
“Yeah, well, fuck off. I’m taking good care of her. That’s all you need to worry about, Doc.”
“Hmmm.” He removes the stethoscope from his neck and slides it into his black bag. “Try to get her out of bed tomorrow. By then your dragon energy should have her feeling remarkably better.”
“Good.” I accompany him to the door, planning to lock it behind him.
“She’s still frail, Connor,” he warns. “Keep a leash on your dragon. I mean it. She’s human. You could kill her.”
“I’d never hurt her.”
“And your dragon?”
“My dragon is completely under control.”
He reaches out and wipes sweat from my temple.Fuck.
“Clearly.”
Our eyes lock, and the intelligent, knowing gleam in his makes me want to slug him. Instead, I forcibly open the front door.
He spreads his wings and pulls his key out from under his shirt. “I’ll take that as my cue to exit.” He shoots into the air and is gone.
Fiona sleeps most of the day, wakingonly briefly to eat, drink, and take her pill. But she’s making it to the bathroom on her own. She’s getting better. I’ve never locked her door, but that evening, I make sure to leave it open again so that she knows it’s unlocked. Still, she doesn’t leave her room.
The next morning after breakfast, I decide it’s time to follow Morwyn’s suggestion. “Get up. We’re going for a walk.”
Her eyes widen a little. “I’m not sure I can.”
“If you can walk to the bathroom, you can walk outside. Doctor says fresh air will be good for you.”
She curls her lip. “Doctors don’t know everything. Besides, I have no clothes.”
I toss a set Zaire keeps here on the bed. They’ll be large on her, but they’ll work. He’s a slender man. “I’ll meet you in the foyer in ten minutes.”
Fifteen minutes later, after three tugs on the bond between us, she joins me in the foyer. I wonder if she feels it the way I do, the connection between us. Or maybe to her it just feels like anxiety. I look her over. The shoes are big, but they’ll work for a short walk. Zaire will be here tomorrow with clothes for her.
