She looks annoyed as she glances again in my direction. “Why are you so interested?”
I sigh. “I’m just having a hard time believing you know nothing about the Saint’s Order. I’m trying to put it together, that’s all. It would help me to understand… things.”
She scoffs. “You want to know if I’m lying about this because if I am, you can’t trust me.”
I give a single nod.
“Fine. I met Roman in a bookstore. He was buying my newest release. He’d already read all twenty-two of my other books and recognized me right away from my picture on the back cover. After some small talk, he asked me for coffee. We discussed Alex Rogue for hours, and then he asked me if I liked Italian food and if I’d like to go to dinner. I agreed, and he flew me on his private jet to Italy. Over the next three weeks, he filled my apartment with flowers and we went out once or twice a week. Out as in all over the world—London, Munich, Sydney. And then a little over a week ago, he asked me to marry him. We planned everything in six days.” She stops walking and stares absently into the woods. “It’s amazing what money can do.”
“Is that why you married him? The money?”
Her hand snaps out and slaps me across the cheek. It stings a little, but she shakes it like it hurt her a lot more. She even had the foresight to remove her mitten before she did it. I chuckle at the fire I see in her eyes. She’s got pluck, and she’s right, that commentwas out of line, even if I sense down the bond that there’s a grain of truth to it. “Uh, sorry,” I mumble. “Seems like a strange reason to marry someone. Just because they read your books and took you to dinner a few times.”
She frowns, still rubbing her hand. “You’d be surprised how few people in my life have actually read all my books. Even my late sister hadn’t.” She slips her mitten back on. “I want to go back. I’m tired.”
I sweep under her knees and swing her into my arms. She yelps in surprise, but I ignore it and carry her toward the house.
“I didn’t ask you to carry me!” she insists.
“No. That’s just a bonus. We are full-service here at Dragon Lodge. Bathroom trips. Meals. Walks in the woods. We do it all for you.”
Her eyes meet mine, and I swear the corner of her lip twitches, but the hint of a smile vanishes as soon as it appears. She wriggles out of my arms the moment we reach the door and stomps back toward her room, slamming the door.
I let her go, but I dig out my e-reader and download her series.
Chapter Eleven
FIONA
I’m officially a bad person. I’m one of those women you read about in online gossip magazines, rife with problems so deep and complex there is no other explanation than a chronic habit of bad decision-making. By some ironic act of fate, I am lusting after my kidnapper.
I crawl back into bed, more tired than I should be from such a short walk, my mind reeling. The electricity that flowed through my body when Connor carried me back to the house still hums in my veins, and images of his eyes, his lips, his wings flash across my mind.
Do I have a wing fetish or something? Is that a thing?
None of this makes sense. He kidnapped me! From my wedding! I should be planning my escape and cowering in fear every time he enters the room, not having feelings of sexual attraction. But that’s exactly what I’m feeling. Every time I look at him, it’s like I’m on a swing at the top of the arc and my stomach is doingthat dropping thing just before I swing in the opposite direction. My entire body wants to smile in his presence. Some kind of dragon mind trick? It has to be.
None of this makes sense. From the moment I first saw him at my would-be wedding, my entire world has been out of control. And today, if I’m being honest with myself, his accusation came far too close to the truth. Money did play a part in my almost marrying Roman. The fact that a stranger can see it is almost too much to bear.
I hold up my left hand and look at the gaudy iceberg that serves as my engagement ring. Roman shot at me. Shot at me with a goddamned crossbow. A medieval weapon. I remember the bolt brushing my side as it cut through the lace of my dress. And if that’s not the weirdest part, Connor, the man with wings who abducted me from that shit show, looks disturbingly like one of my characters. Now here I am in a lodge in the middle of nowhere, eating gourmet meals and being cared for by a man who is also apparently a dragon.
None of this makes sense. I wish I could talk to Vivian.
For a few minutes, I toss and turn, scissoring my legs under the covers. When I turn on my side and slide my hands under my head, the rock digs into my cheek. I roll onto my back again and slide the ring from my hand, placing it on the nightstand. I stretch my fingers and immediately feel better. Then I curl around the stuffed dragon and finallyfeel at ease.Ahhh.
CONNOR
For the rest of the day, I give Fiona her space, sensing she’s struggling with everything that’s occurred. It’s traumatic, I’m sure. If it’s true that she barely knew Roman, she’s learning she almost married a killer while also experiencing the draw of the mating bond, which has to be confusing to her human body. I want her to heal, and pushing her too fast or constantly pressing her for information isn’t what she needs right now. So I keep her well-fed but otherwise stay out of her hair.
It gives me time to start her books. No one would argue she’s a talented author, but I wonder if Roman’s interest in her is how close her work comes to reality. Alex Rogue destroys secret societies just like his. Or are her stories a ploy to cover up her part in that reality? I have to know for sure before I get any closer to her.
When night falls, I let myself into her room and take a seat on the recliner in the corner, where I have a clear view of her and the bed, my e-reader in my hands.
“Are you going to sit there all night and watch me sleep?” she asks, her voice a little breathless.
“Yes.” Fuck. That came out more dragon than man. I shift in the chair. Being in the same room as her does things to me. “I’m going to continue reading this book.” I hold up my device. “Alex is just about to infiltrate the seedy underbelly of elite academia.”
“You’re readingSkull and Bones?” She huffs in surprise.
