“So, you need to talk to her and start, you know, getting to know each other, but like in a way that makes her fall for you without scaring her off or jeopardizing what we’re trying to do.”
I level a flat glare in his direction. “Genius,” I deadpan. “Wish I would have thought of that.”
He chuckles and spreads his hands. “I’m just saying, sort it out, Seb. We need you at your best.”
I nod. “I’ll sort it out.”
“Meanwhile, how do you want to approach this list?”
I stare at the names. There’s really only one choice. “We go out in pairs. We go where we think they will be. And we try to remove three rings a night. It’ll be a few nights before Zoe can try her magic again. You and I can take the first rotation, followed by Ellison and Lucas. On down the twelve.”
“Rotation to do what?” Zoe asks. She’s standing at the entrance to the living room, looking like an angel in a white sundress and red lipstick. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop. Patrick said dinner was in twenty. Oh, hi, Remus.”
“Perfectly okay,” I say, then glance between her and Remus. “That’s right, you two have already met.”
She nods and offers him her hand. “Nice to see you again.”
My dragon growls at a decibel I know only his dragon can hear. Remus stares at her hand like she’s offering him the hot end of a cattle prod. He does not shake it, instead choosing that moment to pick up the stack of papers between us. He grips them tightly between both hands as if the idea of holding them with one hand or tucking them under an arm is preposterous. “Good to see you again too, Zoe.” He turns back toward me and adds. “I will recap what we talked about with the other brothers while you…do what it is you have to do. We’ll start tonight.”
He gives Zoe plenty of space as he leaves the room. I catch her nonchalantly sniffing her armpit. “What’s he talking about? What are you doing tonight?” she asks.
“Brotherhood stuff,” I mumble. I can’t take my eyes off her.
“What kind of brotherhood stuff? Is this about the rings? I could try again?—”
“You said you needed two to three days to recover. You’re going to take two to three days.” My voice is abnormally low and gritty, and I sense my inner dragon has a lot to do with how authoritative that came out. I clear my throat and try to shove him back down.
She tips her head and offers me a smile charged with candlelight and daydreams. I feel that smile all the way to my toes. “Sometimes your eyes glow when you look at me,” she says. “And then it’s gone. Is that a dragon thing?”
“Yes.” The word comes out choked.
She moves toward me, and it’s like pure magic, like I’m in the woods and a doe has decided to lay its head in my hand. “What causes it? When they glow, they’re like molten gold. It’s like I’m seeing your dragon’s eyes as they were on the golden plane.”
My jaw feels tight, and I massage it a few times before admitting, “You are seeing his eyes. He tends to come to the surface when you’re near me.”
Her brows bob as if they can’t decide where to land on her face, and then she crosses her arms and backs up a step. “Do I make you uncomfortable for some reason?”
I snort. “No.”
“It’s just, yesterday, when I hugged you?—”
“You don’t make me uncomfortable. You make me horny.” The phrase charges right out of my mouth like a bull chasing a waved flag. Her cheeks warm with an easy blush. “Sorry. It’s the Taurus in me. It’s hard for me not to be direct.”
She laughs. “It’s okay. I like direct. It’s always best to know the truth.”
Oh shit. It’s like she just gave my dragon a free pass. He surges to the surface, and the voice that comes out of me next is his. “Then the truth is, you’re already mine, and if it were up to me, I’d take you hard against the wall.” I slap a hand over my mouth.
Her jaw drops, and tiny smile lines form around her eyes.
I give my head a firm shake, dropping my hand. “Fuck! Sorry about that. He’s really interested in you.”
A laugh like the tinkle of wind chimes leaves her throat. “Holy shit! I’d say so. Um…” She steps in closer and places her hands on my chest. “Is it just your dragon who feels that way? Or is it you, Seb?”
God, she smells good, like clean linen and clementines. I place a hand on her waist and pull her closer, wrestling my dragon into submission. “It’s both of us. I mean, it’s me. He’s a part of me. It’s hard to explain to someone who isn’t a shifter.”
She laughs. “I think I get it. We are all bigger than this body anyway.”
Her lashes flutter as she looks up at me, and for a moment, I forget about everything. I forget where we are, that we barely know each other, that she’s here for a reason, and I lean down to kiss her.
