Talon sputtered. “I wasn’tharassinghim, we were having a friendly chat as fellow—”
“Oh, shut up,” Thystle growled. “Don’t play dumb. I saw you shove him.”
The blood drained from Talon’s face. “It wasn’t—”
The vicious glare Thystle shot his way stopped him mid-sentence. I stifled the urge to laugh. Talon looked like a kicked puppy.
As Thystle glanced at me, warmth and affection bloomed across his face. His sole focus was on me. It was like Talon didn’t even exist.
“You were late to our date,” Thystle accused, sounding more impatient than anything else.
I smiled. “Sorry.”
He linked his arm in mine in a possessive gesture. Warm shivers shot up to my shoulder.
“Let’s go,” he ordered.
“Gladly,” I replied.
I didn’t look back over my shoulder as we left.
Sixteen
Thystle
As we left the hotel,I took a deep breath to clear the frustration in my lungs. I was still affected by the draconic edge, so when I blew it out, a puff of smoke filled the air.
“Wow. That was a big sigh,” Matteo remarked.
“You have no clue how close I was to shifting back there,” I grumbled. “If he’d touched you again, I would’ve lost my mind.”
Matteo chuckled. “Good thing you didn’t. I doubt your insurance would’ve covered total destruction of the hotel.”
I snorted. “Dragon money fixes everything. Even complete hotel annihilation.” I nuzzled his head. “How are you? Did he hurt you?”
Matteo smiled. “No, I’m fine. He just boasted at me. Don’t worry.”
I scowled. “Still. I didn’t like that he put his hands on you.” I butted my head against his again, craving physical contact. “Only I’m allowed to do that.”
A soft laugh escaped him. “Is that right?”
“Yes,” I replied grumpily. “And I’m pissed that so many other people have touched you except me.”
Matteo grinned. “Then clearly you should touch me more.”
“I will,” I promised.
Matteo’s eyes flashed with desire. The feeling was mutual. More than anything I wanted to tackle him to the ground, rip his clothes off, and have my way with him.
Too bad we had a public, filmed date to attend to.
I suddenly felt the gentle touch of Matteo’s hand on my arm. “Thank you, Thystle. For saving me.”
My protective instinct flared up. I pulled Matteo closer. “I won’t let anybody hurt you. You’re mine. Besides, I waited for you for ten whole minutes.”
He looked amused. “Ten minutes? That’s what you consider being late?”
“It’s a long time when I miss you every waking second.”
