KAEL
The way the dough had started to form beneath my fingers was perfection. I could literally feel the consistency, both soft and pliable which was perfect for the cinnamon nest buns that I'd been working to perfect for months.
For her.
I kneaded harder, trying to work out the frustration building in my chest. My dragon didn't like it when I held back. He didn't like that I'd been watching Amara Brooks walk into my bakery every single morning for six months and hadn't said a goddamn word about what she meant to me.
What she could mean,it seemed to whisper.
If I wasn't such a coward and could muster up a little more of a conversation with her, I might not be pining after her the way I was.
"You're going to overwork that dough," my assistant Marco called from across the kitchen.
I glanced down and instantly knew he was right. The dough had gone from perfect to tough under my grip.
Fuck.
"Take a break, boss," Marco said, not unkindly. "You've been at it since four a.m."
It was true, I'd been up since nearly 4 a.m. working and thinking.
My dragon had been restless all night, pacing inside my chest like a caged animal. It had wanted out, to fly, to hunt. It wanted to hunt her, knot her.
Claim her.
Down,I told it. Not happening.
I washed my hands and grabbed a clean apron, tying it around my waist as I headed out to the front of the bakery. The sun was just starting to rise, painting the sky in shades of pale pink and soft gray.
Late winter was giving way to early spring. Always my favorite time of year. Something about the cool air warming slowly and the first signs of new growth made everything feel... possible.
Or maybe that was just because Amara seemed to love this season too. I'd noticed the way she'd started wearing lighter layers, trading her heavy winter coat for that oversized cardigan. The way she'd ordered a rose-vanilla latte exactly once before going back to her usual black coffee.
She'd wrinkled her nose at the sweetness and I'd had to bite back a smile.
With her there was no sugar or frills. It was just her, just my sweet Amara.
And she was absolutely perfect.
I unlocked the front door and flipped the sign to OPEN, then went back behind the counter to start arranging the pastries in the display case.
I made sure that the honey-ember tarts front and center for her, just in case she came in. They were her favorite item in the shop.
I'd figured that out two months ago when she'd ordered one and her entire face had lit up. She'd closed her eyes on the first bite, this little sound escaping her throat that had made my dragon sit up and take notice.
Mine,it had whispered.
Not yet,I'd told it.Maybe not ever.
Because how the hell was I supposed to tell her the truth? That I wasn't just Kael, the soft-spoken baker who made her morning pastries. That I was Kael Solas, youngest son of one of the most powerful dragon-blood Alpha families in the region.
That I'd been hiding in plain sight because I couldn't stand the thought of her looking at me differently. Of her wanting the prince instead of the man as most females tended too. The bell above the door chimed and I looked up, my heart already starting to race.
Her.
Amara walked in, her cheeks flushed from the cool morning air. She had her leather crossbody bag slung over one shoulder and her hair was tucked behind her ears, a few curls escaping to frame her face.
She was so goddamn beautiful to me that it hurt to look at her because I couldn't have her.
