January 6th
6:14 P.M.
Running hadn't been her smartest decision.
Especially since Dragon had opened up to her and told her about what happened to him and his team. Instead of offering him the comfort he needed, she’d panicked because he’d dug at a wound he didn't even know existed.
Nobody knew.
Because to the rest of the world, she was always sweet Cassandra Charleston. Tragically, she’d lost both her parents by the time she was five, had six overprotective big brothers who all her girlfriends had crushes on, and all her boyfriends were scared of. She was a librarian, who spent her days surrounded by books and working with kids. She was bright, bubbly, and sunshiny.
All of that was true, but beneath lurked a secret.
One she hadn't shared with anyone she knew.
One that had haunted her since she learned the truth about what happened to her mom and how she was conceived.
Would Dragon still want her if he knew the truth? Knew what she craved deep down in the secret places of her soul?
The answer had to be no.
The only reason he was interested in her was because he thought she represented everything he’d never had but always wanted. Her allure was the sweet, innocent girl everyone thought she was. If he knew that she had much darker fantasieslurking beneath that bubbly exterior of hers, he’d regret ever wasting a second on her.
Still running had been childish.
Even if he’d just confirmed that whatever she hadn't allowed herself to hope for between her and Dragon would never happen because he wanted someone who didn't really exist.
Despite that, she should have thanked him for opening up to her. She knew how hard that must have been for him to let in someone who was an outsider. She doubted anyone at Prey outside of Eagle Oswald himself knew the whole truth about the Delta Team guys, she was sure her brothers didn't.
Now, after hours of wandering aimlessly through the grounds, Cassandra had come back to the house. She couldn’t stay outside forever, it was already dark and getting colder by the second.
It was time to face Dragon and the mistake she’d made in running.
Walking into the house was like stepping into an oven. She was immediately surrounded by a wall of heat that made her cheeks sting as she began removing her outer clothing. Slipping off her boots, she padded lightly through the house, heading for the kitchen. She’d had a late lunch, but Cassandra was hungry again.
As a peace offering, she should ask Dragon if he’d like her to cook him—and the others—something for dinner. She enjoyed cooking. Since her grandparents had been older by the time they took in her and her brothers, she’d often stepped up to help with chores to give them a break. Especially after her brothers all graduated from high school and went off to enlist in the military or college.
“It didn't rise,” Dragon said from the kitchen as she approached, disappointment heavy in his voice.
“She won't care,” Rose said back.
“True, D, she won't,” Steel added.
“I wanted everything to be perfect,” Dragon huffed, and she could hear pots and pans being clanged about, although she had no idea what he was making.
“She doesn’t care about perfect,” Rose said soothingly. “She’ll appreciate the effort. I swear it won't matter to her that the bread didn't rise.”
Bread? Dragon was making her homemade bread?
That had been one of her favorite winter hobbies ever since she hit her teens. She’d bake a fresh batch of bread in the afternoon, and then for dinner she’d eat it warm, straight from the oven, or sometimes toast it and spread her grandmother’s fresh homemade strawberry jam on it. The smell of baking bread always gave her that warm and fuzzy feeling she associated with home.
When she’d stayed there before, she’d baked bread no more than a handful of times. How had Dragon figured out it held such emotional significance to her?
“The jam turned out perfect,” Steel piped up, and Cassandra’s heart swelled as tears clouded her eyes.
Even after she’d thrown his revelation back in his face by running, he still wanted to do something so unbelievably sweet for her. And the man thought he didn't feel emotions and had no conscience.
Hurrying the rest of the way into the kitchen, she found Dragon trying to scoop out the dough that hadn't risen from the mixing bowl. All three heads snapped around to look at her as her socked feet skidded to a stop.
