Kiss of a Dragon (Fallen Immortals 1) - Paranormal Fairytale Romance (23 page)

BOOK: Kiss of a Dragon (Fallen Immortals 1) - Paranormal Fairytale Romance

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It was all nothing but lies.

She managed to reach the elevator before the first sob hit. She missed the car the first time and had to call it again. By the time it returned, her anger was fighting through the dull haze of pain. She swiped at her tears and punched the “G” button for the garage.

As the elevator carried her down, her anger just grew. Who the hell did Lucian Smoke think he was? A prince among dragons? He was just a rat-bastard like every other man who had lied to her and bullied her and manipulated her. Every single one of them had
used
her for their own sick purposes and then
abused
her when it was convenient to do so. When she no longer fit inside the tiny box they had constructed for her to live in.

The elevator dinged. She stormed out as soon as the doors opened.

Cinaed was already waiting by the car, shoulders hunched, peering at her like he felt guilty for doing his prince’s dirty work in hauling away the little human trash, now that the prince was done with her. Lucian had been trying to seduce her all along? Well, he succeeded wildly in that! She fell right for it, like the fool she was for rat-bastard men of all species. And what was this bullshit about a treaty? More lies? And then, topping it off with some fucking abuse, he tells her she’s not
good enough
to be his mate?

Well, fuck him!

She reached the stretch limo with Cinaed standing by the passenger door. “Fuck Lucian Smoke!” she screeched, jabbing a finger at him.

He winced. “Yes, Ma’am.”

“Don’t
yes, Ma’am
me, you asshole! You were part of this!” She didn’t know why she was raging at Cinaed… except he had to know she was being played. Every dragon in the keep had to know it.

“Yes, Ma’am.” Cinaed held the door for her.

She stared at the inside of the car, but her body wouldn’t move. Instead, she yelled some more at Cinaed. “And another thing! Stay the hell away from my friend, Rachel! I don’t want any of your dragonkind coming around and ruining her life.”

“No, Ma’am.” He looked terrified like he was trapped in a cage with a monster.

“Rachel’s had all kinds of men treat her like
trash.
Like absolute filth. Like she wasn’t even a human being.” She was crying and yelling and fucking losing her mind. All on Cinaed, who probably didn’t deserve it, but then again, maybe he did. She spooled up again. “And whatever you do,
do not
fuck her right before telling her she’s the last thing you would ever want in a mate! That’s just fucking messed up and cruel.”

Cinaed cringed and stood helplessly next to the door.

Her breath heaved in and out of her chest, and she
still
couldn’t get in the fucking car. Her body just absolutely refused to move. And slowly she realized… it was because
her body
remembered Lucian pressing her up against a wall, but he wasn’t fucking her.

He was making love to her.

His words could lie to her. His haughty looks and tone could tell her more lies. But
his body…
his body wasn’t lying when it made love to her.

I needed a mate to fulfill my royal obligations.

But it didn’t have to be
her.
Why bother to rescue her from the super-powerful fae only to spurn her and send her away? If she wasn’t mate material, why not let Zephan keep her? Why not hurl her off a cliff and let her body be lost forever?

Why make love to her one last time?

She stared at the darkened interior of the limo. “He loves me,” she said, speaking out loud to the emptiness of the car. The words came out before she even grasped them in her mind. She slowly turned to face Cinaed.

His eyes were wide.

“He loves me. That’s why he’s sending me away.” It made perfect sense. Perfect, terrible sense.

Cinaed’s face pinched in. “My prince bears the fate of the world on his shoulders.” His voice was hushed and choked. “He endures things that would break most men.”

And that was it. That was
truth.
She could feel it ringing deep inside her.

“Where is he, Cinaed?”

“My lady?” he asked, bewilderment taking over his expression.

“Where does Lucian go when he’s hurt? Angry. When he’s filled with rage and needs to vent.”

His brows furrowed. “I’m supposed to take you home.”

“Where,
Cinaed!”

He swallowed, glanced at the still-open door to the passenger side, and finally said, “His private pool—”

She whirled around and strode back toward the elevator.

“Arabella, no—”

But she didn’t care. She knew exactly where Lucian’s private pool was from her wanderings around his lair, and she knew exactly what she needed to do. The elevator was still on the garage level, so the doors opened right up for her. They closed again before Cinaed could reach her.

The slow climb gave her precious few seconds to think, but no matter. She wasn’t operating in the theater of logical and cool, rational thought. This was entirely, one hundred percent love-driven foolishness. Which was precisely what it needed to be. In fact, that was the
only
thing that could make it work.

She hurried through Lucian’s lair, her footfalls faster and lighter as she went. When she reached the pool room, with its three-story glass windows and the round clock face at the top, along with the sheer rock walls that comprised half the room, she was only looking for one thing—
Lucian.

The water of the pool was boiling and roiling, a turmoil of heat rising to the rumbling surface like an active volcano was brewing underneath.

She waited.

Lucian was a dragon prince with fae blood, but he was also a man.

Eventually, he would have to breathe.

After a long stretch of seconds, he flew up out of the water, golden wings raining a waterfall of pool water down on her head. He burst into the air and soared above her. But then his sleek, golden head whipped her way, and a stream of blue dragonfire drifted away from his mouth. A rumbling roar filled the poolroom as he arced over and dove back down, heading straight for her… but she stood her ground, soaking wet at the edge of the pool.

Lucian landed and shifted at the same time, standing gloriously naked and dripping wet in front of her in human form. His chest was heaving, and his face was livid, but he seemed to be struggling for words to express all his fury.

Which was fine. Because she knew exactly what to say.

“I’m not going anywhere, Lucian Smoke.”