Night's Awakening (12 page)

“But,” she urged when he hesitated.

He chuckled and turned his head to her. “But if I had taken just a few moments and thought about what would happen with Ulrik, about what I’d be forced to do, I doona know what I would’ve done.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“That sometimes the decision we think we should make isna always the right one. You say you want to keep your memories of Guy. Why?”

She looked away from Con’s black eyes that saw too much. “Because no one has ever made me feel as he does. And I know no one ever will again.”

“Are you frightened of what he is?”

“Meaning a dragon shifter?” she asked, and then shook her head. “No. I think it’s amazing that he exists at all. I’ll admit the sight does evoke fear at first, but seeing him as a dragon was mesmerizing.”

Con rubbed his chin. “You care for him as a man, and you care for him as a dragon?”

“Yes. As odd as that might sound, yes.” She laughed then. “If I hadn’t known Guy, before I might have died of fright on the spot, but knowing the man he is helped me quickly get past the fear. That and the fact he stopped Tristan from eating me.”

Con chuckled at her words. “I doona know what’s coming for me and my men in the next months or years, Elena, but I know Guy is going to need you. I could have Guy erase your thoughts of your career to keep you here, but I know he wouldna do that to you.”

She stared at him as he came over and placed his hand on her injured ankle. Elena felt something warm rush through her, and instantly the pain of her ankle vanished as if it had never been. She knew without asking that Con had healed her.

He straightened. “All I ask is that you think long and hard about why you care for him so much. And then tell me if your career staring at gems will keep you warm in the years ahead of you.”

His words reverberated in her head long after he’d left her alone. Elena knew Con was right, but she’d made a hasty decision once before that had cost her so much. She was afraid of doing the same thing again.

And then she thought of her life in London, a life without Guy. She’d thought she hated it in Scotland, but she was really coming to love the land.

The quiet, the beauty. The enchantment of it all.

London was crowded, noisy, and filthy.

She groaned as she thought of how lonely her life would be in London. Once more, she’d be working long hours late into the night. There would be no social life for her, because she’d continue to try to climb the career ladder.

It’s all she’d ever wanted. Or all she’d ever used to want. Now she wanted something else.

She wanted Guy.

Movement through the rain caught her attention. Elena jumped up when she saw Guy walking away from the mansion and into the woods on the far slope.

Without another thought, Elena was running out of her room, down the stairs, and then into the rain. The rain instantly plastered her clothes to her, and the chill had her teeth chattering.

She kept running, even when she slipped on the wet grass again and again. Elena paused only once she was atop the hill and in the trees.

Her side had a stitch in it and her lungs burned, but she wasn’t going to give up on finding Guy. She didn’t allow herself to think of what she would say when she found him, though.

Elena started running again, searching through the thick forest and the rain for some glimpse of Guy. She cursed inwardly when she saw him heading over the next peak.

It took everything Elena had not to fall on her way down the valley. Her pace slowed, however, and it took her twice as long to climb the next rise.

The rain was coming harder and the wind had picked up, slinging the rain in her face so that it felt like shards of ice hitting her.

Elena raised an arm to help shield her face as she finished the last of her climb. She prayed Guy was there because she didn’t think she had the strength to go on much longer in this weather.

And then there he was.

She stopped and watched him as he stood on the edge of a sheer drop-off, his arms spread wide as his face lifted to the clouds and the long locks of his dark hair flying about in the wind. Elena hadn’t realized how steep the mountains were until that moment.

The bright green grass mixed with the dark rock face. It was beautiful to behold, but nothing compared to the site of Guy shirtless, his tattoo and plentiful muscles there for her to see.

The rain and mist surrounding the mountains prevented her from seeing how far up the mountain went, but that didn’t matter. Nothing mattered now that she’d found Guy.

She took a step toward him, and promptly slipped. Her hands caught her before she completely lost her balance. When she stood, a scream locked in her throat as Guy jumped.

Elena ran to the edge, sliding to a halt, just in time to see Guy shift into a dragon. His wide crimson wings caught a current and swept him high into the sky.

He flew up, then dived straight down, his wings tucked against his body. As he neared the ground, his wings spread and took him once more into the sky.

With his long tail streaming behind him, Elena watched as Guy rolled and dipped, turned and dived. For the first time, she saw who he really was—man and dragon.

He’d asked for nothing of her, even when he knew she had chosen her career over him. He hadn’t yelled, hadn’t given her an ultimatum.

He’d let her go.

Guy had protected her, fought for her, and loved her. She had rewarded him by walking away. What kind of woman did that? What kind of woman had the man of her dreams hold her at night and chose cold gemstones over him?

“Not me,” she whispered.

Elena didn’t know how long she watched Guy before he noticed her. He flew into the valley behind her. She turned and started down the mountain as he shifted back into human form.

“What are you doing here?” he shouted over the rain as he stood naked and glaring at her.

She shrugged as she approached and said, “I saw you from the house.”

“You could have fallen. I wouldna have known, Elena. You could have died!”

“I love you,” she said, surprising herself and him. She laughed then. “Oh, God. I do. I love you, Guy.”

He stood there with his mouth parted simply staring at her for the longest time, and then he jerked her against his body, his mouth sealing over hers.

Elena clung to him and his heat. The kiss was hard and fierce, but she welcomed it, welcomed him.

He ended the kiss and looked down at her. “I thought…”

“I know,” she said. “I did, too. But then I realized I have no life without you. You are what I’ve been looking for my entire life, not the gems. I know I hurt you earlier, and I’m sorry. I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you and proving that I love you.”

“Elena—”

“Please,” she said over him. “Please let me stay with you, Guy.”

He held her face in his hands and smiled. “Are you sure?”

“That I want to stay? Yes.”

“No,” he said with a laugh. “Are you sure you love me?”

She nodded. “Yes. Oh, yes. I love you.”

His eyes closed for a moment before he swept her up in his arms with a wide grin. “I love you, Elena Griffin. I love you!”

Guy would have made love to Elena right then, but he felt her shivering against him. So he gathered her in his arms and ran back to the mansion.

They were laughing and dripping water all through the house as they ran up to her room. They burst through the door and came to a halt when they found Con sitting in a chair with his back to them.

“Con?” Guy asked. “What is it?”

“I just got a call from Banan. Someone knows about us.”

Guy gripped Elena’s hand as Con’s words sank into his mind. All the laughter and happiness faded. “Who?”

“Banan is trying to find out.” Con rose and faced them. “I’m glad to see the two of you together. It looks like you made the right decision, Elena.”

She smiled as she looked at Guy. “Yes, I did.”

“I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you both to hold off the binding ceremony.”

Guy kissed the back of Elena’s hand. “I thought we’d wait anyway to give Elena some time, since everything has happened so fast.”

“I’m ready right now,” she said with grin.

“We have time,” Guy insisted.

Con walked to the door and stopped. “I have a favor, Elena.”

“Nay,” Guy said as he comprehended what Con was going to ask.

Elena looked from Guy to Con and back to Guy. “What is it?”

“Con wants to use you as bait,” Guy ground out.

Con sighed. “Nay, I doona wish that. The truth, Elena, is that I think the only way we’ll discover who sent Sloan here is through you.”

“I see,” she said slowly. She looked at Guy. “It makes sense. No one will suspect that I’ve fallen in love with someone here. They’ll buy whatever story I give them. I’ll tell them that I stayed here because of my ankle.”

“I doona like it,” Guy said. “I willna be able to protect you.”

“No one knows you. You can be there, just not with me.”

Guy squeezed her hand. “I can no’ lose you, Elena.”

“I willna let that happen,” Con promised.

Elena smiled as she faced Guy. “Think of it as an adventure. I’ve gotten to see your world. You’ll get to see mine until we uncover who is threatening Dreagan and all of you.”

“Or until you’re in danger.” Guy forced her to look at him. “At the first sign of a threat to you, I’m bringing you home.”

“Home,” she said with a smile. “Yes, this is home now.”

Guy was able to return her smile.

“I’m sorry I ask this of both of you,” Con said. “I’d ask someone else if I could. Hal and Cassie are on their way back, and I’ve sent Laith to rendezvous with Banan in London. You’ll have those two along with Guy for protection, Elena.”

“It’ll be enough. I’m glad you asked me. I feel a part of this family now. I’ll find what you need to know.”

Guy gave Con a nod. “Elena, you’ve been a part of us since the moment you kissed me.”

“You leave in the morning. Get some rest,” Con said.

But rest wasn’t what Guy had in mind as they ran to her room. He was in such a haste to pull off Elena’s long-sleeve shirt that he tore it. They laughed as they fell together on the bed.

Epilogue

Elena gave Guy one final kiss before she walked out of the mansion and into the waiting helicopter that would return her to London.

She hated to leave, but it had been worse for Guy. He’d come up with all sorts of arguments as to why she shouldn’t go without him. It had taken her and Con both to make him realize they couldn’t be seen together lest anyone realize who he was. Still, Elena hated it.

She kept her eyes closed the entire ride back to London. It was her first helicopter ride, but all she could think about was crimson dragons and Guy’s kisses.

When she arrived in London, it was to find PureGems had a car waiting for her. She got out of the helicopter and the door to the black Mercedes opened and Richard Arnold, Sloan’s boss, greeted her.

“Elena, I’m so glad you’ve gotten out of this ordeal with nothing more than a sprained ankle. I hope those at Dreagan treated you well.”

She shook Richard’s hand, but couldn’t stop being suspicious of him. “I’m just glad to be home. I still can’t believe Sloan is gone.”

“A few days off are in order. I insist,” he said when she started to decline. “We can catch up on everything when you get back. And I want to know everything there is to know about those at Dreagan, Elena.”

“Of course.”

Richard smiled and turned as another car pulled up. “I have a meeting, but you’ll be driven home. It’s the least we can do.”

Elena climbed into the car, a feeling of dread descending upon her. Everyone at Dreagan was counting on her. She wouldn’t let them down.

Something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. That’s when she saw Guy. He stood in the shadows, but he was there. Watching her.

Together they would find out who was putting the Dragon Kings at risk. And they would stop it.

“Your address, Miss Griffin?”

She gasped as she looked to the driver to find Banan’s gray gaze staring at her through the rearview mirror. A slow smile spread as she realized that no one stood a chance against the Dragon Kings.

No one.

St. Martin’s Paperbacks Titles by Donna Grant

The Dark Sword Series

Dangerous Highlander

Forbidden Highlander

Wicked Highlander

Untamed Highlander

Shadow Highlander

Darkest Highlander

The Dark Warrior Series

Midnight’s Master

Midnight’s Lover

Midnight’s Seduction
(coming in November)

The Dark King series

(eBook-only originals)

Dark Craving

Night’s Awakening

Dawn’s Desire
(coming in October)

Bestselling, award-winning author DONNA GRANT has been praised for her “totally addictive” and “unique and sensual” stories. She’s the author of more than twenty-five novels spanning multiple genres of romance. Her latest series, Dark Warriors, is the new spin-off of her bestselling Dark Sword series featuring a thrilling combination of Druids, primeval gods, and immortal Highlanders where ancient magic meets the modern world. She lives with her husband, two kids, a dog, and four cats in Texas.