Page 43 of Lahaina Noon

She whipped around and hissed at him. It was impressive. “You told him. You knew that I, no, just.” She stared. “How dare you!” she said in a deadly quiet tone. She stood in front of him. Hands on her hips this time, daring him to speak.

“Bridget, my love, I had to.”

She snorted.

“It’s true,” he implored her. “Look, you were out cold, Gabe was freaking out, I called Siobhan over here while Gabe was begging meto call 911. What was I supposed to do? Explain to the cops, hey, my girlfriend fried her brain with magic and won’t wake up?”

She shrugged. “Not your place.”

“The fuck Bridget? He saw you wield a big ass EMP to take an entire section of roadway out.” He was getting angry now. He stood up and leveled his gaze with hers. “Your son was terrified. I was terrified. I thought I lost you. I had to reassure him somehow that it was all going to be okay. He’s a smart kid, Bridget. Give him some credit. He’d already figured out quite a bit of it on his own. Liam and I just filled in the gaps. He was totally cool with the whole dragon thing. Handled it better than you did. The kid thinks he’s living with legends. Seriously, he’s fine, chill.”

As soon as the last words left his mouth, he knew it was the wrong thing to say. At no point ever in the history of someone telling a woman to calm down, did she calm down. The dam broke.

“AAAAHHHH!” Bridget screamed wordlessly at him. She jabbed her finger in his chest. “You arenothis father; you donotget to make decisions for him. That is my job.Mine!” she slammed her fist against her chest. “I was the one who had to be there to pick up the pieces when his father died. I’m the one who had to put aside my own pain, my own misery and keep him together. You hadno rightto tell him about any of this.” She was sobbing. Angry, miserable and scared.

He understood now. She wasn’t angry with him for telling Gabe; she was angry that he had to be told. That he had been exposed to any of this. Vaughn was just the target of her anger. “Bridget, my love,” he began quietly.

“Stop it!” she yelled. “Stop calling me that!”

He looked at her, confused. “Bridget? But that’s your name.”

She turned away, wrapping her arms around herself. “The other part.” She spat the words over her shoulder. “I’m not your love.”

Vaughn’s eyes flamed up, and smoke poured from his nostrils. He marched over and spun her around, growling at her.

“Oh, quit with the scary dragon stuff, will you? You don’t get to say that to me.” She tried to pull away from him, but he held on.

“Yes, I do,” he growled.

She tried harder, broke away, and then walked to the door.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he growled again.

Her shoulders dropped, and she looked back at him. “Home,” she whispered, reaching for the doorknob.

Bridget heard the flap of wings about a second before she was yanked off her feet and shoved against the wall, almost to the ceiling. Vaughn had pinned her there, his hands on her waist. His massive wings stretched out, fluttering gently to keep them off the ground. He held his hurt gaze level with hers. She could feel his breath, super-hot on her neck.

“You. Are. Not. Leaving,” he snarled at her.

She jerked her head back in fear, banging it on the wall. This overcame her shock at her situation and brought back her anger. “Ow! Damn it, Vaughn, this is childish. Put me down and talk to me like a human.”

Now his head snapped back, and the flames in his eyes flickered for a moment.

She saw they were replaced by fear. He was terrified of her leaving. She didn’t understand it. They’d only been together for a few days,and yes, they’d been magical, but what was this? Why was he in such a panic over the thought of her going to her own house to unwind and have some space? “What the hell, Vaughn, is this some sort of dragon territorial thing?” she demanded, doing her best to look angry while her feet dangled at least four feet off the floor.

His eyes flickered again with uncertainty and fear. “Yes, no, kind of, you can’t leave me!” he said.

“And why the hell not?” she shouted again, “Am I some sort of prisoner here? Why do you care?”

Vaughn let out a frustrated growl, “Because.”

She rolled her eyes, “Not good enough.”

He gritted his teeth, then shouted, “Because I fucking love you, Bridget!” Then whispered, “I love you.” He slowly lowered them both to the ground. He set her gently on her feet and backed away, his wings dragging on the floor. He held his arms listlessly at his sides, looking like his world was ending. “Please,” he begged her, “Don’t go. I love you. Don’t leave me.” He dropped to his knees then, and his wings crumpled around him.

Bridget stood there in shock, staring at him. It swirled through her head. Love? He loved her. This strong, virile man, who ran international mega companies, who was a fierce beast and fighter, made love like a man possessed, treated his staff like they were his family, and could speak to a crowd while having them eat out of his hand. This man was absolutely undone with the love of her. Everything he'd done had been to protect her and Gabriel.

Jesus, Bridget,she thought,you’re such a fucking idiot.She walked over and dropped to the floor in front of him. She lifted his head withher hands and saw the tears in his eyes. She could see it had cost him a lot to admit this to her. He was caring for her the best he could in extraordinary circumstances, and she had thrown it in his face. He seemed so vulnerable. Her heart ached, and she ran her fingers through his hair.

---