Page 10 of Wild for the Wyvern

His eyes read like an open book: rage, sorrow, pity, and something I can’t identify. “You have your friends.”

I smile. “Dean, Meg, and Lori are my family. They don’t share blood, but they do share my life’s experience. We met in a foster home when we were kids.” I have no idea why I told him so much, but he hasn’t run away and his eyes haven’t glazed over. In fact, he’s completely engaged with every word I say.

Cupping my cheek and jaw in his big hand, he presses a soft kiss on my lips. “On this mountain, you are the most important person alive, Kori Devers. That will never change.”

Except that in another hour or so, I’ll never be on his mountain again. I force a smile. “Thank you.” Taking a breath, I hug my clothes against my chest like a shield. “I’ll just get dressed and meet you in the kitchen.”

After a long look where it feels as if he’s reading my mind, he nods and steps away.

A moment later, I’m alone in his bedroom. I head for the bathroom and wash my face with cold water. It’s how I keep those darker emotions at bay. It’s been working for me all my life. Crying never helps anyone.

Ireturn to our suite in the resort after ten, but as promised, Dean, Meg, and Lori are waiting. I tell them about my afternoon and evening, because I always tell them everything.

They all stare wide-eyed.

Finally, Dean says, “So, this gorgeous man found you in the woods and took care of you. You had sex with him, he fed you, and then he brought you back here. Now you have a date with him for tomorrow night. Did I miss anything?”

“No. That about sums it up.” Except that it was the greatest day of my life.

“You’re blushing.” Meg narrows her gaze. Her black hair is braided and hangs over her shoulder, ending under her breasts, and she toys with the end. “You like this guy. It wasn’t just a hook-up or thank-you kind of sex. I mean, he did save you from some kind of bear trap, but you like him.”

“He’s different.” I take a deep breath and push down my feelings. It’s ridiculous to have so many strong emotions attached to a man I barely know.

Lori asks, “Is there something you’re not telling us?”

“Why would you ask that?” They know me too well, and I have no intention of telling them about the creature I saw or that I passed out when a giant dragon carried me over the trees. These are my best friends and my family, but if I told them that, they’d have me committed. I wouldn’t blame them. I was distraught and lost. I imagined the monster.

Narrowing her gaze, Lori stares. “I’m not sure. Is there more?”

I shake my head. “Well, it was the greatest sex of my life and I did come five times.”

“Five!” Meg and Dean scream at the same time.

My cheeks are on fire.

“No wonder you agreed to a date.” Dean cups his own cheek then runs his finger along the rainbow shape carved into the fade at the side of his head. “I mean, any man who takes the time to give you that much pleasure when he doesn’t know you is worth a second look.”

“Maybe a third or fourth, if your heart can take it.” Meg grips her chest and falls backward on the bed. “Draaayce.”

We all dissolve into a round of laughter.

At seven the next night, I walk across the lobby of the Greentree, heading for the sliding double doors. I keep my focus straight ahead. I don’t want to make Drayce wait, and I couldn’t decide what to wear. I settled on a short white sundress and strappy sandals.

Movement from my left pushes me to walk faster. Someone is about to cross my path and I don’t want to wait, so I speedup. My toe catches on the edge of the tile near the door. Before I tumble to the floor, a strong arm bands around my middle and presses me tight to a very large warm body.

Drayce’s deep voice whispers in my ear, “Don’t hurt yourself, sweetheart. I’m sure whoever you’re rushing to will wait. I know I’d wait a lifetime for you.”

My heart was already pounding from the near disaster, now it’s hard to breathe with him so close and so male. My body is on fire with need. What the fuck is wrong with me? “You’re going to have to stop rescuing me.”

“Never.” There’s so much breathtaking truth in that one word; it stuns me to silence.

I get on my feet and face him. In gray trousers and a white button-down, he’s almost as sexy dressed as he is naked. Almost. “Hi.” So lame.

He releases me but keeps a hand on my waist possessively. “You look beautiful.”

“Thank you.” Dammit, I’m blushing again. I take deep breaths. “We should go before my friends show up with twenty questions for you.”

His gaze shifts to something behind me, and he grins. “Too late.”

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