Page 17 of Dragon Rivals of New York

Like he would understand a state of grief. His gaze drops to the scar Sora was looking at on my thigh. His normally smooth face contorts, brows pinched tight, lips down-turned. “Did I…?”

“Like you don’t know.”

I turn away from him, pulling Sora a few feet from the pool. Wisely, Jethro doesn’t follow us this time. He joins Midas and Jeslyn, who are standing on the other side of Adrianna. Their one-year-old daughter was left with another member of the Gold Horde for the night.

“Did he give you that scar?” Sora whispers.

“And more.”

She tilts her head and gives me a long look before returning her attention to the room and scanning the crowd. “Where’s Finley?”

“She and Cyrus are with the priests.”

“Right, sacrificing their souls,” she mutters.

“A bond is not a sacrifice. It’s a gift. A vow.”

“Yeah, well, vows can be tarnished and tossed out with the trash.”

“Not for dragons.” I study the tension in my mate’s shoulders. What happened to make her so distrusting of relationships? I pull her back, a little further away from the crowd, into the shadows, and turn her to face me. “What happened, Ara’ha? Who hurt you?”

She drops her face, but I lift her chin. I won’t let her hide from me.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” She twists, trying to get out of my hold, but my grip on her tightens, keeping her in place. She sighs. “It’s only the same tragic story that over half of marriages go through. I got divorced.”

“You lost a mate?” I draw back to get a better look at her.

Her gaze drops. “Someone I loved—thought I loved—yeah. It’s nothing. It’s common.”

“Just because something’s common, doesn’t mean it doesn’thurt.”

She lifts her eyes. My grip on her chin softens, thumb stroking her cheek.

“He cheated on me,” she whispers.

Fucking fucker. “Who is he? I’ll rip his eyes out, burn his flesh, and hand you his weak little pecker on a platter for what he did.”

She laughs.

“I wasn’t joking.”

She sucks in a breath. “You can’t do that.”

“Why not?”

“It’s… not right.”

With my hand still holding her chin, I pull her forward to bring my mouth to her ear. I need to be sure she hears me. “I’d happily kill anyone who hurts you.”

She shivers, and fear spikes through my center for a moment. Maybe I went too far and scared her. But when I pull back and let go, the look she gives me isn’t one of fear. Tears make her eyes glassy. Her palm spreads on my chest, then snakes up to the back of my neck. With gentle pressure, she pulls me down while she lifts on her toes. Our lips meet, akiss full of promises. My heart soars, arms wrapping around her to pull her against me, the silk of her dress a thin barrier between us.

“I never thought a kiss could beat a Goddess Week dance for the most erotic thing I’ve ever seen, but…” Jethro’s voice is like the buzz of an annoying bee.

“Piss off,” I growl before diving back into my mate’s mouth.

“Not happening.” He chuckles, a grating sound. “I’d be more than happy to keep watching this, but it’s time for the transformation.”

“Oh,” Sora gasps and pushes back. Her gaze flies around the room until it lands on Finley, who is now standing beside Cyrus on the other side of the pool from Adrianna.

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