Page 122 of Dragon Unleashed

“It’s brilliant,” I say on a breath, letting my head flop back and rattling my glass in Farrell’s direction. “Another?”

He huffs but drags himself to his feet and grabs my glass. “At least they kept all shots of the rebellion out of it,” he acknowledges.

Zephyr sighs dramatically in the corner. “He should be dead. Not lording it up over the plebs in prison.”

Farrell rounds on him. “People need to see justice being done. What is your problem? You’re not normally the bloodthirsty one, that’s him.” He tips his head at Chano. “And he’s happy just to sit on his ass and give Lorelei moon eyes.”

Chano scowls, before breaking into an easy grin and winking at me. His big gray eyes swallow me whole. We’re not okay, not yet. But we’ll get there.

Zephyr’s glass smashes against the wall and I jump. Red wine explodes over everything.

“What the hell?” Farrell yells.

“You know what!” Zephyr leaps up and throws himself at Farrell. “You had a chance to break my slave bond by killing the Virrey. Instead, you chose ?the people’ over me. I’m still shackled.”

His fists batter Farrell’s chest and Farrell does nothing to stop him. The world stands still. It hadn’t crossed my mind.

“You always choose someone else over me,” Zephyr snarls into Farrell’s face, dropping his fists loosely to his sides. He rounds to glare at the rest of us. “You all do.”

Zephyr takes off out of the room, Farrell on his heels. I go to follow but Chano grabs my arm, shaking his head slightly.

“Leave him. He’s hurting. Farrell’s only going to make it worse right now.”

He wraps his arms around me and pulls me into him. His wood-smoke scent fills my nostrils, calming my frayed nerves.We still haven’t spoken. Not properly.

I pull back slightly, peering up. “Chano, what are we? Are we dating again? That night in the Virrey’s cell we didn’t know if we’d live. But we did, we’re alive.”

He sighs heavily but doesn’t speak.

“We escaped. You tolerated me kissing another man—in fact, you encouraged it. You gave us the idea to rope the rebellion in. And yet you still shy away at any mention of my family. I don’t even know if you’ve forgiven me…”

Chano grasps my face in his hands, peppering my mouth with kisses.

“Yes, chica, I forgive you.” He breaks off to nibble the lobe of my ear. “I don’t like that you felt you had to lie to me.”

“I didn’t,” I protest, silenced by his tongue sliding between my lips.

He pulls back only when I’m breathless, grinning devilishly. “You lied by omission.”

I scrunch my nose.That’s fair.

“But you were worried about my reaction. And then I did exactly what you were worried about.”

I give him a small nod, peeking up through my white-blond hair. A line creases the middle of his brow.

“I don’t want to be that man, chica. I don’t want to be the man who stops you being, doing, or saying what comes naturally. My issues with the royals won’t go away. I don’t know how we deal with it. Or how we deal with the rebellion. But I won’t be the one stopping you from doing what you want.” He cocks his head to one side, regarding me.

“I want to be with you, Chano. But there are other things at play. I can’t control who my ancestors were.”

“I told you before, chica. I’m not a good man. But I love you. We’ll work through this, together. All of us.”

I follow his gaze to where Farrell stands in the doorway, Zephyr nowhere to be seen.

Without warning Chano’s mouth descends on mine with ferocity. He backs me up until I hit the wall, then pins my hands above my head. His tongue explores my mouth, while his free hand drifts down my body, teasing, tugging at my clothes.

Arching my back, I encourage his touch. His hand slips under my top, invading my bra and pinching my nipples. The slight hurt sends heat searing between my legs, and I moan. In one swift movement Chano yanks my top over my head before slamming my back against the cool wall again.

Farrell’s cough in the background brings me back to my senses. Heat creeps up my neck. I peek around Chano’s shoulder. Farrell’s eyes are alight with an intensity I’ve never seen. His nostrils flare as he catches me looking at where his trousers tent. My skin breaks out in goose bumps.

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