Page 56 of Cruelly Fated
“Fine. Wait—” I blinked, shaking my head. This conversation was getting away from me.
“It’s settled then.” He turned, ending the discussion with maddening finality. With his back to me, he set the frying pans in the sink, ran the water, and began scrubbing. Why was he washing dishes himself? Surely a cleaning service was included. The ripple of his muscles beneath that inked skin stole the last of my thoughts. For just a moment, I could only watch.
“Is Old Pete expecting you?” Kyon asked.
I glanced at the microwave clock. He was right. I needed to hit the road if I wanted to make it on time. Especially with the extra stop I planned before seeing Grandpa today.
When I didn’t answer right away, Kyon turned slightly, pausing mid-rinse to glance over his shoulder.
“This conversation isn’t over,” I said, steadying my voice and leveling him with a look that dared him to disagree.
His dimple dug deeper. He faced the sink again, nodding once, unbothered. The casual confidence in the gesture stoked a warm flutter low in my belly. Smug bastard. A part of me liked that he wanted me here.
Problem—one bed.
Another problem—a hot billionaire dragon in the same room.
I pinched my lips and hopped down. I got dressed in record time, then rushed to the elevator. Tossing my braid over oneshoulder, I slung my backpack over the other, all while stealing glances at him when he wasn’t looking. Although I was fairly certain he had caught me checking him out. Oh, well. I stepped into the elevator and turned around. Before the door cinched closed, our gazes connected. He leaned his hip against the kitchen island, a dish towel tossed over one shoulder, and my confused heart stumbled.
Twenty-Three
KYON
Iscrubbed the plate a hundred times like it was cursed. I was overdoing my homemaker image—the cleaning crew did my dishes since I rarely did more than sleep around here, but I needed to keep busy. I slung the dish towel over my shoulder and gripped the sink, now facing the apartment.
Allie stepped out of the bedroom—mybedroom—with her bag on one shoulder. I exhaled a controlled breath, relieved that she left her other bag behind. Her gaze landedon me immediately, and a blush bloomed across her cheeks. Her steps quickened. She glanced at me again like she couldn’t help it, eyes skimming over my face, down my chest and abs, pausing low enough to make my blood stir before she caught herself and tore her eyes away. Again.
I pressed my lips into a hard line, swallowing the urge to say something that might make her bolt. I didn’t mind her looking. Hell, I wanted her to look. The memory of yesterday still burned hot through my body. It was all I’d thought about. I wanted to crawl into that bed with her and pleasure her again. It took all my control to remain still last night when she left that bathroom.
The ding of the elevator signaled her departure. I slapped the towel onto the island and leaned on it, head lowered.
What the hell am I doing?
The phone in my pocket vibrated. My father’s secretary had been trying to get hold of me for hours, but I was in no rush to answer his call. He’d cast me aside, forgotten me when it was convenient, and now he wanted to talk? Still, I’d expected this call eventually, especially if my mother had started pressing him for answers.
Torian had called in the middle of the night after returning home to find us gone, along with one of his cars. I had fired off a quick text message back that I was fine, having no desire to talk to anyone.
Allie had taken over my thoughts.
She’d seen my dragon, the monstrous, unhinged thing inside me that nearly tore her apart because I lost control. I curled my fingers until my knuckles popped. It was an accident. Torian couldn’t have known how little she understood about what happened when a dragon was denied the shift for too long. I wished he had stayed. Or that Valor had. But what was done was done.
And the girl hadn’t run.
If anything, Allie had seemed more intrigued than afraid once I reigned the creature in. She stayed. She touched me… Scales rolled beneath my skin like a tide caressing shore. After whimpering all night, the dragon finally settled, calmed by her scent now present in the entire apartment.
Our mate, it whispered.
I huffed. Allie wasn’t our mate. Couldn’t be. Not because we clearly didn’t even date, but because she wasn’t a dragon. Dragon shifters mated with their kind. Just like wolves mated wolves. That was how it worked.
Perhaps I had let my dragon’s fantasies spiral unchecked far too long. It felt good, back in prison, to think of her as ours. To look forward to her visits. She kept us sane in isolation. But reality was knocking. I was the son of the dragon king. His enforcer.
And I couldn’t ignore his call any longer.
I picked up the phone and hit speed dial.
Some penthouses had rooftop pools or gardens. Mine was a slab of charcoal-gray dragonsteel alloy custom-forged to resist heat and claw scoring, my personal landing pad only elites could afford.
I stretched my arms wide, breathing in the only freedom I had. Because once I entered my father’s estate, I’d be his subject again. All dragons bowed to their king. As an enforcer, I had a double duty to the crown. If the position hadn’t been filled in my absence…
