Page 9 of Prince of Storms
Pain that I never wanted to feel again. Ever.
I couldn’t go through that. That’s what I hadn’t told Ally. Or my father. I hadn’t even whispered it to my mother’s grave. But I was weak. I couldn’t bear that pain. I was already dreading the day my father died. Hopefully, it was decades in the future. Maybe I would be stronger by then, harder, better able to handle the agony.
But in the meantime, I didn’t want to risk anything else being torn from me. My ability to love had withered and died in the days following my mother’s death. It was too traumatic. It was inevitable, I told myself. Anyone would do the same in my position if they’d experienced her death the way I had.
Then, of course, there was the toll it had taken on my father. He claimed to be okay, that he was doing fine, all things considered, but I could tell he wasn’t. Most of her stuff was still in the house. And he’d aged a solid seven years in the past fourteen months. No, he was struggling, too. He just wouldn’t admit it to me because he knew how poorly I was doing.
“I love you, Dad. You know that, right?”
He nodded, hauling me into another big bear-hug that only dads could give. “I know, dear. I know. I love you, too.”
I relished hearing that. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to be loved. It was just that I couldn’t handle loving anyone else.
Now or ever again.
Chapter Five
Tor
Atall man with a stern expression was waiting for me as I pulled into the underground garage. He wore a red and black plaid shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows and dark blue jeans.
“You’re a lumberjack, and you just don’t care?” I hummed as I got out of the truck.
Typhoon, aka Ty, my best friend since childhood, looked at me in pure confusion. “What?”
“Get out more,” I said with a snort of laughter.
“Yeah, yeah. How was the auction?”
I hefted a folder of documents from where I’d wedged it between the seat and center console. “Pretty good, I’d say. Twelve purchases of various types. Nothing ultra-exotic. They didn’t have anything like that, but that’s fine. Some sports cars, muscle cars, that old truck, just like you wanted.”
“Sounds like it went well, then?”
“Yep, just fine. No hiccups,” I said, desperately trying to get images of the thick woman out of my mind. I failed, as I had all day, causing me to growl in frustration. She’d been such a distraction that I’d actuallymissed outon one of the cars I’d wanted to buy because I was daydreaming about spreading her legs and filling her tight pussy. I could all but imagine the sounds she would make as I pleasured her in ways she’d never experienced before.
“Uh, you okay? I thought you said it went fine?”
I looked at Ty, the only other dragon I’d asked to accompany me to Fulmen Manerium, the formal name of the Storm Estates manor on Earth.
“Everything is fine,” I said begrudgingly. We both knew I was lying, but the needs of my cock weren’t something I would concern my best friend with. Especially because I wasn’t about to admit that ahuman,of all things, had me worked up.
Of course, if Ember the Fire Prince is right, your mate is a human. And you would want her to get you worked up.
My mate would do more than stir my cock, though. She would make my heart soar on the clouds as I did in my true form. That, I told myself, was how I would know she was the woman for me. When I floated away from a single look; when the sound of her voice was enough to make me feel giddy on the inside.
“Right. Back to business, then. When are they being delivered?” Ty asked. “I’ll make sure I’m here and ready to receive them.”
“Thanks,” I said, squeezing his plaid-covered shoulder. “I appreciate that.”
It would be nice to have some variety to drive, too. The crew-cab truck had been the first thing we’d bought upon arriving on Earth, but sometimes, it was just too slow and boxy for my liking, and I knew Ty’s as well. We likedspeed.
We headed inside, stepping into what would be considered the manor's basement. Of course, several floors were below us, but they weren’t living quarters. Fulmen Manerium was a single-story affair above us, sprawling out in a U-shape, with the driveway entering through the open end, using the interior of the building as a pull-up for visitors to approach the front door.
“By the God-King,” I said, muttering an oath to our immortal ruler, the first of the dragons. “There’s still so fucking much to be done here!”
Ty chuckled and slapped my back heartily. “What did you expect? That we’d arrive, turn the power back on, maybe take some covers off the furniture, and everything would be ready to go?”
“No,” I admitted. “I didn’t think about it at all.”
