Free Damaged and the Dragon by Bijou Hunter Page A

warm flesh. Bailey’s hands slide through my
hair.
    “ Nick,” she murmured as I
sucked at her throat.
    When her hands reached under my shirt, I
felt as if I’d been shocked. I instantly jumped back and away from
her.
    “ What’s wrong?” she asked,
flushed and reaching for me.
    Backing away from her, I climbed off the
bed. The sight of her so beautiful before me intensified the sense
of filth on my skin. Dragon deserved someone as brilliant as
Bailey, but I wasn’t him. I was Nick from the trailer, locked in
the hot closet while the burns on my back festered.
    “ It’s too fast,” I lied. “I
don’t want what we have to be about sex.”
    “ It’s not,” she said,
crawling towards me. “I want all of you. It’s never been about sex.
I want you, Nick.”
    The next words killed me, but I needed to
shower and remove the filth I felt on my skin. Crazy or not, I felt
dirty and couldn’t touch Bailey. I’d corrupt her, even if only in
my mind.
    “ I’ll take you home
now.”
    Bailey’s face shifted into an expression I’d
never seen before. Shocked and hurt, she struggled not to cry.
    “ It’s not you,” I
whispered.
    “ Guys say that sometimes.
They’re usually lying.”
    Leaning against the small dresser, I studied
her beautiful face. I wanted to return to the bed and know every
part of her. I hungered to kiss the Tinker Bell tattoo on the small
of her back. Nearly a year ago, I’d seen it when she bent down to
pick up her water bottle. Since then, I’d imagined exploring the
tattoo.
    Yet I couldn’t.
    “ When I started fighting,”
I said while she struggled against her tears, “sex was so easy to
get. Girls who never noticed me suddenly threw themselves at me.
Fucking was nothing after awhile. You are not nothing. You mean
things to me that I can’t express. I don’t even know how I feel
about you. It’s more than anything I understand. I’m all confused
inside and I need us to go slower. It makes no sense, but it’s what
I need.”
    Bailey glanced around then back at me. “I
think I understand.”
    Bailey didn’t really understand, yet I was
relieved she was willing to lie. The tears never spilled down her
cheeks and she didn’t try to talk me out of taking her home. After
I kissed her goodnight, she smiled like we’d had a great date.
    Despite her reassurances, I knew I needed to
get my issues under control or I’d lose her. This was an easy idea,
but more difficult to achieve. Even after my skin burned from
scrubbing so hard in the shower, I felt dirty. No way could I
imagine corrupting Bailey with my filth.

Chapter Eleven ~
Bailey
    Waking up the next day on the couch in my
apartment, I felt like shit. I didn’t know if I was sick or simply
depressed. Either way, I dragged my ass into the shower and tried
to wash away the bad feelings.
    Unable to find the energy to walk to the
house for my mom’s country breakfast, I ate a sundae flavored Pop
Tart. Dozing on the couch, I wished I had woken up in Nick’s
bed.
    Maddy showed up around eleven to drop off
Scarlet and take me dress shopping. She used her mom skills to get
me off the couch.
    “ Hey, pumpkin, I’ll get you
a strawberry shake if you get up now,” she whispered, stroking my
head. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you, baby? A big strawberry shake
from Burger King. Does that sound good?”
    “ Can I have whipped cream
too?” I asked with my eyes still closed.
    “ Sure, sweetie.”
    Tempted by a promised reward, I shuffled
after her, more tired than I should be after going to bed so
early.
    Raven and Winnie were at David’s Bridal by
the time we arrived. The latter surprised me a little since she
hadn’t been out of the house in days. Of course, Raven had a way of
getting what she wanted. I know Vaughn worried about Winnie. He
even blamed himself for the regression she’d suffered after his old
biker friends grabbed her and Harlow.
    Today, Winnie looked relaxed. Her long dark
hair was away from her face and she