Free city of dragons 02 - fire storm by val st crowe

between the two of us, especially lately.
    “I just mean,” he continued, “that you’ve made a place for yourself here. You’ve risen from the ashes like a phoenix. You’re amazing, you know that?”
    I blushed, looking away. “You’ve made a home for yourself here too.”
    “Nah, I just have a place to crash and an interesting job to keep myself busy.”
    I looked up at him again. “It isn’t that bad, is it? I mean, sometimes you’re happy, aren’t you?”
    He didn’t answer. He was just gazing at me, a small smile playing on his lips. When he spoke again, his voice was all deep rumbles. “You know what I’ve been thinking about ever since I saw you in that dress?”
    “No,” I said quietly. What if I’d worn the burgundy dress?
    “Kissing you.” His tone was a little gruff. “Damned hard to concentrate, honestly.”
    “Well, you hide it well,” I said, but my pulse was starting to race again. I couldn’t look at him.
    “That an accusation?” He sounded amused.
    “I…” I took a drink of wine. “I thought we were taking things slow.”
    “Yeah,” he said in a deep voice. He reached over and took the wine glass out of my hands and set it down. “But we could probably move on to holding hands or something at this point.” He ran his fingers over the inside of my palm.
    It made me feel shivery. My insides twisted.
    He leaned closer to me.
    I leaned closer too. Now our faces were only inches apart.
    “I’m afraid of this,” he said softly.
    “I’m afraid too,” I said. “But I think that’s only because it’s worth doing, you know?”
    He laughed—a soft, bitter sound. “I’m worthless, Penny.”
    “No, you aren’t,” I said.
    He rested his forehead against mine. “I don’t know why you don’t run away from me. Far away.”
    “I’m not afraid,” I said. “Not of you, not of anything. Kiss me.”
    His lips parted.
    “What’s the worst that could happen?”
    “Oh, I don’t know—”
    “Don’t answer that,” I said quickly.
    He laughed. His voice dipped lower. It was gravelly. “Close your eyes.”
    I obeyed, and suddenly, I could feel my pulse pounding everywhere—my wrists, my temples, my chest…
    His lips met mine.
    It was perfect. Slow and good. Easy and sweet.
    His arms slipped around me, pulling me to him.
    I scooted to the edge of my chair to close the gap between us. Our upper bodies pressed against each other. I could feel his heat radiating through the layers of his suit. I could smell him, and he smelled like aftershave and him . I knew his scent now, and it was familiar and good, and I wrapped my arms around his neck.
    His hands were splayed against my back, smoothing down to find my waist, my hips.
    A tremor went through me.
    And then an unseen force ripped me out of Lachlan’s arms. I was dragged backwards by someone’s magic, out of the chair, and pounded into the ground right next to the pool.
    The air knocked out of me, my mouth opened in a silent cry of surprise.
    A figure stepped into my view, blocking out the night sky above. “Hey there, babe.”
    Alastair.

 
     
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER SEVEN
     
    “I should have known,” Alastair said. “You kept showing up with him, and you said you were working with the police, but there was something I didn’t like about that bastard.”
    Lachlan was coming toward us. “Mr. Cooper, I don’t think you’re welcome here.”
    Alastair raised a hand and Lachlan stopped. He struggled, but he was fighting Alastair’s magic.
    I scrambled into a sitting position, coughing. “What are you doing here?”
    Alastair leered at me. “I saw you tonight. Walking around that party in your cheap little dress. I couldn’t stop thinking about ripping it off you.”
    My whole body clenched. Twin jolts of loathing and desire went through me at the same time. Even though I hated Alastair, I was still drawn to him. I still wanted him. Right now, I couldn’t help but think of the way his mouth felt, trailing