Series: Willow Winters
Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 60207 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 301(@200wpm)___ 241(@250wpm)___ 201(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60207 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 301(@200wpm)___ 241(@250wpm)___ 201(@300wpm)
Drago. Something inside me knows it’s him.
His brother releases his grip on me, looking between the two of us. I close my eyes and feel caught between the two of them. When I open them, his brother is gone and Drago stands before me naked. Drago’s eyes look past me, on the shadow of his brother blending into the darkness. Drago's shoulders rise and fall, his fists clench so tightly, his knuckles are white. Fury radiates off him. An intense weight, heavy and painful, presses against my heart.
“Drago?” I whisper but he doesn’t move. He doesn’t look at me.
I take a step toward him and reach out a hand to him. "Drago?" He doesn't respond. He only continues to stare into the darkness. I drop my hand and look down the hallway to see nothing. When I look back at him, his eyes are on me. His gaze intense and the low light from the fire emphasizes the hard lines of his jaw and high cheek bones. His eyes blaze red.
I gasp and take a step back, but my back meets the hard castle wall.
He huffs through his nose and a bit of smoke is revealed. He unclenches and clenches his fists, as if debating what to do. All the while my heart pounds uselessly.
His gaze cuts into me and then his expression hardens even further, his eyes darken like the stormy sky. “Get back in bed.” He commands me with a force that has my knees buckling. My heart aches with the disappointment in his tone.
My legs grow weak as I turn and scramble to get to his bedchambers. Never in my life has someone given me what Drago has. His kind touch and generosity. He didn’t have to help me. He didn’t have to do any of this. As I race toward the bedroom door, I can’t hear him behind me. Alone and shaken and filled with regret, I seek sanctuary in his bed and pray it will be enough to save me.
DRAGO
The moment I swing open the door, my grip so strong I could break the knob, I’m filled with an anger and possessiveness I’ve never known. She says the one word I never want to hear on her lips.
“Red.” The single word trembles, and when I glance at her small form braced with the comforter clinging to her, she manages to say it again but her voice cracks. “Please red. Red.”
The raging fire inside is dimmed by the genuine fear in her voice. She scoots back ever so slightly, her small frame trembling. “Red,” she whispers and the rage shatters.
I’ve never done well with the feeling of betrayal and with that word hurled at me, I shut the door behind me with grave cautiousness.
The resounding thud intensifies the tension in the room.
I glance at her huddled on the bed, clutching the comforter before turning to the window and swallow. “Red?” I ask her with my tone low yet even, and then dare to look at her once again. She nods her head and tears well in her eyes.
“All right Kara.” I respond only so she knows I heard her. It takes everything in me to restrain the emotions roaring inside of me. The only truth that keeps me tamed is that she’s fucking terrified right now.
Of me…
She’s afraid I’m going to hurt her, and I struggle with how to handle the situation. My knuckles turn white as I ball my fists and walk past the bed to the bathroom. I choose not to look back at her, even though I’m all too aware she hasn’t stopped watching me. I turn the water on and let it run ice cold. The white noise of the shower spraying down aids to calm me ever so slightly, but the fire in my chest is blazing and my dragon is pissed. He wants out. He wants control. Not only of me, but also of our treasure.
I clench and grind my teeth as the freezing water runs down my body. The chill is barely effective, but I focus on it, on reining in the rage that blazes inside of me. As it hits my chest, a low steam forms in front of my eyes. I need to calm the fuck down. I concentrate on my breathing, keeping my eyes closed. And then I remember that I didn’t lock the door. My dragon claws up my throat, needing to get to her. I swear to God if she bolted, I’m not going to be able to contain myself. Without second thought, my body moves, slamming the handle down and storming from the bathroom with uncontained determination.
The water droplets fall from me as I hover over the bed, landing onto the comforter and soaking the floor beneath my feet.
Her gasps and wide eyes are what I’m met with as steam billows from me, evaporating the water. With a glance to my left, the red vision dims and the sudden panic wanes; the door is shut, and the key is right where she left it when she left me. I stare at it for a moment, willing the anger in my eyes to leave. I wouldn’t be this fucking worked up if it hadn’t been for my brother. The image of him pushing his body against her flashes in my eyes, and I bite back the flame that ignites in my chest. I roll my shoulders and relax my stance. I have her now. I have my little treasure.