Page 34 of Brushed By Moonlight

“Yes, but only if you agree to a new rule,” I said.

All four looked at me, waiting.

“No fighting.”

Henrik scowled. Marius looked like he’d been robbed of a prize possession, and even Roux looked skeptical.

“No fighting at all?” Bene scratched his chin dubiously.

“Is that so unreasonable?” I demanded.

“Wehaveto fight occasionally,” Bene insisted. “Otherwise, we’d kill each other.”

The logic made zero sense to me.

“How about, no fighting indoors?” Roux suggested.

The other three nodded, suddenly united in a common cause. Men!

I relented, though a sinking feeling told me I would come to regret it.

“Fine. No fighting indoors — and nowhere near me.”

“Deal,” Bene announced, and they all shook on it in anotherMen are from Mars, women are from Venusmoment.

I slumped back in the armchair, exhausted by it all. Exhausted and overwhelmed — especially when my weary eye met Marius’s.

They swirled at me, and time slowed. Then he grumbled something, ripped his gaze away, and stormed out of the room.

Like a dust cloud kicked up by a car, my mixed emotions tumbled after him.

Destiny,a deep voice murmured in my mind.

I pretended not to hear, because that just couldn’t be.

Of course, having a dragon protector could come in handy, especially with a vampire in the neighborhood. But a short-fused, intense dragon could also be a huge liability. And that didn’t even begin to capture the potential complications.

Complications I felt racing toward me like a meteor shower.

Bene dusted off his hands and cheerily readjusted his apron. “Now that that’s settled… Breakfast, anyone?”

Chapter Nine

MARIUS

I strode down the hall and out the rear door into the fresh air. A dozen outdoor aromas washed over me — damp grass, woodsy oaks, and the faint whiff of freshly cut hay. But Mina’s rose-and-lilac scent clung stubbornly to me, pushing all that away.

Everything about her was like that — front and center in my senses, twenty-four seven — and I seesawed between hope and despair. Hope when she was close and the world seemed bright and sunny. Despair, because a bossy, stubborn woman was not entitled to mess with my heart, body, or soul.

But she did, and she had from day one.

I stomped along the outer wall of the west wing, keeping out of sight. My shirt choked me, and my skin itched as my dragon fought to emerge. Moving automatically, almost desperately, I tore off my jacket and dropped it. My shirt followed, and I barely took the time to peek around the corner of the building before kicking off my boots, stripping out of my pants, and stepping into the open.

No humans there to see me, luckily. Not with Château Nocturne situated in the middle of nowhere.

I sprinted across the lawn, the first steps quiet on bare feet. The next few were stiff, somewhere between man and beast. The final steps were scratchy as dragon claws pounded over theearth, tearing tufts of grass. Then,whoosh!I launched myself into the air and beat my wings.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.Every powerful thrust created a whirlwind that spun away in my wake. I opened my mouth, letting fire blaze forth. I even released a roar, albeit a stifled one. Flying in broad daylight was already risky. Flying and roaring at the top of my lungs was even worse.