Page 32 of Claimed By the Dragon

Marianna’s circumstances had also made Grace realize she had a lot of things to be thankful for, even when factoring in her ex and the prison.

Despite all his faults, she couldn’t imagine Trahern ever hurting her deliberately.

Although she still had nightmares every once in a while, she’d been able to hide them from Trahern. Once, when she’d woken up screaming, she’d lied to him, and it still made her uneasy, given her promise to be honest.

However, she didn’t want to burden him with her past. Instead, she’d merely said she’d remembered the pain of childbirth, when she’d nearly died.

And the bloody nice dragonman had ensured Dawn came over with biscuits before leaving for work.

Between her growing friendships with the humans on Stonefire, plus her boys being healthy and showing more of their personalities every day, she should be happy. Or at least content.

And yet, as she watched Trahern make her breakfast like he always did, loneliness washed over her. She had no right to ask more of him, and yet she missed how he used to talk with her every morning about the clan or his work or, on rare occasions, about his past.

That had stopped abruptly the day after the ice cream incident.

Every day she wanted to scream, “Why?”

And yet, she’d held back, always smiling at him before he left for work.

This morning, however, she was tired after a rough night with the boys—they’d fussed and she’d barely slept at all—andher restraint faded. Once he set the plate of eggs and toast in front of her, she reached out and took his hand.

Trahern froze, staring down at where her fingers wrapped around his. Before he could bolt, she whispered, “Why did you pull away and stop talking with me in the mornings?”

He frowned, but avoided her gaze.

She persisted, though, too exhausted to worry about making him uncomfortable. “Did I do something to upset you? Or did I say something wrong? I’ve tried to figure it out, but I can’t think of anything. Especially since you said you weren’t upset about the ice cream surprise, all those weeks ago.”

For a few beats, he remained silent. Despite how silly and ridiculous it was, her eyes heated with tears.

No doubt, he was trying to think of a way to be polite and not hurt her feelings.

Releasing him, she murmured, “Don’t worry about it. You’ll be late for work. You should go.”

“Grace.”

At the tortured sound of his voice, she glanced up and noticed his flashing dragon eyes. The pupils changed between round and slitted, faster than she’d ever seen before.

What was his dragon saying?

She must’ve spoken out loud because Trahern closed his eyes and put his head in his hands. “I can’t.”

“Can’t what, Trahern?”

His fingers threaded through his hair, and he remained silent. Grace was torn between reaching out to comfort him and crying out in frustration.

With a groan, he said, “You.”

Grace stiffened. “What about me?”

He shook his head. “I can’t. Not fair.”

And then it all made sense—he felt trapped, but didn’t want to hurt her by telling her so.

It shouldn’t sting, and yet her throat tightened.

Not wanting to break down and make Trahern uncomfortable, she stood and turned to flee. However, before she could, Trahern’s hand gripped her wrist gently. “Grace.”

“Let me go, Trahern. Please.”