Page 18 of Destined By Dragonblood (Blood Born #2)

Dolyn

A shley didn’t trust me, and although that was to be expected, I couldn’t help the disappointment pinging through my chest.

Force .

Clearing my throat and slamming the muzzle closed over my beast’s sneaky mouth, I attempted another smile at the tiny woman sitting ramrod straight in her chair across the table from me.

Purple-blue eyes hinted at unease, as did the tension in her shoulders, and I wished more than anything to erase both.

She’d been hurt by someone in her past, and I would eventually root out that truth and make them pay. For now, I would answer her questions about who I was as truthfully as possible and hopefully set her at ease as to my intentions for watching her.

“I’m simply a man from Lower Manhattan who enjoys traveling, investing, and supporting dog shelters.” None of that was a lie, but there was much more to me.

Blood Born.

Dragon shifter.

Her fated alpha.

My inner beast hissed at the third truth ringing in my head, but I ignored him.

Ashley would need time to grow comfortable with my human half before I revealed all of who I was and how we were forever tied to each other.

“Dog shelters?” she asked, blinking some of the wariness from her beautiful eyes.

I sucked in a lungful of vanilla and her underlying musk that hinted of desire.

My cock had been hard since I’d first seen her exit her house, and the length trapped inside my jeans continued to throb over her nearness.

I eyed her hand wrapped around the steaming cup of chocolate wishing to touch her again, my beast side whimpering his agreement.

A mere brush of fingertips had cemented the fact of who she was to me the second we’d come into contact. I’d been sure she also felt the connection destined by fate ignite between our bodies, the beginnings of the bond we would one day complete.

After we found our beta.

Alpha .

My jaw clenched as I attempted to muffle the voice whose opinion I did not need. Touching Ashley’s skin had somehow strengthened his part of our dichotomous nature.

Focusing on our female, I offered what knowledge I could. While not actually forcing her hand, perhaps I could sway her toward assurance of my intentions.

“I’m a very rich man,” I stated since women tended to swoon over that fact.

Ashley’s face didn’t so much as twitch at my revelation of being her possible sugar daddy. Perhaps she didn’t care about wealth, or the status riches awarded one in society.

Truth .

Yes, I had ways of appealing to her softer nature, the compassionate side I witnessed through a brush of fingertips, but I hadn’t ever shared that part of me with anyone—Elijah included.

She is ours and will one day know our every thought.

My inner dragon didn’t lie about the bond that would eventually link us together with Ashley, but fear of rejection tied my tongue.

Our fated female will never turn her back on us.

Throat tight, I nodded over what Father had assured us of. Still, my stomach roiled. “I’m a philanthropist and donate to those in need,” I continued, my voice barely above a whisper. “Especially to dogs that deserve to be cared for when their owners abandon them.”

“Dogs?”

“Yes. I’ve had two shelters built and continue to cover all expenses for the aging and sick, the unselfish creatures no one can be bothered to love.”

I didn’t share that I’d adored one such creature decades earlier and had left them behind out of selfishness and a broken heart.

My beast didn’t mourn that part of our past as much as my human side, the cold bastard.

He didn’t give two shits about domesticated animals, cats especially.

As for the homeless creature who’d found me twice while trailing after Ashley, I planned to locate him and take him north of the city to one of the shelters where he would be properly looked after.

Waste .

Liar, I wanted to speak to my beast but kept my lips sealed. Nothing about caring for needy dogs was a waste of my time or money.

Ashley stirred her hot chocolate with a shaky hand, still studying me intently enough I shifted my weight in the plastic chair beneath me.

“You’re suspicious,” I stated, easily reading the wariness on her face.

“As any woman in her right mind would be.”

I nodded, leaning forward onto the table. “How can I prove myself to you, Ashley? What do I have to do to earn your trust?”

She glanced around the nearly empty seating area but didn’t make a move to leave as I got the impression she suddenly wished to do. “That’s the second time you’ve called me by name when I didn’t supply you with one,” she accused, meeting my stare.

Curses rang through my head from both my beast and human side alike.

Partial truth.

“An old friend of mine shared your personal information with me,” I answered, believing the proposal that Elijah would be willing to vouch for me since his female had revealed Ashley to be my fated mate.

“Who told you about me and why?”

“Elijah Tolzman because I lost my heart the second I first saw you.”

Ashley blinked, settling back into her chair. “Mr. Tolzman? I’m one of his secretaries.”

“I’m well aware.”

“I’ve never seen you in his office before, nor have I heard him mention your name.”

“Even though we don’t have in-person interactions at his building, I have known him for many years. We were even roommates for quite a few of them.” Elijah and I were a lot more than that, but my female never needed details about how her alpha had submitted his body to another.

“Huh.” A hint of a smile flitted over her face, relieving some of the tension in my stomach.

“That man saved my life. Well, not really, but I smashed into him with a tray full of coffee a couple of years ago. He hired me hours later. Elijah, while my boss, is like a big brother to me, the one I never had but always wanted.”

Elijah must have unknowingly sensed the hint of dragonblood in her veins and instinctively looked out for her.

Such knowledge had taken first scenting her then skin contact in order for me to sense she was more than human.

Because Elijah is in tune with his inner beast, and you selfishly keep me shackled up inside, only allowing me out to play when your human half is too weak to obtain what you want.

I fought to keep from clenching my jaw over my beast’s spewing of bullshit. Ashley’s presence lowered my defenses and gave him more strength than usual, but as long as I held control in my hands, he would remain unable to affect my physical body.

Ashley might be mostly human, but the fact I was now convinced her line had spawned from dragonblood generations ago, I told myself I could accept her lesser bloodline as my mate.

Some might think me arrogant to believe destiny had allowed her to be born specifically for me, but Father had insisted I remember who I was.

Worthy.

Wanted.

Deserving of greatness as a pure Blood Born.

But the gentleness of her spirit…

Yes, I sensed that of her when we touched, spurring a deep desire to connect far beyond the physical in both parts of us. I wished to know my mate’s emotions and desires. Take her under my wing.

Protect her at all costs.

Shower her with the love she deserved for belonging to us as Elijah’s female had shown in the vision that had drastically changed my existence.

“Elijah is a good man,” I stated the truth even as my beast acted petulant over Elijah having known her first.

“He is.” Ashley sat quiet for a few seconds, watching as I sipped my too-sweet drink. She did the same. “You’ve been following me.”

I wasn’t ashamed for trailing after her or camouflaging myself from her human eyes that weren’t yet ready for the truth. “I have.”

“Why couldn’t I see you?”

“I’m good at hiding in shadows.”

She pursed her lips for a moment. “And the sense of eyes on me while I was in my car?”

My inner dragon chuckled his approval over her wily attempt to corner me with questions.

“Did you notice the vehicle following you?” I asked, skirting the truth.

Ashley’s eyes narrowed as she glanced over me. “You aren’t a ghost.”

I tapped my chest to prove her right even though most humans would believe my other half dwelled inside me as a separate presence, invisible unless I allowed him partial freedom.

“I don’t believe in spirits anyway,” she muttered and bit into her donut, tongue flicking out over her top lip at a smear of chocolate.

My groin tightened, and I tore my focus off her mouth to find her still studying my face.

Intuition, while appreciated in a mate, promised a chat to become familiar with one other would not be easy.

“Why didn’t you walk right up to me and introduce yourself like any other normal guy would?”

Lie.

A grimace marred my mouth over my beast’s fear she grew too disbelieving and would soon leave us. “You’re…intimidating.”

“Yeah, okay.” She huffed a sarcastic laugh. “Try again.”

I stared at her face, drinking in the sight of her flawless beauty. “There are no words to describe your perfection.” My dragon side hummed his agreement although he’d waxed poetic about her looks before.

Ashley’s smile dissolved, and the hand lifting her donut up for another bite settled back onto the table.

I ran my gaze over her face and neck, soaking in the sight of her.

“Beautiful pale skin. A glorious shade of eyes I’ve never seen the likes of.

An imperfect nose that only adds to the draw of your heart-shaped face.

Your full lips. Dainty chin. The spackling of freckles over your nose.

I love how petite you are, the height difference between us.

Makes me feel…strong. Protective. My instinct is to wrap you up in my arms and carry you through life. ”

She straightened in her chair. “I don’t need a man in order to survive in this world.”

“I didn’t say that you did.” I’d seen Ashley take more pain than a lot of women could possibly tolerate.

“You’re tougher than most would assume. You have an inner fire—a beast, if I had to guess—inside you, gifting you not just strength but grace.

You, Ashley, are a queen, and I would love nothing more than to be your king. ”

My inner half held his breath, cursing me for going too far.

Wetness welled in Ashley’s eyes, but she forced a laugh, tearing what remained of her donut in two. “I don’t like to be touched, so making a pass like that won’t get you into my panties.”

Fingers aching to dip into her arousal I could scent in the air, I swallowed hard. “I have an aversion to physical contact as well.”

She jerked her focus up, her dark brows furrowing. “You do? Why?”

Partial truth.

“Like you, it’s personal, but let’s just say that I tend toward feeling more than mere warmth or smoothness when I touch another person’s skin.”

“So, you’re like an empath?”

Inner beast silent, I considered Ashley’s comparison. Since there really was no other way to describe a supernatural bonding of mates, I nodded. “I guess you could call me that. What about you?”

“I’m not done with my interrogation.”

I chuckled along with my beast and bit into my own donut, the burst of sweetness not nearly as delicious as Ashley would be on my tongue. “Then ask away, beautiful.”

She did—and I answered the questions that I could and brushed off those I couldn’t.

Like how she swore she felt me watching her throughout the week even when I wasn’t within sight.

I had been close enough to touch, but she wasn’t yet ready for that revelation.

“Perhaps you enjoyed my longing stare from those moments I was physically present that you imagined them when I wasn’t,” I suggested.

Ashley narrowed her eyes again and popped the last bite of her snack between her lips. “Something is…not right with you Dolyn Kemmerly.”

Stomach turning to rock, my smile faded. The beast within me curled in on himself deep inside me. “What do you mean?”

She worked her lips side to side as though nibbling on the tender flesh inside. “You aren’t being completely honest with me.”

“Would you be open and vulnerable if I asked you personal questions?” I shot back, not unkindly but hoping to make her see my reasoning for silence on certain topics.

“You have a point.” She crumpled up her napkin and pushed it inside her empty cup.

I filled my lungs as my inner beast’s tension eased slightly. “Perhaps we could meet again and get to know each other better,” I offered. “In time, you will come to realize that my intentions toward you are pure. I will never manipulate, coerce, or force you against your will.”

Her eyes grew misty, and my instincts growled deep inside. Who had hurt her? When, why, and how? They would know the sharpness of our claws, the power of our jaw, and our ability to rip a human limb from limb without effort.

Yessss .

“I would like to see you again,” Ashley finally said, “but don’t get your hopes up.”

Regardless of her warning, my heartbeat stuttered. “Everyone could use another friend.”

“That is true.” A soft smile, one without a trace of unease, curved her mouth, causing renewed warmth in my groin.

“Can I have your number?”

She hesitated. “Give me yours, and I’ll contact you. Maybe we can meet for lunch next Saturday?”

A huff of dissatisfaction sounded inside me, but I refused to push Ashley until she was ready for the full truth between us.

“I would love nothing more.” I recited my digits once she had her cell in hand.

“Thank you for the opportunity to get to know you better,” I said as she put her phone back into her purse. “And for not running away while I worked up the nerve to finally talk to you.”

“Thank you for the drink and donut,” she replied. “But honesty from here on out, okay?”

I nodded and stood to help her with her coat, careful to keep from crossing the line she’d set between us about physical touch.

Someday, I would be gifted the opportunity to feast on every inch of her. But until then, I would practice patience no matter how desperate my instincts were to claim and breed the precious one who belonged to me.