Page 8 of Must Love Dragons (Sable Cove #4)

Note to self: If being stubborn and sexy were a competition, Zay would be the reigning champion.

Kinsley studied Zay. He was clearly battling his emotions, she could see the war in his eyes and the tension in his body. The air between them was charged, and part of her knew that pushing him was a bad idea, but she couldn’t help herself.

She could still feel the warmth of his hand on her arm.

And she couldn’t get over watching him step in front of her in a protective stance on the dock.

She’d have swooned like a damsel if they hadn’t been in danger.

But he was so damn gruff.

She wanted to know what he was planning, and she couldn’t shake the feeling that he might just walk. What the hell would happen to her if he did? How would that even feel? To have a truemate out there in the world somewhere but not be with him?

“You keep saying I don’t know what I’m asking, but how can I know if you won’t tell me?”

“It’s not your problem.”

Frustration bloomed fresh inside her. Infuriating male! “That’s a load of crap and you know it!”

He slashed a hand through the air. “You don’t get it. Warlocks are dangerous on a level that is unmatched. They are relentless when they’re hunting, and they don’t stop.”

“I know they’re dangerous. I am a magical being. I also know that a warlock was watching the docks, and they know you’re looking for your uncle. They can’t get to you here in the rescue with the protection wards, but you’re vulnerable if you leave. I can help you, I can help keep you safe.”

He shook his head. “No.”

She took a step closer to him. “Let me remind you that you nearly died in the trees over there,” she said with a low voice, letting out her annoyance.

“I know that a warlock coven that went after dragons is large enough to be a danger to literally everyone. The fact that you want to go after your uncle alone is the most insane thing I’ve ever heard.

Even if you gather the other members of your clan, you would be ridiculously outnumbered.

Why won’t you let me help you, damn it?”

His nostrils flared and a subtle growl rumbled in his chest.

For a moment, she thought she’d finally gotten through to him, but then he grunted and looked away.

Damn it, he was so stubborn!

“I know you don’t trust magic, Zay. Or me.

” Shit, that hurt to say. She rubbed the space over her heart where a part of him was already embedded inside her.

They were connected whether they were mated or not because that’s just what happened when truemates met.

It meant that somewhere in his heart, he felt connected to her.

He just didn’t want to admit it, and that burned like real fire.

Then something occurred to her. She tilted her head and looked up at him.

“You’ve lost a lot. You aren’t giving me much to go on about your past, but I do know there was a great battle between a clan and a warlock coven, and I can guess that you’ve lost many people who were important to you.

And maybe the reason you’re pushing me away has less to do with my magic and more to do with you not wanting to lose another person who’s important to you. ”

The rumbling growl grew louder and she knew he was struggling.

He might know they were truemates, but he didn’t trust her because she was a witch.

She could understand how he felt because of what happened to his people, but she wasn’t the one who’d attacked them.

He was holding her accountable for what someone else did.

His body tensed more, like a bow about to break.

They were so close now that only inches separated them.

His gaze dropped to her mouth.

This was it.

She knew it. He knew it.

She tilted her chin up. The heat coming off him was so intense that her own fire magic was responding, making her fingertips tingle.

And then he jerked away like he’d been burned, a low, “I can’t,” passing for an explanation. Shaking his head like he was dislodging some awful thought, he added, “I won’t.”

His rejection stung like a million bees.

“Why?”

Damn it, why had she asked? What was the old saying? Don’t ask questions you already know the answer to.

She put up her hand. “Never mind. I can’t force you to understand that I’m not a dark magic user and that I only have good intentions when it comes to you and your clan. I don’t want to fight with you.”

She turned to walk into the rescue and get a little space from him. Her heart hurt.

He grabbed her arm and pulled her back around to face him.

“I lost almost everything in one terrifying night. Only my uncle and my younger sister survived from our family, and now my uncle is gone. The same warlocks who hunted us have taken my uncle, I’m sure of it.

And he might be dead by now, I don’t know, but I have to find him. I don’t want to lose anyone else.”

His words hung in the air between them.

Anyone? Was she included?

But she didn’t get a chance to ask, because a voice interrupted them.

“Hey, we need to talk,” Venice said.

She extracted her arm from Zay’s grasp and turned to find Venice and Delaney walking out of the rescue. Brody was inside the rescue where the sunlight couldn’t get to him.

Nysa hurried from the rescue where Kinsley had left her when she’d gone to the docks with Zay. She knelt and picked up her familiar, burying her face in her fur and trying to settle the emotions that were rioting inside her.

“Hey kits,” she whispered. Then she lifted her head and looked at her friends. “What’s going on?”

“Cassian got us the video from the lighthouse’s security cameras and that included a download link to the live footage,” Venice said.

“We can show you what happened on the docks, and we did see a warlock in the parking lot watching you two. He disappeared, but Delaney thinks he was probably using a cloaking spell and just walked away.”

On a tablet, they watched the footage of themselves on the dock, seeing the shadowy figure watching them. There were flickers and flares of magic coming from him, which told Kinsley that he was definitely a warlock.

How close had they come to being attacked on the docks?

She shivered.

Then they watched the footage of a group of males in dark clothing loading a person onto a boat. One of the males looked up at the sky and stepped onto the dock, then cast a spell that shot a strange-looking bolt of lightning into the air.

Kinsley looked at Zay.

“That’s when you were hit,” she said.

He nodded, jaw clenched, eyes stormy with rage. She knew exactly what was going through his mind without him saying a word.

He was going to leave and hunt for his uncle.

And she wasn’t going to let him do it alone.

She handed the tablet to Delaney. “Can you guys give us the room for a moment?”

The trio left, heading into the house attached to the rescue. A pulse of determination surged through Kinsley as she stared at the infuriating dragon. “You’re going after them and you’re not going to reach out to your clan members because you don’t want to endanger them.”

He didn’t answer. His body was tense like he was already preparing for battle. Then, finally, he exhaled sharply. “I have to.”

“I’m coming with you.”

“Not just no, but hell no .” His tone was sharp like a blade, but she’d already been cut by his dismissal of her earlier, so this didn’t bother her in the slightest.

“I am too going, you stubborn ass.”

“It’s not your fight.”

“That’s bullshit.”

His eyes darkened and she could smell the fire of his dragon. Her magic rose inside her in response. “You don’t understand.”

“No, Zay, you’re the one who doesn’t understand.

” She closed the distance to them. “I’m your truemate.

And that’s a reality that doesn’t matter if you accept it or not.

And because I’m your truemate, it means that I’m already in this fight.

Your fight is mine, your family is mine.

I’ll also point out that the warlocks saw us together, and that means I’m a target too, and I’m not about to get my ass handed to me by some dark magic-wielding warlocks or put my friends in their crosshairs.

So you can either willingly let me help you, or you can be pissed off when I follow you anyway.

I’m not about to let you get yourself killed because you think I’m not worth having as a mate. ”

She was breathing hard, her skin flushed and her fury banked like a smoldering wildfire. His breath caught in his throat and for a heartbeat, she saw real, raw emotion in his eyes.

And then it was gone.

Whatever walls he was putting up between them slammed back into place.

“That isn’t up to you,” he said with cold detachment.

Oh, that stung.

She shook off the sting and squared her shoulders. Hell hath no fury, right?

“We’ll see about that.”

Then she turned on her heel and stormed out of the rescue.

She had plans to make and an uncle to free.

And a warlock clan to put out of their evil misery.

Then she’d claim her dragon mate and make him regret ever doubting that she had his best interests at heart.

She just needed a few supplies first.