Page 68 of The Chains You Defy

This wasn’t the playful princeling or the moody bastard—whatever facet of him was running the show was one I’d never encountered before. This side was something else entirely. Something menacing. Something that wouldn’t deal well with rejection.

Pure, basic, primal instinct.

More dangerous than the male who had killed my parents in my nightmares.

Even if I was convinced no part of Dion had the intention to cause me harm, I was scared shitless by the raw energy surrounding us both. All of a sudden, I could imagine why Fig had stifled Dion’s magic, and I wished the restraints were still within reach.

“Protect.” His word was more of a growl.

“Of…of course.”

Instead of an answer, his arms tightened and hauled me even closer.

We stayed like this for a few moments until the rumbling in his chest morphed into the expansion of a deep breath.

“Better?”

“Yes.”

“What—”

“I can’t really explain. Feels like my instincts take over. Don’t worry, this isn’t a regular occurrence, and I rarely lose control.”

“But you did earlier?”

“Yes.”

“And it’s alright now?”

“Yes. Stop worrying.”

“How could I’ve ever mistaken you for a human?”

“Guess I hid my nature rather successfully around you.”

“You can quit your preening. Because, in retrospect, you were an atrocious actor. I was simply too stupid to question your charade.”

Dion chuckled and tucked me into his large body, resting his chin on my head. “You’re not stupid. Only naive at times.”

“Is it true you had an ironclad grip on your emotions before we met?”

“Mh. Don’t know if you can call it like that, since I didn’t care enough about anything.”

“You had no temper? Or didn’t follow the moment?”

“When I was younger, I had fire in my blood, but the older I became, the more it cooled. But after I’veconnected with you, it’s safe to say you coax that side out of me again.”

“Me?”

“Yes.”

Narrowing my eyes because of the recurring one-word answers, I put some distance between us and folded my arms.

Dion just grinned back, and a spark appeared in his eyes.

He moved faster than it should have been possible, and I found myself in the same tight embrace I’d left moments ago, his head nuzzling into the crook of my neck again. “Did I ever mention how good you smell?”

“Uhm, no?”