Page 11

Riley

Arts & Crafts

A craft store? Seriously?

Yep. He’d taken me to a craft store.

Lights flickered on as a generator started humming somewhere in the back.

The young male clerk, who looked barely old enough to drink, rolled down the grates behind us and addressed Lucan by his name, seemingly excited to see him. It was just like at the clothing store where the done-up female sales associate had tripped over her own heels to please the massive dragon shifter standing at my side.

It wasn’t only because he tipped well, either.

I’d seen the way she stared at Lucan’s ass. The hunger in her eyes when he smiled at her. And, yes, I might’ve held onto Lucan’s arm as we walked away to establish he was with me… for the time being.

I didn’t know why I’d done that.

Lucan wasn’t flirting back, not like Drew would’ve done. Though I’d stopped being jealous of my ex-boyfriend years ago. Right around the time I swore he started cheating on me.

But I couldn’t prove it.

It was hard to prove anything.

I did stop sleeping with Drew, holding to whatever shred of dignity I had left.

That only made things worse.

The nitpicking. The silent treatment. The mental gymnastics I had to jump through for each explosive fight, trying to maintain calm while getting screamed at and then exploding at the smug face of a man who’d listen to what I had to say if I’d just learn to “get control of myself and my emotions.”

It was easier to shut my mouth and walk on eggshells than to piss him off again.

My phone was burning a hole in my back pocket.

I’d already deleted two texts from unknown numbers, but I knew they were from Drew.

Connecting the phone to the cell booster on Lucan’s motorcycle had been a mistake.

If it wasn’t for the reminder of my past, I’d actually be having a great time today. It’d been a while since I did something nice for myself, and since Lucan was paying for the whole kidnapping thing, I didn’t feel all that guilty.

The nagging voice in the back of my head kept reminding me to enjoy this while it lasted because it was all coming to an end soon.

Thankfully, Drew had no clue where I was.

I could hardly believe I was here anyway.

A craft store in an abandoned mall in the middle of the desert with a beast of a man that turned into a dragon whose eyes were lit up with delight as he studied…

“Yarn?” I asked, following him down the aisle of ceiling-high shelves containing baskets of brightly colored string on either side.

“What do you like more? Pink or purple?” Lucan weighed two balls in each of his large hands, brow furrowed as if this was a vital decision.

“Are you asking my favorite color?”

He raised his bluish-green speckled eyes to me, causing something to flutter in my stomach. That might’ve been the champagne and popcorn, though. It’d also been a long time since I had either of those.

“Will you tell me your favorite color?” he asked.

I thought about it for a second, deciding against blurting out the first thing that came to mind, which was turquoise because it was the closest color to his eyes that I could think of.

When was the last time someone asked me what my favorite color was?

Did I have one anymore?

Lucan waited patiently while I came to a decision.

“Orange,” I finally said. The color of the sun setting on the beach. “But of the two in your hand, I like the purple better.”

Lucan’s smile did something to me. The way it transformed his whole expression from a menacing scowl into the open, relaxed face of someone much younger.

“How old are you?” I blurted out.

“Four hundred and twenty-five.” There it was again. That easy smile.

“Younger than Kieran.” I couldn’t believe I was saying that like there was much of a difference. What was twelve years to a dragon when they basically lived forever?

“Aye.” He nodded. “By a bit.”

“You don’t have to put those back,” I said as Lucan returned the pink and purple yarn to their bins.

“Oh, but I do. It was sexist of me to assume those were the colors you’d like. I’m sorry.” The way he admitted fault and apologized without argument had me second-guessing myself.

Is this some kind of Jedi mind trick?

“What do you need yarn for, anyway?” I trailed behind him as he returned to the hunt.

“Not sure yet,” he mumbled, zeroing in on the section of sun colors. “Is this soft enough for you?”

I went perfectly still as he rubbed a ball of yarn against my cheek. “It’s really soft. Why do I need it to be?”

“I’m going to knit you something.” He shrugged.

My jaw dropped. “You… Knit?”

“Why is that so shocking?” He held up a few different colors of orange, waiting for me to pick.

I didn’t even know they made this many types of yarn. Or that a guy Lucan’s size could look so at home among them.

“Now I’m the one being sexist.” I shook my head. “It’s great that you knit.”

I tried to think, harder this time, about what hobbies I’d have if I’d had any space to develop them over the years. Hiking and camping were something I enjoyed. Watching movies and reading. I wasn’t all that creative.

Lucan studied me as if he knew what I was thinking and I wasn’t sure I liked being the object of his intense gaze despite the way it awakened hidden parts of me.

I busied myself with testing the softness of the yarns on the bins across the aisle.

After way too much awkward silence, I said the first thing that came to mind, “I think I have more than one favorite color.”

Lucan’s presence warmed my back even though he stepped a respectful distance away. He rested a comforting hand on my shoulder that made me want to lean against him as he lowered his mouth to speak softly next to my ear, “Let’s see what else you like.”

It turned out that I liked burnt orange, cyan blue, turquoise, hunter green, and some lavender purple after all. Lucan somehow found the softest yarn in the whole store in all my favorite colors.

Can you have too many favorite colors?

Maybe I’d gone overboard.

But Lucan didn’t seem to mind.

I looked through the rack of cheap sunglasses as the clerk rang Lucan up, pretending not to eavesdrop on their conversation.

“They closed down the highways into and out of Reno and she can’t get to the hospital,” the young kid was saying in a hushed tone as he bagged the yarn.

“There’s a doctor who works out in the boondocks. I’ll send him your way.” Lucan pressed a fat wad of cash into the kid’s hand—way more than you’d think yarn would cost.

The kid nodded. “Thanks, Mr. O’Sullivan. I’ll close up shop and head home now to wait.”

“Thank you for rushing down here.” Lucan gathered the bags. “And next time, let me know if there is a problem in advance.”

“Will do,” the clerk said.

Lucan was already walking away and typing something into his phone.

I stepped outside and waited for him, hoping he wouldn’t realize I’d been listening. The late summer heat was brutal as it beat down on the empty parking lot.

There were cracks in the asphalt, but I hadn’t felt any tremors for the last few hours. The world seemed as still as the stifling desert air.

I tucked my hair behind my ears. It was growing longer, the longer I was away from Drew. My phone and missed texts were burning a hole in my back pocket.

I ignored it.

“Ready?” Lucan pushed open the glass door and started towards the bike.

“Do you own this store?” I hurried after him. My legs were long, but his were longer and I had to quicken my pace to keep up.

Lucan slowed without missing a step. “It’s the closest spot to buy yarn so I purchased it when the mall was going under.”

“And the clothing store?” I asked, wondering if I’d been put through a charade and the women associates were really his employees kissing butt because they were paid to do it.

“The casino owns that one.” He motioned to the stucco building shimmering on the miraged horizon. “It’s hard to get tailored suits and evening wear all the way out here. But they don’t mind the extra business. Belts are tightening everywhere.”

That didn’t seem to be the case with Lucan.

He walked through the apocalyptic desert landscape like the world was his oyster and there was nothing to fear in it.

Maybe for him that was true.

“How do you know I’m your fated mate?”

I shouldn’t have asked that.

But something about him made me bold and not afraid to blurt out what I was thinking. My tongue had been tied for so long. It was refreshing to ask the hard questions again.

Lucan stopped walking to look at me. There was an ancient pain in his eyes that showed how old he really was and how much he’d seen in his life.

It made me trust him more.

“I can feel it,” he said.

That’s what I was scared of.

“What if I can’t feel anything?” I whispered, biting my lip.

I wasn’t expecting to see the relief in his smile as he reached out to touch my cheek. His thumb brushed against my bottom lip, pulling it free from my teeth.

“You’re not trusting your instincts and experiencing life with your whole heart because you’ve second-guessed yourself too many times. That numbness you feel is your body’s way of protecting you from feeling anything—even the good. But it’ll work itself out as you feel safe again. Things like this take time.”

According to Kieran and the government and the prophecy nonsense, time was something we didn’t have. You wouldn’t know that from looking at Lucan, though. The patience in his gaze was comforting.

How long had it been since I felt this at peace?

Too long.

And I knew this was reckless.

A loud voice screaming in my brain said I was giving in too easily. That Lucan was dangerous. He could destroy me. That I’d been swayed and bought cheap for some clothes and yarn and a little kindness.

But I didn’t have to go all the way.

I could test the waters a bit.

I laced my hands behind his neck—registering the surprise as desire flared in his eyes—before I captured his lips with mine.

There wasn’t a moment of hesitation on his part. I might’ve started the kiss, but he controlled where we led. His lips were firm and possessive as he parted my mouth, allowing me to taste as he tasted me. The sweetness of him held a smoky warmth that curled my toes, making me moan silently as I yearned for more.

I was out of my depth.

Drowning.

My hands clung to the back of his neck as he held my lower back, pressing me tighter against him. A fire burned deep and low in my belly, starting to spread as he kissed me like I’d never been kissed before.

Dangerous. It was too much.

I broke first, pulling away and gasping for air.

What did you just do, Riley?! Stupid. Stupid.

Lucan didn’t let me go as he panted, resting his forehead against mine. “I planned for today to go differently.”

The panic in his voice shut up the worry in my mind and I couldn’t help but smile. “And what did you plan?”

“More wooing, less parking lot.” He grinned.

A laugh escaped me, unbidden, as I placed my hands against his chest, making some space between us, but still touching him. “In that case, maybe I should get you back to your home.”