Page 11 of Vex (Dragon Brides #12)

The charade was falling apart.

Vex watched Luisa fidget with her drink across the low table, the space between them feeling like a chasm.

They were supposed to be inseparable lovers, but right now they looked like strangers forced to share a drink.

She kept glancing around the room instead of gazing adoringly at him, and he'd caught himself checking his communicator twice in the last five minutes.

This game was supposed to be his specialty.

Instead, every time he looked at her, all he could think about was the way she'd melted against him in that hallway. The memory of her taste, the soft sound she'd made when he'd pressed her against the wall, the way her body had fit perfectly against his.

His dragon stirred restlessly beneath his human facade, a low burn of want that made it impossible to think clearly. The control that had defined his entire life was cracking, piece by piece, every time she looked at him.

The beast wanted to take her so thoroughly that no other male would dare look in her direction. Sitting there pretending to be indifferent while his entire body ached with the need to touch her was torture.

"You're sitting too far away," he said quietly.

Luisa's gaze snapped to his. "What?"

"We're supposed to be lovers. You're sitting like I have a communicable disease."

Heat flashed in her dark eyes. "Maybe I'm just giving you space to breathe."

Before he could respond, Maera's voice cut through the tension.

"So this is where you escaped to. There's more than one man back there eager for his money back. If you can pull yourself away." She gave a pointed look to the space between them.

Maera was standing beside another woman.

The stranger was tall, elegant, with platinum hair swept into an elaborate style and harsh blue eyes.

Everything about her screamed nobility. She carried herself with the particular arrogance that came from generations of inherited power, the kind that looked at everyone else as either useful or disposable.

Though it might have been a bit hypocritical of Vex to judge someone for being an aristocrat.

"Lord Vex," Maera said, "I'd like you to meet Lady Eleyna Sordin. Eleyna, this is the dragon lord I was telling you about."

Lady Eleyna's smile was sharp as a blade. "A pleasure." She slid onto the couch beside him without invitation, close enough that her perfume, expensive and cloying, filled his nostrils. "I've heard so much about dragons. Such … impressive creatures."

The way she said it made his skin crawl.

Luisa's posture went rigid. Her shoulders squared, her chin lifted, and something dangerous flickered in her eyes.

"Eleyna has such fascinating stories about court life on Volia," Maera continued, settling beside Luisa. "She knows everyone who's anyone across the galaxy."

"How wonderful," Luisa said sweetly. Too sweetly.

Lady Eleyna leaned closer to Vex, her hand coming to rest on his arm. "I watched you play out there. You're so … commanding. I do admire a man who knows how to take risks."

He didn't want this woman touching him. The asshole lord he was playing would love to have multiple women draped over him, even in front of his mistress. But the real Vex was too close to the surface.

Luisa was the only woman he wanted touching him.

That's when she moved.

Luisa rose from her seat with fluid grace and crossed to where Vex sat, settling herself directly in his lap with possessive certainty. Her arm slid around his neck, fingers playing with the hair at his nape in a gesture that was pure territorial claim.

"Baby," she said, her voice carrying just enough edge to make it clear she wasn't asking, "remember what you promised me." She nuzzled against his neck, her breath hot and claiming.

The contact sent fire racing through his veins, her weight settling against him in a way that felt devastatingly right. The scent of her skin filled his senses and made his head spin.

His body responded instantly, heat pooling low in his gut as his cock hardened beneath her. She was pressed so close against him that there was no way she could miss his reaction, no way to hide how desperately he wanted her.

Lady Eleyna's hand fell away from his arm as if burned.

The display should have been pure performance, but the fierce satisfaction that roared through him was entirely real. His dragon rumbled with approval.

Mine, the beast whispered, and for once, Vex didn't argue with the certainty.

Luisa's jealousy was a revelation. The way she staked her claim, fearless and territorial, made him want to carry her out of there and show her exactly what belonging to a dragon really meant.

Lady Eleyna's expression had shifted from interest to cold calculation, her blue eyes narrow with annoyance.

She clearly wasn't used to being dismissed so thoroughly, especially not by someone she probably considered a nonentity.

But Luisa had made her position crystal clear, and even the most entitled noble recognized a battle they couldn't win.

"How … quaint," Eleyna said, her voice dripping with disdain. But she shifted away from him, finally giving him the space his dragon demanded.

As if two unwanted companions weren't enough, the pit boss, Brant Tallyer, came up beside Maera.

"Ladies, Lord Vex." His smile was practiced, professional. "Ms. Daxkar, your private game is ready when you are."

His eyes lingered on Luisa in a way that made something cold and dangerous unfurl in Vex's chest.

The man's gaze was too intense, too searching, as if he was trying to place her face in his memory. Beneath him, Luisa went rigid, her fingers tightening in his hair as if she was fighting the urge to hide her face against his shoulder.

"Wonderful," Maera said, rising. "Luisa, darling, you simply must join us. It's ladies only tonight, I'm afraid, Lord Vex. Allow me to steal your … woman." She left just enough pause before the last word to make it sound unseemly.

"There is plenty of room for Luisa," Brant agreed with a strange note in his voice.

Luisa's entire body went even more rigid, every muscle coiled with tension.

Vex's hand settled on Luisa's thigh, fingers splaying possessively across the silk of her dress. "No."

It came out rougher than intended, carrying an edge of command that had nothing to do with their cover story.

"I have uses for her that don't involve cards."

Luisa's breath hitched against his neck.

Lady Eleyna's laugh was like breaking crystal. "How delightfully savage. You were exactly right about him, Mae."

Smoke curled from Vex's nostrils before he could stop it.

The tension ratcheted up. Maera and Eleyna exchanged a look, while Tallyer continued to watch Luisa with that unsettling intensity. Vex's dragon was barely leashed now, the part of him that wanted to unleash his fire and burn away anything that threatened the woman in his arms.

The civilized veneer he'd maintained his entire life felt paper-thin, ready to shatter at the slightest provocation.

"Perhaps another time," Maera said smoothly. Her gaze remained as calculating as ever.

If anyone was going to see through them, it was her.

As the women departed, Tallyer lingered for a moment longer, his attention still fixed on Luisa with an intensity that made Vex want to bare his teeth.

"Enjoy your evening," the pit boss said finally and walked off.

Vex didn't like the final look the man gave. It was too much like a hunter sizing up his prey.

And Vex was the only hunter that Luisa needed.

The moment they were alone, Vex stood, lifting Luisa with him. "We're leaving."

In the elevator back to their suite, Luisa remained pressed against his side, her scent filling his senses and making his control fray. Every time the elevator stopped at another floor, he found himself pulling her closer, as if someone might try to take her away.

When the door to their suite opened, Vex growled.

The attendant was puttering around the main room with comfortable casualness. He wasn't even pretending to be discreet anymore.

Vex's temper, already frayed from the encounter downstairs, finally snapped.

Even in his penthouse, he was playing a role. The winner claiming his prize. The dragon lord who took what he wanted.

But it didn't feel like acting.

The line between performance and reality had blurred beyond recognition.

His hands found her waist, pulling her flush against him as his mouth crashed down on hers. The kiss was claiming, possessive, designed to leave no doubt in anyone's mind about who she belonged to.

But beneath the calculated display, something far more honest was burning.

His cock was hard and insistent against her hip, his body responding to her nearness with an intensity that had nothing to do with their cover story.

The attendant was forgotten, the mission was forgotten, everything was forgotten except the woman in his arms and the desperate need to make her his in every way that mattered.

She responded with equal intensity, her fingers fisting in his jacket as she pressed herself against him. The soft sound she made, part moan and part surrender, sent fire racing through his veins.

He could taste her desire, could feel the way her body melted into his as if she'd been made for his touch.

This was madness, but he couldn't bring himself to care.

Luisa looked up at him, something challenging in her dark eyes. "Is this the part where you remind me who I belong to? When I just had to watch that woman put her hands on you."

The words hit him like a punch. Yes. That's exactly what this was.

He backed her against the wall, his hands framing her face. "You're mine," he said, loud enough for the attendant to hear. "Don't forget it."

She rose on her toes, bringing her mouth close to his ear. "Then prove it."

He kissed her like he was drowning and she was air.

Her response was immediate and overwhelming. She wrapped her legs around his waist, clinging to him with desperate intensity. The silk of her dress rode up, and he could feel the heat of her through the thin fabric.

He could taste the wine she'd been drinking, could feel the rapid flutter of her pulse where his thumb pressed against her throat. The sound of her breathing, quick and shallow and needy, filled his ears and made his cock throb.

Her legs around his waist brought her core directly against his hardness, the thin barrier of her dress and his pants doing nothing to hide how desperately he wanted her.

She was warm and soft in all the right places, her body molding to his like she'd been designed specifically for his touch.

The scent of her arousal mingled with her perfume, creating an intoxicating blend that made his dragon roar with satisfaction.

Every nerve ending in his body was on fire, hypersensitive to every point of contact between them.

The weight of her breasts against his chest, the way her fingers tangled in his hair, the soft sounds she was making against his mouth. He wanted to strip away the silk barriers between them, to feel her skin against his, to claim her so thoroughly that she'd never doubt who she belonged to.

"I need you," she whispered against his mouth, her voice raw with want. "Please."

The plea sounded so real, so genuine, that for a moment he forgot they were performing. This was Luisa, his partner, his—just his.

Mine.

The thought was absolute, terrifying, and completely unprofessional.

He tore away from the kiss, his entire body on fire with need. Smoke was rising from his skin now, visible wisps that betrayed just how close to losing control he really was.

"Leave us," he commanded the attendant, his voice rough with barely restrained power.

He carried Luisa into the bedroom, kicking the door shut behind them with more force than necessary.

The moment they were alone, he set her down and backed away, putting distance between them before he did something they'd both regret.

She looked thoroughly claimed, her dark hair mussed from his fingers, her lips swollen from his kisses. The emerald dress was wrinkled from their embrace, the necklace he'd given her glinting against her flushed skin like a brand of ownership.

She looked like she belonged to him, like she was his in every way that mattered, and the sight sent a fresh wave of fire through his chest. He wanted to close the distance between them again, to finish what they'd started, to make the claiming real instead of just performance.

But he couldn't have it.

Professional boundaries existed for a reason. And he needed to get control of this situation. Things were already out of hand.

"The pit boss," he said, his voice more controlled than he felt. "You reacted to him. What was that about?"

Luisa blinked, the question clearly catching her off guard. "What?"

"Tallyer. You stiffened when he approached."

She was quiet for a long moment, something shifting in her expression. Then she lifted her chin, that stubborn fire he was learning to recognize blazing in her eyes.

"I don't give a single fuck about the pit boss."

She closed the distance between them in two quick steps and kissed him again.

This time, he didn't pull away.