Pushing her away will mean a hell of a lot fewer problems.
So you’d rather the League target her than be around her?
I didn’t say that.
His inner beast sighed. You make no sense whatsoever. Talk to me again once you figure it all out.
As silence fell inside his mind, it took every iota of strength Brad possessed to keep his eyes on the road and ignore the sleeping female.
His dragon was right—she smelled so damn good. He imagined waking up next to her, with his nose at her neck, and it made his cock stir.
Fuck. He was supposed to resist her. Humans equaled trouble in his book. Besides, he’d loved Amber.
He nearly blinked. Brad had used the past tense, which he’d never done when thinking of her before.
Had he finally gotten over Amber? He’d been so fucking in love with her and had been about to propose when she’d fled in the middle of the night. No one had known she was gone until the next day, not even him.
His beast whispered, Amber is no longer here. But Tasha is right there.
He dared a glance at the human’s sleeping face. She leaned against the window, her hair lying against her cheek. He itched to touch the blue streaks she had in it, curious as to why she constantly changed the color there.
What am I doing? He most definitely didn’t need the headache of a true mate on his plate. Dancing around her, never kissing her until she was ready, would distract him from his work, both for the clan and to keep her safe. After all, a dead Tasha was of no use to anyone.
His dragon said smugly, But you’re starting to think it’s worth trying with her. Deny it all you want, but you can’t lie to me.
Damn his dragon and his meddling.
But then they reached the main entrance to StoneRiver. Brad ignored his beast to pull up to the intercom and keypad unit situated several feet away from the twelve-foot-high metal gates. While height was nothing to a dragon-shifter who could fly over them, the spikes on top helped to keep human enemies or the dragon groupies out.
Brad typed in the correct code, and the gates swung inward. When he finally pulled in front of the main security building, he sent a text message to David to meet them, also letting his leader know about the further threats. Since he’d called his leader while the police had been talking to Tasha earlier, David knew mostly what was going on already.
A reply pinged back straight away from David, saying he’d be there soon. Tucking his phone into his pocket, Brad turned slightly toward Tasha.
She was still asleep. He had no idea if she was a heavy sleeper or if on some level, she trusted him to protect her.
His dragon said, I think it’s the latter.
Not wanting to give his dragon hope in the true mate department, Brad reached over and lightly brushed Tasha’s arm. She moved a little but didn’t wake up.
So he touched a finger to her jaw, daring to stroke her warm, soft skin.
Electricity raced up his arm and ended between his legs. Damn, if touching her with just his fingers was this dangerous, he needed to be careful. If she ever crashed into him, Brad might not be able to resist her.
Good. Then I’ll have to make that happen, his dragon stated.
He continued brushing Tasha’s cheek until she finally blinked her eyelids open. Even in the almost darkness, he loved the deep brown color of her eyes. She finally glanced out the window—the front of the security building had lights, so her human eyesight could see it—and then asked, “Are we on StoneRiver?”
“Yes. Now, come on. My clan leader is coming to meet us.”
She scrunched up her nose. “Can’t I use the bathroom first? After all, wild hair and dried drool won’t make a very good impression, and I should be halfway presentable with a dragon clan leader.”
His lips twitched. “You look fine.”
She raised an eyebrow. “I could be covered in mud and feathers and a man would still say I look fine. Sorry, but your words aren’t very reassuring.”
He chuckled and nearly did a double take. He wasn’t one to laugh easily, and here the human had made him do it.
His dragon whispered, Give her a chance.