Chapter Eight
Bryant
He had just made everything worse. What the hell was he thinking?
At the time, locking up Shane, Kayla and Esther just seemed like the logical choice. Get them locked up and out of the way so that he could think. So that he could go warn Virdi and Dominique about Dunn. But now that they were locked away and he had that opportunity, he couldn’t bring himself to leave. What if Dunn attacked him again on his way? What if he was injured and couldn’t come back to free them? They’d starve to death here.
Besides which, Dunn hadn’t made any threats towards Virdi, Dominique, and Thunder. Bryant wasn’t even sure that Dunn knew about Thunder. The whole situation was just messed up, and his impulsiveness was not fitting for a member of the Emperor’s Guard.
He spooned a portion of stew into a bowl as he shook his head. It was the second day of his stupidity and he’d made a thick stew of meat, potatoes, and carrots for his prisoners. It needed a little salt in it, but it wasn’t terrible. He’d also made a chocolate cake to serve them for a dessert. It was his way of apologizing for keeping them prisoner. But now that they were locked away, he couldn’t just release them, could he?
So, what the hell was he going to do?
He had to do something. His career was over, yeah, but Dunn had still attacked him and two humans. Or had Bryant been the one to attack? Had Dunn actually done anything that would be truly threatening? And then there was Kayla. She shouldn’t have found out about Thunder at all, but she did. They couldn’t keep her a prisoner forever–scratch that, he couldn’t keep her a prisoner forever. He couldn’t keep any of them prisoner.
But what if Shane was working with Dunn somehow? How did Dunn even find him? Find out about Esther? He said he’d seen them get married, but what was he doing hanging around like that, anyway? What difference did it make to him whether Bryant was married, unless he knew about the Emperor’s Guard?
And would Esther ever forgive him for this?
Bryant sighed as he arranged the bowls on the tray and made sure he had enough silverware for all of them. He then stuck the cake in one corner of the tray and headed towards the dungeons. What was he going to do with Esther? They were married and now that he was going to be kicked out of the Guard it didn’t matter if that came to light or not. So, he might as well give her the annulment that she so desperately wanted…
Why did his heart ache at the thought? There was no reason for him to be this connected with her. His flames leaped a little higher and he tasted smoke in his mouth. Maybe it was because he had been so alone for so long, and he was tired of all these women on the side, one-night-stands that were filled with empty sex and nobody to hold onto in the early hours of morning. Esther was different from the women he was normally with. Not because she was a virgin, but because she demanded something more than he usually gave. In the pit of his stomach, he knew that she would give back that same devotion.
And he wanted it. He wanted her. He wanted a lifetime…
He already had had a mate, though. These feelings were a betrayal of Shaya’s memory.
Bryant was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he missed the tell-tale smell of ash when he rounded the corner to the dungeon where his prisoners were being held. A streak of fire burst towards him and he jumped to the side, stew slopping onto the cake. The sleeve of his shirt caught fire and he wiped it against the wall until it went out and glared at Shane.
“You idiot!” Esther shouted from behind the other dragon. “He’s a dragon, too, fire’s not going to do anything and you’re just going to ruin our food.”
“Don’t call him an idiot,” Kayla snapped. “At least he’s trying something.”
Shane growled in his throat as he stared down at Bryant. Just for that, he was tempted to dump the food, but he wasn’t going to starve the women because Shane was an idiot. “These dungeons were built by dragons to hold dragons. Maybe next time try not roasting your dinner.”
He approached again, more cautiously this time, and jerked his chin at Shane. “Get back to the cell. The women can take the food.”
Shane growled again. “I don’t know what you think you’re doing here,” he said, and flames and smoke billowed from his mouth. “But if you think you’re going to get away with it, I’d run away, Chandler. I am going to get out of here and once I do, I’m going to kill you.”
Esther pushed in front of him. “No, you’re not.”
“You’re seriously defending the man who has taken us prisoner?”
“He’s an idiot and acted like a real dummy, but seriously. Killing someone just because they’re stupid?”
Bryant wasn’t sure he liked the way she chose to defend him, but it warmed his heart that she was defending him. Behind her and Shane, Kayla began to inch forward, a torn expression on her face. She put a hand on Shane’s arm and the big dragon relaxed a smidgeon. He allowed Kayla to push him to the back of the cell. Bryant stepped in closer so that they could take the food from him.
“Are you trying to bribe us with a cake?” Esther asked under her breath as she took a bowl from the tray.
Kayla poked at a piece of meat with her spoon. “I can’t eat this.”
Bryant rolled his eyes.
“I’m vegan. I don’t eat meat or animal byproducts.”
“Vegan?”
Kayla’s lips tightened and her eyes flashed. Clearly, she was getting ready for an argument. Bryant shrugged. He didn’t understand veganism, but then there was a lot of things he didn’t understand. That didn’t mean he was going to go around ridiculing people who lived a different way than he did, or tell this woman he had kidnapped and imprisoned that she could either go against her principles or starve.
“I’ll make something else for you, then.”
Kayla’s eyes widened. “Oh. Really?”
“Yeah. I mean, I’m not a complete jerk.” He flashed her one of his smiles, and she blinked and smiled back hesitantly. As Esther handed a bowl of stew to Shane, she snorted a little.
Bryant glanced at her, remembering how she reacted to him and Shaya’s sister… who was going to be so pissed at him for not coming back. Worried and pissed. If he had a phone he’d be able to call her at least, but apparently, that wasn’t going to happen. Argh. Why did life have to be so difficult? He focused on Kayla again. He had to figure out what was going on with Esther one way or another…
“So, I heard you before,” he said leaning against the door to the cell. “You’re going to be Esther’s manager at her dig?”
“Well… that’s what we were discussing.”
Bryant let his smile widen. “And how did someone so young manage to get through school quick enough to get such a position?”
He added a layer of flirt to his voice. Esther shot him a glare as she set the cake on the table inside. She held her stew on her large breasts and started to eat.
“I’m not that young,” Kayla said with a blush. Amazing. Even as a captor he had the ability to get that reaction. “I’m actually close to thirty. I just went back to school recently because I… well, because I wanted to, I guess.”
Esther made a harrumphing noise.
“Bet it’s not easy,” Bryant said. “I mean, you’re so cute I bet you’ve got guys following you around all the time and that makes it hard to concentrate on your studies.”
Kayla’s eyes widened and her mouth formed an ‘O’. Her blush deepened. Esther took off her glasses, wiped them on her shirt, and stuck them back onto her face. The glower she was giving him would be enough to shame anybody, but he pressed on. Was it anger at him flirting with Kayla in the situation they were in, or was it jealousy?
“I’d bet that you get asked out a lot, too, right?”
“That’s enough!” Shane roared as he leapt forward. Bryant hastily backtracked until he was out of reach of the other dragon, but Shane only wrapped his arms protectively around Kayla and pulled her back. “We aren’t going to fall for your false charms. And I don’t care what else you might have going on, we are your prisoners.”
Kayla’s blush deepened even further and she leaned into Shane’s embrace. She chewed her lip. Esther continued to glare at him.
“Not to mention,” she said icily, “we’re married and you’ve been refusing to annul our marriage.” Both Shane and Kayla stared at her. Esther ducked her head. “We were drunk and we got married. And then, since members of the Emperor’s Guard can’t marry, he refused to get an annulment because it would bring more attention to us or some sort of nonsense like that.”
Bryant ignored the shocked looks that were directed at him now. “Well, I guess since that’s over, we might as well annul it when we get back.”
“Yeah, we might as well.” Esther’s voice contained less venom than he had anticipated. She ducked her head again and started to shovel the stew into her mouth.
His shoulders slumped. He knew that he couldn’t expect anything different, not with how things were between them and especially since he had, you know, kidnapped and imprisoned her. But he wanted something else in this mix. He shouldn’t. It was betraying Shaya’s memory. But he did.
“Um, do you have any allergies?” he asked, turning to Kayla again.
“No.”
Esther set her stew aside. “I know a really good recipe for a vegan chili. Let me out and I’ll make it so that Kayla knows you’re not trying to trick her.”
Bryant opened his mouth to say he wouldn’t trick her, but the chance to have Esther alone, to be able to talk to her and maybe get something sorted between them was too great a draw. Making sure that Shane wouldn’t attack while he did so, Bryant unlocked the door and let Esther out before shutting it again. The automatic lock clicked into place and he guided Esther to the kitchen.
“You know what?” she snapped at him as she started to go through the cupboards. “I don’t want an annulment anymore.’
His heart lifted.
“I want a divorce. That way I can take half of your things.”
Bryant shook his head, grinding his teeth as he did so. “Why are you so mad at me?”
Esther turned to him with a shocked expression. “That isn’t a real question, is it? Please, explain to me why I wouldn’t be angry with you! You marry me and refuse to annul the marriage but you also are going to go off with other women and then you kidnap me and—”
Her bright eyes and red face were such a cute combination that he couldn’t stop himself. Even though he knew there would be hell to pay for it, he put his hands on her waist. She cut off at once. He leaned forward, moving slowly so as to give her plenty of time to pull away. She didn’t. And so, he kissed her, hard and deep.
With a groan, she threw her arms around his neck and pulled herself tighter against him.