A soft knock sounded on Cammie’s door, and she stared at it for a moment before grudgingly opening it. Glaring at Alex, she tapped her foot, arching her eyebrow.

“Can I come in?” he asked wearily.

Frowning over how tired and beat down he looked, some of her frustration and anger faded away. She gestured him in, watching as he collapsed to a sitting position on the side of her bed. His head was hanging, his shoulders slumped, and despite herself, she felt herself softening, concern over his appearance washing her ire away. Chiding herself for turning into such a softy and losing some of her tough edge, she walked over and sat down next to him, pulling her leg up and planting her foot on the bed.

“Are you okay?”

He glanced at her in surprise. “I thought for sure you’d be too mad to even let me in the door, and here you are, asking me if I’m okay.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m still pissed. Kind of. But you look like you just lost your best friend. I’ve never seen you look like this before.”

He took her hand and gave it a squeeze, holding it tightly and rubbing his thumb over her knuckles. “It was just a long day. A long two days, really.”

“Where did you take off to tonight? You worried me.”

Shaking his head, he closed his eyes tightly for a moment. “I’m so sorry, Cammie. I didn’t mean to worry you. I just had a lot of questions I didn’t have answers to, and I wanted to take a drive, try to find some answers. Oh, and,” he reached into his pocket, pulling out a set of keys, “I found out where my car was, and stopped by to check it out.”

“You have it back?” she asked.

“Yeah. Well, kind of. I have the keys and can get it any time. I couldn’t drive it back since I was driving Seth’s.”

“It’s a little much, isn’t it? Flamboyant, and an attention getter.”

“My car?” he asked in surprise. “It’s a black Toyota sedan.”

“No,” she said with a laugh. “Seth’s Charger.”

“Oh. Yeah, it’s a little much for me, but it’s a nice car. And it practically screams Seth,” he said with a chuckle.

“That it does,” she replied, smile fading as she looked at him closely, taking in the strain around his eyes. “Did you find the answers to your questions?”

“Not the most important ones,” he said with a heavy exhale.

If anything, he looked more beat down than he had when he knocked on her door, and she squeezed his hand. “Give it time. They’ll come.”

He glanced at her and a flash of guilt passed through his gray eyes, there and gone so fast she was left wondering if she saw it at all.

“You’re too good to me,” he said fervently, raising her hand to his lips and placing a soft kiss on her knuckles.

Laughing, she replied, “You’ll get no argument from me there.”

His eyes softened as they searched hers, before dropping to her lips. She wet them reflexively, and his eyes darkened with heat as he leaned in and kissed her slowly. He kept it light for a long moment, just brushing his lips across hers, and then he opened his mouth slightly. She did the same, but he didn’t immediately push his tongue inside, instead giving her long, open mouthed kisses.

Turning to her more fully, he eased her down on the bed, and she left her knee up as she lifted her hand to his jaw, wanting to feel it working as he kissed her. Eventually, he passed his tongue over her lips, and she opened further for him, her tongue meeting his. He kept the kiss gentle as their tongues tangled together, but desire was still racing through her body, warming her blood quickly.

It felt like ages they stayed like that, just kissing and nothing more, but eventually his hand moved to her bare knee, and he slowly slid it up her thigh. Her breath caught in her chest as his touch left tingles in its wake. He paused when he reached her thigh, but despite her urging, he wouldn’t move it higher.

He pulled away from her, searching her eyes. Trying to swallow her frustration down, she asked, “What? Why did you stop?”

“Cammie, we need to talk first. I have to tell you some—”

Quickly shaking her head, she put her hand over his mouth. “Not now. I want to make love with you. We’ll talk after.”

Hesitating more, he gazed into her eyes as she removed her hand. “Are you sure? I think—”

Not caring to hear what he thought, sure it would be more of him wanting to talk, she leaned up and sealed her mouth to his. She didn’t want to talk right now. She wanted to make love with him. Not only for her, though she felt like she’d expire on the spot if he didn’t get inside her soon, but for him, as well. He looked so dejected, so weary, like the weight of the world was on his shoulders. She hated seeing him like this, and she wanted to help take away whatever was troubling him, even if it was only for this moment in time.

Even with her kissing him, she could still feel him pausing, still hesitating. So she plunged her tongue into his mouth, arching her pelvis into his, and it wasn’t long before she felt him giving in, kissing her back with the same intensity she was kissing him with.

His hand went to her knee again, and this time he slid it all the way up her thigh, delving under her shirt to cup her breast. Moaning into his mouth, she arched her back, pushing herself more firmly into his hand. His fingers found her nipple, and they twisted, tugged and pinched, until she was writhing on the bed under him.

Sliding her hand between their bodies, she found his hard shaft and squeezed, but she wanted more. Popping the button of his jeans open, she eased the zipper down, smiling to herself at the way he held himself still, his fingers absentmindedly rubbing over her nipple. His focus wasn’t on driving her crazy, it was on what she was doing to him. And that’s exactly how she wanted it.

She pushed on his jeans, and he helped her push them down. As soon as there was enough room, she took him in her hand. His velvety hardness was thick, and her fingers didn’t meet around him, but she tried anyway, taking him in a firm grip and gliding her hand up and down, adding a twist of her hand when she reached the head.

“Fuuuuuuck,” he breathed out, bucking his hips in time with her slow pumps.

Cammie squirmed on the bed, already feeling the moisture gathering between her thighs. Alex surged forward and covered her mouth with his as his hand slid back down her chest, straight to her center. As she continued her slow glide on his cock, he ran his fingers up her folds, the sensation intense even through her panties. Gasping, she couldn’t stop her hips from undulating as her entire being focused on his fingers. Moving her panties out of the way, he slid a finger past her folds, going straight for her clit.

It didn’t take much of that before she was letting him go and pushing him away. “Clothes off,” she panted, sitting up and pulling her shirt and panties off.

“Thought you’d never ask,” he replied, voice gravelly, kicking his boots off and shoving his jeans down. He looked at her for a moment, drinking her in, before he said, voice commanding, “On your hands and knees, sweetheart. Now.”

Her whole body shivered as desire washed over her, lighting up her insides at his harsh command. He’d never been like this with her, and she and her dragon were both eating it up. Doing as he told, she got on her hands and knees, looking back at him in invitation. His hand was on his cock, and he gave himself a few pumps before moving behind her, getting into position.

Grabbing her hips in his hands, he plunged into her in one hard stroke. Her moan was choked off as the breath whooshed from her body. Dropping her head, she fought to find some air as his hardness filled her to overflowing, and every part of her body felt like it was tingling.

Her breath was finally coming back just as he pulled out and plunged back in, his thighs meeting hers in a loud smack. She struggled to breathe again, and then gave up. Who needed air anyway, when they were getting fucked like this?

The pace he set never let up, and she was helpless to do anything other than go along for the ride. He gathered her hair in his hands, pulling gently, as his thrusts became wild and uncontrolled. Her core was tightened to the point of pain, and she wasn’t sure she could handle any more. Her dragon was eating his dominance up, and Cammie was too.

Reaching an arm around her, Alex found her swollen nub. It only took a few passes of his finger over her clit before she was coming, feeling like every molecule separated from her body, soaring to the sky. He let go of her hair as he grabbed her hips and plunged in a couple more times, coming hard. She squeezed her eyes shut, letting her head fall to the bed, as the feel of him pulsing set off new aftershocks inside her.

They stayed like that for a moment, Alex bucking into her slowly, prolonging their pleasure. When the stars finally cleared from behind her closed lids, she opened her eyes and raised her head as Alex gently pulled out of her. He moved to his side of the bed and laid down, holding an arm out to her, his chest still heaving for air. Taking him up on his invitation, she collapsed beside him on the bed, still panting.

He had so many sides to him. The calm and capable Alex, the silent and strong Alex, the funny man, the protector, the defender, the dominant, the bringer of death by sex. That last one… the way he owned her body, the way he played her like a master of piano. Her breath caught as renewed heat and desire washed over her again, but she was too depleted to do anything about it.

She snuggled into him, her head on his chest as she listened while his pounding heart slowly calmed. Pulling her in tighter, he kissed the top of her head and rubbed his hand up and down her arm.

“Cammie, I love you. Maybe it’s early to say it, but you’re my heart and soul. No matter what happens, please remember that.”

Elation and joy coursed through her veins, but she still found herself frowning. “What do you mean by, no matter what happens?”

Fingers tightening around her arm for a moment, he shrugged. “We have a lot going against us right now. There’s so much that can happen, so much uncertainty with the future. We could be blissfully happy with nothing ever happening for the rest of our lives, or the worst could happen tomorrow. I just want you to always remember how much I love you.”

Relaxing back into his arms, she nodded. Everything he said made sense, and though it felt like there was something he wasn’t telling her, she couldn’t deny what he spoke was the truth.

“I love you too,” she said softly, trailing her fingers over his abs. In the two weeks since he began training, he’d already packed on more muscle. She sometimes found it hard not to touch him, but she forced herself to stop for a moment, lifting her head to meet his eyes. “I fought it at first. Fought you, period. And I’m still not convinced I’m any good for you, that I was right when I gave into the heat between us. Being with me could cost you your life. But for myself, meeting you, falling for you, was the best thing that ever happened to me. I love you more than you could ever know.”

The amount of love and awe filling his gaze stole her breath. Leaning in, he kissed her long and slow before he pulled back, saying huskily, “I promise I will always strive to be worthy of your love. Always.”

Nipping his bottom lip, she whispered, “You already are, Alex. You already are.”

Laying her head down on his chest again, she listened to his heartbeat as his breathing deepened and became slow and steady. Suddenly remembering he wanted to talk tonight, she started to lean up to ask him about it, but stopped and quirked her lips in amusement as he let out a soft snore.

Her smile faded as the last couple of days came back to her mind. Something was going on with Alex. He said he went for a drive, hoping to find answers. His voice was truthful, and yet like so many other things today, it didn’t feel like that’s all there was to it. She knew, after tonight, that he wasn’t having second thoughts. Not only did he make love to her like she was all he’d ever want, but he told her he loved her. Those weren’t the words and actions of someone who was planning on bolting at the first opportunity.

She hoped he wasn’t thinking of doing something drastic or desperate in regards to her hunted status. She couldn’t think of anything he could do about it, but the thought still worried her. Nibbling her bottom lip, she wondered if he was thinking of breaking his promise that he wouldn’t try to fight another dragon. He could be psyching himself up for it, for training harder so he had a shot. Freezing for a split second, she thought back to when she first asked him not to take on a dragon for her, ice filling her veins when she realized he never promised not to. When they kissed, every thought flew out of her head, and she didn’t think to press for it again.

Forcing herself to relax, she vowed to get his promise tomorrow. He had to realize now, after being around shifters so long, he couldn’t hope to take on a dragon and live a few moments beyond that decision. Getting his promise would surely be easy.

Maybe she was worrying for nothing. It was probably just him looking for answers about his past. She couldn’t imagine not knowing her background, not knowing who she was beyond a few weeks worth of memories. Glancing up at him, she studied his face. He looked peaceful, his mouth open slightly, and she realized now, as she noted their absence, that he’d had lines of strain and worry etched on his face for a couple days now.

Snuggling back into his arms, she placed a soft kiss on his chest, her lips lingering for a few moments. That was probably it. He hadn’t seemed too bothered or frustrated by his lack of memories, though she knew he had to have been. It was probably catching up to him now.

Eyes getting heavy, she let them slide closed, satisfied with the conclusion she came to. Despite the uncertain future, she felt bone-deep happiness and contentment fill her as she slid into a peaceful sleep.

Jerking awake, Cammie’s eyes popped open, instantly alert and searching for a threat. Frowning when she came up empty and wondering what woke her, it took a few moments before she realized the mattress was trembling softly. Her frown deepened as she rolled over and saw Alex sitting up beside her, back tense, frozen except for the tremors wracking his body. That was the cause of the mattress shaking.

“Alex,” she said softly as she placed her hand gently on his back. He didn’t move, or acknowledge her in any way, and worry filled her as she sat up, pulling the sheet over her naked breasts and tucking it under her arms. “Hey, babe. What’s wrong?”

There was still no reply. His eyes were open, but it was like he was staring into nothing, unaware of her and the room around him. The sun was beginning to rise, and the room was filling with light. She used it to study him, cocking her head.

Maybe he was having some sort of weird sleepwalking episode. It was like he was awake, but not, at the same time. Remembering something she heard once about not startling someone who was sleepwalking, she didn’t speak again. Instead, she laid her hand on his trembling back, hoping he would somehow know she was there.

It felt like hours before he suddenly drew in a gasping breath, shoulders slumping as he panted. She rubbed soothing circles on his back as he drew his knees up and buried his face in his hands.

“Fuck!” he exclaimed, the word muffled but still loud enough in the silence of the room to make her start.

“Were you sleepwalking, or some form of that?” she asked, keeping her voice low and soothing.

Keeping his face in his hands, he shook his head. “No, just a bad dream.”

Her hand stilled and she frowned at the off notes in his voice. “I know that’s a lie, Alex. I can hear it in your voice. What’s going on, and why would you try to lie to me?”

Freezing for a second before forcing himself to relax, he cursed under his breath. Shaking his head and looking up, he glanced over at her. The breath rushing from her lungs in one go, she saw his lips moving, but she had no idea what he was saying. A deafening roar was sounding in her ears, and ice filled her veins as she looked into his eyes. They were a blazing pale silver with swirls of light gold, and she watched as his pupils flickered, elongating and shrinking before repeating the process.

A hiss escaped her throat, and she scrambled away from him, throwing herself off the bed and grabbing her pants and shirt off the chair by the bed.

“What’s wrong?” he asked as he watched her jerk her clothes on.

Inhaling deeply, she looked up at his concerned face, glaring at him. “How about I ask the questions? Like why the fuck you have dragon eyes right now?”

His eyes widened, and he held his hands up, like he was trying to show he was no threat as he slowly got off the bed. Even though the bed was between them, she automatically backed up a step, and it pissed her off even more. She didn’t back down from anything or anyone, ever. Yeah, he was a dragon, but she always told herself she wouldn’t do it when a male found her either.

Looked like she was just as much a liar as Alex was.

“Cammie, sweetheart, it’s not what you think,” he said softly.

“You don’t get to fucking call me sweetheart. You lost that privilege the second I found out you were lying to me.” She ran a hand through her hair, laughing bitterly. “I don’t even understand how you lied this whole time without me hearing it, but maybe that’s your shifter gift. Lying without detection. Sure was convenient for you, wasn’t it? And what was this, some elaborate, sick game? You thought it would be more fun to play games, make me fall for you, instead of taking me by force like a typical dragon?”

“You have this all wrong—”

“I don’t think I do. Man, that amnesia story was brilliant. Brilliant! Let me guess, soon you would have tried to talk me into running from this place, getting me away from the fighters so you could take me easier. Hell, maybe training was part of the plan. You probably knew I could take you, and you wanted to learn the same moves I know, so you had a fighting chance of taking me down.”

He eased to the side and she backed up closer to the door, thanking her lucky stars she slept closest to the exit. She hated the fear coursing through her, and hatred for him making her feel it to begin with filled her.

“Cammie—”

“For all I know, you were going to try to play this game forever. It’s not like I would have been able to tell, even if we had the offspring you no doubt want from me. Having a dragon baby would raise no red flags with me, not when my partner is a ‘human’. Hiding your dragon eyes would have been the hardest part, but in the end, you couldn’t do that well, now, could you?” She backed up until the door was right behind her. “I’m leaving the house. Don’t bother following me. Pack your shit and leave, and don’t touch a hair on the head of anyone in this house. And you can forget about hanging around Eagle Creek, waiting on me to appear, because I won’t be back again. Just one more thing you stole from me. I’ll be hanging around the area until you’re gone from Eagle Creek, but you won’t see me, and remember how fast I am. You won’t catch me either. Now get the fuck out of this house, and out of Eagle Creek.”

Without waiting on a reply, she whirled around and quickly jerked the door open, applying her shifter gift for added speed as she left. She was already clearing the yard and heading into the woods when the front door burst open, and she swiftly glanced back, taking in a naked Alex in the doorway. Turning back around, she ran for what felt like hours, through Rocky River property and beyond. She circled the town a few times, taking breaks when she got too winded, vigilant for any hint he was following her.

It was late afternoon when she went back to Rocky River property. She needed to make sure Alex had left, and she couldn’t disappear without saying goodbye to her brothers. She walked past her favorite spot, and then doubled back. The events of the morning were catching up to her, and she sank down to the grass, pulling her knees to her chest and fighting tears.

How could he have fooled her so thoroughly? He fooled all of them, but she was supposed to be smart enough not to fall for shit like this. She let her attraction for him, and then her stupid dragon’s declaration of mate, blind her to the truth of what he was. He approached the situation so differently, and there was no way she could have guessed. Add in the fact that he somehow slipped lies past shifter senses, and she couldn’t have known. But that didn’t stop her self-recrimination for not figuring it out.

A few tears slid out of the corners of her eyes, and she drew a shuddering breath. She felt like she was a heartbeat away from losing it. Rocking a little, she tightened her arms around her legs and rested her head on her knees. Losing Alex made her feel like she couldn’t breathe. Cursing herself for a fool, she shook her head angrily, her cheek brushing her pants. She didn’t lose Alex. She never really had him to begin with, and she couldn’t lose what she never had.

He probably laughed at her this whole time. She prided herself on being strong, wary, always aware of the world, and the people, around her. But for the last month, she acted more like a green, naïve teenager who had no knowledge of the evil in the world.

What he thought he would gain by approaching the situation like this, she might never know. It might have made it easier for him to snatch her, but he had to know doing it like this would only make her hate him more when she found out. And eventually, even if today hadn’t happened, she would have found out. That wasn’t something he could have kept from her forever. He would have slipped up at some point.

She briefly wondered what had happened this morning to cause his eyes to go dragon. It must have been something else to make him forget, even for a moment, what his purpose was. But it didn’t matter, and she was grateful for whatever it was that made him slip for a moment, allowing her to see what he’d been hiding. A dragon. She still had trouble believing he was one of her kind.

See? Strong enough for us.

Stupid dragon. Yeah, this meant he was strong enough for them. Actually, it made her needing protection a moot point, because being claimed by another dragon was enough to make her virtually invisible to other males. Maybe if he’d been real, and honest from the beginning, it could have worked out. But not now, and her dragon was out of her mind if she thought Cammie would accept Alex now, dragon shifter or not.

Exhaling heavily, she scrubbed her hands over her cheeks, removing evidence of the few tears she hadn’t been able to keep from falling. Another thing to hate him for. She hadn’t truly cried since her parents died. Sighing, she looked at the creek, hoping to find some peace like she usually found in this spot, before she went to the house to make sure Alex left, and to say her goodbyes. She didn’t want to leave her brothers, or Shelby, but they were in clear danger if she stayed.

Finding no peace, she put her hands on the ground, preparing to push herself up. She had a feeling it would be years until she found any peace again, if ever. Pausing when she felt a something sting her arm, she frowned. Insects always left shifters alone. Lifting her suddenly weak arm, she froze when she glanced down and saw the dart lodged in her skin. Reaching over with her other hand, she tried to grasp it. It was hard because her hand was trembling madly, and it took far longer, and was more effort than it should have been to pull it out.

She stared down at the dart blankly for a moment before her eyes rolled back into her head and everything went black.