“Labor is boring,” Platinum said, resting against the wall while Titus worked on one of the last patches on the roof.

“You’re the one who chose to come here,” Titus said. “What has your crew been doing anyway, awakened in the modern world? They always were privileged good-for-nothings.”

Platinum’s eyes narrowed in a scowl. “At least they’re loyal, for better or worse. More than I can say for you.”

Titus took a nail from between his lips and hammered it into place. “Your choice to join their crew, leaving me behind.”

“You aren’t a noble metal,” Platinum said. “I didn’t belong with you.”

“That’s fine, brother,” Titus said. “Former brother.”

“I’m not your brother,” Platinum said. “I never was.”

“Could have fooled me, given how my clan, and my father, took you in when you had nowhere to go.”

“I was a child,” he said. “I didn’t know my place in the world. When I met Dante, I—” He glared. “Never mind. I don’t have to explain this to you. You’re the betrayer. You’re the one who is going to pay.”

Titus put blocks up in his mind so Platinum couldn’t read him. When metal dragons didn’t want others to read their minds, they could stop them.

His main priority was just keeping Platinum busy and away from Bree. He’d never thought of Platinum as the type to go after women that didn’t belong to him, but then again, he and his crew had kidnapped Liam’s mate. Even though they hadn’t done anything to her, it still counted as bad behavior.

“Stop scowling like that,” Platinum said. “I’m just here for the same chance you have.” He walked over and looked at Titus’s work. “Nice.”

“You used to take pleasure in labor as well. Hard work, not just sitting in castles, accumulating wealth and entertaining wenches.”

Platinum shrugged. “That was my old life.”

“Everything is our old life now,” Titus said. “How were you even awakened?”

“I’m done answering your questions,” Platinum said, walking back to sit against the wall again.

Titus tried to read his mind but saw the block there. For better or worse, they both had blocked out the other.

He heard footsteps, and then the trapdoor opened and Bree poked her head inside.

Good thing she hadn’t done that a moment earlier, when their conversation might have given them away as something other than ordinary handymen.

“How are you guys doing?” she asked, climbing up into the attic and setting down a plate with two sandwiches. Titus grabbed one before Platinum could take both and tore into it impatiently, wanting to finish it quickly so he could keep his eyes on his mate whenever she was in the same room with another dragon.

“Fine,” Titus said tightly, throwing the crust of the sandwich back on the plate. “We’re good. You can leave.”

She looked slightly hurt, and he regretted his harshness. Of course, there was nothing he wanted more than her there, but with the asshole platinum dragon running around, he needed her to stay separate. And safe.

Even if it meant he had to miss her presence.

Of course, there was always time together after Sever left. He wouldn’t be staying there, unlike Titus. And there were portrait sessions as well. More alone time.

“When do you want to do more on your painting, Titus?” she asked, and Titus let out a low growl as Platinum’s ears perked up.

“Painting?” he asked, looking over at her, having abandoned the sandwich, deeming it not worth his attention or consumption.

He and Dante and Adrien probably ate the finest steak all day or something.

“Yes,” Bree said, looking shy. “I’m giving Titus a portrait in exchange for the work he’s doing.” She bit her full lower lip, and Titus saw Platinum’s eyes not fail to notice the motion.

Titus’s hands tightened into fists.

Sever let out a snort. “Really?”

“Is that okay?” she asked. “Did he not clear that with the company?”

“He doesn’t have to,” Sever said. “Can I see this portrait?”

“Sure,” she said. “It’s just down here, if that’s okay with Titus.”

“I’m his boss, after all, so it’s okay,” Platinum said, giving Titus a smug grin.

Don’t beat him up. Don’t beat him up, Titus chanted in his head, forgetting to put up a block.

In your dreams, Platinum responded.

He forced himself to stay silent and followed Bree and Sever down to the loft where her studio was. She walked to the easel where the canvas of his painting was and pulled the cover off it.

Sever stood behind it, clearly trying not to laugh, and Titus wanted to walk over and slap the smirk off him.

“Will you paint me?” Sever asked.

She looked taken aback. “You want me to?”

“Aren’t you busy with my painting?” Titus asked, folding his arms.

“If you paint me, I’ll stay and help, and the job can be done doubly quick,” Sever announced.

She pursed her lips, cocking a curvy hip. “I don’t know. I mean, does Titus need the help? And isn’t it a little too good to be true, both of you working on my house without pay?”

“The company is just getting started,” Platinum said. “This will be a valuable reference.”

She was thinking it over, screwing up her little button nose in consternation, and Titus prayed she would say no.

But she didn’t. Instead, she put her hands up in defeat. “I mean, why not? I like painting portraits.”

“We can start now,” Sever said.

“We’re still working on the roof,” Titus insisted, hating the angry dryness in his voice that would be plain to anyone who knew him.

If only he and Sever could get out their weapons and take this outside right now, dragon to dragon.

But no, Sever had a leg up on him because he was still having to keep secrets from his mate.

“I’ll make this easier,” Sever said, shedding his shirt over his head and tossing it to the side as he walked over to sit on the stool.

Titus’s stool.

He scowled.

“Don’t mess up your face like that,” Sever scolded. “It looks horrible.”

“I’m not the one being painted now,” Titus said. “I have work to do, and so do you, apparently.”

Bree looked between them as she pulled on an apron. “We don’t have to do this right now if you don’t want to,” she said to Titus.

“Um, yes, since I’m his supervisor, we do. I make the rules.”

Titus simply glared at the interloper as Bree walked behind her easel and pulled out supplies. When she moved his portrait to the side to pull out a fresh one for Sever, Titus had never felt a stronger urge to beat the shit out of the platinum dragon.

And he’d felt the urge a few times.

Sever simply smirked as she got to work painting him, and Titus felt something darken inside him as he watched the platinum dragon take advantage of his mate.

After all, she was doing this because she had to. Because she was desperate. Because she didn’t want to get caught by something worse if her house took too long to repair.

Was he just as bad as Sever? Was she only allowing him around because she had no other choices? Was she going to boot him the minute this was over?

And why was she more comfortable with the platinum dragon than she was with him?

It didn’t make any sense, and Titus hated it. All he wanted to do was get back upstairs and take care of his mate by taking care of her house. Instead, he had to be here watching her paint another man, watching her stare at him, so he could be sure another dragon didn’t make move on her.

Since when was finding your mate supposed to be this complicated?

He rubbed his hand over his head, wondering what on earth he was supposed to do with the situation.

He decided he had to call Aegis.

* * *

When Platinum had wrapped up his session with Bree, he told her he had to go take care of something on the next job and would be back tomorrow.

Titus let out a sigh of relief. He could get some things done and then spend the night with her and Biff, maybe even do some more painting on his own.

No, he thought darkly. He didn’t want to be painted right now. It just reminded him that she was painting Platinum. That she was letting another dragon take over their lives.

Their lives. Was he delusional? There was no such thing. He was just there as her handyman, and today had made that very plain.

He waited for Platinum to walk away into the tree line and then vanish, glad Bree was still inside so she didn’t get suspicious upon seeing a man disappear into thin air. Right now, Sever would be in dragon form, cloaked, and flying back to wherever his crew was hiding.

Titus dialed Aegis, hoping the other man answered.

“Hello?” Aegis’s voice on the other end was impatient. “Don’t tell me you’re already failing.”

Titus frowned. “Of course not. But there’s been a development I think you should know about.”

“What?”

“The platinum dragon showed up.”

There was a short silence. “One of the three precious metal dragons we met with before?”

“Yes,” Titus said. “Noble metals, technically.”

“Hm,” Aegis said. “And he’s there? What does he want? Do you two have history?”

“We do,” Titus said. “But I’m not sure what he wants or why he’s here.”

“No idea? Why would he be there without his crew? I’m glad you told me. It’s something we should be aware of. Do you want me to send someone out there?”

“Not for now,” Titus said. “I don’t really want another dragon out here with my mate. As long as it’s just him and me, I can handle him. If one of his friends shows up, I may have to call for backup.”

“Everyone is here at the castle if you need us.” Aegis reassured him. As grumpy as Aegis was, and as much as Titus liked to verbally spar with him, when any of the metal dragons needed him, he was there without question.

“Thanks,” Titus said.

“Hang in there,” Aegis said. “Is he the braided one, the big guy?”

“Yes,” Titus said.

“He’s Titus-light,” Aegis said. “You can take him. We may not always see eye to eye, but as far as I’m concerned, you’re by far the superior braided barbarian.”

“Aw, thanks, Aegis. And you mean it? You aren’t just saying that because I’m the last metal dragon, and when I’m mated, you can finally be alone with your mate?”

A click on the other side told him Aegis’s answer as the line went dead.

Well, it was good to know Aegis was behind him, and he’d apprised him of the situation.

As he put the phone back in his pocket, he looked up to see Bree standing on the porch, arms folded, hair whipping in the evening wind. She was watching him hesitantly.

Why hadn’t she looked hesitant with Platinum? Did she like him better? Prefer him to Titus?

He wasn’t sure if he was ready to go back over there. He wanted too much from her. He wanted forever. He wanted mating. He wanted to take care of her house and her land and her dog, give her children if she wanted them, support her painting. Live together.

Make love together.

And that was so far from the world she was in, where he was just a contractor.

Not even superior to Platinum.

Even now, as he walked toward her, his feet brushing through the long grass, she looked ready to shrink away and run, when he would never be the one to harm her.

When he reached the porch, he stopped, looking up.

“Is something wrong?” she asked nervously.

“No.” He lied, pushing his feelings down as far as he could push them. She didn’t need to deal with his petulance right now.

“It seems like something’s wrong,” she said. “Did Sever make it out safely? He sure is a good guy.”

Something snapped in him. Hundreds of years and Titus had no problem keeping himself patient, in control. And now he was losing it.

He stomped up the stairs of the porch, backing her up into her own door and pinning her there with a hand on either side of her head. “A good guy, huh? You like him?”

Her eyes were a deeper blue in the dim evening light, and she nodded. “Is that a bad thing?”

He pushed back and away from her and faced out toward the road, trying to catch his breath as she came up beside him.

“Did I do something to upset you?” she asked.

“I’m jealous,” he said quietly. “I know I have no right to be. I know you don’t feel like that about me. I know I’m just supposed to be professional, but seeing you with him, how much you like him more than me…”

She let out a giggle. “Is that what this is? You think I like him more than you?”

He turned to look down at her. “There’s something between us. At least, I thought there was. If you don’t feel it, though, if you can’t feel it, tell me now.”

“I told you,” she said. “I’m not looking for anything right now. I don’t want to be tied down.”

“I’m not talking about that,” he said. “I’m talking about pure, animal attraction. Do you feel it for me?”

“Of course,” she said, and he could make out her reddening blush even in the semidarkness. “Who wouldn’t? You’re gorgeous and kind and handy.”

“Then why are you nicer to Sever?”

She took a step back, folding her arms and avoiding his gaze. He stepped forward, gently taking her elbows and keeping her in place.

She refused to look at him. “You have it all wrong. It’s easy to be around Sever because I’m not attracted to him.”

Now that he didn’t expect. He released her in shock.

She looked up at him now, her cheeks flaming red. “I… Every time I look at you, every time we’re close, I feel like I’m losing control. Even painting him was so much easier. It’s not that you’re not both good-looking guys. In fact, the reason I initially trusted him was because he looks so much like you. Style-wise, I mean. Tall, handsome, the braid.”

Titus let out a growl.

“But also different,” she said. “So different that I’m wildly attracted to you, but not threatened at all by him.”

“But why does that make you nicer to him?”

“I’m not trying to be mean to you,” she said. “It’s just, ever since you walked into my life, you’ve been turning it upside down, and I don’t really know what to do about it.” Her eyes rose to his. “You make me want to run.”

He knew what she meant. At the prospect of her hurting him, of her picking someone else, he’d wanted to run as well. The difference was he knew he never could.

She was his mate, and that meant he’d stay and fight for her, to the death if needed, come hell or high water.

But how did she really feel about him?

He’d never been so tempted to read a human’s mind, but he and his crew generally found nonconsensual mindreading unethical.

Plus, he’d never met a human whose thoughts he cared about.

He cared intensely now. Wanted to know exactly what she thought when her eyes devoured him, when her hands twitched or her body wriggled slightly when painting him.

When her beautiful, floral scent increased in the air around him, making him suspect an attraction he couldn’t confirm for certain.

He’d never been this insecure, and he was sure he didn’t like it.

“Come sit on the swing with me,” she said. “And we’ll talk.”

* * *

Bree hoped the swing would hold as she and Titus squished onto it and started rocking.

So far, so good.

She loved this swing, loved watching the land darkening around her, knowing she owned all of it, knowing she had a place of her own.

A place that was getting better every day and would improve even faster now that she had two men working on it.

She wouldn’t have trusted Sever for a minute if he hadn’t reminded her so much of Titus.

She looked over at Titus, and he was leaning forward, his feet planted on the ground as he pushed the swing back and forth on the rocker.

He was jealous. Some small part of her was glad. It explained his coldness earlier when he’d been trying to get her away from him and Sever.

She had no right to be thinking that way, since she had no intention of getting involved with him, but somehow it was still comforting that he didn’t think ill of her.

Looking over at his kind, stressed face, she wondered how he could possibly think she liked Sever more than him.

Perhaps he was just reading into her stiffness, the fact that she felt more and more drawn to him all the time and didn’t want to lose control over it.

“It’s a beautiful night,” she said softly.

“Yes,” was his terse reply.

She was about to ask if something was wrong when she realized she already knew something was. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I don’t know how to handle this. I’m attracted to you, but I’m not looking for anything. Plus, you’re working for me.”

“I’m working for the company,” he said. “You’re a client.”

“Yes, well,” she said. “You know what I mean.”

“I still don’t understand why attraction means keeping your distance,” he muttered.

“It’s just that…” Oh well, she might as well put it all out there. She wasn’t going to be able to hold out much longer anyway. Her body was insisting on it. “It’s hard to control myself around you. You’re going to think I’m foolish, but I really want to have sex with you. Even knowing nothing will come of it.”

His eyebrows shot up as he looked over at her as if that were the last thing he’d ever expected to come out of her mouth. “You what?”

“Want to have sex with you,” she mumbled, wishing she could shove the words back in her mouth but simultaneously glad they were out in the open.

Life was just complicated around him.

He leaned back in the swing, overcome by shock. “I want to have sex with you, too,” he said hesitantly, as if he wanted to say more but couldn’t.

“Well, good to know,” she said with a small, nervous laugh, her heart racing.

“I suppose… Can I kiss you?” he asked.

She looked over at him, at his perfect lips and strong shoulders. She didn’t have the will to say no to him. “I suppose.”

He put a hand on the back of the seat behind her and leaned in until they were nose to nose, staying there, a breath apart, until she inhaled shakily.

Then, as if pulled by her, his lips locked over hers with a warm, soft intensity that felt so right she immediately melted into him, pressing her body into his chest.

That was a mistake. It sent heat rocketing through her, making her shudder in the night air in a way that had nothing to do with the cold.

His arms curved around her, a welcome shield from the world, as his lips gently pressed hers open and his tongue delved inside. Warm, wild heat swept through her, seating at the apex of her legs, as he expertly stroked inside her mouth, simulating something she wanted very badly.

She wriggled slightly, and he pulled back, leaving her gasping. She felt like a melted puddle of goo, and he’d only just kissed her. Now her body was screaming for more, while her brain was telling her to think harder about this.

She didn’t want to. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him again, and his hand came up to entwine in her hair, cupping her head.

The safety with him was unlike anything she’d ever felt. The way she was encased against his big body, touched by his soft lips and hard hands, the way she felt utterly female but for once it didn’t feel threatening to be so.

“Take me to bed,” she said. “Before I can overthink this.”

“But are you sure yo—”

“Now,” she said, jerking on his shirt collar and earning an indulgent grin from her Viking.

“You’re the boss,” he said, hauling her up in his arms and catching her against his chest in a way that knocked the breath out of her—in a good way.

She wrapped her arms around him. It shouldn’t feel right, but it did. She shouldn’t be allowing this to go forward, but she couldn’t help it. He was just that good.

And as he walked in the front door, kicked it shut behind him, and headed for her bedroom, she had a feeling he was about to be even better in bed.