Chapter Six
Her scream pierced the night. Utterly terrified. Heart-wrenching.
Griffin jerked away from his position near the great fireplace, his gaze immediately shooting for the door. Valerie had warned him that she would scream. And he’d warned his guards to stay the hell away from her room if she did.
“I give you five minutes.” Elliott stood just a few feet away, an amber liquid in the glass he held so casually. “And then you’re breaking down the door to get to her.”
Her scream had died away.
“It’s a trick,” Warren snapped. “She is obviously trying to play some mind game with you, Griffin. She warned you about the screams because she thought you’d stay with her. When you didn’t, well, she just decided to use those lungs of hers to make some drama. She thinks you’ll come rushing to the rescue.”
Elliott lifted his whiskey in a little salute. “Because he will.”
Griffin snatched the glass from the guy and drained it in one gulp. He barely felt the fire in his throat.
Another scream. Longer than before. Louder.
Griffin threw the glass into the fireplace. It shattered. He stormed for the door.
Warren blocked his path. The shifter held up his hands. “Take a breath. Think about this. She’s playing with you. Do you really think, even for a second, that a woman like her would have nightmares? She is the nightmare.”
“Get the fuck out of my way.”
Warren locked his jaw. “I’m trying to help. The witch is tricking you—”
“A woman who looks like her would never have to trick me into her bedroom,” Elliott offered. “I’d be at her door begging for entrance.”
Griffin turned his head. Glared at the bear. “I told you at dinner—when you were practically drooling on her—stay the fuck away.”
Elliott shrugged. “I can’t help it. I like beautiful women. If that’s a sin, call me guilty. It’s not my fault that she’s freaking gorgeous.”
Another scream. Screw this. The sound of Valerie’s fear was making his dragon claw at Griffin’s insides. He didn’t like her screams. Not one fucking bit.
Griffin shoved Warren out of the way and—
“Help her!” Rio was in the doorway, body shaking. Two guards were at his sides. “She’s screaming. I tried to get to her—it’s what a henchman does!—but they wouldn’t let me near her room. She needs help. She needs—”
The very castle itself seemed to tremble. And the temperature in the place…rose.
“Uh, oh,” Elliott murmured. “That can’t be good.”
Griffin glanced up just in time to see a long crack run the length of the ceiling.
Valerie was in the room above him.
“I’m thinking she may not have been lying about the summoning part you mentioned,” Elliott added, some of the humor leaving his voice.
No, she may not have been lying.
“Uh,” Warren cleared his throat as the crack deepened. “Maybe go wake up Sleeping Beauty?”
Griffin bounded out of the room. He rushed past gaping guards—
“Help her!” Rio’s plea followed him.
Griffin raced up the stairs. He didn’t slow when he saw the room he’d given her. Two very nervous and sweaty shifter guards—a dark-haired male and a blonde female—were stationed at her door. When they saw him, they immediate stepped aside.
And Griffin kicked in her door. “Valerie!”
She was in bed. The covers twisted around her—
Around her naked body.
He whirled back to face the guards. “Stay out. I’ve got her.” He didn’t want the male seeing her body because…
She’s mine.
Griffin shook his head. “I’ve got her,” he announced again. Then he slammed the door shut. He hurried to Valerie’s side, jumping over the widening crack in the stone floor. The woman was going to destroy his whole castle. “Wake up!”
She didn’t. She did start to levitate.
Shit. Shit. He hadn’t known witches could actually do that—“Valerie!” He grabbed her. Pulled her into his arms.
Her breath rushed out of her in a hard exclamation. She shuddered. And then her long lashes lifted. Her eyes were so dark and deep, and her red lips curled into a sleepy smile as she whispered, “Hello, beast.”
Her body was naked. Soft. Silken. Pressed to his.
She stretched against him, moving like a cat, and her hands twined around his neck. “I think I was dreaming about you,” Valerie murmured.
His cock was at full attention. A beautiful, naked woman was holding him tight—of course, his body was at attention. He even found his head lowering toward those tempting lips of hers—
No. Griffin cleared his throat. “Sweetheart, you were having a nightmare.”
A furrow appeared between her brows. “Are you sure?”
He just stared at her.
She blinked. Glanced around. So did he. And Griffin realized the giant crack in the floor was gone, as if it had never been there.
“Did I scream?” Valerie asked.
“A lot.”
“Oh.” She nibbled on her lower lip. “Did I scream anyone’s name in particular?”
What?
“Right. Of course, I didn’t.” She kept her body pressed to his. “Did you run in to save me?”
He…had. “I ran in to keep you quiet.”
Valerie batted her very long lashes. “Same thing.”
His cock was about to burst through his pants. Her scent was freaking making him drunk. How did she smell so good? He wanted to put his mouth on the curve of her throat. Wanted to get more of her scent, wanted to lap at her—
He didn’t.
Griffin put her down on the mattress. Pulled the covers up to her throat. “Don’t scream again.” He turned on his heel.
“I will.” Her voice was almost cheery. “I have bad dreams. Terrible, terrible dreams.”
Griffin whirled toward her, eyes narrowed in suspicion. “You were working magic. I told you what would happen if you did that.”
She shrugged. The covers immediately fell, exposing her chest. Exposing the most perfect breasts he’d ever seen in his life. High, firm, round. With dusky nipples that were tight, and he knew she’d taste like heaven on his tongue. He knew—
“You can’t punish me for something I never meant to do. The magic happened when I was unconscious. I couldn’t control it. Surely there is some leeway in your rules for things I can’t control.” She made no move to lift up the covers, but her gaze slid over him. He saw the flare of satisfaction on her face. “Surely you understand about…reactions…that can’t be controlled. You seem to be having one right now.”
His dick shoved toward her.
Griffin sucked in a deep breath. He took a step toward the bed.
Her smile curled her lips.
He pulled in another breath. Stepped forward again.
“Griffin—” Valerie began, voice breathy.
He grabbed the covers and pulled them up to her chin.
She frowned at him. “Are you a prude?”
“Keep. The. Covers. Up.”
A long-suffering sigh came from her. “I thought shifters were comfortable with nudity. I mean, you are the ones constantly ripping out of your clothes. That’s not a witch thing.”
“The covers—”
“Oh, all right! I’ll keep them up!” She slapped a hand to her chest, holding the covers in place. “Happy?”
Not even a little. He’d be happy if he were balls deep in—
“My, my…what are you thinking right now?”
He closed his eyes. “Stay in this room tonight. Don’t work any magic. Don’t—”
“Don’t leave me alone.” Her voice was different. Softer. Huskier. Almost pleading.
Griffin opened his eyes and peered at her.
“It will happen again if you leave me. I can’t stop the demons in my head when I’m asleep. I can’t control them. The power leaks out of me.”
Was she lying? Did the woman even know how to tell the truth?
“If you leave, then you’ll just have to rush back in and stop my screams.” She slid over in the bed. Patted the mattress next to her. “So why not just stay here? If I start to scream, you can just shake my shoulder. Or kiss me. You know, whatever works for you.”
He would not smile at her.
“Come on.” Now she lifted one brow. “You’re not really scared of me, are you?”
“I’m not scared of anything.”
“Of course, not. You’re the big, bad king of shifters. The roughest and the toughest. How could you fear anything? Especially little old me.” She slid down, moving so that her head was on the pillow. “There’s plenty of room for two in this massive bed.”
Sure there was. “It’s my bed. It has to be big.”
Her lips parted, but she didn’t immediately reply, and he knew he’d just caught her by surprise. After a moment, when he could practically hear the gears grinding in her head, she said, “You gave me your bedroom? Your bed?”
He had. “You’re my mate. Where else would you sleep?”
She smiled. “Where, indeed.” Her hand stroked over the empty pillow that rested near her. “You have to be tired. I mean, you were trapped as a dragon for weeks, weren’t you? And then a wonderfully kind and incredibly gifted witch came along to free you. Now that you’re back home—safe and sound—you must want to crash.” Her gaze dipped down his body. “Well, you obviously want to fuck first, but you’re being very weird about that…”
“We are not fucking.”
“Your loss. And I mean that with absolute honesty. I would have changed your world.”
He believed her.
“One day, you’ll practically beg to have me.” She looked at her nails. “We’ll have to see how I feel then.”
His temples were throbbing. And his dick was aching. Griffin glanced at the door.
“Are you truly afraid of me? Afraid of little old Valerie? Surely you don’t believe all of the stories you’ve heard about me. I mean, haven’t I been incredibly helpful to you? If it wasn’t for me, you would have been put to death. Or at least, the witches would have tried to kill you. Don’t know if they would have succeeded before you burned your way through the council.” Now she let out a wistful sigh. “Wish I could have seen that.”
He slid into the bed with her. Felt Valerie’s start of surprise. He inhaled her absolutely intoxicating scent and managed, “Told you already, I’m not afraid of anything.”
“Right. No fear. None.”
“And you did help me.” Truth. So maybe he owed her this. And that was why he was staying. Because he owed her and not because— “What are you doing?” She’d just slid against him. Thrown one silken leg over his thigh. Put her arm over his stomach and moved her delicate fingers over his heart. He still wore clothing, but he could feel the heat of her touch all the way through the fabric.
Her head angled on his shoulder. Her breath blew lightly over his neck.
“Valerie.” Every muscle in his body was rock hard with tension. “What are you doing?” he snapped again.
“Snuggling. I thought that was obvious.” He was pretty sure he felt her rub her nose against him. “You’re warm. I like that.”
He should tell her to get on her side of the bed. He should.
But he liked how she felt against him.
His left hand clenched the bed sheets.
“I’m glad I saved you,” she murmured, her voice huskier.
His gaze was directed straight up, on the ceiling, and his lips curved a bit at her words. “Don’t you mean that you’re glad you saved yourself? That was all part of your plan, wasn’t it? Save me, then I save you.”
“Seems equal to me.”
His head turned. He stared down at the top of her dark head. And Griffin tried to ignore the odd thought that she felt right against him. “Are you truly as wicked as they say?”
Her head tipped back. Her dark eyes stared up at him. “Yes.”
Right.
“They weren’t going to save you.” Her gaze seemed sad.
“The witches on the council said they couldn’t—”
“That was a lie. They could. They were just afraid.”
Now he was interested. “What did they fear?”
“To save a man trapped within a beast—to do something like that requires a very big sacrifice.”
His brows lifted.
“You have to give up a little bit of your soul to work magic like that.” Her finger tapped against his chest. “Do you feel me…inside? Because that’s what I did. I gave you a part of myself so that you’d be strong enough to come back.”
Impossible.
Wasn’t it?
“If I scream, wake me up.” She yawned. “Or, if you decide to let that amazing cock of yours guide you…” Her witch cackle—an oddly sexy sound now. “Wake me up. I wouldn’t want to miss a thing.”
A few moments later, he felt her body go lax against his. Her breathing was nice and even. Relaxed. Instead of pushing her away then, he pulled her even closer. He looped his right arm around her body and turned so that she was cradled against him. The truth of the matter was that he did owe his maddening witch. He owed her a great deal.
Unfortunately, he feared it was a price he’d never be able to repay.
His lips pressed to her forehead. Sleep well, witch. If any bad dreams come, I’ll be here.
***
She waited until her shifter slept. She faked her own unconscious state, letting her muscles go limp, keeping her breathing all nice and deep. He kissed her forehead, and the move surprised her so much that she almost stiffened.
Almost.
But Valerie didn’t break character. She waited…
Soon he slept.
Then she smiled. Her plan had worked. She had the shifter right where she wanted him. Her fingers slid up, moving carefully to his temple. What do you dream of, my beast?
The spell was an old one. Incredibly easy. It let her peek inside his mind and allowed her to see…
Fire. Raging out of control. Burning the castle they were in. Rushing toward the two men she’d met at dinner. The arrogant Warren. The flirtatious Elliott. They burned, and they screamed, and the fire still raged from the dragon.
From the dragon…from Griffin.
The fire swept out, destroying everything in its path. The dragon raged and burned, and as he did, his pain and madness echoed in his roars. There was no stopping the beast. No safety. Only death.
Only flames. Only…
“Wake up.” Valerie’s voice was trembling. Griffin’s body was so hard and tight against hers. He’d barely drifted to sleep, and the shifter had immediately fallen into a nightmare. One of the worst she’d ever seen.
At her order, though, his gaze flew open. He gave a hard jerk. “What—Valerie?”
“You were snoring,” she lied.
His head turned on the pillow. They gazed into each other’s eyes. His breath came a little too fast.
“Don’t do it again,” she ordered.
Then she closed her eyes. It was a long time before she slept.
Because in Griffin’s dream, he’d burned her, too.