This Arthur fellow has some sort of sense of self-preservation, because he hesitates before reaching his hand out and taking Gareth’s. They shake, and I know my brother is clenching the other man’s hand. Delivering his warning while barely saying a word.
“And you three have been helping my little Buttercup learn to be a dragon rider?” he asks, nervous. As he should be. Not just because we’re his princes, but because we’re men who could tear him into tiny pieces and grind those pieces into dust.
Lucien answers, practically gritting his teeth. “Actually, we’ve been actively trying to discourage her from riding. We think her being a commoner, and a woman, makes her ill-fitted for the responsibilities and dangers of a dragon rider.”
Arthur laughs. Actually laughs. “But I’m sure that didn’t go the way you’d hoped. If there’s one thing I know about Harper, it’s that she’s not easily discouraged from something once she’s made her mind up.”
“She is stubborn,” Gareth says dryly.
Arthur grins, kissing her on the top of the head, and she smiles in response. “Stubborn doesn’t even begin to describe her. Once, when we were kids, we had this game where we’d spike this leather ball at each other and run, then we couldn’t get rid of the ball until we hit the other person with it. I threw it at her through her window and ran for it. Turns out she was naked. She jumped out her window, tackled me, and hit me with the ball like twenty times, naked. It would’ve been funny, if I wasn’t so terrified.”
None of us laughs as an image of Harper rolling around naked with this asshat leaps into our minds. I can see it on my brothers’ face. I can also see just how much they want to kick this guy’s ass.
I’m usually the calm one of the three of us, but I don’t feel calm now. I feel out-of-control. My hands curl into fists, and my breathing grows more rapid. My mind keeps flashing between an image of Harper and this man rolling around naked together, and her tucked under his arm right now. I want to snatch her away. I want to claim her asmyfiancé, but those words would carry the kind of weight I’m not ready to shoulder right now.
This feeling… it’s got to be my connection to my dragon. I’ve never felt this obsessively interested in a woman in my life. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever cared about a woman ever. I’m not like Lucien, who goes through women like he goes through food, or like Gareth, who seems to prefer being alone to the company of any woman. I find women them attractive. We have sex, and I move on, always making my intentions clear from the beginning.
I’m not my father, and I never will be.
But Harper. She’s something different.Someonedifferent. And my dragon is making me feel dangerously possessive of her.
Arthur gives a nervous laugh.
“Hello.”
We turn to see a well-built blond man standing to the side of him. I instantly don’t like him. Something about him makes me want to punch him in the face, but maybe that’s because he came here with Arthur.
“I’m Tesson,” the man tells us, like it matters.
It doesn’t.
“You caught our names,” Gareth says, not a question but a statement.
Harper turns to Arthur, smiling with those full lips of hers. “Did you see Ebron, my dragon?”
“The big black one?” he asks, “Oh yeah, I saw him, and I’ve heard all about him through the rumor mill. An actual male dragon! Just incredible!”
“He’s big and powerful, but he’s also awesome. He’s funny, like literally makes me laugh, and he watches out for me.”
“Like having a really big dog,” Arthur suggests.
I scoff.A dragon is not a dog.
“He might roast you if you said that to him,” she teases, their familiarity a thorn in my heart.
It seems like these two have known each other forever.Have they been in love all that time? Have they been touching each other, tasting each other, since they came of age?Tension streaks through my entire body. It’s hard to catch my breath.
Harper gives his arm a squeeze. “I can’t wait for you to meet him.”
“I’d like to meet him too,” the blond says, an angry note to his words.
She doesn’t even look his way. “And you should get a better look at the female dragons too. They’re absolutely beautiful.”
For some reason, I don’t want him to see my dragon. I don’t want him anywhere near Harper or this academy. Maybe it’s crazy, but all of this feels like my territory, and this outsider doesn’t belong here. No matter how much Harper smiles and touches him.
“But first,” she says, “I’ll show you my room.”
Show. You. My. Room.The world drops away for the briefest moment, and I picture exactly what Harper means by showing her fiancé her room. I’m sure these two have missed each other. I’m sure it’s been a long time since they were fucking each other. And maybe he has a right to her, but the hell if I’m going to let him touch her.
