Blackwing Dragon (Harper's Mountains 5) by T. S. Joyce Read Free Book Online

hands in his pockets and his jeans slid down farther, exposing a strip of stomach muscle and making Rowan feel like the whole damn world was unfair.
    “What speeds?”
    “You are a blur in fast motion, talking ninety-to-nothing, asking so many damn questions a person can’t keep up, or you hole up into yourself and go still. You are either spewing your thoughts or lost in your head, and there is no in-between.”
    Huh. Well, that drew her up. No one had ever put a finger on her manic personality quite so quickly. Even with sunglasses and in the dark of night, Kane was seeing her more than most people ever had.
    Rowan lengthened her stride and slipped her hand in the curve of his inner elbow. His muscles were hard as boulders and his skin soft as silk.
    Kane flinched and tensed, but allowed the touch. He cast a quick glance down at where they connected and let off a sharp breath. “Bloodrunner, I don’t know your end-game, but after tonight, I’m gone, okay?”
    Rowan leaned her head against the strong curve of his shoulder and sighed. “I know. It’s fun to be friends tonight, though.”
    “We aren’t—”
    “For crap sake, Kane. Just let me have this. It’s the only thing keeping my mind off my treasure. Just pretend with me, okay?”
    His Adam’s apple bobbed in his muscular neck, and then Kane nodded once. “Fine.”
    “Kane?”
    “Hmm?”
    “Are you afraid of me?” His response mattered more than she would ever admit out loud.
    He didn’t answer her, though. Instead, he suddenly became really busy opening the door for her and finding them seats in the bustling restaurant. Even thought it was two-thirty in the morning, the local bars must’ve just let out because the place was hopping.
    Kane took her hand and led her to a booth in the corner by the window. The diner was all checkered tiles and black tables trimmed with chrome. There were a bunch of pictures of famous people on the wall with autographs. Kane’s hand was so strong and firm around hers, she was having trouble removing her attention from the place their skin touched. He hadn’t flinched away from her heat. She ran a lot hotter than humans, and usually they felt the burn immediately, but not Kane. In fact, he ran a little warm, too. Maybe his nerves were damaged. The more she studied his tattooed arm, the less his injuries looked like burns and more like shrapnel scars. Perhaps he’d tattooed the arm to cover them up.
    For some reason, that made her really sad. Scars were badges of honor where she came from, but it wasn’t the same for humans.
    Kane grunted when he sat down too hard on his side of the table. He grimaced in pain before he carefully composed his face again.
    “Did you fight in the war?” she asked nonchalantly, lifting her menu.
    “Yep.”
    “Is that where you got hurt?”
    Kane inhaled deeply and rested his elbows on the table, clenched his hands. “Do you ever have a little voice in your head that tells you asking certain questions might not be appropriate?”
    “Like one of them angels on my shoulder?”
    “Yeah.”
    “Nope.”
    He stared at her for a full three seconds before his lips curved up into a smile. He fingered the corner of the menu and said, “Yeah. That’s one of the places I got hurt.”
    “There was more than one?” Shit, one was enough, especially if it was war. That was a big one. Some of the shifters in Damon’s Mountains had fought, and they came back with scars on their insides and their outsides.
    But Kane didn’t answer her question and instead asked one of his own. “Why didn’t you ever leave Damon’s Mountains?”
    “Because I don’t feel safe anywhere else.” Rowan pursed her lips and dipped her gaze to the appetizers. She hadn’t meant to admit that. Not to Kane. He already thought she was weak. “Why do you wear the sunglasses?”
    “Because I want to.”
    “But I saw your face. You don’t have scars or anything. You look…” Perfect . “I like the way you look