NocC 029 - Kendra Leigh Castle - Taming the Dragon - Harlequin 2012-12 by Nocturne Read Free Book Online Page B

standing. “And no.” He stalked away from the
table so quickly that it took Tess a moment to register that she’d somehow
offended him. Stubborn, moody creature, she thought, pursing her lips and rising
to go after him.
    “What did I say?” she asked. He stopped in the middle of her
living room and turned, stiffly, to face her. His expression was inscrutable,
apart from the fact that he was obviously unhappy with her.
    “I am no weakling,” he said.
    Tess blinked. “I know that.”
    “All I wanted was to be left alone,” he snapped. “You want me
to fight them. The witch demanded I fight them. For what? Everything that was is
destroyed. I’m trapped no matter what I do. All I wanted was to be left to my
treasure. That’s all that’s left. I don’t even have anything to live for, much
less die for, and the hunters will never stop
coming. That is but one lesson I brought to this world with me.”
    “But Morgan is a witch. Look, she obviously got involved for a
reason. Maybe she wants to help—”
    Kaden’s voice was full of barely leashed fury, and though Tess
knew he wouldn’t hurt her, the strength of his emotions had her taking a step
back.
    “Her world is not mine. Our doorways are not hers. She can’t
get me home, and she offers me nothing but some foolish notion of reclaimed
honor. Perhaps she just wants a pet dragon to fight her battles for her. No one
with magic is to be trusted. All they want is control.”
    “And is that what you think I am? Just another way to control
you?”
    Through her hurt and anger she saw Kaden’s features tighten. He
shouldn’t be able to make her feel like this, Tess thought. But then, she
shouldn’t want him like she did.
    “You are just...unexpected,” Kaden allowed. It didn’t escape
Tess that he sounded unhappy about it. “I protect what is mine.”
    “You keep saying that,” Tess said. “But you might want to start
thinking about the fact that I’m not some piece of jewelry that you can pick up
and tuck away while you pass out for a century or so. I have a life here, and
dreams. And unlike you, I fight for what I
want.”
    The barb hit its mark. “I have tried fighting,” he snarled. “It
is hopeless. You don’t understand anything, human. ”
    “I understand plenty,” Tess said. “I’m sorry for what happened
to you. I know what it’s like to lose things.”
    “I lost my entire family. Everyone.”
    “Well, at least yours wanted you,” Tess replied. “Mine never
wanted me. I got shown the door the day I graduated from high school, and I
never looked back. All my mother saw me as was competition for her boyfriends’
attention, and I don’t even know who my father is. Trash, no doubt. That’s what
she likes. That’s what I swore to God I would never be. So here I am, and I
don’t have much, but at least I haven’t given up!”
    “Accepting your fate is not giving up. I wanted nothing but to
be left alone,” Kaden shot back, and the words landed like a punch in the
gut.
    “Then don’t let me stop you,” Tess said quietly. Before she
could find a reason to stay and keep banging her head against the brick wall
that was Kaden, she turned on one heel and left.
     

NINE
    He found her on a bench in a little park a couple of
miles away.
    If she noticed the dark shape that passed over her before he
landed in human form, she showed no sign of it. Nor did she turn her head to
look at him as he approached. Her arms were wrapped around herself tightly—she
hadn’t bothered to grab a jacket, and the air was chilled.
    He had hurt her. He hadn’t intended to, but that didn’t make
the wound any less real.
    Kaden walked slowly to the bench and sat beside her, leaving a
little distance between them. She said nothing, but this close, he caught a
scent that was much like the sea, deep and mysterious. Tears. He had made her
cry. The knowledge agitated him in a way he was completely unused to. He wanted
it fixed. He wanted everything fixed, damn it.