How often had I dreamt of having a real relationship instead of the steaming pile of psychological mess I'd endured for nearly ten years?
So yeah, I got it. But at the same time, I had to tell her, "Look, Elizabeth Ann Margaret, Chase after Asher or don't chase after him. My situation has nothing to do with yours."
"So you're saying you don't want him?" Elizabeth Ann Margaret shot back like we were in one of the reality shows I used to watch fanatically before I got serious about art.
I shifted my eyes to the side. I hated lying, but not answering would only invite her to draw her own conclusion. And how was I supposed to explain that I'd be totally fine with Asher asking me out…after I was done serving my ten-year sentence?
I tugged on my ring, trying to come up with the best answer.
But then, suddenly, I didn't have to.
"Who is that?" Elizabeth Ann Margaret froze, her eyes shifting up to the seminar classroom's doorway. Along with the gazes of every other woman in our class and quite a few of the guys—heterosexual, gay, and everything in between.
I followed the direction of their stare, and my heart nearly gave out.
Victor…
Victor was coming down the stairs right toward us.
And I could see why everyone was staring. For once, he wasn't wearing a suit. Instead, he rocked a short-sleeved Henley and a pair of jeans, even though it was still cold out. But no one but me seemed to be questioning his winter wardrobe choices. Maybe because the Henley clung to his muscular chest. It also showed off the bottom two-thirds of his sleeves while his open collar provided a tantalizing peek at his dragon tattoo. And the trendy gray jeans perfectly framed his muscular legs.
"Wait, is that…is that your husband?" Elizabeth Ann Margaret whispered beside me.
Victor reached us before I could come up with an answer.
He couldn't speak, but he didn't have to. Elizabeth Ann Margaret stepped right out of his way, giving him access to stand in front of me without a word being said. I could feel Asher's eyes on us from the other row. His and everyone else's.
"What… What are you doing here?" I asked.
Victor held up a takeout bag from Harry's to answer my question, then pressed it into my hand.
The day guard must have told him it was one of my favorite lunch spots.
"Thank you?" A question lifted my voice. I was so baffled by his sudden appearance…and his lunch gift.
He grinned down at me, and sadly, I was rocketed right back to high school. Once again struck shy and speechless because he’d aimed that blast of sunlight in my direction.
Instead of signing, "You're welcome," like he did back in high school, though, he stepped forward and tipped my head up.
What was he doing? Surely he wasn't going to…
He couldn't possibly have heard Elizabeth Ann Margaret's question about who he was. But he answered it in the next moment.
He kissed me. He kissed me for the first time in fifteen years. In front of the whole class.
Then he withdrew, leaving me, Elizabeth Ann Margaret, and the rest of the class behind in total shock.
25
VICTOR
Kissing her was a mistake.
She hadn’t acknowledged him to anyone in her world, and he’d entered her classroom with a plan to force her to do so. It was another punishment, meant to rebalance their power dynamic and make up for any weakness he had shown in Texas.
This particular chess move would serve to let the guy who had dared to hug her know that she was taken. He could either kill Asher Peretz or kiss Dawn. Jealousy had his mind so twisted. Those honestly seemed like his only two options.
But he’d known it was a mistake from the moment their lips touched. He’d only meant it to be a peck—a move to announce his claim to Asher Peretz and the rest of her grad class.
Yet, hunger had reared up like a starving tiger inside of him. Wanting more. Demanding more. Needing it with an angry ache.
He’d eventually torn his lips away. But he’d stalked out of the classroom with the feeling that this was yet another battle he couldn’t quite say he’d won.
And, half an hour later, his body continued to the thrum with the same out-of-control desire.
He’d transformed himself over the decade into one of the most powerful dragons in the world. Yet Dawn still made him weak. Perhaps the only wise thing he’d done where she was concerned over the past decade was not allowing himself to kiss her.
Time to disappear again. He made this decision upon walking into the Providence house he had no business staying on at.
However, just as he was heading up the stairs to repack his bag, Dawn came crashing through the front door.
“What the hell was that?” she demanded.
