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“Yes, she does,” Yazmine concedes. “But…” she lifts her bag onto her shoulder and makes for the door. “... You should just be glad that I’m keeping myself busy,” she says with traces of sarcasm in her tone. “What else is a dragon shifter’s concubine meant to do?”
Startled, I snap my head from behind the wardrobe. But Yazmine has already left the room, the door shutting with a loud thud.
What was that?
Frowning deeply, I dress for the day while the void in my chest grows from Yazmine’s absence.
Concubine?
What does she mean? And why is she so cold again?
***
“You look dapper, brother,” Felix praises Draco when he emerges from the bathroom.
Draco smirked with self-satisfaction as he tugged on the lapels of his tuxedo jacket and then frowned at each of his brothers. “Why aren’t you guys dressed yet?” He glances at his wrist. “We’re leaving for the hall in fifteen minutes.”
As soon as he looks up, the rest of us disperse. Having spent the day running errands for Draco, we’re all exhausted.
On the other hand, I have just been scraping through the day, biding my time, and wallowing in Yazmine’s parting words.
Concubine…
I can’t believe she’d call herself that. I mean, I don’t blame her. As far as she knows, she’s only here to produce children for me. In the meantime, she’s become more than just a child-bearer.
Something I don’t know how to vocalize. The last time I dipped my hand into a real relationship, I was left heartbroken. I can’t subject myself to that torture again. I can’t spend another two years trudging through life pointlessly.
I couldn’t find meaning in the things I saw in the world. That’s the only reason I went back to the island. Only to be given a gift I wasn’t expecting.
Yazmine…
How on Earth a pure, independent soul would accept a beast like me, I’m not sure. It seems that she, too, is simply going through the motions of what it means to bear my children and then, finally, leave the island.
Standing in front of the mirror, I pull on the two ends of the striped tie and sigh. What a terrible excuse to make to keep her by my side… As if a thousand-year-old dragon shifter needs help fixing his tie.
“Pfft…” I blow out a breath as I begin to make a knot, when suddenly the door to the hotel room comes crashing in.
Turning slowly, the wind is knocked from my gut, and my jaw drops when my eyes land on Yazmine.
With dark curls cascading down her head, she wears the simplest touch of makeup on her face. Not that she needs it. But the shade of dark pink lipstick magnifies her cherry blossom lips, her eyeliner intensifying the emerald depths of her eyes.
Then there’s the rest of her—her ample curves hugged by creamy silk. I gulp hard, fingers tingling with the strong urge to rip the dress off and make sweet, passionate love to the woman who crushed my walls.
Sweet, passionate love?
It can’t be…
“Yazmine?” I breathe in disbelief, wondering if this is a figment of my imagination. I might be hallucinating, but she proves me wrong when a nervous half-smile curls her lips, and she steps over the threshold.
“I came back…” she says hesitantly as she comes forward and stands before me, eyes flitting to the tie. “You said you needed help.”
A nervous chuckle escapes me as I drop my hands to my sides. Yazmine reaches up and grabs the two ends of the tie, inhaling a staggered breath.
This close, I can smell her perfume's floral notes, which intoxicate my senses and have me mentally swaying. Staring at her in wonder, I realize the magnitude of this very moment.
She came all the way back to the hotel just to help me fix my tie. The gesture is flattering, but it’s so much more than I deserve. She deserves so much more than I’ve been willing to give her.
“You came back…” I whisper, staring at her face while she focuses on fixing the tie. Deep down, there’s a strange sense of relief that washes over me, even if I know I don’t deserve this.
