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He turns and nods, permitting me to fly back to the castle and join Yazmine on the balcony.
She takes a step back, allowing me to land on human feet. As soon as I straightened up, I folded her into my arms and sighed with relief. The intoxicating scent of her floral shampoo has me lugging in deep breaths of contentment.
Dealing with the group of dragon shifters who captured her and took her off the island can wait. At least until Draco is back. After all, he’s the alpha of the Aurora Dragons. His decision will be final. Despite wanting to rip their necks off their shoulders, I can’t bring myself to be ruthless.
For the sake of the woman in my arms - I know that much. While she weeps in my arms, I feel compelled to be her protector—a wave of unabashed protectiveness washing over me as I cradle her face and wipe the tears streaming down her cheeks.
“Shhh…” I reassure her, determinedly staring into her eyes and willing her to feel the efficacy of the only truth I know now. “You’re okay, Yazmine. I will never let anything like this happen to you again.”
I close the little space between us with a purposeful step, leaning in to capture her lips in a sweet kiss. She sighed, her body turning supple as I wrapped my arms around her and deepened the kiss with my head tilted. I cannot imagine a world without her in it—without a human I so adamantly condemned because of my ego.
When we pull apart, the kiss lingers on my lips, Yazmine’s eyes remaining closed. With the pad of my thumb, I stroke her cheek, encouraging her to open her eyes again. Even though her kiss-swollen lips and flushed cheeks become etched into my memory to last a million lifetimes, I need to be caught in the mesmerizing hypnosis of her green eyes.
But when her eyelids flutter open, long lashes flapping like the wings of a butterfly, I’m meant with contempt. The wariness in her eyes is accusing, making my heart drop.
Yazmine sniffs, a fleeting frown passing her pretty and somewhat fierce features. “Are—are you sure?”
Those three words cut through me like a hot blade slicing my heart. “What do you mean?”
Yazmine pulls back, stepping away from my touch as if it scorches her skin. She touches her own cheek, and her trembling bottom lip is the only evidence that she felt the weight of my kiss. But her hesitation is evident in the way she frowns.
“Will you even care if something like that happens again?” she wavers accusingly. “Do you?”
“Of course I do!” I defend, taking a bold step forward to reach out to her. She moves back and abruptly turns away to look down. “Yazmine…?”
“No,” she shakes her head, and I wonder if I imagined the fierce connection we shared when our lips were locked. This sudden, brutal change has me questioning my very existence.
“... I overheard what you told Felix,” she reveals, shoulders slouching defeatedly as she sighs.
Even I feel defeated, wondering how much of that conversation she overheard. “And? Surely, you—”
She snaps back, eyes narrowed at me with rage. “You dare to defend yourself?!” Yazmine fumes.
Stunned, my jaw drops. “Yazmine, I don’t—”
“No, I won’t list—”
I step forward, this time throwing caution to the wind as I grab her shoulders fiercely and stare deeply into her eyes. She trembles in my touch, averting her gaze until her eyes land on the pendant on my chest. She gasps, startled from seeing the gift she’d given me on my birthday boldly displayed on a chain.
“Listen to me, Yazmine…” I whisper sternly, prompting her to lift her eyes to meet mine. “... I don’t know how much of our conversation you heard, but you clearly didn’t hear all of it.”
With tears and a quivering bottom lip, Yazmine murmurs, “You wanted me to leave…”
A pain shoots through my chest, seeing her so vulnerable like this. The urge to kiss her and silence all her trepidations is strong. So is my need to clear the air between us so that a misunderstanding doesn’t occur again.
Sighing, I hang my head. “You were running away this time?”
She nods silently, prompting me to go on.
“I didn’t want you to leave, Yazmine. I thought it’s what you would want.”
“The agreement…” she reminds me softly.
I shake my head. “Fuck the agreement!” I say with conviction, startling her. I smooth my hands across her shoulders, staring determinedly into her eyes, where tears begin to fall. “I’m serious, Yazmine. Fuck it. Unless…” My heart skips a momentary beat as realization dawns on me. “That’s what you want, isn’t it? I was right…”
I gulp as I release her shoulders and take a step back. She shakes her head fervently, her eyes growing wide with horror.
“You’re wrong, Aragon,” she admits apprehensively. “You’re always so fucking wrong.”
