Page 13 of Dragon’s Ending

Then he glanced up, met my gaze, and held it. Up close, the effect was distracting. There was no other word for it. Not just because he was attractive, although he undeniably was, but because he carried himself as though the world existed largely for his amusement.

His presence was unhelpful. I turned my attention back to the page I was working through, but couldn’t shake my peripheral awareness of him. Especially when he put the piece of paper back down—on completely the wrong stack.

“Would you not do that?” I said.

He froze for the merest instant, and I flicked my gaze back up to him. There was a hint of amusement in the way he raised his eyebrow, then he carefully picked up the same sheet of paper and set it back down on the correct stack.

“Thank you,” I said, and returned to my journal.

I found it was becoming increasingly difficult to hold in my head the distinction between two Bedwyr lines that kept using the same damn names for everyone in the family. They’d kept repeating names for their children in case one or more died. That was always annoying, though not usually too difficult to keep a handle on which one was which. But Dominic Bedwyr’s presence somehow filled the room. And worse—he seemed to be concentrating on me.

I wasn’t going to break. Instead, I pulled my laptop over and started making notes. He wandered round the room and picked up one of the porcelain figurines I’d moved, examining it as if he couldn’t decide whether to drop it or put it back safely.

And the thing was, with each slow circuit of the room, he drifted a little closer to me. I tried very hard not to feel like treasure with a dragon closing in on me. Not least because I had the distinct impression he was doing it deliberately. The closer he came, the harder I concentrated on my laptop.

“So you’re here to… read,” he said, finally breaking his silence.

“In part,” I told him shortly, opening up my genealogy software. I’d scarcely scratched the surface yet, but already I’d been reminded how freely the different dragon families used to mix and intermarry. Before everything fell apart. Before we went to war with one another.

That eyebrow raised again, but this time it looked a little less amused. “And the other part?”

Okay, this needed my full attention. I took my hands off the keyboard and sat back. He wandered over to the window and fiddled with the handle as he looked out over the valley below, seemingly uninterested in my answer.

“Your head of family invited me here to read through your records and make a summary report to him.”

It was an answer without being an answer, and when Dominic turned to look at me, it was evident he knew it. His casual stance was belied by the gold of dragon in his eyes, the hint of fire and challenge.

“I’m not at liberty to say more,” I pointed out, and to all intents and purposes turned my attention back to my laptop. I kept a cautious watch from the corner of my eye, though—there was something almost predatory about him right now.

I saw the moment his mouth twisted, and he pushed off the wall and headed for the door, footsteps loud in the otherwise silent room.

And then he was gone. I looked back at my screen, and it took me a moment to remember why I’d opened the genealogy software in the first place.

Chapter Seven

DOMINIC

I hadn’t meant to come this way. The back staircase led almost directly to the back door, to the outside where I could do something that didn’t involve shaking Ben Berstow until he lost his damn composure. But habit had been too strong and I found myself descending the main stairs to the hall.

“Dominic!” Josh was heading towards me, grinning widely, Dafydd and Rhys in his wake.

“You disappeared after breakfast,” Rhys said. “We thought you’d gone out.”

“I did,” I said.

“No, you know what I mean—out for the day. But you’re here.”

Yes, I was here. I leaned back against the wall and folded my arms, waiting to see what they wanted. Right now, I wasn't in the mood for company, and it had something to do with that dragon in the records room.

“So, anything worthwhile in this week’s Airbnb guests?” Dafydd asked, obviously assuming I’d spent the morning in the village.

“Like he’d tell us before he’s sussed out the hottest guy,” Josh said with a grin that faded as the moments passed and I said nothing.

My silence seemed to be unnerving them for some reason. Usually, I was already halfway to the village before they caught up with me. I'd have had some ridiculous idea, or found some entertainment, and they'd happily come along for the ride. I didn't have it in me today. Not after yesterday. Because if I wasn’t allowed to act as the heir, what did that leave me?

I shoved off from the wall. “I’ll see you later,” I said, and it wasn’t only dismissal—it was also a reminder. Tonight. My dragon stirred, excited at the prospect, and I saw the same anticipation dawn on their faces.

The front door closed behind me, and I took a moment on the steps, breathing in the quiet. Looking down the driveway to the gates and wondering what would happen if I just walked through them and kept going. Didn’t look back.