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“Jillian,” he began, his voice pitched low and soft, something so conciliatory, so tender in his deep voice uttering my name that I ached with it.
Perhaps this was why I’d stayed away so long. The real reason. He had too strong an effect on me. One minute I wanted to throttle him, the next I wanted to melt into a puddle at his feet.
Unfortunately, I was still mad enough to spit, and my temper and making peace had never gone hand in hand.
“Don’t,” I told him, my tone set. I felt betrayed, and I would be giving no quarter to my betrayer. “You said you had a dragon in custody, and I want to see him.”
Dom moved in front of me, his arms folded across his chest in his own standoffish way. “I’m sure you do. I’ll make you a deal. If you can go one day without slipping away, without running, without raising hell just because you can, I’ll bring you to see him.”
“Me, Caleb, and Christian. All of us to see him or no deal.”
He sighed, and I saw his face turn away to gaze out the window. I’d very deliberately avoided glancing up at his face, my eyes steadfastly on his chest. The less I saw of those mismatched, unbearable eyes the more I kept my resolve to stay furious at him.
Some anger was best to hold onto even if only long enough to teach you a lesson.
“Tell me about this captive,” I said, my voice hoarse with a simmering anger. “What does he look like? How does he act? I might be able to tell you more about who he is than you’ve learned from him.”
“He’s blond.”
I snorted out a laugh. We were all blond Vikings, for fuck’s sake.
“Tall, with eyes like yours. I don’t suppose you were referring to his looks, so I’ll just get to the point. He has a calm manner, and I believe he is a telepath.”
My head shot up at that, and I met his gaze head on. That could only be one man. My closest brother. Or rather, the only brother I had that I didn’t despise. “How do you know?”
“He knows things…things he couldn’t know unless he picked them from my brain. Is this a common thing among your kind?”
“It is not. As far as I know, there is only one that had this power…before Conan, that is. You’ve captured my brother, and if there are any of my kind that could be swayed to our side, or to give me information, it is him. I need to see him right away.”
“Tomorrow.”
“Today!”
His jaw hardened, and his eyes got very cold, his expression haughty. I forgot sometimes that I was dealing with a king. Being reminded was hardly welcome.
“You forget yourself. I don’t take orders from anyone, Jillian, not even you. You may see him tomorrow, if you can manage to behave yourself for this one day.”
“What exactly does that mean?”
“How about just sticking to the casino property?”
“If we get a lead about Lynn—”
“If you get a lead, you can tell me and I’ll arrange for you to take a detail with you.”
“That’s bullshit. I’m not a child.”
“I’m well aware, but if you want to see your brother tomorrow this is what you’ll do. Manage to stay out of trouble for one fucking day and you and your boys can see my captive tomorrow.”
I turned away because I wanted to punch him. I was still furious, and he should have known better than to rile me at a time like this.
“Fine. I’ll stay on the property. All fucking day.”
“It’s not a prison. There’s plenty to do here. You have carte blanche of all of the shops and even the gambling hall. Try to relax for a day. It won’t kill you.”
Relax, I thought. He wants me to relax. I couldn’t even wrap my mind around that idiocy, so I stayed silent, not looking at him as I waited for him to open the door, signaling that we were done.
He had the sheer gall to grip my shoulder from behind.
