And it never entered his mind not to reach for her or give in to the desire.
As the hours passed through the night, again and again they came together. Sometimes he went to her, sometime she to him. But always they gave in to the overpowering, uncontrollable desire.
Which strengthened the growing connection between them.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Rhys rode the air currents, basking in the joy of flying, but even that didn’t stop him from keeping watch over Kellan and Denae.
He hadn’t bothered to go into the lodge and check on them after they arrived. The attraction between them had been palpable, tangible … blatant.
The only problem would be if Kellan gave in. Rhys wasn’t so sure his friend would as long as there was a buffer between him and Denae. Which is why Rhys remained in dragon form.
He circled the area twice, letting his keen eyesight rake the ground below for the tiniest movement. So far there was nothing but the usual nocturnal animals prowling.
There was a chance MI5 could track them. A tremor of unease ran through him.
The humans and Dark Ones had worked together. If they did it once, they could do it again. That in itself was cause for major concern. The Fae—Light or Dark—didn’t align with humans.
Rhys wanted to roar his fury. The only way the Fae and humans would align was because there was someone else mediating. And he would bet a thousand years of flying that the someone was the same person he and Banan had nearly gotten to in London after Jane was kidnapped.
He glanced at the sky. Dawn was coming. Kellan and Denae had had long enough. It was time they got moving, because Rhys couldn’t shake the thought that they had been found.
*
Kellan didn’t know what woke him. He came awake instantly alert, with his eyes closed as he listened to the night around him.
There.
That was it.
Complete silence outside. No animals, no wind, just … silence.
His ears didn’t pick up any sounds within the lodge, but that didn’t mean the threat wasn’t already inside. He opened his eyes and turned his head to Denae to find her looking at him.
“What is it?” she mouthed.
He motioned to the chair that held their clothes. “Hurry,” he whispered.
She rolled off the bed with nary a sound and hastily got to her clothes. Kellan sat up and made his way to the window, careful to keep out of the fading moonlight. A glance outside showed nothing.
His gaze turned to Denae when he heard a soft brush. As soon as he did, she tossed his clothes to him. Kellan was hesitant to put them on.
If he needed to protect Denae, the best way was in dragon form. A King was more powerful in dragon form, and he could fly them away if necessary.
Kellan put on his jeans and looked to the sky for a glimpse of Rhys. The fact he couldn’t see his friend in the cloudless sky was worrying.
Denae’s head jerked around to the doorway. Kellan followed her gaze to see the low-lying smoke come pouring in. Except it wasn’t smoke. It was the Dark Ones.
“Denae!” he shouted, but it was already too late.
Behind her four Dark appeared and grabbed her, her scream cut short as they disappeared. Kellan leaped over the bed to attack three more Dark who appeared, but no sooner had Kellan began to shift into dragon form than he was hit with dark magic.
And everything went black.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Perth
As soon as his mobile phone rang he set aside the book he was reading and answered, “Yes?”
“It’s done, sir. The two targets were taken by the Dark as you ordered.”
He let out a long breath. “Ah, finally. Anyone else around?”
“Not that we see, sir.”
He sat forward in his wingback chair. “You fools. They wouldna leave Kellan and the human alone!” He was so angry he didn’t care that his fake cultured English accent dropped.
“We scouted the area. There is noth—”
The report was interrupted by the sound of a male scream. He gripped his mobile tightly, hearing it crack. There was no need to ask his lieutenant to finish the report. They were careless, and that carelessness would be their deaths.
“What is it?” He heard the muffled question of his lieutenant to someone else.
More screams sounded through the phone, growing closer and closer until there was nothing.
He remained on the phone, wondering if the Dragon King would pick it up. And just as he expected, the King did. Except he said nothing as he ended the call.
His book forgotten, he rose and hurried to dial another number that was answered immediately. “Get me a new phone number, and make sure it’s sent out to all my generals.”
“Aye, sir. Right now,” came the female reply in her heavy French accent.
He walked out of the building to his car parked down the street. The home he’d purchased in Perth was one of his favorites, but it was dangerous to remain now. Besides, he had hundreds of others to choose from.