CHAPTER SIX
Rhys pressed against the wall, his hands clenched at his sides. Lily was only feet from him—again—and he somehow managed not to go to her. He pressed his lips together and recalled how soft her mouth had been beneath his, how seductive her kiss.
The way she smiled when she saw him made his heart pound and his blood run like fire through his veins. Desire, hot and thick, consumed him. Lily. He wanted to hold her, to simply savor her scent of roses.
He also burned to rip away her baggy clothes and feast his eyes upon her body. He would lay her down and caress and kiss every inch of her, worshipping her. To sink his hands into the long, silky length of her inky hair and hear her sighs of pleasure.
Rhys would go through the pain of trying to shift again if he could hold her for one night. It was a lot to ask since he didn’t deserve one minute with her, but Rhys was desperate. His life had been ripped away from him without his being able to fight against it. That was difficult enough, but to know that the one woman that consumed his thoughts day and night, the one woman who captured his attention with a mere smile would never be his …
It was beyond cruel.
And yet Rhys had done it to himself.
Lily deserved so much better than a man like him who had a different woman on his arm every night. She should have candlelit dinners, roses, surprise picnics, and long walks among the heather.
He saw the strength in her, the steel in her spine he guessed she hadn’t realized yet. How he wanted to be there to see her find it. He also saw the sweetness within her. She was all that was good and right in this world.
She made him forget the travesties the humans had committed against the dragons and the Kings. Lily simply made him forget all the awful things.
He opened his eyes, his jaw clenched. She was the one who had gotten him through the pain after the wound Ulrik inflicted. It was Lily who was his beacon, the light that found him in the darkness.
“Rhys?” Laith said as he came to stand in front of him.
Rhys pushed away from the wall and ran a hand down his face. “Aye.”
“I didna know you were back.”
“I returned yesterday.” Rhys fought against looking back into the pub at Lily. She called to his soul, and he was powerless to ignore her. “I … I…” He couldn’t think of a single excuse to explain his presence.
Then Rhys looked around the corner at Lily. She was smiling at something Denae said, her head nodding. Lily tucked her hair behind her ear, the action bringing attention to her long neck that he yearned to trail kisses down.
Rhys faced Laith and shrugged. “I just wanted a look around.”
Laith’s lips flattened. “You doona have to lie to me. I know your affinity for women. Is it the redhead that’s caught your interest?”
“No’ this time.” Rhys only had eyes for Lily. Sure, he had tried to carry on with his ways at first. He thought Lily was just a passing interest that would quickly fade, but the truth was, he compared every woman to her.
And they all came up short.
The ache within Rhys intensified. He regretted so many of his decisions now, because he couldn’t face Lily. She knew him, knew his ways.
Laith’s look sharpened. “Are you all right? You look…”
“Lost?” Rhys supplied.
Laith shook his head, his frown deepening. “I was going to say vulnerable.”
Ah, but Rhys was vulnerable all because of one black-haired, black-eyed woman who kissed sinfully and touched him like a siren. He saw—and felt—the passion within her longing to break free. What he wouldn’t give to be the one to bring it out in her.
Rhys cleared his throat. “Any word on Henry?”
“Nay,” Laith said, though his gaze didn’t waver. “Do you still have any pain?”
“It stopped with Rhi’s help when I was in dragon form.”
Laith stepped to the side and peered into the pub. His gaze slid back to Rhys. “You shifted to human form when Lily went missing.”
It wasn’t a question, and Rhys didn’t take it as one. “She’s part of Dreagan.”
“Aye. And she’s important to you.”
Rhys opened his mouth to deny it, but the words wouldn’t come. “Laith—”
“I willna speak of it to anyone,” Laith interrupted. “Now I know why you finally returned.”
He took a step closer to Laith. “Forget we had this conversation.”
“Why? Why no’ go to her? See where this goes?”
“Because I am this,” Rhys said tightly and motioned at himself with his hands. “I’m no’ worthy of her.”
“Because you can no’ shift?”
Rhys laughed, the sound devoid of humor. “Because she deserves better than someone who hops from one woman to another.”