“You doona give yourself enough credit. I know Kiril would tell you the same thing, my friend. You doona only deserve her, but you deserve happiness.”
Rhys was shaking his head before Laith finished. “My duty is to watch over Lily and ensure she’s no’ touched by the shite we’re arse deep in. Other than that, it goes no further.”
Laith made a sound at the back of his throat. “You’ve looked at her three times since we’ve been talking.”
“I’ve no’,” Rhys argued and found himself about to look again. He stopped and clenched his jaw.
“Keep pretending you can watch over her and no’ give in to the desire,” Laith said with a sardonic smile. “Especially when you realize Lily wants you just as badly. We’ve all seen how she looks at you. Her feelings are there. You’ve already gotten too close to back away now.”
Was Laith right? Damn. Rhys sidestepped Laith and walked out the back of the kitchen. He had to get away from Lily for a bit and clear his head. She would never leave his thoughts, but he had to get away from Laith and all that he’d said.
Rhys turned the corner of the pub not looking where he was going until he saw a flash of black hair. He looked up a heartbeat before he ran into Lily. Instantly he reached out to grab her. The moment his hands touched her, he was lost.
He found himself tumbling, falling into her black eyes. “Lily,” he whispered.
Her lips parted as she looked up at him. Then her eyes crinkled in the corners as a small smile played about her tempting lips. “I didn’t know you’d returned. I … I mean we, we’ve been so worried about you.”
The warmth of her hand on his chest seeping through his shirt scalded him just as the desire rushing through his blood. He breathed in, loving her fresh, clean scent with just a hint of roses. His dragon magic rose within him, the shadows rising to close around them so he could have Lily all to himself.
It was movement out of the corner of his eye that made him realize they weren’t alone. He spotted Laith standing with Denae watching them. Rhys dropped his arms and called his shadows away, but he couldn’t take the step back no matter how hard he tried.
Lily’s eyes dropped to his chest where her hand was. Slowly, she let it fall. He had to fist his hands not to put her hand back.
“Are you well?” he asked.
Her smile, which slipped, returned. “I’m … getting by. And you?”
To his surprise, he found one side of his lips turning up at the corner. “Getting by.”
“We’re a pair, aren’t we?” she asked, glancing at the ground.
“That we are, lass.”
She licked her lips nervously. “It’s really good to see you, Rhys.”
He watched her walk away, waiting until she was in the SUV with Denae before he said, “My day isna complete until I see you, Lily.”
*
Lily was still thinking about her run-in with Rhys at the end of the day. She drove from Dreagan, and just before she pulled out of the parking lot, she looked in her rearview mirror. It was a habit that began after the first day she was hired. All the way to the village where her flat was, she thought about her new life.
Anticipation charged through her at the prospect of shopping with Denae. Nestled inside her wallet between receipts was her credit card that accessed the bank account her parents had given her at eighteen.
When she told them she was leaving with Dennis, they threatened to cut off her money. Dennis hadn’t been happy about it, but he had assured her eventually her parents would come around. Lily adjusted to life with Dennis with a steady income working for some rich guy. Sometime in her first year of living with Dennis she had accidentally grabbed the credit card from her parents for the ATM and learned they hadn’t cut her off or withdrawn the money.
It was a secret she kept to herself. She’d hidden the card in her wallet in case she ever needed it. After she left Dennis, there had been a few times she almost had to use it, but she always managed to find a way out of those situations.
Not because she didn’t want to use the money, but because she wanted—needed—to do it on her own. The temptation of that money, however, was impossible to ignore now that she wanted to go shopping. She had some of her own money saved, and it wasn’t like she was going to buy an entire wardrobe.
Lily parked on the street near her flat and started to get out of the car. She was halfway out when she swore she saw Dennis turn the corner in front of her. Her heart accelerated, but she closed her eyes and focused on breathing regularly.
“It’s not him. It’s not him,” she repeated over and over to herself.
Dennis wasn’t anywhere near her, nor did he know where she was. He was intruding upon her new life, and she had to stop him.