“Nay.” Rhys stood and walked to her. He stopped in front of her and set his hand on her hip, their bodies brushing. “I was thinking how much I’d love to strip those clothes from you and keep you in the bed for the rest of the day.”
Lily forgot to breathe as a mental image flashed in her mind of their bodies entwined. She reacted instantly, desire tightening, coiling within her until her chest heaved. Rhys wasn’t just sexy. Every movement, every smile, every look of his beautiful eyes was erotic, stimulating. Suggestive.
He was the god of sex, skilled and proficient in the many ways to bring a woman to her knees with a seductive smile.
“If I got back in that bed, I wouldn’t ever want to get out.”
Rhys’s grip tightened on her waist. “Is there anything wrong with that?”
“No, but it wouldn’t be long before those at Dreagan came looking for you.”
“And you.”
No, it wouldn’t be anyone from Dreagan looking for her. It would be Dennis. “You’re the one important to Dreagan.”
“You doona think you’re important?” he asked with a slight frown.
Lily rested her hand atop his arm holding her. “I meant at Dreagan.”
“You’re important to us. We doona hire anyone that doesna fit.”
“I’m just an employee.”
Rhys raised one dark brow. “If you think that, then why did Denae ask you to accompany her yesterday?”
Lily didn’t have an answer.
“You’re part of the Dreagan family. And we doona let just anyone in.”
A sharp pang of guilt and regret pierced her. She couldn’t believe she was going to betray people who considered her a part of their family. But she had to remember her true family, she had to remember that it was Kyle’s life that was on the line. As much as she loved working at Dreagan, her brother was more important.
“I love it at Dreagan. I don’t ever want anything to change that.”
“Then doona let it,” Rhys whispered.
That was the second time Lily got the feeling Rhys knew what she was about. She shifted her feet nervously, but didn’t look away from his gaze. “I never willingly would.”
Rhys’s mobile rang, splintering the silence. He sighed and dropped his hand from her waist. “There are really times I hate those damn things.”
She smiled as he walked to the bar and answered the phone before taking it into the bathroom with him. He closed the door, and a moment later the sound of the shower reached her.
Lily sank down on the couch and put her head in her hands. That’s when she began to plan how she would ensure Dennis never bothered her again.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Ulrik wasn’t just shaken at seeing his uncle, he was alarmed. All the dragons were supposed to be gone. All except the Dragon Kings, and his uncle was never a King.
“Sit, Ulrik,” his uncle said in a smooth voice. “Let’s talk.”
Ulrik was tempted to remove Mikkel from the store, but he was intrigued. Not to mention there were questions he wanted answers to. So Ulrik took the chair opposite him. He looked Mikkel over in his tailored black suit and white shirt opened at the neck. His uncle’s hair wasn’t quite as long as his, but it was the same inky shade of black, just as his eyes were the same golden color as Ulrik’s.
Whatever happened to Mikkel, he had stopped aging as well. He looked only a handful of years older than Ulrik. There was only one thing that would stop him from aging.
“Mikkel, what are you doing here?”
“I never left,” he said with a smile that held a healthy dose of smugness. “Oh, Con tried to send us all away. I fought it, because I knew if the dragons ever left, we’d never return. This realm is ours.”
He said the last part in a hard tone. Ulrik didn’t disagree with him, mostly because he felt the same. Earth was the dragons’ home eons before humans ever arrived. “It doesna explain how you’re here. Or why you’re in human form.”
“Ah. That,” Mikkel said in distaste. “The Dragon Kings were so obsessed with taking your magic they didn’t know what I was about. When your magic was suppressed, the Silvers needed a King.”
Anger crackled through Ulrik, but he kept a tight rein on it. There was only one King of the Silvers, and he was it. Until he knew what his uncle was about, he wasn’t giving anything away. But how it burned to know Mikkel was a Dragon King.
Though that wouldn’t be for long. As soon as Ulrik had all of his magic back, he would take the title once more. Mikkel hungered to be a Dragon King, but his magic and power didn’t come close to comparing to Ulrik’s.
“No outrage?” Mikkel asked with a small smile. “You really have become soft after all these millennia of being in human form.”
Ulrik simply stared at Mikkel. “You’ve been here all this time as a Dragon King. Why no’ challenge Con? Why no’ go to Dreagan?” He purposefully left out the Silvers caged in the mountain at Dreagan, because he wanted to see how much his uncle knew.
Mikkel’s laugh was that of an adult humoring a child. “All in good time. I intend to take over Dreagan and remove Con from existence.”