My hackles raised at the thought of the hellus demon. With all the commotion in the past day, I hadn’t had time to dwell on the fact that Thax, the dark lord of the Underworld, had recruited the prison mob boss for some nefarious reason we still didn’t have the answer to. I should’ve been more scared, but for some crazy reason I wasn’t.
Maybe it had something to do with the looming giant walking beside me.
When we finally reached the training room in the basement of the sprawling fortress, I let out a sigh. The mystical cuff siphoning my powers blinked off, and the tightness in my chest magically vanished.
The door slammed shut behind us, and a series of cracks drew my attention to Talon. His shirt was already off and his arms were stretched over his head, the pop, pop, pop of his spine disturbing the quiet. “Much better,” he muttered as his massive wings unfurled behind him.
I wagged my finger at him. “Put those bad boys away if you want to fight me. They give you an unfair advantage.”
He stepped closer, one brow arching. “Oh, and your magic doesn’t?”
“My magic isn’t exactly under my control. It shows up when and if it feels like it.”
“I’m glad to hear you finally admit that.” A satisfied grin curled his lips. The elusive smile would’ve usually had my knees wobbling, but tonight it only annoyed me. This hot and cold thing was grating on my last nerve.
“Whatever,” I grunted. I was really jonesing to hit something now. “Are we fighting or not?” I raised my fists and widened my stance.
He stretched his arms over his head again and leisurely leaned to the left, then the right. His abs rippled beneath the halogen lights, the silver dragon tattooed across his torso writhing along his perfectly muscled flesh.
I swallowed down the sudden dryness in my throat. A swirl of heat ignited in my core, and I shifted uncomfortably. The ghost of a smile lifted the bastard dragon’s lips. He was totally doing this on purpose.
“What are you doing?” I shrieked.
His brows furrowed, and he threw me an innocent smile. “Stretching, what does it look like?”
I chased away the lusty thoughts, cursing myself for even having them. This damned blood bond was going to be the death of me—or him.
He moved closer, his steel irises smoldering as they locked on mine. “Something the matter, inmate?”
“Yes!” I spun on my heel and marched toward the punching bag. If I didn’t get my release soon, I was going to punch him in the throat.
Before I made it to the swinging black canvas, rough fingers closed around my bicep. I swung around and met his dark gaze. His tongue darted out and slid over his bottom lip as his hold on my arm tightened. He inched closer and instinctively, my head tipped forward.
No! I jerked back before our lips touched. A new wave of anger pummeled my insides, and this time it was my own. “You can’t keep doing that, Talon,” I hissed.
The flirty smile hitching up the corners of his lips twisted into a scowl, and he dragged his hands over his face.
I waited for an answer, an explanation, anything. He just stood there, staring straight ahead completely mute. When I couldn’t take the silence a minute longer, I waved my hand in front of his face. “Hello? Are you going to tell me what’s going on with you? You can’t keep trying to kiss me and then turn around and insult me the next minute. Gods, I thought that now that we discovered Vander was alive, things would change between us. Stupid, I know.”
Silver flames flashed across his brilliant orbs, chasing away the vacant look from a second earlier. “You don’t think I want to control this? You don’t think I am? You have no idea how difficult it is for me not to throw you on the mat and claim you as mine right now.”
My breath hitched.
“You don’t understand any of this. You have no idea of the burning need that surges through me each and every moment since I gave you my blood. It’s driving me insane! To want the one person that I should hate? It’s torture, Azara—never ending torture. It’s getting more and more difficult by the day.”
All the words stuck at the back of my throat as Talon’s blazing irises seared mine. A million thoughts skittered through my mind, but I couldn’t pluck an individual one out for the life of me. How could I? I never knew how he really felt. “I’m sorry,” I finally choked out.
He loosed an exasperated breath, and all the fire drained out of him. “This isn’t your fault. It’s mine.”
“Because you gave me your blood to save my life.”
“It’s what I do.” A rueful grin relaxed his frown. “Save lives, not give my blood away.”
“You certainly are good at your job.”
“Not with you I’m not.” He pressed his arms across his chest, showcasing his bulging biceps and carved pecs. “Now I know why Vander—” He cut himself off with a shake of his head.
Why Vander what?
He cleared his throat. “Anyway, I will try harder to control my dragon. I know none of this is fair to you either.”
I nodded. “Yeah, keep that beast on a tighter leash. I’m tired of fighting you off all the time.” Lie.
He tugged at the waistband of his shorts, readjusting. “Maybe we should skip the combat training?”
“Probably a good idea.”
“I’ll walk you back to our cell and hit the showers instead.”
I nodded, numbly, not trusting myself to speak. For the hundredth time I told myself it was only the bond igniting my feelings for him. Then why did walking away from him feel like someone bored a gaping hole in my gut?
Chapter Two
I glanced across the mess hall at the back of Talon’s hulking form as he approached the mass of inmates lined up for food. As always, the throng of multi-colored jumpsuits parted at his advance. There was no denying it, the dragon was scary AF. And if I didn’t know he was an undercover SIA agent, I’d probably hide from him too.
“Don’t drool, precious. It’s unbecoming.”
I chucked a limp French fry at Dallas’s stupid smirk. He and Hayden broke into a maddening chuckle as they eyed their brother across the cafeteria.
“You still feeling a little friendly toward big T?” Hayden asked.
“No,” I snarled.
Again, the two idiots broke into a fit of laughter.
“You guys better shut it before Talon gets back. He’ll roast your hides with his dragon fire.”
“Nah, not with this big of an audience.” Hayden scanned the busy mess hall. The only reason I’d been allowed to enjoy lunch with the masses was because Delacroix and his goons were safely caged up in their cells.
I glanced up at the food line and met a pair of silver orbs. My heart slapped against my ribs, and I dropped my gaze. Gods, when would it go away? Talon said he didn’t know, and I doubted these two had any idea either. But there was something else I’d been wondering and maybe T’s brothers could shed some light on it. “So what exactly is Vander’s story?”
Hayden and Dallas both stopped mid-chew. The angel dropped his spoon into the cereal bowl and steepled his fingers. “They’re best friends. They go far back.”
Dallas’s lips pinched into a tight line.