Chapter 33

Chapter Thirty-Three

Diana

“Hello?” I say into the phone.

“Hi, Diana, it’s Antonio Carbone.”

“Hi, how are you?”

“I’m good. Just wanted to let you know that I offered your friend a job.”

“Dragon?”

“Yeah. I mean, I need drumming instructors, and I suppose he’s qualified.”

I furrow my brow. “You mean you didn’t ask about his background?”

“No. I figured you wouldn’t have recommended him to me if he wasn’t qualified.”

“He’s the percussionist for an up-and-coming rock band, so yeah.”

“I’m sure he’ll be great. Are we still on for Friday night?”

“Yeah, sure.” I put my phone on speaker and open the calendar app. “Did we say seven?”

“Yeah, we did. See you then, Diana.”

“Bye.”

I look up when the door clicks open.

Dragon walks in, looking pale.

I stand up. “Hey, are you okay?”

He doesn’t look at me. “Yeah.”

I want to ask where he was, but how can I ask that? He’s an adult. He can come and go as he pleases.

“How was your day?” I ask.

“Good.” His voice is artificially even. “Yours?”

Something is up with him, but I decide not to pry.

“I’m exhausted, but it was good. I got a chance to look at that great project I want, but I found a problem in the plans, which is really strange since they all have so much more experience than I do.”

He simply nods.

“What did you do today?”

“Got a job. Your friend Antonio called me. Offered me a job teaching percussion. Doesn’t pay a lot, but it will help tide me over until the band gets back to work.”

“That’s great.” I force a smile. “I’m happy for you.”

He simply nods again.

Something’s eating at him.

Of course, something’s always eating at Dragon. The most emotion I’ve ever seen out of him was when he and I made love.

Scratch that.

There was no love involved.

At least I don’t think there was.

“You look…tired,” I say. “Can I get you some water or anything?”

“I can get it myself.” He walks into the kitchen, grabs a glass out of the cupboard, and gets ice water from the door of the fridge.

Then he turns and looks at me. Glares at me. Only it’s not a glare. It’s more of a…lustful stare?

It’s not unlike the way he looked at me yesterday before…

There’s something else in his gaze right now. I can’t place it. I’m not sure I want to place it.

“Diana…” he says on a groan.

I swallow. “Yes?”

“I got another one of those phone calls.”

Not what I was expecting him to say.

“Oh?”

He nods. “Whoever it was says I need to call off your private investigator.”

I drop my jaw. “How does he even know we hired her?”

Dragon shrugs. “Got me. Of course I tried calling the number again—it was a different number from the first one—and no one answered. It just rang and rang.”

“Did you call Alayna?”

“No.” He frowns. “I felt like it might be too late.”

“I think we need to call her right now.” I grab my phone from the kitchen counter.

But Dragon comes toward me, puts his hand over mine.

Tingles I’m not expecting shoot through me.

“Don’t, please.”

“Dragon, we have to let Alayna know. This is a new number she can look into.”

“If there’s any chance that…” He shakes his head vigorously. “I can’t take any chances with this.”

I look into his eyes. “Dragon, what is it that you’re not telling me?”

He turns his back to me then, releasing my hand. His shoulders quiver a bit.

I reach toward him tentatively, place my hand on his upper arm and turn him around.

His eyes are glazed over. There are no tears, but something’s going on.

“Dragon…”

“No one knows everything,” he says. “Not even my therapist. Not even Jesse.”

“I’m not asking you to spill some kind of secret you’re not ready to talk about. But if you want Alayna’s help, you need to at least level with her.”

“I have…” He rubs his forehead. “As much as I can, at least.”

He looks so sad, so resigned. “Dragon… Where were you tonight?”

He swallows. “I went home.”

I raise an eyebrow. “What do you mean? You obviously didn’t go back to the western slope.”

“My childhood home, Diana. I haven’t been there since I was nine years old.”

Odd. No one knows Dragon’s backstory. I certainly don’t. I never even thought of him as having a childhood home.

“Did you see your parents?”

He shakes his head. “They moved away long ago. After…” He shakes his head again. “I can’t. I just can’t.”

Emotion swirls through me. I want to help him. Take that tormented look off his face forever.

But I don’t know how.

So I do the only thing that I think might help.

I wrap my arms around him, pull his head to me, and kiss his lips.

And what I intended as a gentle kiss turns ferocious in an instant.

He devours my mouth, shoving his tongue inside, in a sweeping and passionate kiss.

But it’s over as quickly as it started when he pulls away.

My lips are almost sore, and I bring my fingers to them.

“This isn’t the answer,” he says darkly.

“Then tell me.” I grab his hand and squeeze it. “Tell me what the answer is, Dragon. I don’t know how to help you.”

He yanks his hand away. “I never asked for your help.”

He’s right. He hasn’t asked for my help. But he took it when I offered him my family’s investigation services.

And now he wants to call that off.

“You know what? Fuck off.” I turn around and walk to my room. He doesn’t want my help? Fine. I don’t need to give him my help. God knows I have other things on my mind. This new job for one, and?—

I gasp as my body is jerked around harshly.

Dragon grips my shoulders in the doorway of my bedroom.

And then his mouth is on mine once more.

Another raw and ferocious kiss, another kiss that makes my knees weak and my legs turn to jelly.

But this time I’m angry. I push at his shoulders until the kiss breaks.

“Thought I told you to fuck off.”

“Fuck…” he growls. “I hate what you do to me, Diana. I fucking hate it.”

“Yeah? I’m not a big fan of it either.”

Then he smiles. And damn, that smile… Have I even seen it before?

“God, you’re hot,” he says.

I raise my eyebrows.

“Do you even have a clue of what I’m capable of, Diana? What I’ve been through in my life? The things I’ve seen?”

I whip my hands to my hips. “I have no idea because you won’t talk to me.”

“And I’m not going to start talking now.”

His mouth comes down on mine again. This time I keep my lips sewn shut, but he is aggressive, and he slides his velvety tongue between them.

As my knees weaken, so does my resolve.

I part my lips, and he dives right in.

We kiss in the doorway of my bedroom, and I wrap my arms around his neck, pulling him closer to me.

As the desire to help him burns in me, the desire for him burns even stronger.

We’re going to end up in bed.

I can’t bring myself to regret it. After a rough day at work, Dragon Locke might just be the salve I need.