Chapter 18

"Why don't you dragons just stick to your own kind," Kendall said, puffing his chest out like a blowfish.

When Arya disappeared into the house, I poked a finger into Kendall's ribs, which were still invading my personal space.

"And who are you to tell me what to do?" I growled in a low, hostile tone.

I saw the slightest flicker of fear in his eyes, but it quickly evaporated, replaced by a smirk. "What? You think your Dracul name gives you the right to do whatever you want?"

I bared my teeth and resisted the urge to punch this asshole in the face.

"In case you've forgotten, I'm royalty, too." Kendall stepped back with his hands up as if addressing the audience we'd acquired, but his eyes stayed on me.

I jutted my chin threateningly at the group of onlookers, making them jump and scatter like cockroaches.

"Not only that, but I'm a mer," Kendall emphasized.

I didn't miss the way he was covering his cowardly retreat by addressing the crowd.

"Like Arya," he continued. "And our kind stick together. So, if you think you have even the tiniest chance with that girl—"

"That kinda sounds like a challenge, fish boy," I snarled, my competitive dragon nature fueling my possessiveness over her. I stalked closer. "You really think she'd pick you over me? Like you said, I'm dragon royalty. And you're just a floundering fish on the end of her lure that she's going to toss back in."

His eyes narrowed to slits, rage inflating his chest to the point I was sure he'd pop like a bubble. But with a flicker of his gaze, he seemed to remember his precious audience, and he straightened.

"Clearly, species loyalty means nothing to you, but it means everything to the mer," Kendall declared. "Arya's no exception. I'm sure she'll pick the better man."

I sneered at him, my lips curving into a wicked smile. "Yes, I'm sure she will."

He glared at me for several more seconds before turning on his heel and strutting back into the party like a boy band celebrity, pretending to be unphased by the fact that I'd gotten the last word.

I cracked my knuckles, which were still itching to hit something. I couldn't go back inside, not yet. I needed to cool off first.

I hadn't meant to challenge him over Arya, but it was dragon nature to rise when provoked. I didn't want her. Or at least, I didn't want to want her.

I hated how much it bothered me to see her dancing with Kendall. I hated how angry I'd gotten when I saw her crying next to him and thought he'd hurt her. But more and more, it seemed I was helpless to control my reactions where she was involved. And more and more, I was pushing her away, when it was my duty—and secret desire—to get closer.

What the hell was I doing?

When the steam had stopped puffing out of my nostrils, I ventured back inside. I located Niko and Brett in the game room. It was clearly the it place to be, and while I usually avoided the limelight at parties because everyone expected me to shine, I decided to step in and let loose. I needed it.

At least Kendall wasn't in here. Probably off licking his wounds.

Jackson, the host of this shifter soiree, handed me a cue stick—without prompting—and reset the pool table, though it looked like they hadn't finished their game. Two other guys who'd been playing handed their cues to Niko and Brett, and though Niko waved a hand to decline, the ursa insisted he was done anyway and leaned against the wall to watch.

I hated when I—and my friends by default—were treated this way. I didn't want the special treatment, and I certainly didn't want these guys to end their game for my sake when I hadn't shown any interest in playing. But I decided to just roll with it and chalked the end of my stick before getting into break position.

The room was quiet at first, but when the observers settled into the fact that Tobias Dracul had come out of his shell to mingle, the chatter picked up again, with side conversations and the occasional tip about the best way to get the ball in a pocket. It was obvious by the lack of whispering and sideways glances that no one in this room had heard about the incident outside.

"What happened out there?" Niko asked in a low voice when the majority of the crowd's attention had strayed from us.

I shrugged, then smacked the cue ball, knocking the three into the side pocket.

"Yeah, didn't the new girl come with you?" Brett asked. His volume wasn't as subtle, and a few of the girls in the corner stopped their conversation to eavesdrop.

"Her name is Arya," I corrected with irritation.

Brett had met her—several times. There was no reason he couldn't refer to her by name.

"Why was she dancing with Ken Doll?" Brett continued, right as Niko scratched.

Brett walked around to fetch the cue ball, lining it up to get the nine-ball into the corner pocket closest to me.

I shrugged. "She didn't come with me. I invited her to be nice, and she's free to dance with whoever she wants."

Brett made his shot and leaned against the table, eyeing me in a way that called bullshit.

I was done with this conversation. And this party. I gripped my stick and took aim.

"Loser buys nachos at The Hub before we head back to The Dome," I declared, right before the four-ball dropped into the pocket.

Niko hung his head in defeat. "Fine."

Brett clapped his hands loudly. "Sweet!"

I set my stick back on the table, eager to get out of here, but when I looked up, there she was—walking right toward me.

"Hey," she called as she approached, and as much as I wanted to deny it, the heated anger in her gaze made me feel about two inches tall. "Can I talk to you for a sec?"

I looked at Niko and Brett, but they both just shrugged and walked away with sheepish grimaces on their faces. Assholes.

I crossed my arms over my chest as I looked down at her, completely ignoring the blood that was rushing southward at the fire in her gaze. Why did she look so alluring when she was angry?

"What?" I growled.

My dismissive tone made her nostrils flare and her eyes narrow, and dammit if I couldn't stop staring at her pretty pink lips pressed into a tight line.

"What the hell was that all about?" she snapped, mimicking my stance with her arms crossed and looking me dead in the eye.

I dragged my eyes away from her and dropped my arms as I walked past her, needing desperately to get out from under her penetrating blue gaze. "What are you talking about?"

She jutted her hips to one side and let out a growl that was entirely too cute.

"With Kendall! With all this hot and cold bullshit!" she shouted, and I noticed that the rest of the room had cleared out, too. I was alone to suffer her wrath. "First, you're angry at the way he helped me in Defense… Like it's any of your business."

I gave a derisive laugh and shrugged. "I just don't think Kendall is the right person to be teaching anyone defense."

My blood began to simmer at the memory of it. Kendall's hands on her hips, her body pressed up against his.

Anger escaped me in the form of bitter words before I could shut it down. "But then again, I don't think that's the reason you were letting him put his hands all over you."

Her blue eyes widened with rage, and she stepped closer, getting into my personal space. For some inexplicable reason, my heart was racing with actual fear, but I refused to so much as flinch.

"Why the hell is it any of your business whose hands are on me?" she demanded. "You treat me like I'm the last person you would piss on if the world was on fire."

I snickered at her colorful analogy, but inside, I was arguing with myself over the same thing. Why did I care if Kendall used the excuse of teaching her a defense maneuver to rub his dick up against her? Why did the thought of him rubbing it anywhere near her make me want to rip him apart with my bare hands?

I didn't want to want her. I hated that the way she was glaring up at me made me want to bend her over this pool table and make her forget all about fish boy. If I were smart, I'd just let him have her. If I were smart, I'd just walk away.

But I couldn't do that either.

"You think that's funny?" she snapped.

"I just didn't know you were into golden showers," I teased with a shrug. "I bet Ken Doll is into that, too."

She shifted her weight onto her other hip, biting her lip in frustration as she shook her head. "If you care so little about it, then why did you barge in on me and Kendall outside?"

Her question threw me off guard, especially as her teeth scraping across her lower lip made me wonder if it was as soft as it looked.

My eyes snapped back to hers, my tone cooling. "You were crying. I thought he hurt you. Any guy would care if his female friend was crying. I'm not a complete asshole."

"I beg to differ," she mumbled. "So, I'm your friend now, am I?"

"Yes?" I answered, my tone turning questioning because I didn't know if that was what she wanted to hear or not. "Why do you think I invited you to this party?"

Her cheeks reddened, and she looked down, her brow pinching, and my gut twisted with guilt that I tried like hell to banish.

"Look, whatever," she said, tossing her hair back over her shoulder. "The point is, I can take care of myself, friend."

Ouch, that word stung.

"I don't need you to come to my rescue, or tell me who to spend my time with," she continued, so close to me now that I could feel her sweet, cool breath on my face. "So next time you want to look like a big man and defend someone, find a different damsel to distress."

We stared at each other for what felt like an eternity, neither of us able to break the glare our eyes were locked in. The tension between us was so tight, like a spring whose stretch had reached its limit, its recoil imminent.

Before I knew what I was doing, I gripped her hips and vanquished the space between us with one firm tug. I crushed my lips against hers, her scent, her heat, filling every one of my senses and making the rest of the world fall away.

Her small hands pushed against my chest for the briefest moment until, finally, she melted against me, surrendering to the blazing inferno that threatened to swallow us both. Her lips parted with a soft whimper, inviting me in, and I greedily seized the opportunity to taste her in every way I could. I sunk my tongue into her delicious mouth, conquering hers with every ounce of passion I could no longer restrain.

She kissed me back with just as much force, her lips pressing, her teeth grazing, her tongue savoring in long, languid strokes. And when her hands slid down my chest and raked at my waist to press me even harder against her, fuck if I didn't lose all sense of self-control.

"Tobias," she whispered, a plea, a prayer.

I ground my aching cock against her pelvis as I devoured her mouth, and she parted her thighs to let me press into their apex. I wanted her so badly, wanted to shred her clothes off of her right here and fuck her until my name was the only one she could ever say again.

A clatter at the front of the room startled both of us, shattering our frenzy as we both shot our heads in that direction.

"Oops, sorry," one of the maos mumbled as he drunkenly stumbled against the doorway. "Carry on." The idiot pushed away from the doorframe and left.

I looked down at Arya's face, at her kiss-swollen lips, and reality came crashing back down on me with a vengeance.

I shoved myself back from her, rebuilding the invisible wall between us with impeccable speed. I watched as the savage desire in her features morphed into silent fury, and for a moment, I thought she was going to slap me.

Instead, she pursed her lips and stood taller.

"Goodnight, Tobias," she said like it was an insult, then whirled around and strode out of the room without a look back.

I stood there for a moment, struggling to rein in the storm of emotions she'd left me with as I stared after her. No one had ever talked to me like that, except for my mother. She made me feel small and powerful all at the same time. She challenged me in a way I didn't know how to handle, and she frustrated me to no end.

And I was an absolute fucking idiot for jumping her like that.

What the hell was wrong with me? I had never lost control like that in my entire life. I prided myself on my self-discipline and the mastery over my emotions that Arthur had drilled into me since birth. And yet, I had kissed the one girl who was completely off-limits. Hell, forget kissed, I'd orally assaulted her.

And she'd kissed me back. Just the memory of the feel of her lips on mine, of her delicate fingers scraping down my ribs, made my painfully hard dick throb with my unrequited need.

I shoved those memories away. I couldn't let things get physical with Arya.

She was right. I had no right to intervene in her business. I wasn't her boyfriend. Thanks to the stupid Dracul curse, I'd never be anyone's boyfriend. As long as the curse went unbroken, I couldn't allow myself to fall for anyone or allow anyone to fall for me.

That was why I planned to join the military with my father as soon as I graduated because I refused to do to someone what my father did to my mother every single day.

Over a hundred years ago, a Dracul woman pissed off the wrong witch, who'd cast a spell on her and the entire Dracul line and anyone connected to it by marriage, that they would be cursed with unrequited love.

My mother loved my father deeply. And because of that, he couldn't love her back.

But Arthur hadn't come out unscathed, either, because he clearly loved my half-brother's mother, and never once had she asked Arthur to leave Octavia.

We Draculs were forced to arrange our marriages to keep the line from dying out. But anyone who agreed to the marriage knew the risk. Any Dracul who fell in love was destined to never be loved in return.

So…no girlfriends. No romantic entanglements. Ever.

I hated to admit it, but Arya dating fish boy was best for everyone. If she was dating someone else, it would be that much easier to keep this friendship strictly business. I'd be forced to stay on task and get the information my father wanted without…complications.

I was strong enough to fight this need for her. I had to be, for my family, for my mother. For Arya. And as I left the room to find my traitorous friends who'd deserted me, I was determined to make sure nothing like this ever happened again.