Chapter 12
Chapter
Twelve
Today felt like the first day of something new.
A new life, maybe?
That felt too cheesy, and Dragon wasn't comfortable being quite that sappy. Still, he couldn’t deny that spending the last couple of hours in the kitchen with Cassandra had left him feeling lighter, freer than he ever had before.
His world had never been full of choices.
His family’s expectations, the military’s, Dr. Gardner’s, then having to live in hiding so the crazed doctor couldn’t come after him until they had enough intel to bring him down.
He’d never had an opportunity to figure out who he wanted to be and how he wanted to live his life.
He still didn't have all those answers, but as he looked at the warm flush on Cassandra’s cheeks, and the twinkle in her eyes, he knew he wanted more of this.
More light moments like those they’d shared in the kitchen as she taught him how to make bread.
More joy as he listened to her giggle, to her ramble on about old memories of all the times she’d made this meal with her grandparents, and the crazy things her brothers had done when they were all younger.
It didn't make him miss his own brothers.
He could quite happily live the rest of his life without ever seeing his two younger brothers again, although he did feel sorry for his sister, who would be sold off to another family to strengthen a bond.
He hadn't shared the same kind of familial bond with his own siblings, so he didn't miss their absence in his life.
Besides, the next brother in line for the throne was exactly what his father wanted him to become, a ruthless, cold-hearted, selfish man to carry on the family empire.
“You still have a little flour here,” Cassandra told him as she stepped up close enough that her body brushed against his. Her fingers were gentle as they found the spot on his forehead and brushed it free.
Every cell in his body wanted to wrap his arms around her, drag her up against him, grind his growing erection into her hot center, crush his lips to hers, and kiss her until neither of them could breathe.
Only he couldn’t do that. Not only did Cassandra deserve a sweetness and softness he wasn't sure he had in him, but she’d run earlier.
Even though she said she hadn't run from him, because of what he’d told her, he was having a hard time believing it.
Her scent said she was being honest as had the clearness in her eyes, and the tone of her voice, and yet for once, he wasn't able to put blind faith in his ability to smell other people’s emotions.
Like she was feeling the same tension simmering between them, Cassandra let her fingertips drop slowly. Trailing down his cheek and brushing across his lips before dropping down to hang by her side.
He ached at the loss of her touch, but he resisted the desire to grab her hand and bring her fingers back to his lips. Suck each one into his mouth and fantasize about what she would taste like if he could strip her naked and bury his face between her legs.
For his little rabbit, he was prepared to tame his darker instincts, find a way to learn to be gentle and soft, and give her what she needed. If it meant keeping her, he’d do whatever he had to do, including keeping himself on a leash.
After all, wasn't that what he’d spent his entire life doing?
While he yearned to be free, to not have to hide any parts of himself, for the gorgeous woman smiling shyly at him, he’d do anything. Literally anything. What was taming himself when it meant he got to keep this ray of sunshine by his side?
“Hey, lovebirds, we’re hungry,” Thunder called out from the dining room.
Usually, they ate at the smaller table in the kitchen, but tonight Cassandra had set the dining room table, added candles and a vase of origami flowers that Rose had made and handed over, beaming with pride.
It felt nice to spend some time together.
Before Dragon had always craved solitude, because he knew the darkness inside him was different from what lived inside his teammates, his brothers.
But tonight, differences didn't matter.
Tonight, he was focusing more on what bound them together than what had the ability to tear them all apart.
He had no idea how his team would react to finding out he was supposed to be the head of a mafia family.
As much as he’d like to believe that they would accept that he’d had no choice in what family he was born into, that sliver of doubt had him keeping quiet.
“Guess we’d better feed the hungry hoards,” Cassandra said with a giggle as she took a step back.
Before he could rein in his instincts, he growled at the distance she’d put between them and grabbed her hips, dragging her back toward him.
Since he knew Cassandra wasn't ready for the ravishing kiss he’d plant on her lips, he leaned down and touched his lips to her forehead instead, allowing them to linger as he grounded himself with her caramel scent.
“Yeah, guess we’d better feed them,” he muttered, releasing her even though it was the last thing he wanted. But if he didn't, he was going to have her spread naked before him, eating her out until she was screaming his name, without a care in the world that his team would hear everything.
With a last heated glance, Cassandra picked up the loaves of bread they’d baked together.
There was the homemade jam he’d made when he came back to the house after Cassandra had run off.
Wanting a way to draw her back in, see him not as a monster but as someone who could worship her if she let him, he’d remembered her stories about the homemade bread and jam she’d make with her grandparents and decided to make some.
Luckily, the jam had turned out great, even if his first go at bread hadn't risen.
Since his team was joining them for dinner, they’d also thrown some meat in the oven, and prepared everything else they’d need to make burgers with the bread instead of buns. Although he knew both he and Cassandra would be eating the bread with jam.
“Okay, okay, hungry animals,” Cassandra teased as she carried in the bread while he brought the meat. Everything else was already on the table, including drinks and his jam. “Here’s your food.”
“About time,” Voodoo said with a grin, making Cassandra’s smile widen.
The desolation he’d felt coming off her in waves ever since she’d first come to stay with them had receded a little. There was a lightness back to her, and she was smiling more, smiles that reached her eyes and didn't feel fake.
“It smells amazing,” Rose gushed from where she was perched on Steel’s lap. The man could hardly stand not to be touching her, and Dragon was starting to understand what that felt like. Cassandra had taken the seat beside him, and yet it felt like an entire ocean was between them.
“Thank you,” Cassandra said, blushing even as she beamed in delight at the compliment.
“I've made bread a thousand times before, but it was always just a chore, and I swear it never smelled as good as this,” Rose continued, and he could see a firm friendship developing between the two women.
Hopefully, another point in his favor to Cassandra giving him a chance.
Everyone agreed and began helping themselves to slices of bread.
Then, to his surprise, they started passing the jar of strawberry jam he’d made around the table.
The meat sat there, as they all slathered jam on slices of the still-warm bread, and then took huge bites, offering him congratulations on what was apparently delicious jam.
As Cassandra took a bite of her own bread, her happy gaze locked onto his, he felt rather than scented her joy. He’d learned to rely on his sense of smell for everything, but for once it was nice to take a step back and feel something instead.
And the longer he stared at Cassandra, the more he felt.
It was like his chest was swelling as emotion built up there.
It was the strangest feeling, he had no idea emotion could be experienced in this way.
But those feelings lodged there, and they weren't unpleasant.
There was warmth to them, echoed by the laughing, chattering voices of his team as they enjoyed the meal.
Only he and Cassandra remained quiet. But it was a nice quiet, a connected quiet, one they shared amidst the hustle and bustle of what was happening around them. Their gazes remained locked, and he felt no desire to let it go.
His darkness needed her light, and now that he’d taken that plunge, he was determined to do whatever it took to ease the doubts Cassandra had about him and make her his.
January 7th
7:00 A.M.
As she padded barefoot down through the corridors of the mansion, Cassandra felt more like her old self than she had in months.
Learning how she’d been conceived had rocked her foundation so badly that she’d started to feel like she could never go back to the bright and bubbly young woman she’d been before.
But last night something had shifted.
Baking bread in the kitchen with Dragon had been exactly what she needed.
It reminded her that even though her life felt rocky right now, there were still things she could cling to.
Happy memories from her past, old hobbies she had neglected for far too long.
A man who had laid himself bare before her.
Dragon was trying, he was making an effort to open himself up to her.
Sharing not just details on what had happened to him and his team, but about his family and what his life had been like as a child, was a big step for him, and she knew it, respected it, and felt a little more for him because he’d done it.
It was also bittersweet.
Because beneath the words he’d given her were the ones he hadn't. She saw it in the way he looked at her, though. He looked at her like he was trapped in the dark, and she was a ray of light that would lead him out.
What happened when he learned that she had her own darkness?