Chapter Twenty
Vasren sent the carriage driver to fetch Yao, his steward.
They returned with two carriages—one for Yao and one for Vas.
I sent Netrax and Tesal off with Yao to secure supplies for the house.
Rushao was home to Hulfrin and Tyasmorans, but Brandva weren't native to our kingdom.
As a coastal town, the people of Sunsho had probably seen Brandva before, but there weren't any Brandva residents, and any visiting Brandva didn't stay long.
In short, the race was unfamiliar to these people, and the unknown could be scary.
Especially when the unknown averaged over six feet tall and had red skin, black horns, thick hooves for feet, and barbed tails.
I hoped that sending Tesal, a Brandva, off with Netrax, a Hulfrin, would help ease the citizens of Sunsho into feeling comfortable around my men.
“Have a nice time, boss.” Sion crossed his big, dark arms across his wide chest and smirked, pulling his long, Tyasmoran face even further down.
“Don't tear apart the house while I'm out,” I called back, eyeing him and the rest of my crew—standing on the front steps to see us off.
“We'll set up the rooms like you said and plan out what construction needs to be done.” Behez jerked his chin up, stabbing his horns into the air. “We should have the plans drawn out by the time you return.”
“Very good. Thank you.” I got into the carriage.
Vasren followed me in, casting a look at the crew before closing the door. “It's so strange to see you like this.”
“You mean, not simpering?”
“I admit that my little Kat stirred instincts in me.” Vas sat back and met my gaze. “But that grows old. I'd rather have my full-grown Katai and all his claws.”
“That's what you say now.”
“You're right. Maybe I will end up hating you.”
My jaw fell open.
Vasren burst into laughter as our carriage rolled out of the drive. “I'm teasing you.” He lifted my hand and kissed it. “I could never hate you, Mate. Even when I appear to, I don't. It's all bluster.”
I cleared my throat. “I'll try to remember that.”
“Hey.” He squeezed my hand. “I can't promise this will be a dream romance between us. But I can say that I'm hopeful, and I want to build this into something that will last forever. Because that's what the Goddess has given us, Katai—forever. Let's not squander her gift.”
“I want forever with you,” I whispered. “But I can't help feeling that now you're the one wearing the mask, trying to be someone I can love.”
“I'm not pretending to be what you want. I'm trying to be open about who I am and who you are. There's a big difference.”
“Forgive me if I'm skeptical.”
“It's all right. It's going to take time for us to trust each other. But now that we're mated, we have that time, Katai. And you're even stronger than before. You . . .” he trailed off, his gaze going distant.
“What is it?”
“The alley,” he murmured and refocused on me. “Those men who attacked you the night we met. Why didn't you defend yourself? You could have . . . but that wasn't the point, was it?”
“No,” I whispered. “I owned that tavern. Those men were regulars I hired to pretend to attack me. It was all an act to get your attention.”
“Fuck me,” Vas growled. “Am I that fucking easy to manipulate?”
“Starting fresh, remember?”
He snorted. “Gods damn it, Katai. You saw through me from the beginning. How long did it take for you to figure out that playing the victim would make me play the savior?”
“I watched you for a few weeks. It didn't take long to see that you had a type. But they couldn't keep your attention. You fucked them and walked away. I didn't want to be someone you discarded, so I had to make our introduction epic. Something you would never forget.”
Vas went still. Then he yanked me into his arms. Not to kiss, just to hold. “You could never be someone I discarded.”
“No, because I orchestrated our initial meeting to ensure that you wouldn't.”
He drew back, gaped at me, and then laughed. “I suppose I shouldn't be shocked that you handled me in a similar way to your plots for revenge.”
I went serious. “Vas, you may have started as a target, but you ended up as the most precious person in my life. Leaving you was my only regret.”
“No more regrets.” Vas bent and kissed me.
It was more than a meeting of lips or swipes of tongue upon tongue.
More than passion rising and bodies hardening.
It was even more than a kiss of beginning again.
This was real. It was Vasren and me. No barriers.
No regrets. No misunderstanding. Between the soft movements of his mouth and the tilting of my head, I found hope.
Maybe he wouldn't hate who I really was.
And beneath that hope, a dragon rose.
Vasren's hands clenched in my clothing suddenly, and a growl rolled through his mouth and into me.
I breathed in the breath of the beast and wrapped my arms around him.
Here was the primal part of my lover who had always accepted me.
Here was the dragon who loved me—the monster I should have let guide me.
He was not separate from Vasren. He was Vas—the most natural, wild, primal part of him.
And if the beast loved me, the man would follow.
What a fool I'd been. To think that Vas would never accept me.
He already did. We still had a great distance to travel, obstacles to overcome, but I was more confident now.
I didn't have to push my true self in his face and see how he reacted.
I would simply be me. I would live as I wanted to live and become the dream I had dreamed.
If Vas wanted to be a part of my future, I would welcome him. If not, he could walk away.
Another growl came, as if the dragon sensed my thoughts and disagreed. There would be no walking away. It was all or nothing when you loved a monster.
Smiling against Vasren's lips, I thought, So be it. Our love would be forged into an unbreakable blade, or we'd burn to ashes in the flames.