13. Chapter 13
Daxton tingled with curiosity as he smiled. Izzy projected the impression of an indifferent Renaissance woman, yet she disliked business. He enjoyed learning about this side of her. The one hidden behind a stiff voice, void of any warmth, and a rare smile.
“Don’t tell me family pressure is why you hate business?” he asked.
The bridge of her pointed nose wrinkled beneath her thick-framed blue glasses, as if she were trying to keep emotion from reaching her face.
“Guilty,” she said. “My family breeds executives. And being an only child, it’s expected I take over our scientific supply corporation. But I’m not cut out for it. Books are easier to care for. Running a company and overseeing so many lives? Not my cup of tea.”
A small frown touched the sides of her lips, and her focus seemed distant, lost in memory.
His heart felt heavy, and he circled back to that moment when he’d asked her why she ran. From their link, her fear had layered over a weighing sadness.
“What’s bothering you?” he asked.
Her eyes drifted back to the journal. “I’d rather not talk about it.”
“Ignoring it won’t make you feel any better. It’ll find its way out eventually.”
“Fine.” She sighed and closed the journal. “I nearly lost my life. Twice. And that monster is still at large. I also have a mysterious connection to a dragon that I need to figure out, so we can go our separate ways. Did I miss anything?”
“How does it make you feel?”
“Like I want out of my human skin.”
“At least you’re honest. You’re stronger for staying in it.”
“I don’t feel strong.” She scratched her nails across the pages of the book.
“None of us do.” He shrugged. “Some just act better than others.”
The hint of a smile graced her lips. “I never was great at acting.”
Her expression punched him in the chest, as if he’d struck gold. He relaxed into the chair.
The sun shone through the plane window, illuminating her pale features.
Her long, dark lashes concealed her golden eyes as she continued reading the journal with her legs crossed at the knee.
His thoughts strayed to her flushed pink and naked beneath him.
His pants constrained against his body, and he fidgeted in his seat.
He desired to take that journal from her and spread her thighs…
He stopped the images—surely sharing too much over the link—but ever since she’d sat in the car with him, healed and in her human body, her tangy scent filling his brain and a burst of color warming her cheeks at something she’d read, his libido had been going haywire.
He wanted her in a powerful way, warmth coiling around his entire body.
Yet he was trying to honor the distance she’d put between them, refusing to feed her anything untoward.
What didn’t help was his dragon’s need to feel her across the link.
His fingers fidgeted with restless dragon energy.
Damn it.
He’d believed proximity would soothe his dragon temper, but he couldn’t fully relax. The shield she erected between them made him feel like he sat in a room losing oxygen, his suffocation inevitable. The more time ticked by with her so physically close but mentally closed off, the worse it got.
When she bit her lip and blushed at something she read, his dragon shredded at his skin, wanting to experience more of her across the link.
His limbs shook. No. You have to calm down.
He tried to breathe like he’d done when she drew his blood, but it wasn’t as easy without her direction.
If she didn’t open the link between them, he would explode into a dragon.
He tapped the bottom of her foot with his as it dangled over her other leg.
She met his gaze, and the blush on her face darkened. He almost groaned.
“Can I help you?” she asked.
“Stop—” Don’t make demands. Be civil. “Can you stop whatever you’re doing to block me?”
“I could.” Her gaze skittered around. “But I don’t know what’ll happen.”
“My dragon will quit…badgering me.”
Her breath quickened and her chest rose. Instead of showing fear, her stare examined him. For her sake, he took a few calming breaths and centered his mind on the feel of the seat beneath him, reining his dragon back.
She frowned in concentration. “I can feel it pacing…wanting to break free. What do you sense from me through the link?”
“I caught your reactions before you put up the shield. I can still feel slivers of your more intense emotions.”
A subtle thread of unease thrummed along the link. Her gaze turned distant, mouth parted slightly. Her focus shifted inward, as if she were struggling to figure out more about the link.
He smiled. Though she was one of the most difficult people to read, the longer he spent with her, the better he became at distinguishing her microexpressions.
“The link is peculiar,” she said. “A band of power connecting us, as if we’ve swapped spirit energy. But I don’t understand the purpose. Why would it be imperative to feel each other’s emotions? To learn to trust one another, maybe? Is dropping the barrier all you want from me?”
“I…” Desire flamed through his veins. His voice turned hoarse, and he rubbed his face. The need burned inside him to connect them again, dragon and spirit.
“I gather you want to feel my presence on the spirit level,” she said.
“Yes.”
Her throat worked as she swallowed. “But that’s not all you want, is it?”
“I wish I could lie to you.” But I won’t. Not to you. Or to myself. He wished to coax out her humanity, the fiery edge of emotion simmering at the back of her mind. But indulging his carnal hunger wasn’t the only way of doing that. He could court her, surprise her, and make her smile and laugh.
“Tell me what you want,” she said.
He grabbed her delicate hand and turned it palm side up. She didn’t pull away and his chest swelled at her trust and willingness. Tracing one finger from the middle of her palm to her wrist, her pulse galloped under his touch. His body tightened as he strove to control his beast.
He met and held her searing gaze. “There’s a sexual pull between us, and I find it—I find you irresistible, Izzy.”
A thread of intense emotion ran thick along the link. Before he could read her reaction, she blocked it. Crimson rose to her face, blooming across the bridge of her nose and cheeks.
His body shook with the need to cover her mouth with his.
“If I’m honest, I’m not fond of my human body and don’t like being touched more than necessary. In a manner of speaking, humanity was the cause of my downfall. But…” Her chest moved as she took in labored breaths. “…the sexual tension between us intrigues me.”
“I could teach you to love your body.”
Her sun-colored eyes gleamed with nerves and a twinkle of wonder. He leaned forward, crinkling the leather. Did he hear the same as she moved toward him subtly? Her lips appeared pillow-soft, kissable…
A boisterous bell echoed into the cabin. Daxton’s body tightened with alertness.
Izzy jumped. “What is that sound?”
Daxton followed the source of the unfamiliar sound. “It’s coming from your luggage.”
“What? That doesn’t make any sense.” She unbuckled her seatbelt and stood.
As she opened the overhead compartment, the tolling of the bell grew louder. Daxton’s muscles coiled, ready for a fight. She ruffled through her bags cautiously.
“I think it’s my laptop, but it’s never made that sound before.” She pulled a bag free, swiveled out her tray table, and set the bag down.
She frowned and sat, eyeing the bag. Even with her barrier, her fear tightened the link between them. “I should call Simon just in case. He’s more tech-savvy than I.”
Luckily, Simon answered on the second ring as the bells grated on Daxton’s nerves just as the adrenaline of the unknown made him antsy.
“I left it on airplane mode when we left the uni,” Simon said over the speaker after Izzy explained the situation. “Unless you’ve set an alarm that makes little sense. You’ll have to open it.”
Izzy licked her lips as she took the sleek black laptop from the bag and set it on the tray. Daxton’s heart hammered as her fingers shook to open the lid.
Window after window launched on the screen like a never-ending pop-up. The words blared in a bold font.
Humanity is the hurdle to reaching strength. A lesson you will soon regret forgetting.