Tina twisted in her chair to find Zane standing in the doorway, hesitating as his gaze shifted between her and the books along the walls.
A little annoyed that he was breaking her rules yet again, Tina lifted one brow in suspicion. “Come on, Zane. We both know you didn’t walk in here accidentally. You knew I was in here, so don’t play dumb.”
He grinned and ran a hand through his wild hair. “I really was just looking for the library, honest.”
Uh huh. She smirked and returned to her book. Leave it to Zane to find loopholes in her rules.
“What are you reading?” he asked, peeking over her shoulder. As he neared, her skin began to tingle with need at the memory of his lips on her forehead, of his hands holding hers the night before. Of his sweet offer to keep her safe, no matter what happened.
Despite her momentary annoyance, she relented. He seemed genuinely kind and wickedly clever, and she enjoyed his company. To answer his question, Tina closed the book and angled the cover toward him.
“Ah, smart,” he said with a nod. “You need to learn everything you can about Damara.”
“And her magic,” Tina said, nodding along.
“Any luck so far?”
Tina shrugged. “A little. Nothing much in here about her abilities or how to control them. That’s what I really want to know.”
Zane set a hand on her shoulder, the touch shooting warmth and fire through her as she unconsciously leaned closer. The more time she spent with him, the more he made her feel nurtured. Smart. Capable.
She had to admit, she had grown pretty fond of her nerd. She smiled at him, letting her guard down as he knelt beside her. For a few moments, they paged through the book, Zane adding commentary here and there as he shared information not included in the text.
This close, she could smell the clean scent of his cologne washing over her like a cascading waterfall, the soothing scent reminding her of clean clothes and fresh sheets. It made her feel calm, connected. Safe.
She leaned her head against his and savored the warmth of his body being so close to hers. He ran the back of his knuckle along her bare arm and leaned his mouth toward hers, inviting her closer as she pretended to read the same sentences three times. This close, his nerdy charm pulled her in.
He paused when his mouth was barely an inch from hers, and she closed the gap between them. As their lips connected, desire curled within her, urging her to lose herself in his touch. Zane relaxed into her, releasing a small happy sigh as he leaned into the kiss.
When they begrudgingly pulled apart, Tina ran her fingers over her lips, smiling as the memory of his kiss danced along her tongue. “Wow.”
“Yeah,” he said breathlessly, and she lost herself in his blue eyes. “Tina, I’ve never—”
“Caught you cheating, Zane!” a familiar voice said from the doorway.
Tina peeked around Zane’s thin build to find Draven learning against the doorframe, arms crossed. As their eyes met, his gaze drifted south and swept over her body, and a hungry expression crossed his face.
She clicked her tongue and set her book on the windowsill, annoyed with his interrupting her amazing kiss with Zane, yet still admittedly happy to see her dragon. Apparently, she wouldn’t have a moment to herself today. Standing, she set her hands on her waist and leaned her weight on one hip. “Draven, you’re cheating, too. Both of you need to leave.”
“Can’t do that,” Draven said, shaking his head.
Tina laughed. “You will if you want to compete. Now scoot. Zane and I were … talking.”
“I bet you were.” Draven winked. “And I want nothing more than to compete and win your heart, Tina,” he said, closing the distance between them with slow and seductive strides. “However, I’m also worried about you. You need to learn how to fight. I’m the best swordsman in the five kingdoms, so I’ve taken it on myself to teach you.”
“How kind of you,” Tina said dryly, not at all impressed.
Zane set one hand on Tina’s shoulder, his grip tightening possessively. “If you want to train Tina, save it for your day with her.”
Now they were getting possessive, and the fun was quickly evaporating. It seemed as though her moment with Zane had faded, and if he was going to get pushy, she would rather use her day off to be alone. “Both of you need to leave. Wait to spend time with me on your allotted day. Right now, I just want to read my book.”
Draven’s cocky smirk faltered, and his gaze dropped to the floor. “Tina, I’m sorry. Look, I know I’m breaking your rules, but hear me out.”
He gently reached for her arms and pulled her closer, his touch shooting ripples of desire through her core. He leaned in, closing the distance between them, and she inhaled his smoky cologne. It took everything in her not to lean into his hard chest, but he was breaking her rules, and she had to lay down the gauntlet.
Beside her, Zane stuttered in protest, but she didn’t need his help.
She pushed the dragon shifter away. “Draven, no.”
He pressed on, regardless. “I wish there were a way for me to only train you on my days, but one doesn’t become a swordsman by practicing once per week. I need to train you as often as possible.” He lifted her hand and kissed it, and desire smoldered within her at his touch as he continued. “You are a beautiful, powerful woman with incredible abilities, but I will always want to keep you safe.” His voice lowered to almost a whisper. “I saw how exhausted you were after your display in the throne room. I know how much energy that sapped from you.”
Tina’s jaw tensed nervously. It seemed most, if not all, of her men had seen how much effort and energy her powers took to control. She wasn’t sure if she liked them knowing she didn’t have her full powers yet.
“I will always strive to protect you.” Draven gently brushed his nose against hers, his voice still a gruff whisper as tendrils of desire snaked beneath her skin at his warm touch. “If I can’t be at your side every day to guard you, I can’t sleep unless I know you can handle yourself with a blade. Please, Tina. Please let me train you.”
She sighed, weighing her options. She didn’t want to reward Draven for breaking her rules on day one, but he had a point. She needed as many new skills as she could master, in as short a time as possible. Until she could control her magic, mastering her skills with a blade would have to do.
“Very well,” she said with a nod. “But from now on, you will behave, Draven. Don’t test me.”
“Thank you,” Draven said, letting out a slow breath of relief.
Zane sputtered. “But Tina—”
She interrupted the tiger shifter’s train of thought with a well-timed look over her shoulder, daring him to challenge her. He hesitated and ultimately sighed in defeat.
“Let’s begin, Draven,” she said, heading for the door and gesturing for him to follow.
14
Draven
To Draven, Tina was already his woman, and it was his solemn duty to keep her safe at all costs. With the kinds of people after her and her power, she might be put in a compromising position when he couldn’t help her, and he needed to make sure she would be all right on her own.
Thank the gods she had agreed to let him train her.
“Keep your elbow in,” Draven said, correcting Tina’s form as they stood in Epara’s training room.
She nodded, her right elbow shifting closer to her torso as she lifted the elegant white-and-gold knife he’d had custom ordered for her and rushed to the temple. At least the high priestess had been kind enough to grant an expedited order to the best local blacksmith when she’d found out who the dagger was for.