Darkblood Prison - G.K. DeRosa Page 0,66

comes to my loyalty. Therefore, I’ll end things now before they take a turn for the worst.”

This was the exact opposite of how I’d imagined this conversation going. “So where does that leave us?”

“Even.”

I crossed my arms over my chest in case Delacroix decided to stab a knife in my heart. This seemed way too easy. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me, Azara. You keep to your business, and I’ll keep to mine.”

I eyed him, my brow curving into a skeptical arch. I opened my mouth to bark out a sarcastic response when the thunder of rumbling walls jerked our attention to the interior of the janitor closet.

“I believe your dragon guard has arrived.” His dark lip curled into a sinister smile. “Aren’t you a lucky girl? A dragon and a werewolf sworn to protect you.”

I threw him a good eye roll as Talon’s shouts echoed through the narrow corridor.

“You better get going.”

I started to walk out, still half-certain he’d knife me in the back as I left.

“One more thing, Azara, watch your back. Thax doesn’t appreciate being made a fool of, and whatever he wants from you, it’s not likely he’ll simply forget.”

“Thanks for the warning.” Or was it a threat?

Talon’s pounding fists grew louder, his yells becoming more enraged so I darted through the secret passageway back into the closet before the dragon had a complete meltdown and burned down the entire building.

Normally, I’d find his protectiveness endearing, but after our last fight, I found it annoying.

“I’m coming!” I shouted as my hand encircled the old knob. I whipped the door open, and two-hundred pounds of dragon shifter barreled straight into me. He hit me with such force, we both flew across the small closet and landed against the opposite wall. Oomph! All the air squeezed from my lungs as brooms and mops rained down on us. Luckily, Talon’s massive form draped over me, shielding me from the flying debris.

“Sorry,” Talon muttered as he loomed over me, his corded arms caging me in. The entire length of his body pressed against me, and the familiar warmth spread through my core. I shoved aside the lusty sensations. He was hot; it was normal for my body to react to him like that. It was just physical—nothing more.

An excruciatingly long moment later, he pushed himself up and offered his hand. I took it begrudgingly. Mostly because there were so many brooms strewn across the floor, I was scared I’d accidentally step on one, slip, and end up on my butt again.

The moment we were both upright, Talon released my hand, only to sear me with a scorching glare. “What the hell were you thinking meeting up with Delacroix by yourself?”

I popped my hands on my hips and glared right back at him. “I was thinking I could handle myself just fine. Which I did.”

“You had no idea what he was up to. Thax could’ve sent him as payback.” He raked his fingers through his hair, pulling at the wild ends. “He could have killed you down there, and no one would’ve found your body for days.”

“Well, obviously not, since you found me in a matter of minutes.”

“Because I’m freakin’ phenomenal at my job.”

“Right... So now we’re back to that. Now that I’m not your blood buddy, I’m just your job, is that correct?”

“No,” he gritted through clenched teeth. “You’re the one that said—” He snapped his jaw shut, the tendon fluttering like a wild hummingbird.

I inched closer, rising up on tiptoes so I could be closer to his eyelevel. “I’m the one that said what?”

“Nothing,” he growled. “It doesn’t matter anymore.”

“Then if it doesn’t matter, why didn’t you let me deal with Delacroix on my own?”

“You still matter, Azara.” He shook his head, working his jaw. “Things are just more complicated now.”

I was about at the end of my rope. First, things were complicated because of the blood bond, and now they were complicated without it? We were obviously doomed from the start.

“They’re complicated because of me,” said a deep male voice.

I hadn’t even noticed the closet door opening in the middle of the drama. Vander stood in the doorway, dark circles around his eyes.

“No.” Talon shook his head, but the wild look in his eyes said something else. Obviously, Vander could see it too.

The wolf huffed out a breath and pivoted his gaze to me. Brilliant flecks of amber lit up his hazel eyes and for the first time, I recognized them. It was like a switch flicked on in my