In a Dragon’s Dream by Riley Storm Page 0,48
become a bodyguard, something I accepted for no good reason.”
“You felt you were in danger.”
“I had a head injury,” she said dryly. “That’s what I’m blaming that on. Either way, you waltzed into my life. I put my safety in your hands. From the very start, I trusted you Rakell.”
It felt weird to say his full name, but she sensed that it would help impart the gravity of her words on him. Indeed, he stiffened at it, giving her even more of his focus, if that was at all possible.
“It was probably a dumb move,” she told him, crossing her arms over her stomach and beginning to pace. “In hindsight, not so much, but I shouldn’t have trusted you. Not after some random men had just tried to kidnap me. It could easily have been more of them, the Cado, come to try again, by pretending to be one of you,” she said.
“I am not one of them,” Rakell growled.
“I know that now,” she said, placating him. “Trust me, I do. But at the time, I could not have known any better Rakell, and you know it too. It would have been easy for one of them to pull the same stunt. Yet I trusted you. Completely and thoroughly, with my life.”
“I never intended to hurt you,” he said, spreading his hands wide. “I don’t know what I’ve done, but it wasn’t intentional. Even this was never what I intended.”
He pointed back and forth between the two of them, indicating that he was referring to whatever had developed between them. Laura didn’t know what to term it either, but she knew he was more than just her bodyguard now. Much more. Could probably never return to that simple status again, that much was for sure.
“My intentions were good,” he added. “I promise.”
“I know that Rak,” she said, using her nickname for him to try and emphasize that fact.
“But,” he said quietly, preempting her next statement.
“But,” she agreed. “You also told me that you weren’t a dragon shifter, swore up and down that they didn’t exist. You said I was silly for thinking so.”
Rakell nodded gravely.
“I trusted you,” she said softly, “but you never extended the same.”
“No,” he replied. “I didn’t.”
Laura’s eyebrows rose. This wasn’t the sort of explanation or apology, or even discussion, that she’d expected. Things had taken a complete turn, and all at once she was no longer in control of the conversation.
“And I won’t apologize,” Rakell continued. He didn’t raise his voice. Didn’t fill it with anger or sharpen it against her. “I can’t apologize for that.”
“Why not?” she wanted to know, surprised at his unyielding stance.
“Because at the time, I could not know that you were going to become more to me than just a woman on a hospital bed. I was only there to make things right.”
Laura’s frown deepened, her forehead wrinkling, eyes becoming slits. “You aren’t trying to make things right anymore?” she asked, wondering if she’d understood him correctly.
“No,” Rakell said softly. “Because a few days ago when you went back to work, you became more than just that woman. The Cado came after you, and they showed me, however inadvertently, that you were more to me than just a human to make things right with.”
“Oh,” she said softly.
“Until then though,” Rakell continued. “I had to put the safety of all dragon kind before you. I will never lie to you again, but protecting the secret of my people must be my first priority. It has to be. I will do it again too if I must, in a heartbeat.”
Laura opened her mouth, but Rakell wasn’t done.
“If you can’t accept that Laura Fitzgerald, then I am truly sorry. Truly. But that would mean that you can’t accept me, and what I am, and how unnatural my entire existence is to the majority of the human race.”
She shuffled uncomfortably on her feet. She’d not thought of it this way before. She’d only thought about herself, about his trust toward her.
“Even if you can handle it, and your grandfather could handle it, most humans can’t,” he finished.
“But Rak,” she said, looking up at him. “I’m not most humans.”
His face took on a pleading tone. “Can’t you see that I know that now? That I’m well aware of it? But I didn’t know it back then, Laura. I trust you now. For goodness’ sake I brought you to my home, among all dragons, before I even knew you were my—”
He cut himself off, shaking his head.
“Is