Dragon's Fake Wedding Date - Riley Storm Page 0,64

and as she worked, Gayle noticed something happening to him.

“Your cuts are healing,” she said. “You’re not bleeding anymore.”

Rann nodded. “Dragon DNA has some perks,” he said with a shrug. “I told you I would be okay. But this is very nice.”

“How are you feeling now?” she asked, shutting the water off.

“Much better,” he said. “Thank you.”

Gayle smiled weakly at him and then hurried out of the bathroom to get a towel from the linen closet. When she returned, Rann was standing in the tub, bracing himself on the wall with one arm. She doubted he even needed it by that point but was using it just to make her happy.

“Here,” she said, holding out the towel. “Let’s get you dried off.”

That was much easier to do. She let Rann handle the delicate bits, and then, with the towel wrapped around his waist, she guided him to the next door down the hallway and then into her bed.

“Oh that’s nice,” he half-moaned as he sank into the bed, his head resting on a pillow. “That’s very nice.”

“Good,” she said, grabbing a robe from behind the door and slipping into it.

Then, she went to the other side of the bed and climbed in until she was curled up near his head. She began to stroke it softly, being very careful to avoid any of his cuts, even the ones that were well on their way to being healed.

“Gayle,” he said after a few minutes had passed.

“Yes?” she asked, trying to still the trembling in her fingers.

Rann reached up, taking her hand into his, and then tilting his head so he could see her.

“What did I do to wrong you?”

Chapter Thirty-Three

Gayle

“Oh, Rann,” she whispered. “Nothing. You did nothing wrong.”

He frowned. “I must have done something. Earlier today. You were so mad at me. You told me you never wanted to see me again. Why would you do that?”

Gayle blinked furiously, but no matter what trick she tried—looking up at the ceiling, pushing her tongue to the roof of her mouth, blinking, biting her lip—nothing could stop the tears falling. Not this time.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered, curling up into a tight little ball of anxiety and sorrow. “I…I’m an idiot. That’s what happened. I’m just so on edge about everything. And then when he came to me, showed me everything, I just believed it. It was…easier.”

“What? Who came to you? Showed you what? What was easier?” Rann asked, struggling to get into a seated position.

“No, stop,” she said, putting a hand on his bare chest, pushing down. “Stay there. You need to rest. I’m not going anywhere, I promise. Not…not unless you want me to.”

“No,” Rann said sharply, without hesitation. “Don’t go. Please.”

She nodded, swiping at the tears with the back of her arm. “Thank you.”

“But, tell me, what happened?” he asked, his eyes boring deep into her. Unlike the rest of him, they were alert and alive with energy.

“Everything seemed to be too good to be true,” she said. “How is it that I deserve someone like you? That makes no sense. So when someone came to me, claiming that you weren’t who you said you were, it was just so much easier for me to believe that than it was to believe that you truly cared for me.”

“Who came to you?” Rann said, his voice deepening.

“I was outside, getting some fresh air before your fight,” she said. “He came up to me. Lilly and Claire—they came to see me earlier tonight, explained who it was, and why I was being an idiot—told me his name was Prax?”

Rann’s entire body stiffened, his eyes blazing with jade fire. “Prax,” he hissed. “I should have known.”

“Relax,” Gayle said, pushing down on his chest once more. “You don’t need to worry about him anymore. Claire and Lilly set me straight. They told me about the bad blood between you two. They didn’t know why, but they said he was just trying to hurt you through me. Which makes a lot of sense.”

“I’m still going to kill him,” Rann vowed.

“No, you aren’t,” she said. “You’re going to go to sleep here, next to me. If, um, that is, if you want to.”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Rann asked, confused.

“Because I was a colossal bitch to you earlier?” she said bluntly. “I was so overwhelmed with everything and the speed with which things are happening between us, that I let some stranger color my perception of you by doing nothing but showing me some pictures of you with