Dragon's Second Chance Romance - Riley Storm Page 0,32

as he ran. The only sounds were his slightly heavier breathing and her low, slow breaths in his ear, all that he had to assure himself that Claire was still there.

Rounding the corner, he sighted a small blue car that he assumed to be Claire’s, parked back against the street, facing the pub. He slowed his jog, looking around warily just in case the Hunters had set a trap, but he didn’t spy anything.

Claire saw him coming and looked up, her eyes meeting his. The brightness was gone, the normally shining amber-gold dulled, the brilliance put out. She looked haunted.

No, she looks defeated.

“Hey,” he said as he approached her door, trying not to wince at the fact she’d had the window down this entire time.

That just made it all the easier for a vampire to take her.

Not now.

“Hi,” she said quietly.

His eyes darted to the rear of the car. It was full of bags. Pietro frowned. It looked like she was loaded down with everything she’d brought back to Five Peaks with her.

“Where to?” she asked as he slid into the passenger seat.

He told her and sat back into silence, guiding her to his place. It was a townhouse in a newer section of town. Nothing overly fancy or big, but then again, it wasn’t his permanent residence. Like many of the dragons, Pietro split his time between town and up on the mountain with his clan. He didn’t need a mansion for that, especially when it was just him.

Grabbing several bags from the back seat, he led the way up the front walk, opening the door and gesturing for Claire to go inside.

The door had barely closed behind him when he heard Claire put the small bag she was carrying down and take a shuddering breath.

Pietro could hold it in no longer. His desire to console her, to help her, was too great. He kicked off his shoes and went over to her, wrapping her up in a big hug. Claire sank into it gratefully, burying her head in his chest.

A moment later he felt her shake as the tears started.

Chapter Eighteen

Claire

Pietro’s arms wrapped her in their protective bubble, and at last she felt secure enough to cry. The tears started slowly, but as the emotions that had been bubbling up from deep within her grew stronger, full blown sobs began to fill her.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Pietro said, stroking the back of her head. “Here, let me help you.”

She whimpered slightly in distress as he withdrew his arms but stopped when he bent down and undid her shoes, removing them one at a time and setting them aside. Then, he casually picked her up, cradling her into his arms as he walked over to a couch and sat down, still holding her tight against him.

Claire sat like that in his lap for an unknown amount of time. Tissues appeared for her to wipe her eyes and blow her nose, and she did so, feeling no judgment at all, despite the mess and sounds she was emitting.

No judgment from Pietro. Unlike from her parents.

“Why couldn’t they have just been angry?” she asked as the worst of the crying finally subsided, leaving her red-eyed and stuffy-nosed but able to at least talk without her voice cracking on every other word. “It would have been so much easier if they were angry with me.”

“Told you they were disappointed, did they?” Pietro asked in a knowing tone.

“Without the words, but yes. I—I’m not used to them showing no support for me,” she said quietly. “All my life, they’ve always been there for me, no matter what I did. Told me that I’d get over it, that I was strong enough to see past it or be the bigger woman. But not this time.”

Pietro was silent and almost still, except for the hand that continued to rub the back of her head, fingernails occasionally running along her skull with delightful scratching action. It was like he knew the perfect way to soothe her without even trying. She appreciated that. Probably more than he would ever know.

Sighing, she rested her head on his chest, feeling it rise and fall with slow, powerful precision.

“It always hurts worse when they feel that way about you. Anger we can understand. Sometimes we even crave it,” Pietro told her. “Because we know anger subsides. It fades. Disappointment, however, is much more permanent. Unchanging. It takes a lot more to fix an issue that has left someone disappointed in you.