fire. Everything he’d had drilled into him from a young age stemmed from the sad story of Trevor’s errant son. The endless lectures about duty, the way his father had hammered home the absolute necessity of following a clear path in life…
Don’t forget the rest, his dragon pointed out. Love is foolish. Unnecessary…
Lachlan went totally still. Wait. That too?
Meanwhile, Holly had started pacing and muttering under her breath. “Leaving home takes courage. What about that?”
She’d never met Terence, who died before she was born. Why was she so wound up?
Then it struck him. Adventurous. Nonconformist. Following one’s own path. Those terms didn’t just describe Terence. They described Holly.
For a while, the room fell silent as they both drifted off in their own thoughts.
“Hey,” she whispered softly, touching his arm.
Warmth washed over him, though his mind spun.
Terence. Life lessons. Duty. His own choices — or lack thereof — in life… All that mixed with Trevor’s words on love, life, and regret. Even if that message was aimed at Holly, it applied to him too.
“You okay?” Holly asked.
He blinked, yearning to reach out and cup her cheek. To wrap her in his arms and ask for her advice.
Mate, his dragon murmured. My destined mate.
Holly tilted her head, waiting.
He swallowed hard and mustered a smile to buy time. “Just thinking.”
She sighed. “Such a sad story.”
Lachlan drew in a slow breath, trying not to let his hands shake. Did she mean Terence — or him?
Chapter Ten
“Are you sure you trust him?” Holly whispered a few hours later, pressing into Lachlan’s side.
He took a deep breath, trying not to savor the warm, comforting sensation of the contact.
Nice, his dragon hummed dreamily. Very nice.
The more time they spent together, the more natural it felt to stand close. To touch. To gaze deep into her eyes…
He gave himself a shake, trying to remember why he had to resist all those tempting, uncontrollable emotions she unleashed in him.
It was evening, and Tony had just arrived. And what a relief to have a trusted friend in troubled times. Not just any friend, but a lion shifter — one of the fiercest, most loyal men Lachlan knew, with a nose for the truth and a huge heart he went to great lengths to conceal — a little like his past.
“Hmm,” Tony yawned as he stretched his arms high, loosening up. “A long trip.”
Like most lion shifters, Tony fluctuated between two gears — lazy as a cat in the sun and lightning-fast, when he would morph into a ferocious fighting machine. Then he would downshift again, quietly lick his wounds, and go right back to lazing around, watching for trouble.
Tony had just sauntered off with Mrs. Killin to leave his things in a spare room, giving Holly the chance to quietly pose her question.
Her lips moved close to Lachlan’s ear, giving his lusty dragon bad ideas. Enough to make it difficult to focus on the question at hand.
Did he trust Tony?
“With my life,” he assured her.
More importantly, with hers. As a soldier, he’d long since come to terms with the notion of death. It came with the job, and that hadn’t changed in his new position working for the Guardians of Scotland. Ideally, things would go well, he would survive, and someday, he might be appointed a Guardian in his own right. If things went wrong… Well, he could accept the consequences.
But if something happened to Holly…
His dragon growled. Nothing will happen to her.
…that was an entirely different matter. The world needed people — and shifters — like Holly. Happy, upbeat personalities who spread hope and joy rather than hate or regret.
And, damn. There it was again — that dirty six-letter word. Regret.
“No way is Tony French,” Holly murmured. “Antoine Perec? No way. I’d say Italian. Antonio something-or-other is my guess.”
Lachlan kept his mouth shut. Tony had all the hallmarks of an Italian — the quick, flowing speech, the dark hair, and toned skin. But as to his background — well, Tony wouldn’t have been the first man to enter the Foreign Legion with one identity and leave with another. Lachlan didn’t know the full details, and he’d never asked. He knew what he needed to know about the lion shifter, from his sharp reflexes to his sixth sense for trouble.
“Does a name matter?”
Holly bit her lip. “I guess not. And everyone has their secrets, I suppose.”
Lachlan laughed. “Do you?”
She stuck her hands on her hips. “Of course I do.”
“I mean, real secrets. Secrets that could harm you or someone else.