The Protector (Fire's Edge #4) - Abigail Owen Page 0,68

his lips to hers in a hard, harsh kiss. Then again, softer and sweeter. He lifted his head. “Try again.”

Narrowing her eyes, she did just that. “You can’t—”

Again, he cut her off with a hard kiss, followed by a soothing one that scrambled her brain. Almost like he was shutting her up with the first one, and the second…

The second kiss…

She couldn’t let herself define. Not if she was going to ask him not to go.

“You aren’t thinking this through,” she said softly. “You have somewhere you have to be.”

The twinkle in his eye died and he sighed, turning away. “You know me better than that.” He left her standing in the open doorway. “You need me more. The boys need me more. It’s not a difficult choice. I’ll go when I know you and the boys are safe.”

She shook her head. “If the Alliance doesn’t believe our ruse and comes after them—”

“Then we deal with it.”

She paused as he swung a camo pack onto his back—the heavy-duty kind hitchhikers favored and likely fully loaded with things they’d need for wherever this venture was about to take them. Similar to the one overflowing with gear in her room.

“Lyndi, if anything happened to the boys—” He paused, and his gaze held her in place like a butterfly pinned in a display. “If anything happened to you…” His voice had dropped, the harsher tones of his dragon coming through.

He moved to stand directly in front of her. “Don’t try to talk me out of this. I’m doing it.”

What kind of person was she that, instead of guilt or anger, her immediate reaction was one of pure relief? Like everything inside her unclenched. The thought of doing this on her own scared the shit out of her, but she could do it.

I have to kill Tineen.

It was the only answer to all of this. Then Levi could safely go on to the Gold Clan and she and the boys wouldn’t be in constant danger, always running. Of course, then she might never see Levi again, a thought that wrapped around something deeper within her and squeezed tight. But she’d deal with that after this nightmare was over.

“Okay,” she whispered.

His lips tilted in a lopsided grin. “I could be trying to talk you out of going with Deep the same way, but I won’t.” He reached out, tracing her cheek with a single finger. “Just…be smart about it, okay? I don’t want to have to burn down the Rockies to get to you.”

Twisting her lips to keep from smiling, she shrugged. “I’ll do what I have to do.”

Levi dropped his hand, searching her expression with a frown. “Maybe I should tie you up and let Deep handle this.”

Uh-oh. Better divert him or he’d figure out her true end game. She raised her eyebrows at him in deliberate interest. “Sounds diabolical.”

Levi groaned. “Now I’m just giving you ideas.”

“Actually…” She tipped her head to the side. In for a penny, in for a pound, right? “I do have an idea worth exploring.”

“Oh?” He regarded her with extra suspicion, eyes narrowing.

“Once I’m done with Deep and meet up with you, we’re about to be on the road indefinitely, with all of our, for lack of a better word, kids.”

“Yeah.”

“Not a lot of privacy for…things.”

Gold flared in his hooded eyes the instant he caught on. In almost one move, it happened so fast, he dropped his pack to the floor with a thump, kicked the door closed, and had her up against the wall, legs wrapped around him, cock pressing into her core through her jeans.

“Now that is an idea I can get behind,” he murmured, warm breath brushing her lips.

“I thought you might,” she murmured back.

And let herself become lost in the perfection of Levi’s strength and tenderness.

Chapter Thirteen

Dead silence greeted Tineen as he landed directly in the center of the black dragon village. No coming in by stealth. Though he could have. He figured speed and suddenness would serve him better. Only the place was deserted.

Not a whisper of sound.

Granted these were all black dragons, and most of them had been pretty fucking nonexistent on the last visit here. This was different. Felt different.

“Boss—” Roan said beside him.

“I know.”

Shifting quickly, Roan following suit, Tineen strode into the nearest building, raising his nose in the air to sniff. Someone had been in this room not too long before. A day or two at most. If he’d come here first, he probably would have found them all in