Taming London (Warwick Dragons #1) - Milly Taiden Page 0,40

York and Paris.

Then there was the string of sexual conquests.

He couldn’t regret them because they had been the reason why Beth had come into his life.

What he did regret was the way he had treated her when she first showed up on his doorstep. He had been crass, even though he knew she was his mate. He took a deep breath, reaching for another dumbbell.

If his father could see him now, he would be thoroughly disappointed in him, London knew that. He would clamp a hand on his back, maybe squeeze his shoulder and say, my boy, you need to be a man. That means being equal parts strong and weak, depending on what you feel, and what the situation calls for. Your ma makes me weak. Always has, always will. But it’s not the kind of weakness you run from. No. It’s love weak, and that makes the soul strong. Strong enough to be a good soldier, a good leader, a good mate, a good father.

How many times had Alfonse said those words to him? More times than he could count. London had forgotten that little speech because it had been the last thing his father had said to him before his tragic accident. He hadn’t wanted to remember the words. They hurt too much. He suppressed a shiver.

If last words were important, then he was completely fucked. The last thing his mate had said to him was get bent. He hadn’t said anything back to her but to whisper her name.

He should have gone after her, he should have explained that the entire optics were not what they appeared to be.

Why hadn’t he?

The question burned in his soul, and he didn’t want to think about the answer. It made his skin itch to think why he would have let his mate walk away.

It’s because you don’t think you deserve her, you absolute ass.

Of course his dragon would choose that particular moment to chime in.

You don’t, by the way. Not right now. Not with the way you let her leave. You could have told her she was your mate, and explained that you were just looking out for her by getting the murder resolved. You also should have told her that you had no idea Sabrina was a journalist.

It was true.

He had thought she was a model, and he hadn’t particularly been chatty. When he had picked her up at the bar, Sabrina had been just another pretty face, ready for a good time. He understood then that he had been played. She had fucked him in hopes of getting a story or a scoop, and he had played right into her sick game.

At the cost of his mate.

He looked down at his dick. “We need to do better, buddy.”

His dragon snickered, but London ignored the damn beast. He wasn’t going to fly any time soon if the creature didn’t leave him be. He was beating himself up enough without his comments.

The shrill sound of his phone ringing pulled him out of his thoughts.

“James,” he barked into the phone.

“Whoa. Who pissed in your cereal this morning?” his friend asked with a smile on his voice.

“Not the time to be cute. Tell me you found something.”

Not that it would matter. Bethany had been one pissed off lady that morning. He doubted she would welcome the idea that not only had he secretly been investigating her mother’s death, but that he hadn’t found anything. It definitely didn’t look good under these new circumstances. At least, if James had found the culprit where the police had failed, their quarrel would have been for a reason.

“Of course, I found something,” James answered, wounded by the implications that he had gone to the States to find nothing. “You know me, I can find an invisible needle in a rainbow of haystacks.”

“Well?” London dropped the heavy dumbbell onto the floor. “What did you find?”

“This is really thing kind of thing I need to tell you in person. The private jet is just about to take off. I’ll be in London in a few hours. You can wait until then.”

“Why call me?”

“I have a good sense of suspense, my friend.”

“Fuck that. I’ve had a shit morning. Tell me what you found.”

“Would this have anything to do with an article that was released by Sabrina this morning?” There was a teasing lilt to James’s voice that London didn’t appreciate at all.

“Yeah, especially since Bethany was in my bed after a night together when she saw it.”

“Oh.” At