Or so it seemed to Dani. As Cara moved to the counter, Dani froze so abruptly that the Satyr, following directly behind, bumped into her.
“Oops,” he stated, laying a warm hand on her waist.
Dani wrenched away from him, and Tyrez, looming behind Jacques, growled in warning. The Satyr held his hands away from his body, and more importantly, away from Dani, as he slipped past her.
“Jacques!” A female voice, filled with welcome. A full-figured blonde woman, immaculately groomed with every hair in place, stepped forward and embraced the Satyr.
“Mon chéri,” Jacques purred as she disengaged from him, but slowly, trailing hands along his arms. “You look stunning, as always.” He captured one manicured hand and gently kissed the back of it, his gaze never leaving hers.
Dani concluded that these two obviously shared more than a casual friendship. And the scent coming off the Satyr was causing her eyes to water. She refused to admit it affected any other bits.
He had testicles, after all. If what she remembered from her book was true, they were substantial.
From behind her, Tyrez cleared his throat, and she jumped. “Dani, this is Millie.”
Millie wrenched her gaze away from Jacques with an effort. “Hello Dani. I’ve heard so much about you.”
She had? Dani glanced at Tyrez.
The big Dragon shook his head as he gestured for her to proceed into the kitchen. “Don’t look at me. You made your own reputation.”
The battle. He was talking about the battle in the forest. Suddenly, she wasn’t so sure she wanted to be here.
It was sentiment that shrieked at her when she saw the two women at the counter and the big man seated at the table.
The man was unmistakably a Sabre. Not as big as Tyrez, but bigger than a Dire, with rugged features and mottled gold and chocolate colored hair. In this case, it was shaved close to his skull, which emphasized the spots. When she walked in, he was pouring creamer into a mug, but his gaze flicked to her.
She stopped dead, her eyes skittering away from him to the women. And she blinked, because it was like seeing double. After a moment, she realized they weren’t exactly identical—one had slightly shorter hair and a warier look.
The one with longer locks approached Dani and smiled. “Hello Dani. I’m Sarah.”
“You—you were at the battle.”
“We were.” The second woman leaned against the counter. “You were pretty frakking impressive, throwing things around.”
She meant throwing thingsat them. Dani took a step back, but Tyrez stood between her and the door. Was he worried Dani would bolt?
If he hadn’t been there, she might have.
Why had she agreed to come? These people and she had been on opposite sides during that battle. They must hate her for what she’d done.
She shot Tyrez a glance. She’d come because she’d trusted him. It startled her. Why? Why had she trusted the Dragon? Especially amaleDragon.
But she did. Was it because he’d rescued her from Rindek?
She hadn’t taken that seriously until this very moment. He’d had his reasons to help her, and they revolved around finding Rindek. But on a visceral level, it didn’t seem to matter. Because no one had ever rescued her before. Not from her foster father, not from the various foster brothers. Not from the goons on the street. Not from Remy.
But Tyrez had rescued her from Rindek that night in the cemetery. He hadn’t been alone—there’d been a Sabre with him, and Dires. Did that mean she’d trust them as well?
She glanced at the Sabre. No. No, she wouldn’t. She viewed the big Dragon differently.
And Tyrez wasn’t the only Dragon who had helped her. Ash had saved her, too. Only she hadn’t known what he was, back then.
Tyrez had ulterior motives, she reminded herself. He’d pursued her off the battlefield because she was damned dangerous. The Dragons, and others, didn’t want her walking around loose.
Ash, though—he had no reason to help her, yet he had. And he was still held captive by that bastard.
Dani thought of her dream and the despair she’d sensed within him. It couldn’t be far from the truth. She owed him. It was a debt she vowed to repay.
