What are you thinking about?Hunter prompted.
Can’t you read my mind?she teased.
I could, he confirmed.But I would rather not unless you have given me permission to do so.
Oh. Okay. So, I was wondering why Edgar even bothered to accept guardianship of me when he obviously didn’t, and doesn’t, care for me at all.
I’ve been wondering the same thing myself, and for the same reason.
Please don’t sugarcoat it. Just say it like it is!Zoey was laughing as Hunter-as-dragon landed softly in the thick snow behind but within the walled grounds of his castle home.
He immediately shifted back to his human form, still cradling her in his arms and once again dressed in his black clothing and boots. “I apologize for being too blunt. And I love the sound of your laughter.”
A blush warmed her cheeks. “You’re forgiven. And I love seeing you smile.”
They continued to stare at each other for several long minutes, dark eyes gazing into green ones, before the sound of a throat clearing nearby caused them both to startle and turn in that direction.
Zoey instantly recognized Ranulf Drake from when she had seen him before she left Scotland at New Year.
She knew his eyes were even greener than her own, his dark hair chin-length, his full beard even darker than his hair. He was dressed very much like Hunter, in a black leather jacket over a black T-shirt, black jeans, and black biker boots. Unsuitable clothes for the coldness of the climate, but, like Hunter, Ranulf didn’t seem affected by how icy cold it was here.
He didn’t speak as he continued to look at the two of them, merely raised one questioning eyebrow.
Which was when Zoey realized Hunter was still holding her in his arms. “You need to put me down,” she hissed under her breath, only to immediately feel stupid at the realization Ranulf’s enhanced hearing meant he would be able to hear her no matter how softly she spoke.
“I like holding you in my arms,” Hunter objected.
And Zoey liked being there, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t feel more comfortable, for now, if she were standing on her own two feet. “Please,” she encouraged softly.
Hunter reluctantly put Zoey down,but kept his arm securely about the slenderness of her waist. Because what he really wanted to do was hold Zoey in his arms for the rest of their forever. For centuries. Millennia.
For now, he would settle for doing as she asked while still maintaining physical contact with his arm about her.
It was curious that Zoey hadn’t been fooled by the impression of a manse house, which was what most human’s saw, and instead, she could clearly see his castle home for exactly what it was. Belle had been able to see the same castle when she came here a week earlier, and she was now Lachlan’s mate.
Another confirmation, for Hunter, that Zoey was his own one true mate.
Not that he had a single doubt that she was the mate he now desperately wanted to claim and protect.
Much as it irked him, for now, he would have to settle for merely protecting Zoey. They all needed to deal with the problem that was Edgar Wallis before doing anything else.
“Any sign of him?” Hunter prompted his brother.
“None,” Ranulf dismissed, his voice gruff from lack of use, before he turned to Zoey. “I’m Ranulf Drake.” He didn’t attempt to put out his hand to shake hers.
His brother knew, from the discernible rumbling in Hunter’s chest, that his dragon was too near the surface to accept another dragon touching his mate.
Zoey nodded. “We met briefly last week. I’m Zoey Ashworth.” She didn’t offer her hand to shake either. No doubt because she was aware of the tension and growl emanating from Hunter.
Ranulf turned his gaze toward him. “When I said there had been no sighting of Wallis, that’s exactly what I meant. He didn’t log in a flight plan with the authorities, nor has there been a single sighting of him since he took off in his helicopter from Tregarthen House late this morning.”
“What does that mean?” Zoey frowned. “Did he crash?”
“There has been no report of any helicopter crashing or making an emergency landing anywhere either,” Ranulf dismissed. “The latter probably because it’s possible to land a helicopter almost anywhere.”
“So we have no idea where Edgar is right now?”
Hunter wasn’t sure if the shiver Zoey gave after asking that question was from the cold or because they were talking about her missing guardian. A man she now had every reason to fear was responsible for the murder of one of her friends.
