Aiden slowed his pace to match hers. “Other than the forty minutes we racked up at the sporting goods store at the mall, yes. You’re our responsibility. We’ll stick around however long is necessary in order to ensure your safety.”
His pronouncement was like a matador’s red flag waved in front of a snorting bull. She slammed to a halt, anger buzzing in her head. “I am not your responsibility.” No way in hell would she be yet another charity on someone’s list.
“Yes, you are.” Aiden calmly plucked the keys from her hand. “Which vehicle is yours?”
“What do you think you’re doing? Give those back.”
“I will as soon as you point out your car.”
She could either argue with him all night or give in and be one step closer to a nice, hot shower and her comfy pajamas. The hot shower won out. “That’s POC over there, by the red convertible.”
“POC?” Jace asked.
“It stands for piece o’ crap.”
Both men choked on a laugh. She tried grabbing for her keys but Aiden held them out of reach.
“Hey, I told you what you wanted to know. Now hand them over.”
“I will. Just as soon as we reach your…POC.”
“Really, that isn’t necessary.”
“Yes, it is.”
Jeez, he was single-minded. And bossy. “Look, I’m sure you’re used to women falling all over themselves to do your bidding, but you’re in for a rude awakening where I’m concerned. See, I actually have a mind of my own, and I’m not afraid to use it.”
Rather than looking irritated or offended, Aiden actually grinned. “Yeah, I noticed.”
Okay, it was seriously annoying how doubly gorgeous he was when he smiled. Kind of hard to remember all the reasons she shouldn’t like him.
Oh, right. He enjoyed running roughshod on her. And don’t forget the whole sacrifice thing. That alone sufficed as the mother of all reasons. “Fine, you can escort me to my car. But that’s it, understood?”
“We’re also following you home.”
The angry bees swarming in her head went into attack mode. “There is no way in hell I’m going along with that. Forget it.”
“Dana, it’s our duty. As our intended sacrifice, we’re sworn to protect you.”
She narrowed her eyes at Aiden. “That’s hilarious. From where I’m standing, the only ones I need protection from are the two of you.”
Aiden stacked his arms over his chest. “What about the guy I pulled off of you this afternoon?”
“Who, Calvin? He hasn’t stalked me at my house in over a week.” The second the words left her mouth, Dana wished she could reel them back.
“He’s been to your house?” The growl Aiden emitted seemed to come all the way from his toes.
“Only the one time. He took off pretty fast after I pointed my dad’s old Remington at him.”
“You know how to shoot a rifle?” Admiration underscored Jace’s question.
“Sure. My dad taught me how to shoot when I was old enough to pull a trigger.” Just thinking about her father made her teary. In the twelve years he’d been gone, the pain of losing him hadn’t vanished. She sniffled, hoping Aiden and Jace wouldn’t notice. “My dad was a big-time hunter. He was going to take me out with him, but he never got the chance.”
Aiden and Jace wore identical expressions of horror. Jace was the first to break the odd silence that’d fallen over them. “Your dad planned on taking you…hunting?”
“I know it isn’t your typical father-daughter pastime, but I didn’t care. It was great just getting to spend a day shooting pop cans off our split-rail fence together.” She glared when Aiden’s mouth twitched. “So help me, if you’re even thinking the word hillbilly, you’re going to regret it.”
He held a hand over his heart. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”
She took advantage of the opportunity and yanked her keys from beneath Aiden’s flattened palm. His only response was a serene smile. That’s when she remembered they already had her address, thanks to the Drakoni contract. So much for losing them on the freeway. She gritted her teeth. “If you think I’m going to invite you to stay in my house, guess again.”
His eyes glinting with beastly wickedness, Aiden traced a finger along her neck in a lingering caress. By the time he reached her earlobe, goose bumps dotted every centimeter of her skin. “If there’s one thing a dragon despises, it’s an easy conquest.”
Following Dana’s lead, Aiden made a right turn off the rutted country lane the Navigator had been bumping down for the past fifteen minutes. Soon he found himself on an even worse street.
“Shit, why didn’t I take a leak before we left?” Jace groaned and shifted in his seat. “Ten bucks says she doesn’t actually live on this road, and she only lured us down it to torture my bladder.”
Aiden glanced at the GPS. “Nope, this is the right way. But good theory.”
The taillights on the Suburban flashed and Dana veered onto a hidden driveway flanked by a tall screen of pines. Aiden followed after her. A split-rail fence lined either side of the drive and led to a modest, white-shingled ranch house. He imagined a pint-sized Dana taking bead on a row of pop cans and grimaced. Pretty damn scary to think she might have been using his ass for target practice instead.
Dana broke to a stop in front of a detached garage. Aiden stared at the sagging gutters overgrown with miniature saplings. First chance he got, he was cleaning those suckers out. He swung in next to her SUV and killed the Navigator’s engine.
“I can’t believe she lives out here all by herself.” Jace shook his head. “Her closest neighbor must be half a mile away.”
“Yep, not too safe.”
“Good thing we’re staying.”
Aiden watched as Dana hopped from her vehicle and stomped toward his door. “Something tells me she’s not going to see it the same way.” He reached for his handle the same instant she tapped on his window.
“Well, I made it here fine.” She flicked her fingers in a dismissive wave. “Feel free to take off.”
He snicked his door open, forcing Dana back a step. The look she sent him would have given a snowman frostbite. “What are you doing?”
“Jace and I need to get our tent pitched before the sun sets.”
“Are you out of your freakin’ mind? This isn’t a KOA! You’re not camping in my front yard.”
“Why not? You’ve got plenty of room.” Aiden inched the door open farther and climbed out.
“That’s not the point.” She rolled her lips tight before blinking as if a brilliant idea occurred to her. “This area is known for attracting coyotes and the occasional wolf. It’s probably not a smart idea sleeping outside.”
Jace sauntered behind Dana. “You offering us your bed instead, sweetness?”
She whirled to face him. “No! That isn’t what I meant. And don’t call me sweetness.”
Aiden wiped the grin from his face before she returned her attention to him. Planting a hand on the Navigator’s doorframe, he swung it shut. “In case you forgot, we’re dragons. We’re pretty much top of the food chain.”
Dana shivered. “Oh yeah. Thanks for reminding me.”
“Relax. I already told you we have no intention of harming you.”
“No, you just want to have a dragon ménage with me, that’s all.”
If there was one thing he didn’t want to do, it was share her with Jace. But the council had made their stance on the whole subject crystal clear. As a twin, he couldn’t claim sole rights on the sacrifice. No matter how badly he hungered to.
The damning thing was he’d never been slave to his inner beast before. This need to brace Dana against the Navigator and fuck her senseless, mark her as only his, was a foreign urge he struggled to control. Frustration welling inside him, he stared at Jace. It wasn’t his brother’s fault they were trapped in this circumstance, but it didn’t stop the territorial beast dwelling deep within Aiden from snarling a dark growl when Jace leaned on Dana and whispered in her ear. Whatever Jace said must have been suitably ribald because Dana turned pinker than the low bank of sun-striped clouds on the horizon.