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RUEN HAD CALLED AURORA and she knew most of what had happened when I got home. No one knew the real reason why I’d quit, but my best friend had put two and two together. “Oh, Saige,” she said sorrowfully when I trudged through the door. “I can’t believe Lord Gilden is marrying another woman.”
My lips quivered, then I burst into tears. I dropped the machete to the floor and staggered over to the couch. Aurora closed and locked the door before taking a seat beside me. I sobbed into the tissue she handed me, too distraught to speak. She patted me on the back and rested her head against my shoulder, humming quietly in an effort to soothe me.
“I can’t stay here,” I said dully when I finally managed to regain enough control to speak.
“I told Pearl about what happened,” Aurora said gently. “She said we can move back in with her until we decide where we want to go.”
Fresh tears welled up and overflowed. I was twenty-two years old, but I wanted my mom to hold me and tell me everything was going to be okay. “Take me home,” I said between sobs. “I need my mom.”
“Let’s get you out of that dress, then I’ll take you home,” Aurora said, tugging me to my feet. She helped me strip the gloves, gown and stilettos off, then I changed into a t-shirt, jeans and sneakers. We both packed a suitcase, then she guided me downstairs to her SUV.
I cried all the way home and blindly allowed the demon to guide me from her car. Mom’s arms came around me when we reached the door. I wept against her shoulder just like my skinny rival had wept against her mother’s shoulder. The difference between us was that she’d been traumatized by the fairy’s death. I was traumatized that she’d taken my place in Drake’s life and he would never be mine again.
“Come inside, honey,” mom said, voice gruff with emotions that she was struggling to suppress. I could sense Kye hovering in the background. It was embarrassing for him to see me in such a quivering mess, but I couldn’t stop the flood of tears. I’d never had my heart broken before and I was handling it badly.
“What can I do to help?” Kye asked helplessly.
“You can help me bring all of our stuff here,” Aurora said as she handed me over to my mom. “It’ll take two cars to transport it all, so you’ll have to drive Saige’s orange golf ball back here.”
“I hope none of my friends see me driving that thing,” the vampire muttered. His hand briefly came to rest on my shoulder as mom helped me down the hallway. “You’ll be okay, Saige,” he said kindly. “We’ve got your back.”
His support brought fresh tears to my swollen eyes. He only cared about me because he was in love with my mom, but it still counted. Kye would do anything to keep my mother happy. Their relationship was rock solid and I envied them. My relationship had just been a fantasy. Reality had reasserted itself in the most painful way possible.
Mom sank down onto the couch she’d bought recently and drew me down next to her. “Everything will be okay, kiddo,” she said as I lay my head on her shoulder. She held me tightly, smoothing her hand up and down my back as I cried out my heartache.
I was aware of Aurora and Kye coming and going for the next couple of hours. My tears had dried up after a while and mom had urged me to lie on the couch. A damp washcloth was resting on my eyes. Shrouded in misery, I listened to the trio carrying suitcases and other items down to the basement.
“Are you hungry?” Aurora asked me when they were finally done. She perched on the couch next to my feet and put her hand on my shin.
“No,” I said dully. “I just want to go to sleep.”
“I made your bed, so you can head down to your room now if you like,” mom said.
I heaved myself to my feet and trudged down the hallway to the stairs. Aurora followed right behind me as I descended to the basement. If felt surreal to be back here again so soon after gaining my independence. My dream job was over and so was my brief affair with the weredragon.
“It’s going to be a tight squeeze if we both try to sleep in that tiny bed,” Aurora said. “I might have to sleep on the floor.” The old sheet I’d put up as a screen was missing. I’d have to replace it so I could have a semblance of privacy again.
“You’re not going to sleep on the floor like a pet dog,” I said with a scowl. “I’ll buy another bed for you to sleep on.”
“I have my own money now,” she reminded me as I toed my sneakers off and lay down fully clothed on top of the blankets. I took up pretty much the entire mattress, so there was no way my bestie would be able to sleep next to me.
Kye resolved the problem by carrying the cushions from the couch downstairs. “I thought you could use these to sleep on,” he said shyly.
“Thanks, Kye,” Aurora said with a sweet smile. “You’ve been a big help tonight.”
“Anything you girls need, tell me and I’ll make it happen,” he vowed.
“Great,” I said morosely, closing my eyes. “Can you kill Drake’s fiancé for me?”
“Um, I don’t think that would be a very good idea,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.
“She was just joking,” Aurora said. “Right, Saige?” I cracked one eye open to give her a flat stare. “She’s not joking,” she said with a small sigh.
“No one is killing Lord Gilden’s fiancé,” mom said sternly as she descended the stairs carrying a glass of milk. “Drink this,” she ordered me as if I was five years old. “It’ll help you get to sleep.”
Grumbling beneath my breath, I sat up long enough to gulp it down. “Thanks, mom,” I said morosely as I handed her back the empty glass. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
Taking my hint that I wanted to go to sleep, mom and Kye headed back upstairs.
Aurora arranged the couch cushions on the floor next to my bed. I knew she wanted to hold me to comfort me, but there just wasn’t enough room. Her small hand reached up for something to hold onto, so I lowered my arm. Her fingers wrapped around my hand, then the treacherous sneak knocked me out with a sex fantasy.
Like always, Drake featured in my dream. I wasn’t in the silver dragon form that he longed for. Instead, I was in my human form. We danced together beneath a full moon on a beach somewhere, with waves gently lapping at our ankles. Then we were suddenly naked and were lying on a huge bed. He held himself up with his hands so he could watch his shaft sliding in and out of me.
Groaning with need and longing, I knew this was the last time I’d ever get to see the man I loved like this. My hands wrapped around his wrists and our eyes locked. It wasn’t just lust that I saw in his golden orbs. Love flowed from them, basking me in warmth as smoke drifted from his nostrils. Pleasure was already building inside me at his slow, sexy rhythm. “Drake,” I moaned, urging him to go faster.
“Tell me how you feel about me, Saige,” he said, obeying my wish and speeding up his thrusts.
“You know how I feel,” I said breathily.
“I want to hear you say it,” he demanded, smoke issuing from his lips with each word.
Breathing in his aroma, I squeezed him with my internal muscles and it was his turn to groan in need. “I love you, Drake Gilden,” I said boldly. “I’ll always love you, even though you can never be mine.”
Collapsing his arms so he lay on top of me, he kissed me deeply. I breathed in his smoke and swallowed it down as our hips collided in a frenzy of need. “I love you, too, Saige,” he whispered into my ear, nipping the lobe and making me jerk in response.
Heat flared inside me and I grabbed a fistful of his hair. Tilting his head to the side, I sank my teeth into his neck. He roared in pleasure and went wild, pounding into me and sending me spiraling into ecstasy. He came as hard as I did and we lay chest to chest, breathing hard and still locked together. Lifting his head, the dragon smiled and touched the tear that spilled from my eye. “We were meant to be together,” he said.
“But we can’t be,” I said sorrowfully. “You belong with your true mate and I’m not her.”
The fantasy ended, but not before I saw his grief. I pushed Aurora’s power out of my mind, then disentangled our fingers. My bestie sobbed quietly, proving she’d witnessed at least some of my dream. I now knew what it felt like to have my heart ripped out and for my dreams to die. It was a pain I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. I rolled over to face the wall, feeling cold, empty and alone.
