Platinum (Date-A-Dragon Book 3) Read online

  “It’s none of your business,” John said, stepping forward until he and Sever were almost nose to nose, except Sever was several inches taller.

  Sever shoved the other man back easily. “Watch it.”

  “Heard you had a fire here,” Jud said, cackling a laugh.

  Sever’s gaze snapped to him. “That you, was it?”

  “Jud,” John snapped, sending his brother a warning glare.

  “That was us,” Jud said. “Did the little lady get singed? Did she take her bastard spawn and get out of here?” Jud’s eyes went from slightly crazy to full crazy, glowing in gold. “They aren’t welcome!”

  Sever’s hand swung out before he could to stop it. They’d called Taylor a bastard; they were threatening his mate and her child. They were going to pay for it, one way or another.

  His fist connected and Jud went flying back over the gravel in a satisfying skid, rolling head over butt as he ground to a halt, twenty feet back now.

  Sever cocked his head and observed the distance. “Not bad.”

  John glared from Sever to his companion. “You hit my brother.”

  Sever stepped forward, bumping the smaller man in the chest and pushing him back. “He needed to shut his mouth, and you both need to get off my land. My lady’s land.”

  John stumbled back as Sever pushed him again, but his eyes locked on Lori. “So which is it? Is she your lady really?”

  Sever’s lips turned down in a frown because he couldn’t say so out loud with certainty. It would have been easy back when he was just supposed to be pretending. But she was his now, and he hadn’t been able to tell her.

  And now, with this asshole staring at him, he wasn’t sure what to say anymore.

  He blinked slowly and saw Lori’s face behind his eyelids. Her smile, her twinkling hazel gaze.

  “She’s mine,” he said sharply. He folded his arms and glared down at John. “What do you want to do about it?”

  John looked at Jud, who was brushing himself off and standing up, staggering toward them while rolling up his shirt sleeves. “Let me at him, that big, stupid—”

  “Jud,” John said, putting up a hand. “Not now.”

  Smart man, Sever thought.

  “She can’t be reasonable, but maybe you can,” John said, folding his arms in a mimicry of Sever’s defensive pose. “Get out of here. Just take them and go. They aren’t welcome.”

  “Oh?” Sever said, taking another step forward, bumping the shorter man out of his way. “And what are you going to do about it?”

  “This is bigger than you,” John said. “The whole town doesn’t want them here.”

  “Yeah, see, I don’t get that,” Sever said sharply, taking another step and backing John up. If he just kept doing this, maybe soon they’d be back at their truck and forced to keep going. “Everyone here is a jerk for not wanting them around, but that’s not their problem. This is their land. They’re gonna stay.”

  Jud’s eyes got crazy again as he looked up at the porch. For a moment, Sever thought he was going to try and run past him.

  “Little bastard,” Jud said, turning to spit on the dirt. “Stupid slut and her little—”

  Sever let out a little exhalation of frustration as he reached forward and grabbed Jud by the shirtfront. He dragged the struggling man into the air, scrabbling at his hands, and then hauled back and threw him as hard as he could.

  This time, Jud hit the dirt and rolled all the way over the ground until he bumped into the truck they’d come in and stopped with a thud.

  Sever’s heart stopped for a moment, wondering if he’d just killed a human, but then Jud began to stand woozily.

  Good. The ground was dirt and still fairly soft, so while Jud would definitely have bruises, nothing Sever had done should have lasting damage.

  He wasn’t going to do anything that could land him in jail, not when Lori and Taylor could be watching.

  Oh hell, they were watching. What would they think of his explosion of violence?

  John shoved a finger in his chest and leaned in with a threat. “This isn’t over. No one touches my brother and gets away with it.”

  “Same thing when someone threatens my mate,” Sever retorted.

  John just gave him a glare and turned on his heel, storming back to the truck and hopping inside, waiting for his limping brother to do the same. They peeled away, leaving dust in their wake, and Sever stared for a moment in silence.

  Then he turned to go back to the porch, where he saw Taylor and Lori staring at him wide-eyed. Lori was frozen and Taylor was gaping, his mouth visibly open in childlike wonder.

  Sever sighed and rubbed his neck as he walked back to them, wondering how to explain.

  “You hit him,” Taylor said, standing up and staring at Sever. “Why did you hit him?”

  Sever looked over at Lori, who bit her lower lip nervously. Had they heard what the jerks had said about them? If they hadn’t, Sever didn’t want to repeat it.

  “Because he needed to be hit,” Sever said quietly, sitting back down at the table. “Whose turn is it?”

  Lori stood up, leaning over the table angrily. “Wait. No. You just threw a guy into a truck. Are we going to talk about how abnormal that was?”

  Sever rubbed the back of his neck nervously. He was a dragon from a long time ago walking around modern times. Nothing about this situation was normal. “I was angry.”

  “Lori says it’s bad to hit people,” Taylor said with a grumble.

  “It is,” Lori said.

  “Not when you need to protect someone,” Sever said, folding his arms and leaning back in his chair defensively. He’d done the right thing and the threat was gone, so why was he the one being questioned?

  “I told you he was a superhero,” Taylor said, taking his turn and moving his piece to knock over Lori’s. “Sorry.”

  Lori snorted. “No, you aren’t.” She moved her piece and looked at the board thoughtfully. “Taylor, can you give me a moment to talk to Sever?”

  “I’m almost an adult now,” Taylor muttered. “I should be able to listen, too.”

  “You’re twelve,” she said. Then she shook her head. “It’s not about that. I just need to talk to Sever.”

  Sever felt a rock in his stomach as Taylor slowly slumped off into the house, pouting. What did Lori want to say to him?

  She relaxed slightly into the chair. “That was terrifying. You could have killed them.”

  “The ground was soft,” Sever said flatly.

  “What did they say?” she asked. “I know you didn’t want to say it in front of Taylor.”

  Sever shifted uneasily on his chair. “You really want me to tell you?”

  She nodded. “If it gives me any idea as to why they hate me, then yes, I want to know.”

  He leaned his elbows on the table and looked into her hazel eyes, glad to see the worry there was slowly fading. “Where were you before all of this? I didn’t want to ask in front of Taylor, but after what happened last night, I want to know more about you.”

  “I worked in a jewelry store,” she said. “In sales. In Houston. About six hours from here.”

  “I see,” he said. “So you’re used to the weather?”

  “I am,” she said. “I love Texas.” She sighed. “But there are tons of little towns all over this place like Cate’s Creek, and most of them don’t treat people as badly. I’m still not sure why Matt bought land here.”

  “Me neither,” Sever said. “It’s not safe. He should have made sure it was safe here.”

  “I think he bought it back in college because it was cheap, as some kind of investment,” she said. “Or he won it off someone. I don’t know.”

  “This Matt guy sounds like a real mystery,” Sever said.

  “I suppose so,” Lori said. “He was good at disappearing. A great friend when he was around. He was always going off somewhere for work or family matters. Leaving Taylor behind with relatives. And then behind for good.”

 
“He has family, but he left Taylor with you?”

  “He said in his note that I was the right person for it,” she said. “He knew I was too softhearted, that I would pick up and move for this.” She leaned her cheek in her hand. “What I didn’t expect was how fast I would fall in love with Taylor.”

  “He’s a good kid,” Sever said.

  “He’s my family,” she said.

  “What about other family? Do you have any in Houston?”

  “I do,” she said. “A sister and some nieces and nephews. She was angry with me for leaving.”

  “I see,” Sever said. “But it never occurred to you not to go.”

  “Of course not,” she said. “Taylor is the son of a man I loved, and he needed me. And Matt wanted this to be his home.”

  Sever grunted. “What kind of man just goes and dies and leaves his son unprotected?”

  Lori’s eyes widened. “The kind with no choice,” she said. “I can’t believe you would say that.”

  Sever felt guilt run through him. Jealousy at the way Lori had talked about Matt had made him uncharacteristically judgmental. “I know.” He ran his hand over his hair, brushing back a few loose tendrils from his braid. “Do you miss your jewelry work?”

  “No,” she said. “In fact, I still do some ordering and customer service work from home sometimes. But since it’s summer, Taylor needs me a lot. When he goes back to school in the fall, I can start doing more work from home.”

  Something about the whole thing just didn’t sit well with him. No matter how safe he tried to make it here, he didn’t think the town was ever going to welcome them.

  And Taylor didn’t deserve to grow up where people hated him.

  “Did something happen when you first moved here?” Sever asked.

  “No, why?”

  “Like Taylor beating up someone’s kid or something? I know he’s grieving, and—”

  “No,” she snapped. “Taylor wouldn’t hurt a fly. Besides, he barely knew his father. He’s more just shaken by having everything change.”

  “You don’t have to know your father well to grieve losing him,” Sever said.

  “I know,” she said. “Wait, why do you say that? What was your father like?”

  He chuckled. “That’s hardly here or there.”

  “I think it is,” she said, narrowing her gorgeous eyes, a lighter green sparkling in the light. “You’ve been asking questions about me, but I know nothing about you. And after last night—”

  “What about last night?” he asked. “Does that change something?”

  She closed her eyes slowly, and when she opened them, she seemed angry for some reason. “No. I suppose not. I guess I should go in and check on Taylor.”

  “So you are sure you have no reason they would hate Taylor?”

  “Maybe because he’s here with me and I’m a weirdo?” she asked, standing with a shrug. “Honestly, Sever, I don’t know. I’m sorry you’ve been dragged into this when you didn’t want to be, but if you can honestly think we did anything to deserve this…” She trailed off, turning sadly to go into the house, and Sever was up in a moment, trapping her against the door.

  “Wait, I never meant it like that,” he said. “It just makes no sense. You two are some of the best people I’ve ever met, and they’re acting like you carry some kind of fatal disease.”

  She shrugged. “I’ve always been a little odd. I’m used to funny looks from people.”

  “You’re not odd to me,” he said, looking her over, feeling heat come to his gaze as he felt the heat from her body so near to him.

  She flushed. “As you said, last night didn’t change anything, so…”

  He lowered his head, stopping her attempt at escape and trying to force her to meet his eyes. “Wait. What did you take from that?”

  “That I shouldn’t take this seriously. That I shouldn’t—”

  He kissed her, silencing her words, trying to soothe the hurt in her tone. When he pulled back, she was pressed to the door, breathing heavily.

  “You can’t just keep doing that whenever I question you,” she said breathlessly.

  “I don’t want you to doubt me,” he said. “I want you. Last night didn’t change anything, because I wanted you before and I still want you now.” I’ll want you forever.

  “I see,” she said. “It’s just... I don’t want to get confused, you know, if this isn’t real. If you’re just—”

  He moved forward, pressing her soft, feminine body up against his. He dipped his head to brush his lips along her neck and up to her ear. She shuddered, her legs going weak, and he caught her with one hand at her soft waist. “Does this feel real to you?”

  She nodded hastily.

  “Then don’t question it,” he said, releasing her slowly when he was sure she’d regained her balance.

  “You still haven’t told me what they said,” she said.

  He opened the front door and gestured for her to go in ahead of him. “It doesn’t bear repeating.”

  “Oh, come on,” she said.

  “Let’s just say it was the kind of thing that earns someone a first-class ticket into the side of a truck,” he said, grinning smugly.

  She grinned up at him at that, taking his arm to go inside. “I guess I’ll have to take your word for it.”

  Yes, he couldn’t tell her everything, and things were very complicated. But as long as she trusted him, Sever was sure he wouldn’t let her down.

  He was the platinum dragon after all.

  Chapter 10

  Lori tried not to go about the rest of her day thinking about Sever.

  About how hot he’d looked when he’d strode down the drive to protect her and Taylor. About the way he’d looked like a Viking warrior as he’d lifted another man off the ground.

  About the way he’d called Jud ‘Dud’. She snorted and drew Taylor’s attention from his workbook.

  “What’s funny?” he asked.

  “Oh, nothing,” she said, pointing back at the problem he was working on. She was trying to help him with some work so he’d be ready for school in the fall. She knew he’d missed some with everything that had happened.

  She thought about what Sever had said about Taylor missing his dad even though he barely knew him. Perhaps she should be a little more sensitive to that.

  “Taylor,” she said hesitantly.

  He looked up at her, eyes frank in that way children have. He cocked his head, looking so like his dad that for a moment she caught her breath in shock.

  Damn, she missed Matt sometimes.

  “If you ever want to talk about your father, I’m here for you, you know,” she said softly.

  Taylor set down his pencil and looked up at her. “Why do you say that?”

  “I don’t know,” she said. “I guess sometimes I assume you don’t want to talk about it, but if you need to…”

  “I don’t,” he said. “He always left me.” Taylor shook his head. “I don’t wanna think about it.”

  “He loved you,” she said.

  Taylor gave her a glare. “How do you know that?”

  “Because he left you with me.”

  “Did he love you?” Taylor asked.

  She bit her lip, almost painfully. “I think so. I loved him.”

  “Like you love Sever?” Taylor asked.

  “I don’t love Sever,” she said.

  “You like him,” Taylor said. “You keep hugging him. I think he should stay here.”

  She swallowed. She and Sever hadn’t talked about it. Sever seemed in no hurry to leave, and he hadn’t said anything about a timeline, but he also hadn’t said he planned to stay here and make things official.

  And male escorts didn’t just decide to move in and set up house with you out of nowhere.

  Still, as much as she knew it sounded like a fairy tale, there was something in Sever’s eyes, something in his touch when he kissed her, that made it easy to think there was more to this than some fling of convenience. />
  “You’re getting that mushy look again,” Taylor said, grimacing.

  “I know,” she said.

  “Did you give that look to my dad?” Taylor asked, sitting up and setting his pencil down. “Did you know my mom?”

  “Your dad and I were friends,” she said. “Close friends. And no, I didn’t know your mom. I know she gave you to your dad, and I know she didn’t want to be involved…” She trailed off as Taylor’s head hung.

  She reached out and tipped up his chin. “But hey, her loss, because you are awesome. I’m glad you got to come be with me.”

  “When I came to visit you, I bet you never thought I would stay,” he said.

  “I was always happy to see you,” she said. Even if it had always been a little odd to see the son of her best friend and one-time boyfriend on her porch.

  “Do you wish we didn’t come here?” he asked, blue eyes deep and vulnerable.

  She scooted closer and put an arm around him. “Of course not. My life is so much better with you.”

  He sighed and leaned against her, his small body limp. “Do you think Sever will stay, though?”

  “Not forever,” she said. “I mean, he has his own home. His job—”

  “What is his job?” Taylor asked. “Superhero?”

  “I thought we talked about this,” she said. “He’s not a superhero.”

  “He threw a guy into a truck!” Taylor said, throwing up his hands. “Come on!”

  “Hey, maybe that’s just what a guy that big and strong can do.”

  “How did you know Sever?” Taylor asked.

  A lump formed uncomfortably in her throat. She’d never wanted to lie to Taylor, and the more details he wanted, the guiltier she felt.

  Still, the last thing she wanted to tell him was that the guy he was bonding with was just a worker for hire, not someone with an actual friendship with her or stake in them.

  And besides, Sever was her friend now, as he’d said, so it wasn’t a lie anymore.

  But maybe that was just something he said to clients.

  Did he kiss other clients as he had her?

  She blushed furiously as she looked away. “I met him online,” she said truthfully.

  “You did? How?”