Enticing The Dragon. Jane Godman

Her voice was gruff as she fought back the tears. On the road. Careful, Hollie. She didn’t think Dalton could pick up on where she was and what she was doing from those words, but it showed how easy it was to slip up.

      “I don’t know what’s going on with you, but you need to come in. Let us keep you safe.”

      She could hear the concern in his voice. It wasn’t just because he was a colleague. He still cared and this had shaken him up.

      He was talking sense. Dalton was what she knew. Okay, so she didn’t love him, but he represented the real world. Her world. For some reason, the Incinerator had switched his attention to Hollie and she needed protection. She shouldn’t hesitate on this. There was no way she should be considering staying with Torque. Ever since she had started this job, her head and her heart had been at war. Her head was trying to convince her to give it up, while her heart prompted her to stay with Torque. Now things had gotten a whole lot scarier.

      She should do what Dalton was suggesting. Let the might and resources of the FBI protect her. She should go home...except the place she had called home no longer existed. And the nearest thing she had to it now was the man who had walked through flames for her.

      She guessed her choices were that stark. Dalton and the FBI represented her head. They were security and reason. Torque? He was fire and magic. He was her heart.

      Hollie had never believed in gut reactions. Her response to those who did was always with facts. Data, figures, science, proof...they were the things that mattered to her. Now her world had been tipped on its head. Her instincts were telling her, loud and clear, that she needed to stay with Torque. It was a primal warning, coming from somewhere deep within her. If she left his side, she was doomed.

      “Got to go, Dalton. I’ll call you soon.” She heard his blustering protest as she ended the call.

      Flopping back on the bed, she held the phone to her chest for a moment or two. The tears were fading. In their place, her determination to catch the Incinerator was growing stronger. So he had chosen to switch his attention to her? Well, he had been her enemy for the last four years. Now they would find out who was stronger.

      If the arsonist was trying to scare her, he was succeeding. But, for some reason, alongside the fear there was a feeling of empowerment. The woman who had walked into that bar in Addison was not the same one who was here in New York. Fundamentally, she was still Hollie, but something inside her had shifted. It sounded foolish, but she had been living a half-life until now. Having experienced the difference, she wasn’t going back and settling for less.

      A knock on the door shook her out of her musing. “Hollie?” Torque’s voice was muffled by the thick wood. “Rehearsal finished early. How do you feel about pizza?”

      “Um, hold on a second.” She padded barefoot across the thick rug. When she opened the door, he scanned her face. His gaze was like a caress. How did he do that? It was almost as though he knew how she was feeling and he was using his presence to comfort her. “How do I feel about pizza? Pretty much the same way a drowning woman feels about a lifeboat.”

      He grinned. “After we’ve eaten, we’ll get you some new clothes.”

      * * *

      Hollie had been subdued since they arrived in New York. No, Torque could pinpoint exactly when her mood had changed. She’d been fine at first. Then, after he’d left her alone and gone to his first rehearsal, he’d returned and they’d gone for pizza. Although Hollie had done her best to maintain the pretense that nothing had changed, Torque could tell she was upset. Every now and then, she’d lapse into silence and he would catch a glimpse of real anguish in her expression.

      It caused an answering tug of pain in his own chest. Something had happened while he was at his rehearsal. The most likely possibility was that she had called someone during that time and what she’d heard had caused this distress. More than ever, Torque wanted to put an end to this charade. To tell her once and for all that there was nothing she could do or say that would turn him against her. If he could find a way to do it that didn’t involve explaining about shifters, fated mates and the reasons why he wasn’t able to offer her a normal life, he would do so in a heartbeat. Instead, he tried to offer her a reassuring presence.

      Torque sensed Hollie was grateful for his understanding, and the knowledge made him angry. Even though he could never have it, he wanted more than her gratitude. He didn’t want to be viewed as the kindly friend with the broad shoulder on which she could lean. When he looked into her eyes, he saw everything he wanted. Love. Passion. Laughter. Warmth. All of those things and more. Forever.

      “I’m still not sure this is a good idea.”

      Hollie’s words drew Torque’s attention back to another, more mundane problem.

      Persuading her that meeting Beast prior to the tour would be fun had been hard work. They had been in New York for five days and the first concert was taking place in two days’ time. Despite Torque’s reassurances, she clearly viewed the approaching evening with dread. They were in a cab now on their way to meet the others, and her expression had been growing more apprehensive with each passing block.