“Lana, what are you doing here?” Brady asked. “I thought you were with Nick?”
“I was, but he had to go into the office today, and told me to stay in the hotel room. I couldn’t stand being locked up in the box anymore and I didn’t know where else I could go.”
“I understand,” Brady said, as he opened the door to the club.
Lana sat down at one of the bar stools. The bartender made her a drink called a White Russian. Lana wasn’t sure that she liked it, but drank it anyway, because she didn’t want to hurt the bartender’s feelings.
Colleen plopped down on the chair beside her.
“Needed some company, huh?” Colleen asked.
Lana nodded.
“I understand. It can be pretty frightening being away from home,” Colleen said.
“It is. I always meant to visit Lucy, but things kept coming up at home. Since Lucy left, I thought that it was my obligation to help my parents out with the people who lived in our kingdom. They didn’t want me to come here, even to find Lucy.”
Brady came over. “My parents want me and Casey to come back to the shifter world, as well. My parents are the king and queen of our kingdom and they think I should be there getting ready to take over as ruler.”
“Are you going to?” Lana asked.
Brady shook his head. “It is doubtful. My sister, who is queen of the Northlands, can rule our lands as well. She is very good at what she does and she has Zach, her husband, to help her,” Brady said. “Besides, there has to be someone here to guard the portal and run the club. I do a great job of that, and I enjoy it.”
Lana was sipping at another White Russian before she heard a noise like an entire pride of lions roaring into the club.
“Lana. You were supposed to stay in the hotel room until I came back for you,” Nick roared.
The club instantly became dead silent. Everyone stopped, frozen, in the middle of taking a bite or a drink, and stared at the angry man who blasted through the front door like a fierce storm.
Lana just looked at him. She didn’t know whether to be angry or flattered.
On one hand she was annoyed that he thought that he could come into a public place and yell at her in front of a large number of people. They had only known each other for a little more than a day, and he certainly didn’t own her.
On the other hand, Lana realized that Nick was just worried about her. Dizag was out killing and kidnapping female shifters. He likely had Lucy. Lana was particularly vulnerable because she wasn’t familiar with the human city, let alone the world. Nick was worried about her.
Keeping her voice at a perfectly steady pitch, she said, “I couldn’t handle being boxed in. I came to a safe place.”
She was trying to keep her mind on the tasks at hand. However, just looking at Nick, even when he was angry or frightened (she wasn’t sure which), he was incredibly sexy. Although Lana had never had a lot of time or interest in pursuing the opposite sex, she was still a female. Like all females, late at night, she fantasized about the man who would one day come into her life and sweep her off of her feet. It seemed that such a man had walked right out of her fantasies and exploded into her life.
“It isn’t safe for you to be wandering the streets alone. You know that there is a crazy dragon shifter out there who is murdering people—specifically female shifters,” Nick’s voice has changed from a loud, earth-shattering roar to more of a growl.
As Lana listened to Nick’s rant, she thought that the deep timber in his voice was incredibly sexy. For a brief moment, she wondered what it would sound like if he was cuddled up next to her saying sweet things. The thought of it sent a tremble through her soul.
Her eyes caught his long, golden reddish hair pulled back into a ponytail at the nape of his neck. Lana wondered what it would be like if it were loose and she could run her fingers through it. She imagined the silky softness of his hair as she stroked his head.
His growling voice brought her attention back to the subject at hand.
“I’m sorry, Nick. I didn’t mean to worry you, but I couldn’t stay locked up any more. I know that there is danger, and I didn’t walk here alone. The desk clerk at the hotel called a cab for me. The cab drove me here,” Lana said.
“He called me and told me to expect her,” Brady said, quietly.
The reassuring words seemed to take the anger out of Nick’s sails. He shook his head and dropped onto one of the bar stools.
Lana stared into his face for a moment. She could see the anxiety etched into the lines that creased his forehead as he focused on the shot of whisky that Colleen had slid in front of him. His milk chocolate brown eyes were liquid and beautiful, and Lana thought that she could get lost in them.
His sexy brown eyes also reflected the weariness he must have been feeling. He looked as though he could easily fall into bed and sleep for a year.
As she appraised the gorgeous man sitting next to her, Lana felt an unfamiliar tingle in her stomach, which rippled throughout her body.
She wondered what it would be like to press against him, his hard body tight against hers. She licked her lips as she thought about the sensations his lips would send throughout her soul when they kissed.
Colleen smiled knowingly at Lana. She whispered in Lana’s ear, “He is a sexy man, but you are almost drooling on yourself. You shouldn’t stare at him like you are going to devour
