Phoenix puteverything that would remind him of Katarina into a bottom drawer.Out of sight and out of mind.
His doorbellrang. Nix swore. He was still naked, for goodness sake. Aftergrabbing his robe from the back of the door, he traipseddownstairs.
Egan stood atthe door, holding up a carton of milk and grinning like a buffoon.“Morning, brother! I brought you some milk. Stick the kettle on.I’m parched.” He waggled his eyebrows. “Unless you have company, ofcourse.”
Nix rolled hiseyes at his brother’s blatantly obvious reason for paying him avisit. “Hello, Egan. Thanks for the milk.” He grabbed the cartoneven though he had several in the fridge already. Turning, he thenwalked back inside.
“Wait, can Icome in, or what?”
Nix shrugged.“Do what you like—you usually do.”
Egan closed thedoor behind him. He didn’t say a word as he followed Nix to thekitchen.
Nix switched onthe kettle, waiting impatiently for what he knew was about to come.Best get the brotherly interrogation done, then it would finally beover.
His brotherdidn’t fail. “So, how did it go last night?”
He fetched twocups from the cupboard. “It didn’t. End of.”
ChapterNine
Kat steppedinside the apartment she shared with Selene and closed the doorquietly so as not to wake her friend. Leaning her back against thedoor, she let the tears flow freely down her cheeks.
So manyquestions left unanswered. Maybe she shouldn’t have run, but whatchoice did she have?
Toby trottedtowards her, his tail wagging. He barked.
“Shh, Toby,”she whispered. “You’ll wake Selene.” She swiped her cheeks with hercoat sleeve. Except it wasn’t her coat. The coat belonged toPhoenix. Because that was his name. She was sure of it. She’d evencalled him Nix as they’d made love.
Kat’s legs gaveway, and she slumped to the floor. She’d shot down the stairs sofast, she’d forgotten she was only wearing knickers. It wasn’tuntil she got downstairs that she’d had the sense to swipe a coatfrom a hook by the front door and grab her handbag before sheescaped into the woods, terrified, refusing to believe the changesthat were happening to her.
After runningbarefoot through the woods, she’d found the road that led into townpretty quickly, as if she’d suddenly gained an excellent sense ofdirection—something she’d never had before. It had still taken herhours to get home, though, walking through the night and trying tomake sense of everything. And now she knew.
Her dog climbedon her lap, and she ruffled his ears.
“You’ll stilllike me, won’t you, Toby? Even if I am a monster?”
Her feet werefilthy, and she ached all over, but she didn’t care. She’d calledNix a freak as she watched his skin turn into… into somethingbeautiful and magnificent.
If anyone was afreak, it was her.
Kat pressed herlips together, mustering a little strength to control her sobs. Shehad to see it again. See for herself what she was becoming, whather true identity was. For so long, she’d yearned to know, butcould she handle the truth?
She slowlypulled back the coat sleeve to examine her arm.
‘They’ werestill there. An area no bigger than a few inches, but instead ofskin, Kat gazed at the unmistakable scales of a dra…
She couldn’teven think the word. Tentatively, she brushed her fingertips acrossthe scales, marvelling at their smoothness, the way they moulded toher arm like a second skin, ice-blue and iridescent, kind ofmesmerising.
No, goaway, she whispered inside her head. To her surprise, they did.Scales returned to skin.
She recalledthe old picture Nix had shown her, the sense of déjà vu. “You’relike me,” she’d said, but she’d assumed he was a lost soul,living with reincarnation and not knowing what he was.
Kat frowned ashis answer played in her mind. “Yes, you and I aresimilar.”
He hadn’tactually said he was a reincarnated spirit.
She gulped.
Tears flowedagain, but not out of despair. Relief washed over her in waves, asthough every one of her reincarnations rejoiced in the knowledge offinally understanding who she was. What she was.
The memoriesstill weren’t clear, but she knew one thing without a shadow of adoubt.
She was adragon.
A freakingawesome dragon!
The ice dragonfrom the story she’d read in Jim’s bookshop. The dragon cursed byan evil sorceress, along with her soulmate, the fire dragon.
Nix.
Blood pulsatedin her ears. Her heart pounded.
They were thelast of their kind. And she’d left him.
Oh dear God,what have I done?
Toby shoved hiswet nose into her hand, his brown eyes blinking sympathetically, asthough he understood everything. She half smiled, recalling how herdog had taken a shine to Nix in the woods that day. In fact, ifToby hadn’t got lost, she might never have found her magnificentfire dragon.
Kat scoopedToby off her lap and leapt up. She had to see Phoenix.
Toby barkedexcitedly as she ran towards her bedroom to change.
Selene came outof her bedroom, rubbing her eyes. “Bloody dog, what’s he barkingfor now?” She squinted at Kat. “Oh, hi. What time is it?”
“It’s earlymorning. Sorry if Toby woke you.”
Her friend’seyes widened as she took in her dishevelled appearance. “Whathappened? Are you okay?”
“Yes… no.” Shewrapped Nix’s coat around her and blew out a breath. “I will be, Ihope.”
“Whose coat areyou wearing?” Selene squeezed her arm. “Oh my God, where are yourclothes? What the hell did that Egan guy do to you?”
Egan?She’d forgotten all about her supposed date with Egan. Her friend’sconcern touched her. “Nothing. It’s nothing like that.”
“Are youhurt?”
“No, I’m nothurt, Selene.”
“Are yousure?”
“Yes, I’mfine.” Her belly tingled. “Why don’t you go back to bed?”
“No, I neededto get up early anyway. Tell me what happened.”
“Okay, let meget showered and changed first. You’re going to love it; it’ssomething magical.”
“Ooh, I’mintrigued. I’ll get dressed too, and then I’ll make two of myfamous espressos,” Selene said.
“Thanks,Selene, you’re a true friend.”
Kat headed intoher bedroom, blinking at the bright morning sunlight that shonethrough her window. She took off Nix’s coat and held it against hercheek. She breathed in the scent of him, recalling the way he’dtouched her, how he’d spanked her backside, and she’d squealed indelight.
Would heforgive her for
