Timothy felt his heart aching as he looked at her. He hadn’t even really contemplated the possibility that his mate might hate his world and everything he loved.
Not that he could blame her. Her first exposure to it had been a group of homicidal fire dragons who’d nearly managed to kill her.
He’d gone about it all wrong. He’d been so sure that his charm would win over any woman.
He’d always gotten along well with people—except for the dragon of earth, of course. But he’d never even considered that his mate might not want him.
Even now, something twisted inside his chest at the thought that Liana might leave, and that he’d never see her smile again the way she’d smiled when she’d danced—carefree, full of energy and laughter, her luscious curves fitting so perfectly against his body that he hadn’t wanted to let go.
“It’s too late for that,” he said softly. “I’m really sorry. I’m a powerful dragon shifter, Liana. I’m the master of the element of water, one of the three members of the council of elements. Those fire dragons want to get to me. Which means that my mate is their target as well.”
“You mean, as soon as I leave here, they might come and grab me out of the air again, just like that? That’s not fair! I didn’t ask for any of this!”
“I know.” Timothy wanted to reach out again and touch her hand to reassure her—but right now, it seemed like she wanted space.
Which would be hard to give her, considering the fire dragons.
“I won’t allow anything to happen to you. I promise,” he said instead. “I can protect you—and I don’t expect anything in return.”
“So what—you want me to just come and live here in your tower? Like a kidnapped princess?” she asked sarcastically, even though he could hear in her voice how badly scared she was.
“If you want to,” he said instead. “Or you could take a vacation. There’s a place by the sea—I have a house there. It’s a place where shifters live. The fire dragons don’t know it exists. It’ll be just as safe as this place—probably safer, given that everyone knows this tower is mine.”
“Everyone knows the Dragon Tower,” she said, then broke out into sudden, surprised laughter. “Oh, you aren’t subtle at all, are you?”
Timothy shrugged with a small grin. “We had a vote in the biggest paper when we built it. This city named it, not I.”
“Mh-hm,” she said as she gave him a pointed look. “And that giant dragon fountain in the court and the dragon statue in the lobby and those weird decorative bits at the top that look like a dragon’s tail didn’t have anything to do with that result at all?”
Timothy laughed and leaned back, raising his hands to show his innocence. “Dragon Tower had a majority of 65% of all votes,” he said, grinning. “I just went with what the people decided to call it.”
“Smart.” A small smile was playing on her lips as she looked at him. “You’re one of those people you have to watch out for, huh?”
“I only use my charm for good.” He grinned back at her, something inside him filling with heat again at the way her smile made her eyes shine.
She snorted, amused. “You’re more charming than a fire dragon, I’ll give you that.”
“That’s not a particularly high bar, but I’ll take it.”
She was still smiling—a little reluctantly, but it was a smile. And perhaps that was all that could be expected at this point. After all, she’d been dangling from a fire dragon’s claws just an hour ago.
“Oh shit,” he said a heartbeat later when there was a sudden banging noise coming from the floor below.
Liana flinched. “The dragons?”
“It is a fire dragon,” Timothy said darkly, “but this one is harmless. I forgot I locked him into his suite last night.”
“You have a fire dragon... in here?”
“Oh, you’ve met him,” Timothy said. “He came with me to the club last night. The council forced me to babysit him. He’s supposed to learn about humans—and shifters that manage to live peacefully, unlike his kind.”
“Oh,” Liana said weakly. She didn’t look particularly convinced. “And so you took him to a nightclub.”
“Quite a few things you can learn there.” Timothy grinned, unapologetic. “We’re still working on his taste in music. But he behaved, didn’t he? I guess he’s earned his breakfast.”
Liana was still staring at him in disbelief, and so he reached out, carefully touching her hand again. He ignored the heat that came rushing through his veins, the way his dragon curled in on itself in utter happiness.
“It’s fine,” he said softly. “I promise. He can’t shift or use his powers. Nothing’s going to happen to you here. I won’t allow it.”