The Dragon Warrior (Lochguard Highland Dragons 4)

From the corner of his eye, he saw her eyes widen; however, Faye quickly recovered and stood tall. “Of course I can. Maybe I should invite Iris and even Nikki Gray from Stonefire to show Adrian what his clan is missing out on by not having female Protectors.”

The corner of Grant’s mouth ticked up. Putting those three females together would be a wake-up call for Adrian Conroy. “Aye, we can propose it to Finn once we finish this assignment.” He turned toward the door. “You’ll hear from me within the hour, Faye.”

As Grant exited the bed and breakfast, his dragon banged against the walls of his mental maze. His beast clearly didn’t agree with Grant’s new tactic.

However, he’d make his dragon accept his choice. Grant wasn’t about to ruin his mission by constantly being jealous of males who looked at Faye with desire or interest in their eyes. Only those who believed in her would stand a chance to win her heart. Grant may have to delay the wooing aspect for a bit, but he was patient. Laying the groundwork in the present would help him later on.

~~~

Cat MacAllister tried to focus on what Lachlan MacKintosh was saying about schedules and events, but as she watched her fellow participants, she itched to take out her phone and snap a few shots. Each of their profiles told a different story. Even if she hadn’t met any of them before, a picture could frame the story she wanted to tell; each photograph was its own reality.

Her dragon spoke up. Then stop thinking about it and do it. Being cautious is boring.

Says the dragon who wanted to land en route to Inverness to watch the rays of sunlight dancing on a loch, without thinking of the possible danger.

Her beast grunted. I like pretty things. It gives you ideas for painting.

However, before she could reply, Lachlan’s face filled her visage. With his chin-length black hair framing his jaw and his blue eyes flecked with gold staring straight into hers, all thoughts of the others fled her head. The human male would make an interesting subject. Not just because he was handsome, because he was, but also because he straddled the world between humans and dragon-shifters. That opened a lot of possibilities for what she could shoot or even paint.

His voice cut through her thoughts. “Have you heard a word I said, Ms. MacAllister?”

“Call me Cat. And yes, you were rambling about punctuality and avoiding confrontation.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Impressive.”

“Why? Can’t you do two things at once?”

The second the words left her mouth, she wanted to take them back. Being selected for the exhibition was an honor. The last thing she needed to do was insult the head coordinator.

Lachlan straightened up again. “I can do three, if I concentrate, and maybe even five if I’ve had a few pints. The more I drink, the more invincible I become.”

She resisted breathing a sigh of relief and decided to play along. “So, are you drunk now?”

Dylan chuckled at her side, but Cat never took her eyes away from Lachlan. Yet as he continued to stare without saying a word, Max’s voice filled the room. “I’d much rather see a pissed dragon-shifter. Maybe we should all go out for drinks.”

Lachlan never took his gaze from Cat. “No drinking to excess.” He finally looked to each person in the room. “Remember, you are the public face of all dragon-shifters in the UK. We need this event to go well in Scotland if we’re also to go to England, Wales, and Northern Ireland in the future. The director of the DDA is counting on you. Do you understand the importance of being on your best behavior?”

She didn’t like being treated like a child, but as the others murmured their assent, she followed suit. It was hard for her not to be the one in charge, like she’d been with her siblings growing up.

Yet as Lachlan glanced at her for a few seconds longer than the others, her dragon took notice. He’s definitely not our sibling.

And he’s most definitely off limits. Besides, what about Dexter?

Her dragon huffed. He’s boring. I don’t know why you keep dating him.

To keep Mum off our backs. Humoring her means more time in our studio without her interference.

But Dexter won’t make you happy long term. Have a little fun, like we used to do with Faye when we were younger.

Maybe later. Now, hush unless you want the human to lecture us again.

Her dragon fell silent and Cat went back to studying Lachlan. She wouldn’t dare ask him to model for her, so she would just have to memorize his features and sketch them back in her room. Hopefully Faye didn’t plan on going to supper straight away because Cat would never be able to concentrate until she unloaded her latest subject onto paper.

And she couldn’t wait to sketch Lachlan’s cheekbones, his broad shoulders, or trim form. He wasn’t as muscled as a dragon-shifter, but he still carried an aura of power and confidence.

That intrigued her.

Half-listening to Lachlan’s speech, she proceeded to memorize his body. The trick would be not to get caught gawking.