The Billionaire Dragon Shifter Meets His Match: BBW Paranormal Romance (Gray's Hollow Dragon Shifters Book 6) Read Online Free Page B

ago,” Jane offered, watching his eyes. This flinch was harder to miss. “Your parents...?”
    “Both gone.” Laurence dropped his gaze, but he flicked a glance up again to say, “My mother was human too.”
    Jane tightened her grip on his hands, wanting to gather him close, to assure him that he wouldn’t ever be alone again—
    Ahem .
    Jane shot a glare at William, but angled herself slightly toward him, and that was enough to remind Laurence to drag his attention away from Jane.
    “As I was saying: I don’t know where good dragon kids learn about the Georgian Corps, but I learned about it at my dad’s knee. He was a George, met my mom in the line of duty, and like Curlew said—voila, the next generation’s full of dragons policing other dragons, which is probably the best idea since taking the wholesale slaughter of dragons out of the charter.”
    “So because you are both a dragon I don’t know and a member of some self-appointed police force, I should trust you more than if you were only one or the other, is that it?”
    William gave an unfazed smile, but Jane knew he was seizing on the same scrap of information she’d caught there: Laurence had said dragon I don’t know , not just dragon , which meant there were dragons he did know, living somewhere he refused to disclose. His father was gone, but there were others still living.
    Which could mean Laurence was connected to an entire community of dragons totally unknown to the Georgian Corps, and now William was going to be responsible for investigating a suspected enclave situation. That lined up with what Laurence had admitted about having help obtaining the dragonglass he wore—that help could only come from another dragon, or someone knowledgeable enough about dragons to track down dragonglass already made. There wasn’t that much of it just floating around.
    “Don’t trust me if you don’t want to,” William agreed airily. “I’m just saying—we’re not the Spanish Inquisition, okay? We’re trying to keep the peace. Curlew only shot you because letting you and Farrell loose on each other without some kind of supervision would have been much worse.”
    Laurence raised his eyebrows. “And with supervision...?”
    William grimaced, and Jane’s heart sank. “Yeah, about that. He’s demanding his right to challenge you to redress your intrusion on his territory.”
    Laurence’s hands curled into fists, leaving Jane’s hand between them. She pressed her fingers to his wrist, but didn’t try to draw his attention otherwise. “I don’t suppose I can avert the duel by issuing an apology.”
    William shook his head. “It’d make my job a hell of a lot easier, but no. For now you’re doubly protected—you’re in Georgian custody and we’re inside the City of Chicago, so you’re covered by the treaties that forbid bloodshed. If you’re okay never leaving the city again you can probably dodge him, although he’ll attempt to force you out somehow. And the second you do leave, he’s going to come after you. He’ll follow you anywhere, and he’ll do his level best to find out anything he can about what might tempt you to leave.”
    “So you’ll simply ensure that the innocent bystanders are kept out of the way, is that it?” Laurence’s voice was very calm and cold.
    “If his challenge weren’t justified, we’d block him,” William said firmly. “But you did trespass. Are you deaf to dragon speech, by any chance? If you have a disability we might—”
    Laurence let out a furious little growl—but the sound still came only from his throat. “I control myself . And I don’t allow myself to be shouted at by every dragon who comes within a mile.”
    William winced, and Jane looked away, trying not to feel freshly hurt by that. Bad enough that he knew they were mates and refused to act on it; now she knew that he wasn’t even letting her speak to him properly.
    At the same time, she realized just how horribly alone he had really