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Dread curled in her stomach, but she forced the words from her mouth. He deserved to know the truth. She'd promised him the
truth. No matter his reaction, no matter what he decided to do to her, she'd promised to tell him. "I am I am the Jewel of
Dunamis."
She expected him to gasp, to push her away, or to snort in disbelief. Every muscle in her body tensed, waiting for his horrified
reaction.
It never came.
He sighed, and the sound echoed hers. "I thought so."
Confused, dazed, she jolted upright. "You thought so? You thought so! I've been sick with worry and you thought so? Why
didn't you say anything to me?"
"Honey, it was just a matter of sorting through certain facts." He tugged her back into his embrace. "Plus, I'm a genius. You said
the stone's protector wanted to keep it safe but would willingly hand it over for destruction. That protector is me, right?"
"Yes. You're not angry?" she asked, softening, still unable to believe he accepted her so readily. "You don't want to destroy
me?"
"Of course not. For an all-knowing being, you sure can overreact. You're the jewel. We can deal with that. I'm not going to kill
you, and I'm not going to give you to OBI. They would hurt you, and that I won't allow. I love you too much for that."
"What?" Heart thumping in her chest, she jolted up again. "What did you say?"
"I love you."
Her eyes widened. Ribbons of happiness curled around her every cell. He loved her. Gray James loved her. He'd never said
those words to another, and she heard the truth in his voice. Of all the things she'd imagined happening, this had never entered
her mind.
"This is this is a dream, right?" She rubbed her eyes, blocking the momentary glimpse of wonder she knew gleamed there. "I'll
awaken soon."
"Uh, excuse me," he said darkly. "Don't you have something you want to say to me? You've said it before, but that was at the
height of pleasure, so it doesn't count."
With a whoop, she threw herself into his waiting embrace. "I love you. I've always loved you."
He reached between them and cupped her jaw with his palms. "That's better." One of his hands twisted her hair, banding the
locks around his fingers. "You realize you're coming to the surface with me, don't you? Don't even think about saying no. I'll
think of something to tell my boss, even if I have to steal one of the jewels here and give it to him, claiming it's Dunamis." He
paused, his expression guarded. "You still want to come with me, right?"
"I'd follow you anywhere." She licked his collarbone, reveling in the sound of his sharp intake of breath. "We have some time
before our presence is required. Think I can keep you busy until then?"
"I think you could keep me busy forever."
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
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Jewel rifled through the only closet in the room and found several robes. She withdrew a sheer blue one, lace jagged across the
hem and small, glistening sapphires sewed into the bodice. They'd bathed and Gray was already dressed in the leather pants and
tie-shirt of the dragons.
He'd radioed his boss several moments ago and told the man that he had Dunamis in his possession. After minutes of the man's
excited whooping, minutes of her heart skipping multiple beats, Gray pried a sapphire from the wall and gave her a secret,
tender grin before stuffing it in his bag.
How they were going to get her past OBI, she didn't know. She only knew she was going to the surface!
"What do you think?" she asked, holding the glittery material up to her body.
"I think I prefer you naked."
She laughed and shimmied the material over her head, covering her nakedness. "I refuse to go to lunch naked."
"Too bad."
Just as she was fastening the ties of her new light blue robe, a knock sounded at the door. "Enter," she called.
The doors slit down the middle and slid apart. A blond warrior stood in the entrance, the dragon medallion hanging from his
neck aglow.
"Brand," Jewel said with a smile. "Nice to see you again."
"And you. Come," he said, his golden eyes averted to keep him from seeing anything he shouldn't. His hair hung in disarray
around his shoulders, giving his amused features a roguish quality. "Lunch is served."
Jewel sighed, already mourning the loss of this wonderful reprieve. Of the soft touches Gray liked to slide over her body, of the
hot kisses he liked to climb up her legs. As if he couldn't stand letting her go, either, he strode to her side and placed a kiss on
her lips, their tongues daring a quick mating.
"Gods above," Brand muttered, spinning on his heel. They followed him down the hall.
Gray linked their fingers and gave a gentle squeeze. "Everything's going to be okay. You'll see. I won't leave your side."
Releasing her hand, he anchored his palm to her neck and massaged, shifting strands of her hair. "If there's any trouble," he
added, staring into her eyes, making her feel warm and cherished, "I'll go all demon on Darius's ass."
The dragon-carved table was piled high with food and drink, wafting a mouth-watering aroma in every direction. All of the
warriors Gray had met in the forest were there, plus a few more, sitting impatiently, waiting for him and Jewel to arrive. Darius
claimed the head of the table with a formally clad Grace on his right. A ruby necklace draped her neck, her red hair was piled
high on her head, and she wore a soft pink gown.
The only two available chairs were on Darius's left. Gray claimed the one closest to the dragon, and Jewel eased in beside him.
"You may eat," Darius said.
Immediately the men dug into the food, a meal that consisted of honey-glazed ham, cranberry turkey, and some kind of white
pudding. Each recipe came from the surface, Jewel realized, for she'd seen Gray eat each of these dishes. She spooned a bite of
the pudding into her mouth and closed her eyes in surrender as the rich, decadent flavor spread on her tongue.
"I hope you found the room satisfactory," Grace said after swallowing a bite of ham.
"We did. Thank you." Jewel offered her a soft smile.
"Darius explained that you have no name." The pretty human wore an expression of utter perplexity. "He said most people call
you 'it' or 'slave'."
"She has a name," Gray said, his tone flat and hard and brooking no room for argument. "It's Jewel."
"See." She tossed Darius a smug glance. "I told you she had a name. A beautiful one, at that." Smiling, she returned her attention
to Jewel. "I think it's so cool you can predict the future. Darius and I could have used that kind of ability when I first came here.
You could have told him how much he loved me, so he wouldn't have fought it so hard."
Darius arched his brows, his only reaction to his wife's taunting. He tossed back a drink of wine. "What know you of the
vampires and demons& Jewel?"
The room tapered to absolute silence; everyone present waited with baited breath for her answer.
Stomach knotting painfully, Jewel said, "I would like to discuss that with you in private."
She meant the discussion to come after lunch. Darius took her words to heart. "Leave us," he told his men.
Though his tone was conversational, the dragons reacted immediately, grabbing their food as they jolted to their feet. Their
chairs skidded behind them, creating a screeching symphony. Besides Jewel and Darius, Gray and Grace were the only ones to
remain.
Darius looked pointedly at Grace.
"You told me I could stay, remember?" she said stubbornly. She leaned back in her chair, pinched a piece of turkey from her
plate and nibbled on the edges, the picture of relaxation.
Darius turned that look on Gray.
"Don't even try it," he said, rolling his eyes. "I'm staying. End of story."
Jewel drew in a deep, cleansing breath, and met Darius's piercing stare as he next turned it on her. "I have an impending sense
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