To Have & to Hold Read Free Page A

darker alter ego, a dragon. Not a flea-bitten shag rug. But a full-fledged fire-breathing dragon.
    Patron saint, shit. Michael was wrong. Cate knew a lost cause when she saw it.
    She spun on her heel and ran for her life.

 
     
     
     
    Chapter Two
     
    The moment Grayson Cooper let his anger take over, he knew he ’ d made a fatal error. For one God damned interminable year he ’ d worked to keep the simmering emotion and the beast that came with it leashed the best he could . But one look at Cate and the whiff of Michael James ’ s stink all over her had blown his best laid plans to hell. Didn ’ t she know the bastard had tried to kill him and leave him for dead on a sinkin g boat in the Celtic Sea? And Michael had embezzled millions from them. God damn it. Grayson wasn ’ t the bad guy here. James was a big ger monster than Grayson. He’d just gotten better at hiding it.
    Grayson had changed. He ’ d trained the mons ter inside him so it wouldn’t rage out of control , so it wouldn ’ t hurt Cate . Or so he ’ d thought until he ’ d gone off half-cocked at the first hint of trouble. He ’ d let the dragon erupt, intent on fighting that bastard James for the right to reclaim his own wife.
    No wonder she ’ d run. She ’ d thought the dragon would hurt her again as it had in the past. H e ’ d done nothing to prove to Cate that her experience with the rampant dragon over a year ago would be any different today.
    God damn his bloody temper.
    He ’ d show her. She couldn ’ t run away from him, not now, not when he ’ d fought so hard this past year for them, for her.
    Grayson bowed his head. Unlocked the hoard inside his chest and pulled on the reservoir of strength deep within. His breathing calmed. Healing energy flowed around and through him. His body became his own again. He yanked on another pair of denims and raced after her.
    By the time he pounded down the stairs, Cate was throwing a duffle in the back of her car. She slammed the boot shut. When she turned to see him standing at the foot of the porch stairs, she stilled.
    He hated the wary look in her eyes. He didn ’ t want her to fear him. He only wanted her to love him. To understand him. To accept him. Dragon and all.
    “ Cate , please don ’ t go. ” His voice sound rusty to his own ears. “ I promise you, I ’ ve changed. I love you. The dragon doesn ’ t control me. I control it. ”
    Her wary gaze turned hard. Her beautiful gray eyes glittered silver . “ And that ’ s why you shifted a few minutes ago? Because you have so much mastery over that infernal beast? No, Grayson. I think not. I don ’ t want to do this anymore. I ’ m done. ”
    “ No. Don ’ t give up on us, please. ” He moved toward her, one cautious step after another. He kept his movements slow, non-threatening, like he was gentling a skittish mare. “ Baby, you know how good it can be between us. How good it ’ s always been. ”
    She bared her teeth, ready to lay into him verbally. She looked fierce. Sexy. Even angry, she was the most beautiful woman he ’ d ever known. Shoulder-length copper hair fell in layers. He loved her eyes. Her curvy build. Long legs. Lush hips. Full breasts.
    Grayson, better than any man, understood Cate ’ s appeal. She was irresistible.
    However, he also knew the inner strength and beauty at her core. The devotion and loyalty. Sheer determination and grit drove her. She possessed the ability to hold it all together when everything else around her seemed to be falling to pieces. And that kind of strength , more than anything , made him long for her. Cate was his equal in every way--passion, ferocity, and power. He needed her fighting at his side. With him. Not against him. God it had been too long. She embodied a fresh pool of clear water for his parched soul.
    The whipping wind snatched away her brittle laugh. The mirthless sound died quickly on her lips. “ Pardon me if I ’ ve forgotten any of the good times. I ’ ve