Redemption (Red Dragon Book 1) by H.J. Bradley Page A

as though the weight of the world had fallen on him. “Cat at least let me try and make it up to you.” Part of her wanted to, was desperate to have the kind of relationship that her sister was enjoying. However the difference between them was that Myf hadn’t had her heart cruelly crushed.
    “I don’t know Valto.” She shrugged her shoulders. “Why do I have to love you for this to work?”
    “You don’t,” he said. “But I love you.”
    That seemed highly unlikely, thought Cat, seeing as they had only been back in each other’s presence again for two weeks after five years separation.  People didn’t just fall in and out of love like that, especially when there was burnt bridges behind them. “You don’t.” She turned back the way that they had come, shaking her hair behind her shoulders as she did so. “You fell out of love with me half a decade ago.”
    He shook his head. “I never stopped loving you.”
    “Don’t be silly,” she said. “Now come on it’s getting late and I don’t know about you but I’m getting a bit weary.”
    His shoulders slumped at her words, though he took her hand when she offered it to him.  It was nice to have his warm skin against hers, even though it was the palms of their hands. Then slowly together they walked back to Belltree.
    ***
    Though her body was exhausted after both the emotional and physical exertions of the day. Cat found it almost impossible to settle her mind enough to sleep, which is how she found herself watching mindless television at three o’clock on the morning.
    “What are you doing up?” She put another piece of popcorn in her mouth and started chewing as she looked up at where Valto was standing beside the sofa where she was sitting.
    “Top Gear.” She pointed at the TV, and then patting the sofa next to her. “Sit down.”
    He looked confused but he sat down anyway, grabbing a handful of popcorn and smirking when she threw her most disgusted expression at him. She had always hated people stealing her food, in fact hated anyone touching her food at all, which was something that Valto had always known and used to rile her up as much as possible.
    “What’s Top Gear?” He asked the question around a mouthful or popcorn, and she reached behind herself for a cushion which she used to hit him in the back of the head.
    “Your manners haven’t improved at all I see,” she said, hitting him again. “And I refuse to believe that you don’t know what Top Gear is.”
    He rolled his eyes at her then. “Something to do with cars obviously.”
    At that he tried to grab another handful of popcorn, but she moved the bowl out of the way just in time which had him flailing about on the couch after he had fallen over sideways.
    “Serves you right.” She put the cushion over his head then, laughing when he ripped it off and hit her with it. “You should know better than to touch a woman’s food.”
    He chuckled darkly then and moved up the sofa so that he could rest his head on her lap. “I can’t believe you’re up at this time of night to watch these old men drive cars.” He waved absently in the direction of the TV. “Oh god you’ve got some sort of fetish for old men don’t you.”
    Her fingers weaved through his hair at that, and she gave the short strands a quick tug which made him look up at her with heavy lidded grey eyes. “I do not have a thing for old men.”
    “Could have fooled me,” he said, one hand curling around her hip as he nuzzled his head into her thigh.
    It was then that her body rebelled against her, reminding her that it had been two weeks since she had been touched by this man. There was also the fact that Valto had haunted her dreams since she had gone through puberty, and she had pleasured herself to the fantasy of having him between her thighs at least once a night since his return. Their one night together hadn’t done anything to sate her fire.
    Her breathing had become shallow, and there was a familiar