Maddie smiled as she stood beside her car, one hip resting lazily against the door while the night wind moved through her hair and the private airport glowed around them in long ribbons of gold, white and silver. The race had barely ended, the roads behind them still haunted by tire smoke, screaming gears and Brian’s offended masculinity, but all of that violence seemed to fall away the moment Phei stepped out of the Utopia and turned toward the private jet.

He did not look anywhere else after that.

Not once.

The jet sat under the floodlights like a sleeping white beast, its polished body reflecting the runway lamps, the open hangar glass and the rows of expensive cars cooling beneath the VVIP canopy.

The doors began to unfurl slowly, descending with mechanical grace, and Phei stood beside his new car as if the entire world had narrowed to that single opening.

His eyes did not wander to Maddie, not to Brian who was pulling up with the emotional injury of a man who had lost both a race and several beliefs about physics, not to the airport staff moving discreetly along the edge of the tarmac.

His gaze stayed fixed on the jet’s doorway with a stillness Maddie had never seen on him before.

It was not impatience so to speak but...

...reverence.

His hands rested politely in front of him, one over the other, formal and almost old-fashioned, a gesture so careful it made Maddie’s smile soften without her permission; she had seen Phei stand before powerful women, near Melissa, Elena’s mother. Those were the only women she knew Phei revered in ways that reached beyond desire, beyond attraction and his usual teasing courage.

But this was different.

This woman, the one he called Mother, occupied some sacred inner place in him that no one else touched. Maddie had heard how precious she was to him, how deeply Phei cherished her, and how much fear and tenderness lived together whenever the woman was mentioned.

Now she could see it in him with her own eyes too in every breath to took and still in his muscle; Phei’s eyes seemed afraid to blink, as if blinking might let something steal the precious thing descending from that jet.

Brian’s women came out first.

Two beautiful women, elegant from travel but bright with relief, stepped onto the staircase and descended into the night. They barely reached the tarmac before Brian crossed the distance and caught them both into his arms with a laugh that still carried leftover adrenaline from the race.

One of them turned, smiling, trying to greet Phei too, but Phei did not react.

He did not even seem to hear her.

The poor girl followed his gaze, then glanced toward Maddie in confusion.

Maddie lifted one hand slightly and pointed toward the staircase.

Understanding dawned across both women’s faces.

The taller of the two leaned toward the other and murmured something behind her hand, and they both went quiet with the particular reverence women reserved for watching a dangerous man go soft. The shorter one pressed a palm briefly to her own chest, charmed despite herself at how much reverence kept for a single woman, then let Brian tow her away by the waist before she could embarrass herself by tearing up at an airport over someone else’s reunion.

Phei’s attention had already left this world and entered the one where only that descending woman existed.

Mother stepped into the doorway, one hand touching the side rail, the warm light from inside the jet pouring behind her and turning her figure soft at the edges; she looked smaller than the force she held over him.

That was the first thing Maddie noticed.

It was not like she was weak, no, but so human in a way that made Phei’s stillness suddenly more painful. She carried the quiet dignity like she had survived too much and still knew how to smile, and her gentleness had teeth hidden somewhere beneath it because life had demanded them, then punished her for growing any.

Her foot had barely touched the lower step before Phei moved.

One moment he stood beside the Utopia, hands folded, eyes fixed, beautiful as a statue carved by a god with too much patience.

The next, he’d already crossed the space between them so fast Maddie almost missed the transition, and by the time Mother’s feet reached the ground, Phei had already gathered her into his arms.

Not lightly or too carefully enough to hide his hunger for the embrace.

He hugged her as though the world had tried to take her from him once and he still had not forgiven it.

Her feet technically touched the ground, yes, but in his arms she might as well have been lifted from every hard thing beneath her.

Mother laughed, the sound warm and helpless, and immediately began ruffling his hair.

"Come on, tiger," she teased, fingers moving through his hair with so much affection. "You cannot act like we have not seen each other for years every time we spend a day apart."

Phei tightened his arms around her without shame. "It was too long."

"It was not even that long, Phei."

"Still too long."

"You are getting worse."

"You keep leaving my sight."

"That is called living, sweetheart."

"A very suspicious habit."

Mother laughed again, and Maddie felt something in her chest squeeze at the way Phei’s face softened against the woman’s shoulder. He looked defenseless there.

That was the word:

Defenseless.

This boy who could drift an impossible car around a corner like physics had offended his family, this Young Dragon who made legacy princesses blush and dangerous women scheme, stood in his mother’s arms like a child who had finally found the only place he did not need to pretend he was strong.

And yet, somehow, that vulnerability did not make him look weak.

It made him look more alert.

Even while clinging to her, his body remained faintly angled toward the open tarmac, his senses open, his power quiet but ready beneath his skin.

Maddie could see it...

...If anything threatened this woman, Phei would go from son to executioner so fast the night would not have time to scream. He looked soft in her arms, yes, but the softness circled something lethal; a shrine guarded by a dragon. V

Very sweet. Very concerning. Maddie actually did love seeing affection militarized.

Phei finally pulled back enough to cup her face gently and kiss her forehead.

Mother smiled, but his eyes dropped.

He looked at her hands.

Then at his own shirt.

"You say you didn’t miss me but you’re the one holding my shirt tight," he said.

Mother blinked.

Then looked down and realized her fingers were gripping the side of his shirt with far more force than she had intended. The fabric was gathered in her hand, wrinkled under her palm, her body giving away what her teasing had tried to hide.

Her laughter came softer this time, a little embarrassed, a little caught.

"You really must learn," she said, giving him a reprimanding look that failed because affection was ruining the edges, "how not to be so direct with women. Some things are better left unsaid, boy."

Phei’s brows rose. "You attacked me first."

"I greeted you."

"You ruffled my hair and mocked my devotion."

"Devotion now?"

"I am a deeply loyal son."

"You are a dramatic tiger."

"You still held my shirt."

Mother sighed as if the weight of raising this boy had become a divine punishment with excellent cheekbones. "I have a lot to teach you, huh?"

Phei smiled. "Probably."

"Definitely."