Chapter Eight
WEST WAS NOT GOING to change another time. Jonathan wouldn’t care how he was dressed. He’d seen him in his uniform and sweaty and dirty after the grocery store fire. He wouldn’t care what kind of shade West’s shirt was.
But West felt the need to make the date as perfect as possible. He still had a hard time believing that Jonathan had asked him out, especially after he’d said no when West had tried. Knowing what he did now, West understood that this was a massive step for Jonathan, and he wanted the evening to be good.
They weren’t doing anything outlandish. They would get dinner, then maybe go see a movie, but West was ridiculously excited because of Jonathan. If West was going out with anyone else, he probably wouldn’t care so much, but Jonathan had managed to wriggle his way under West’s skin, and West was ready to cling to him if given the opportunity.
He snorted as he smoothed down his shirt and looked at his reflection. He couldn’t believe he’d gone from being happily single and not looking for anything to being smitten with a man he barely knew. What he knew of Jonathan made him think that he was right to feel this way, though. Jonathan was strong and capable. He was brave. He was creative and had many friends, and it seemed like all these friends loved him. West might not have been looking for a relationship, but he knew how precious what he’d found was, and he would cherish it for as long as Jonathan let him.
West’s phone vibrated on the dresser. He snatched it up, smiling when he saw Jonathan’s name on the screen. Jonathan had texted to tell him that he was outside the building. West was out of time. He couldn’t change again, which was a relief because it would be useless.
West quickly answered the text, then picked up everything he needed to take with him. He hesitated, wondering if he should bring a jacket. As a dragon shifter, he wasn’t usually cold, but Jonathan might be.
West grabbed the jacket on his way out. He didn’t wait for the elevator, instead bounding down the stairs. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so excited. Was a date with a pretty man really enough to make him feel this way? Apparently.
Jonathan was much more than a pretty face, of course. He was an amazing man who deserved to be cherished and spoiled, and West had every intention of doing just that, although maybe he should slow down a bit. This was their first date, and he didn’t want to scare Jonathan with how seriously he was taking it.
It made sense for Jonathan to be hesitant. He hadn’t gone into details about what had happened with his ex-boyfriend, but what he had told West wasn’t good. It explained why Jonathan had been so wary of going out with West, and West had every intention of showing him that not all dragon shifters were like that asshole.
West wasn’t. He’d become a firefighter because he wanted to help people. He’d never hurt anyone on purpose, and he never would.
He still wondered what Sal had done to Jonathan, but he was pretty sure that if he ever found out more details, he’d get so angry he might try to find the guy. That would be a bad idea, and it wouldn’t be what Jonathan wanted, but it was hard to resist the urge to hunt down the man who’d hurt him. It was what West’s dragon wanted to do, but the animal wasn’t in charge.
Which was a good thing for Sal.
West burst out the door. He sucked in a breath and told himself to be cool, but that went right out the window when he saw Jonathan leaning against his car and smiling at him. No one should be so handsome. No one should look at West the way Jonathan was. There was a little apprehension there, but most of it was warm happiness. West had been afraid that Jonathan would change his mind or not feel up for the date, but he looked as happy to be there as West was.
West grinned as he reached him. “Hi.”
He sounded breathless, which was ridiculous. “I used the stairs,”
he explained.
Jonathan’s smile never faltered. “The elevator wasn’t working?”
“I was too excited to wait for it.”
Jonathan’s cheeks flushed. “Really?”
“Really.”
They stared at each other for a moment. It was awkward in that first date kind of way, but West would never get enough of watching Jonathan. He still couldn’t believe that Jonathan had asked him out.
Jonathan finally shook himself. “Ready to go?”
“Whenever you are.”
Jonathan pushed away from the car and opened his door. West did the same, wondering where Jonathan was taking him. They’d agreed on dinner, but since West had wanted Jonathan to feel comfortable, he let him set the pace. That was why Jonathan was picking him up. That way, if he felt uncomfortable at any moment during the date, he could take his car and go. West could take a rideshare home. He didn’t think he would have to because he had no intention of making Jonathan uncomfortable, but there was no way to know if someone else might or even if the situation might be too much for Jonathan since it was his first date since his ex-boyfriend.
“So, where are you taking me?”
West asked.
“Well, we never really talked about what we like or dislike eating, so I was stumped. I didn’t want to ask where you wanted to go because I asked you out, and I’m supposed to organize the date.”
“I don’t want things to be like that between us.”
Jonathan shot West a smile. “I wanted it to be a surprise.”
“It’s going to be since I have no idea where we’re going.”
“To a place where we’ll have a wide range of different foods. I figured that we could each grab something and maybe share.”
“Sharing is good.”
Jonathan’s focus was on the road, which gave West the opportunity to observe him. Jonathan’s cheeks were flushed, but he looked happy. A bit tense, too, but that was normal for first dates.
West had already promised himself he’d do whatever he could to make Jonathan comfortable, and he’d changed his mind. Whatever happened between them tonight, he wanted Jonathan to come out of the date with a smile on his face.
West didn’t know how long it would take them to get to wherever Jonathan was taking them, but things were easy between them. They talked about one of Jonathan’s more recent customers, then about a few calls West had gone on during his last shift. By the time he was done telling Jonathan that people really tried keeping everything as a pet, Jonathan was laughing and parking the car.
“She really thought that keeping a raccoon in her bedroom would be a good idea?” he asked.
“I’m telling you, some people don’t think. She asked us how it was different from having a cat. I had to step away before I laughed in her face,”
West said, grinning at the happiness in Jonathan’s expression.
“I guess she wasn’t wrong. How different is it from having a cat?”
“Cats aren’t wild animals. Raccoons are. She’s lucky the damn thing didn’t scratch her eyes out or give her a disease or something.”
Jonathan grimaced as he slid out of the car. West quickly did the same, not wanting the conversation to be interrupted. He liked making Jonathan smile and hearing him laugh.
“I guess people don’t think about illnesses when they see cute animals,”
Jonathan said.
“They should. Stay away from any wild animal, but especially those who dig in the trash.”
“Oh, I’m not planning on getting pets. You don’t have to worry about me calling nine-one-one anytime soon.”
“Unless it’s for a customer who fainted.”
West looked around. This wasn’t what he’d expected, but it didn’t mean it wasn’t perfect. “Food trucks?”
The air smelled of garlic and grilling meat but also of fresh bread and cinnamon. The trucks were arranged in a half-circle with benches and tables in the area at the center. There were lights strung on almost all the trucks and around the tables, making the place a good first-date spot even with so many people around laughing and talking and ordering food that smelled good enough to make West’s stomach growl.
Jonathan rubbed the back of his neck. “I figured that if we don’t like the same food, we could each grab something and eat it together.”
West was overdressed for food trucks, but Jonathan was wearing a dress shirt, too, and it wasn’t like the people around them would care. They were focused on their own food and the people they were with.
West decided to take a chance and took Jonathan’s hand. Jonathan’s eyes widened, but his smile was soft, and he didn’t pull away. West squeezed and turned back to the trucks. “I don’t even know where to start.”
But whatever food he chose, it would be nothing next to the company.
JONATHAN HAD ALMOST changed his mind about bringing West here about a dozen times. If he’d brought Sal here, Sal would’ve complained. He liked fine dining and being able to show everyone how wealthy and good-looking he was. He would never get his hands dirty by eating without silverware. He would never sit on one of the wooden benches and lick ketchup off his fingers.
Jonathan couldn’t look away from West as he did just that. West was laughing at something Jonathan had said, but Jonathan could barely remember what had come out of his mouth. He was too focused on West’s tongue running over his skin. He wanted to be West’s fingers. Hell, he wanted to be the ketchup.
“Anyway, Austin’s standing there, proud as a peacock, holding this tiny kitten that’s hissing at him and scratching his hands, and the little girl looks at him without even smiling and says, what about the other one?”
West said, already laughing.
He seemed to have an endless number of stories about his job to tell Jonathan. Jonathan was glad. It was interesting, and it helped him get to know West better. It also meant that the date hadn’t been awkward yet. They’d fallen into easy conversation and hadn’t yet stopped talking.
Jonathan had never felt like this with Sal. Sal hadn’t wanted to know about Jonathan’s day. He hadn’t wanted to know about his customers, about what art he was working on, or about anything, really. He’d just cared that Jonathan looked good on his arm. He’d been annoyed when Jonathan had tried asking him about his day, and he’d never asked Jonathan about his.
West couldn’t have been any more different, and Jonathan loved it. Nothing about this date was anything like what he’d had with Sal, which was what he needed.
That, and to stop thinking about his ex-boyfriend.
It wasn’t easy. Jonathan had always felt as if Sal was still around, watching him. He’d never actually seen him after the breakup, which probably meant it was all in his head, but it wasn’t an easy feeling to shake. Even now, Jonathan kept glancing around, half expecting Sal to pop up between two food trucks. Sal wouldn’t be caught dead here, though, so Jonathan doubted that would happen, but he was jumpy, and he hated it.
He wanted to enjoy his date. He wanted not to think about what would happen if Sal did pop up. He wanted Sal to be part of his past, but no matter how long ago they’d broken up, he was still very much a part of Jonathan’s present. He was the reason why Jonathan had almost missed out on this opportunity and on a wonderful man.
If Jonathan hadn’t already hated Sal, he would now.
But he hadn’t missed his chance with West. They were here, and they were both having fun. Sal hadn’t taken this away from Jonathan, no matter how hard he’d tried.
“So he went back into the tree?”
Jonathan asked, leaning forward and trying to imagine big, bulky Austin climbing up a tree to save two kittens.
“We tried sending someone else, but he refused. He said that he’d saved one of the cats, so he was going to save the other one, too,”
West said, his voice still bordering on laughter. “He got back down the second time with even more scratches and the cat on top of his head, clinging to his hair. The first kitten was pissed, but this one was more scared than anything, and it jumped off and ran into the house before Austin could even try to get him off his head.”
“At least no one got hurt.”
West took a sip of water and nodded. “True. We see enough pain and suffering that it was a nice break to deal with cats.”
He grinned. “Well, except for Austin.”
“He’s a big bad dragon shifter. I’m sure he was fine,”
Jonathan murmured. That was something he and West still needed to talk about. Maybe it wasn’t a conversation for a first date, but eventually, they would have to face the fact that West was a dragon shifter and that Jonathan had no idea how to deal with that.
For now, it was easy to forget that part of West. He wasn’t going to shift in the middle of their date, but Jonathan couldn’t forget that he could if he wanted to.
West’s smile never dimmed as he nodded. “We’re sturdier than humans,”
he agreed. “But that makes it even funnier. Can you imagine a big bad dragon shifter rescuing two tiny kittens from a tree?”
“He seemed nice when I met him at the hospital, so I guess I can.”
“Austin’s the best.”
“The two of you are close. Is it because you’re both dragon shifters in a human team?”
“That’s how it started. I never thought that I’d be assigned to this team or to find a dragon shifter sleeping on the couch at the station.”
“But you did.”
“I did, and after a few hours of confusion and a conversation, we became friends. From there, it was a short step to being best friends. I can’t imagine my life without him anymore.”
It was clear that Austin and West really cared about each other, which was another difference between West and Sal. Sal didn’t have friends. He had minions, people who followed him around because they wanted his power and his money. Sal didn’t care about any of them, and Jonathan doubted that any of them cared about Sal. In Sal’s life, everything was a show, including friendships and relationships.
West’s back went ramrod straight. He dropped his burger and straightened his back, his eyes narrowing as he looked at something behind Jonathan. Before Jonathan could ask him what was going on, his worst nightmare appeared.
“Well, well, well. Look what we have here.”
Jonathan sucked in a breath. He didn’t have to see himself to know that he was pale and looked terrified. He was terrified. He’d been sure that Sal was following him, but until now, it had been easy to tell himself that it was all in his head. Now, he knew it wasn’t.
Because Sal was standing behind him.
When Sal touched Jonathan’s shoulder, Jonathan had to resist the urge to throw up everything he’d just eaten. He was afraid to look back, but he didn’t have to. Sal walked around the table, stopping beside it. He looked at West for a moment, then turned his attention to Jonathan.
Jonathan wanted to scream. He wanted to tell Sal to leave him alone, to beg him to let him go. He’d known it wouldn’t be easy. Sal wasn’t one to take rejections well, and even though Jonathan had been running for his life, Sal had taken their breakup as a rejection. He’d expected Jonathan to stay, even though he’d hurt him. He’d thought Jonathan wouldn’t be strong enough to leave him behind, but he had been.
He would be strong enough to face Sal now, too.
“I’m surprised to see you in such a place,”
Sal said. “I treated you much better.”
“I chose this place,”
Jonathan said harshly.
Something flared in Sal’s eyes, causing Jonathan to snap his mouth shut. Fear slithered down his spine, and he had to remind himself that Sal wasn’t going to hurt him here, where anyone could see him. He’d never hesitated to hurt Jonathan in public, but he always did it in a way that could be easily ignored by the people around them. West wouldn’t ignore it. If Sal tried anything, West would step in.
Jonathan told himself to relax, but he wasn’t sure he could.
“You didn’t use to talk back,”
Sal said as he narrowed his eyes.
“Because you hurt me if I did. What do you want, Sal? How did you find me?”
“It’s just a coincidence. I was craving tacos.”
Jonathan was pretty sure that Sal had never eaten tacos in his life. He wouldn’t want to get dirty by sitting on these benches, and he thought that he was too good to eat here. No, Sal was there for him, and Jonathan had no idea what to do.
WEST HAD NEVER MET the man standing by the table, but even if Jonathan hadn’t said his name, he would’ve known this was Sal.
The man was a dragon shifter. West hadn’t been able to smell him until he’d come to a stop next to the table, but his dragon had perked up when West had noticed him walking toward them. There had been something in Sal that told him he was dangerous, and he still felt that way.
West wanted to help Jonathan, but he didn’t know what to do or if he could. He didn’t want to overstep when it looked like Jonathan had everything under control, so he kept his mouth shut and continued staring at Sal. Sal’s focus was on Jonathan, but that didn’t last long because Jonathan wasn’t having it.
“Bull shit,”
Jonathan said. “You followed me here. You’ve been following me around for months, haven’t you?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,”
Sal said, trying to sound innocent and failing. “I saw you sitting here with another man and thought I’d ask you why you were cheating on me.”
West hadn’t thought it possible for Jonathan to pale even more, but he did. He also clutched the edge of the table so hard that if he’d been a shifter, he probably would’ve broken it. West wanted to reach out, but until Jonathan gave him an indication that was what he wanted, he wouldn’t step in. No matter how much he wanted to shield Jonathan from this, he couldn’t unless Jonathan asked him to.
Sal’s gaze flickered toward West. “And with a dragon shifter, no less.”
“I’m not cheating on you,”
Jonathan hissed. “We haven’t been together in more than a year.”
“But you remember what I told you I’d do if I ever found you with a shifter. How could you expose this man to that? When he gets hurt, it’ll be your fault.”
West had enough. “Are you threatening me?”
he asked Sal.
Jonathan’s eyes widened, and he shook his head at West. West knew it would be better for him to keep his mouth shut, but he couldn’t. His dragon was pushing at him to grab Sal and slam him against the table, and West felt like snapping at him was better than that alternative.
“Am I?”
Sal asked with a smile. “Has Jonathan told you about me? About how much in love we were?”
“We were never in love,”
Jonathan whispered. “You manipulated me. You got me to stay with you through fear and pain. I never loved you, Sal, and I don’t think you can love anyone but yourself. Why are you even here? You don’t want me back.”
West knew why Sal was here. He might not have loved Jonathan, but he loved the power and control he’d had over him. That was what he was looking for. Even though he and Jonathan weren’t together anymore, when Sal did things like this, he still controlled Jonathan, and that was what he wanted.
“My father asked about you,”
Sal told Jonathan instead of answering his question. “I can’t imagine what he’ll say when I tell him you’ve been dating another dragon shifter.”
“Sal, please,”
Jonathan begged.
West caught Jonathan’s hand and squeezed it. Jonathan looked terrified, which made West wonder what was up with Sal’s father. He hadn’t wanted to push Jonathan for answers, and he still didn’t, but he felt like once Sal was gone, they’d need to have a conversation. At the very least, West had to know what he was up against.
“I’ll be sure to let him know,”
Sal said as he stepped away. “I hope you have a nice evening. Sweet dreams, Jonathan.”
West wanted to go after Sal and give him a good shake, but instead, he turned his attention to Jonathan. He didn’t think Sal would come back. He’d said what he needed to say, and it was clear from the way he hurried away that he couldn’t wait to get out of there.
“I’m so sorry,”
Jonathan said in a trembling voice. He tried pulling his hand away, but West held onto it for a moment longer.
“You have nothing to be sorry about.”
“How can you say that? Sal found us. He threatened you, and he’s going to tell his father that I’m seeing another dragon shifter.”
West let go because it was what Jonathan wanted, but if Jonathan thought that this would be enough to get West to stop dating him, he was wrong. “What’s up with that? Who’s Sal’s father?”
“I knew better than to do this. I shouldn’t have involved you in this.”
“Jonathan. You didn’t involve me in anything. You asked me on a date, and I said yes. Now tell me about Sal’s father.”
Jonathan bit his lower lip. West hated that their first date had ended like this, but maybe there was still a chance to make things right. They couldn’t forget what had just happened, but West wouldn’t let Jonathan go home to freak out about Sal’s threats and wonder if the man was watching him from his bedroom window.
“He’s the leader of the local dragon clan,”
Jonathan said. “I know you’re not part of the clan, which is why I didn’t tell you. I was hoping I wouldn’t have a reason to.”
West slowly nodded. He’d heard about the clan when he’d first arrived in the city, but he’d never planned on becoming a member, so he hadn’t reached out to them. It wasn’t like he had to or anything like that. The city wasn’t their territory. It was just where they lived, and as long as West stayed off their properties, he didn’t have a reason to get in contact with them.
It looked like he’d been right not to want anything to do with the clan. If Sal’s father was the leader, West could only imagine what kind of mess the clan was.
“All right,” he said.
Jonathan blinked. “All right?”
“I’m not afraid of Sal or his father.”
“They’ll hurt you. Sal always said that I was his and that he wouldn’t allow me to be with anyone else, but especially not with a dragon. He said his father would make sure that didn’t happen, too. He said that his father was the leader and that he could do whatever he wanted with the dragons in the city. I don’t want you to get hurt, West. I especially don’t want you to get hurt because of me.”
“Sal’s father doesn’t have any kind of power over me. He might be the leader of their clan, but anyone who isn’t part of that clan doesn’t answer to him. He can’t hurt me, and he definitely can’t tell me not to date you. Sal can’t, either. As long as you haven’t changed your mind and still want us to date, I’m not going anywhere.”
“I would never forgive myself if something happened to you because of me.”
“If something happened to me, it wouldn’t be because of you. It would be because of Sal. I’m not going to push, and if you really think it would be better for us to stop seeing each other, I’ll respect your wishes, but don’t do it because you’re scared. Don’t allow Sal to win.”
It took what felt like forever, but Jonathan eventually nodded. It felt good to know that he wouldn’t dump West because of what had happened, but West knew this wasn’t over. Sal was used to getting what he wanted, and what he wanted was Jonathan.
He’d only get him over West’s dead body.