Chapter Seventeen
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Jac got into Damien’s SUV, fully aware she was going into shock. Nothing back in the theater made any sense.
“What just happened?” she muttered.
“Apparently, you are a dragon and a mother-to-be,” Damien said.
“But how?” This had to be a mistake. Or a bad dream. Or…something!
“How could I have a rage demon possessing me for two hundred years and not know? The world we live in is filled with mysteries.”
Rage demon? Jac needed to lie down. “But I just laid an egg. Like a fucking chicken.”
“Trust me. That’s no chick. And you need to figure out what to do with it after it hatches.”
“I’m not going anywhere near it.” If it weren’t for the sanctuary, she’d be fleeing the continent right now.
There was a loud knock at the window. “Hey,” said the Belch man, standing there in his white underwear. “Anyone want to party? This place turned into a snoozefest. Just a bunch of hags fawning over their eggs.”
“I would love to,” Jac said under her breath.
“I think you need to rest,” Damien said, “but we can stop and get you supplies.”
At sunrise, Jac woke up on a gold-and-white couch in a fancy hotel room with a view of downtown Dallas. If memory served, this was Damien’s suite, and that man under the dining table (dream-mumbling to some woman named Margarita about being sorry for having too much fun) was the God of Wine.
She slowly sat up and massaged the sides of her pounding head, faintly recalling getting hammered and playing Twister. It had been Belch’s idea.
Then that Pet bird-thing showed up, and Damien started arguing with a ghost named Sky. He didn’t want her to leave. Sky disagreed. Belch thought they were being rude for missing their turns at Twister. It had been a crazy night—not at all what she’d needed.
Was there any piece of Jac’s reality left intact? I need a vacation. Somewhere weird beings couldn’t get close to her. Weird beings besides myself, I mean.
Still lying on the couch, Jac realized that someone was knocking on the door. Probably the maid service.
She struggled to get to her feet and open it.
“You happy now?” said Dash, standing in the hallway, wearing boots, black jeans, and a snug white tee that accentuated his fit body.
She winced. “Stop screaming.”
“I’m not screaming,” he hissed.
“Then why do my eardrums feel like they’re about to explode?”
“You just couldn’t wait to fuck him, could you, Jac?” Dash’s plump lips formed a flat line.
She held out her palm. “Whoa, whoa. What are you talking about?” She didn’t remember hooking up with anyone last night.
“You let him touch your egg.”
She blinked. Then she blinked some more. Faint memories of pain, stomach cramping, and then something popping into her panties flooded her mind. It hadn’t been just a bad dream.
“I can’t deal with this right now.” She looked at her watch. “Shit. The animals. Can you give me a ride home?” She had heart meds, antibiotics, and dewormers to give out.
“Sure,” he said coldly. “You want to put on some clothes first?” His eyes darted to her chest.
She looked down. She was only wearing panties.
“Shit.” She covered her breasts, suddenly remembering losing at Twister. Strip Twister!
She looked around the room. “I don’t know where my clothes are.”
“Here.” Dash rolled his eyes and peeled off his tee, exposing his killer abs and pecs. He handed her the shirt. “Nice breasts by the way. Bigger than I thought.”
“Thanks,” she said curtly. She knew he had a very cavalier attitude toward nudity, but this was not the time for compliments.
She slid the shirt on, happy to see that the hem reached her thighs. He was a tall guy.
She grabbed her purse and followed him to the elevator. They got inside, and he turned to her, fury in his blue eyes. “I only want to know why, Jac. Do you know how many years it took to find a female immune to me? One who’s interested in me as a person instead of my body?”
“Uh, no?”
“Five hundred and sixty-two.”
She tilted her head to one side. “You mean you’ve never—”
“No. Never. Not even sex.” He added under his breath, “So fucking ironic, too.”
She inhaled sharply. “Dash, I-I…this is a lot to take in. I mean, up until a few days ago, I didn’t know there was a whole other world right under my nose. And last night, I laid a fucking egg. Like a damned bird. Then a kitten turned into a little dragon, and after that, I spent the night doing shots with a god in his underwear, a sex fairy, and a ghost who kept fighting with some guy who claims he’s just a tailor, when I know he’s anything but.
“All the while, they kept talking about a goddess who wants to destroy the world with an army of vampires, Chihuahuas, and unicorns.” She blew out a long breath. “Now you’re accusing me of cheating on you with my egg? I mean, come on! Give me a fucking break.” She hung her head. “God, I miss Larry.” He was always such a soothing force in her life. He smiled and chewed his leaves no matter what life threw his way. Just happy to be alive.
Dash stared for a long moment.
“What?” she spat.
“You sound like you need pancakes.”
“I’m not in the mood to eat out. I’m also not wearing shoes. Or pants. Or a bra.”
“Good thing I know how to cook.”
“How were they?” Still shirtless, Dash removed her tiger-striped apron and laid it over the back of the chair in her kitchen.
She set down her fork and wiped her buttery lips with a napkin. “The best ever.” He’d added cinnamon, vanilla, orange zest, a pinch of cayenne, and chocolate chips to the batter, calling them his Mexican coco pancakes. He’d then smothered them in butter, whipped cream, and chocolate shavings. She’d never eaten anything so good for breakfast.
“Aren’t you going to have any?” she asked.
“Watching my carbs.” He sat across from her and sipped his black coffee.
“Well, thank you for that breakfast. And thank you for helping me get the meds out.” It took over an hour to dose the animals currently on regimens.
“Don’t mention it,” he said coldly, his ruffled feathers still showing. “When you’re ready, I’ll take you to the club to pick up your truck.”
“Thanks. I appreciate it. But, Dash, just tell me why you’re so angry. Because for the life of me, I swear I don’t know what’s going on. None of last night makes sense.”
He raised his blue eyes to hers, nearly stopping her heart. Raw emotion poured out of him like nothing she’d ever seen—anger, disappointment, longing, and confusion, all rolled into one.
That was the moment that she realized how truly fearless this man was. No fear showing who he was, what he felt, or what he wanted. His eyes spoke his mind in a way that both terrified her and felt refreshing.
“Part of you must’ve known what you are,” he said.
“No. I don’t have scales or breathe fire. I don’t fly around like some ancient blowtorch. I’m just a thirty-five-year-old woman who has zero understanding of dragons.”
“Fine.” He drew a deep breath. “Female dragons rarely live past a hundred, and they spend most of their lives in human form. They even take human husbands so they don’t get lonely. The males bounce between dragon and whatever form protects them. They’re very rare. One out of a hundred born are male.”
“But that—”
“Defies the order of nature and survival of the species? Yes, but it also maintains balance. Like I told you, young dragons are ravenous. If dragons constantly bred, there’d be nothing left for them to eat.”
“Okay, but I’m not a dragon.” She’d know!
He raised a caramel-brown brow. “Tell me what first drew you to the club, looking for a job, when there are a hundred different bars and restaurants in the city? Why did you lay an egg?”
Had she been drawn to Heebie without knowing it?
She crinkled her nose. “Because…I’m a dragon?”
“Yes.”
No, no, no. That couldn’t be right. “But what about my sisters? Why didn’t they show up to the egg party?”
“Maybe you’re adopted.”
She gasped. “Not possible. I look like my sisters.”
“Maybe you only share one parent—the one who’s not a dragon.” He shrugged. “You’d have to ask your parents.”
“They’re gone. Died a few years ago in a car accident.”
“I’m sorry. That must’ve been rough.” He sounded genuinely sympathetic.
“It is what it is.”
“Want more coffee?” He got up and went for the pot on the stove, refilling his cup.
“No, thanks.” What she wanted was answers.
Holding his mug, he leaned against the counter, looking perfectly at ease shirtless in her kitchen.
“Jacquelin, take it from someone who’s lived over five centuries. Most parents will do anything to protect their children. Maybe your mother or father figured you didn’t need to know. A male dragon only mates every few hundred years. The chances of you ever participating in a mating call were extremely low.”
But to keep something like this from her? She found it difficult to believe. Her parents were so…honest.
On the other hand, she couldn’t deny what had happened last night. A kitten had turned into a dragon. A kitten that kept rubbing on me. Eww…
“Why did you say I ‘fucked’ Heebie?” she asked.
“I’m sorry for that, but put yourself in my shoes. I watched the woman I waited centuries to find let some other guy give her a baby.”
“Dash! I didn’t have a baby, get a baby, or agree to anything.”
“You let him touch your egg, and now it’s done. You might have a baby dragon with him.”
Nooo… “I’m going to be sick.”
“You and me both.”
She covered her mouth. “Is that…that thing going to eat babies?”
“If it hatches and you let it, yes,” he replied.
“You mean I have to raise it not to?” she asked. “Will Heebie help?”
He laughed. “Male dragons don’t do that. Neither do most females. Their young are left to fend for themselves, which is probably why they’re so wild.”
She couldn’t allow that. “So what do I do, Dash?”
He looked away, his jaw flexing.
“Dash, I’m asking you a question. You know about dragons. You have one as a pet, for Christ’s sake.”
His intense eyes whipped to her face. “He is not my pet.”
“Then what is he to you?” she snapped. “Tell me the truth.”
He set his mug on the counter. “I am his slave, his companion and protector, too.”
Slave. “You told me that dragons eat their slaves.”
Dash nodded.
She slid back in her chair. “But you take care of him. You love him.”
He nodded. “In a way, yes, but he’ll still end my life. It’s tradition for their kind. I know too much, and their top priority is protecting their species from discovery.”
Her eyes teared—half with confusion and half in horror. “Why, Dash? Why don’t you run?”
“Because he and I have an agreement—a sort of contract. He helped me live under the radar after the gods exiled my kind, and in exchange, I promised to look after his interests, protect his identity, and serve him.”
“Can you repeat that part about being exiled?” She’d been so absorbed with her whole dragon situation that she hadn’t put the pieces together. Dash had disclosed his very old age, and if Heebie was the dragon, then it meant Dash was something else. “What are you?”
He looked away with a sigh. “A demon.”
“Like, from hell?”
“Demons are actually species from a different realm. There are hundreds of types. Some good. Some bad. I’m a vanity demon, which means I survive on adoration. It’s how Heebie’s kept me alive all these years. He emits powerful pheromones to draw attention, and I soak them up. We move to a new city or country every ten years so that no one catches on to the fact I don’t age.”
Just like Twilight.
Dash went on, “Of course, Heebie can shift into anything he wants to.”
So he pretends to be a kitten. That drinks Fireball. “He saw me naked.” She’d taken a shower and dressed in her bedroom when Heebie was staying with her.
“Yeah. He told me.”
“Oh my god! What a shit!”
Dash shrugged. “Dragons aren’t angels, and if they were, they’d still look at you naked. Angels talk a holy game, but they’re huge peeping Toms.”
All right. Angels were real. She was a dragon. Dash was a demon. What next? Was it going to turn out that her toilet paper was a poo-eating gremlin? Maybe her zoo outside was really shape-shifting broccoli.
“I need a minute.” She got up and went outside to her porch to take in the fresh air. She looked up at the early morning sky, wondering how she’d missed so many things—being a dragon for one. And two, how one or both of her parents were not her biological family. Third, how there were so many species hiding in plain sight.
“You okay?” Dash said from behind.
“No.” She rubbed her temples.
“I’m sorry about all this.”
“Me too.” She sighed. Especially because she felt a connection with Dash, and now she didn’t know what to do with it. This entire situation was terrifying.
“My apologies,” he said, “but can someone else give you a ride to get your truck? I have to go. Heebie is calling.”
She turned to face Dash. “You can hear him?”
“From anywhere in the world. Until he releases me.”
Her anger percolated. “You tell that dragon I want to talk to him about our…thing.” She couldn’t say the word egg . “Tonight. Here.”
“I’ll tell him,” he said, sounding annoyed.
“No, Dash. I mean it. He’d better come or—”
“Or what? He might look like a sweet little animal, but he’s a fierce, deadly predator who should be feared. This, coming from a demon. A cold, attention-sucking demon.”
Dash wasn’t cold. In fact, he seemed levelheaded, articulate, and calm. He also had incredible hip-thrust moves. “You’ve really never been with a woman?”
“No.”
“Why not?” she asked.
“Because I never wanted to.” He stepped closer and put his hand on her cheek. “Not until you.”
“Why me?” she asked.
“When you looked at me the first time, you saw right through my facade. You saw me . Behaving badly, yes, but you saw the real me.” He leaned down and kissed her softly.
The world stopped.
Jac’s entire body dissolved into a current of sensations—desire, heat, and something possibly more. Most of all, she wanted him for herself. He did not belong with Heebie.
“Thank you.” He gently pulled away and stared with an intensity that touched her heart.
“For what?”
“For giving me a delicious taste of something real.”
Had she just fed him with her kiss? That was…kind of sexy. “We’re going to fix this, Dash. He doesn’t own you, and I certainly won’t let him eat you.”
“I gave my word I would follow dragon tradition.” He looked down at his boots, his brows furrowed. “Last night was the cleansing ritual for my kind. We only perform it when it’s our time to go.”
“What?” she snapped.
“Heebie knows I am attracted to you, so he’s decided to end our arrangement. He sees a future with you.”
What! “Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I didn’t want you to feel guilty.”
“Well, I don’t agree!” She stomped her foot.
“Do not get upset, Jac. Frankly, I’m tired of spending my life looking after a dragon.”
“Well, I’m not taking your place looking after him. As for you, Dash, you have to fight.” If not for her, then at least for himself.
“I am not afraid to die, but this does seem like a sick joke. I found you because of Heebie, and now he’ll end my life because he wants you for himself.” He looked over his shoulder. “I have to go.”
She watched him walk away, feeling completely floored. The absurdity of this situation just kept getting worse. It needed to end!