Chapter 8
Eight
Zamir
I tugged at the collar of my turtleneck as I leaned against the pillar, then checked my phone. Five minutes to six.
I'd been ready at five, and I'd been standing here for the last ten minutes, much to Keoni's amusement.
I couldn't help it, though. I was about to go on a date with my mate.
I'd never thought this would happen, but I supposed Fate thought even someone like me deserved a companion. I didn't know why, but I was grateful.
Now if only Nolan would show up.
What if he'd changed his mind? What if he'd realized I wasn't worth it? He'd been hesitant about claiming me since the start, hadn't he? What if some time apart had made him change his mind again?
I shook my head, forcing myself not to think like that, at least not until it was way past six. If Nolan didn't show by 06:15, then I could wallow.
A sleek black car rolled up as my phone buzzed to tell me it was six, and I blinked as the door opened and Nolan stepped out. The night at the bar and yesterday morning, he'd been dressed in jeans and a simple t-shirt, and he'd still been handsome.
But today... today he was stunning. The black jacket molded to his form perfectly, the white shirt with the top two buttons undone revealing the edges of a tattoo I hadn't realized he had. His black pants clung to his legs, and I wanted him to turn around so I could get a peek at his ass.
Nolan smiled at me, his orange-blond hair slicked back, his cheeks clean-shaven, his piercings sparkly as ever, and... I forgot how to speak.
"Hey, Zamir. You look great," he said, and I glanced down at myself, feeling underdressed.
He hadn't told me where we were going when I texted him to ask, just asked me to wear 'something comfortable.
' I'd gone with one of my favorite outfits, a soft brown, latte-colored crochet turtleneck with my dark brown pants that showed off my various. .. assets.
"Um," I mumbled, struggling to find the words as he gazed at me with impossibly soft green eyes.
He held his hand out, his palm open and inviting, then nodded toward the car. "Shall we?"
I nodded, still without words, and sucked in a breath when his warm hand wrapped around mine. His skin was soft but firm, his hand bigger than mine, and I tightened my grip on it, earning a smile from him.
Like a gentleman, he opened my door for me, then closed it once I was seated and walked around the car and got in.
"I hope you weren't waiting long," he said as he started the car, and I shook my head. "Are you okay?"
Shit, I was messing this up.
I took a deep breath, and forced my mouth to work. "Yeah." Splendid. I should be giving speeches.
"Meow."
My brows furrowed as I glanced at Nolan. Did he meow?
Nolan eyed me, and he appeared just as confused.
At once, we glanced into the backseat, and a laugh slipped out of me when I spotted Dots, who was crawling out of his hiding spot under the back seat.
"Hey, Dots. What are you doing here?" I asked, no longer struggling to remember what language was.
He meowed again, then clambered over the console to settle in my lap.
"Judging from the look on your face, I'm gonna say you had no idea he was here," I said, and Nolan smiled, a wry look on his face.
"I did not, yeah. And I did a headcount too. He was curled up with Muffin, but he must've snuck out at some point."
"Aww, Dots. Did you want to go on our date with us?" To Nolan, I said, "Can we take him?"
Nolan pursed his lips, then blew out a breath. "As long as you promise to hold on to him. Tightly."
Where exactly was he taking me?
"Um, sure. I promise," I said as I nuzzled Dots's soft belly and elicited a purr from him. I'd always loved cats, and cuddling with Scrappy last night had been wonderful. Maybe it was time I got a cat of my own. Or... I could kidnap Dots. His cuteness demanded it.
I glanced out of the car, and realized we'd left the town at some point. I'd never been this far out of town, and I wondered where exactly we were going. Another town, maybe?
"I should've probably asked this before, but how are you with heights?" Nolan asked as the car started to slow down in the middle of nowhere, and I turned to eye him.
"Heights? I don't mind them. The world looks more fascinating the higher you go," I said, remembering the time I'd hiked up a mountain, back when I'd lived on my own, before the headmaster found me.
"I feel the same," Nolan said, beaming at me. Then he turned off the car, got out, and hurried to my side, opening my door as I cradled Dots to my chest.
"Oh, wait a minute. I might have something," he said, opening the trunk of the car with his key fob. He dug around for a moment, then made a sound of victory. "Here we go."
In his hand was a black baby carrier, or something similar to it. The type with belts and shoulder straps to brace your baby against your chest while you worked or walked around. Except this one was clearly meant for something much smaller than a baby. Like a cat.
"You want me to wear that?" I demanded, and he smiled.
"It would be safest for him. I don't want him falling out of the sky."
Out of the sky? What the hell did he mea—oh!
Nolan smiled as he saw the dawning realization on my face. "Yeah. I thought I'd take you flying, if you're up for it."
Instead of replying, I handed Dots to him and took the carrier from his hand, quickly putting it on. He helped me slide Dots in, who was perfectly at ease as he was strapped in. I'd never met a chiller cat.
"I love you," I gushed as Nolan was tightening the last strap, and everyone froze, even the cat. "Dots!" I practically shouted. "I was talking to Dots."
Nolan stared at me for a moment, then laughed, scratching his fingers over Dots's head. "Lucky you."
He turned around before I could make sense of that, calling back over his shoulder. "Come on."
I followed after him, as Dots meowed to inform me I was making a right fool of myself. Praying this would be the last time I did that, I trailed after him.
I'd been right. His ass did look amazing in those pants.
Nolan
Once we were in the middle of the clearing and out of sight of the last security camera I'd spotted, I stopped and turned to Zamir. He looked adorable with Dots strapped to his chest, and I couldn't help smiling at the sight they made. I'd have to remember to take a picture of them later.
"Okay, this should be far enough. You ready?"
Zamir nodded, his brown eyes sparkling with excitement, and I grinned, then let my human form fall away to reveal my true form.
"Wow," Zamir breathed, and I turned to look at him.
He looked so much smaller now, and a wave of protectiveness surged through me.
I wanted to hide him beneath my wings, shield him from anything that could cause him harm.
I could see his aura better now, and while he'd appeared healthier to me in my human form, I could see now that wasn't true at all.
He wasn't starving anymore, but the hunger was still there.
The scars on his aura, the depths of his injuries told me this wasn't a new thing.
He hadn't been full in years, decades even.
Why? Why wasn't Zamir feeding properly? He'd told me he fed from his friends at the Sanctuary. Did they limit how much he could take?
No, that wasn't it, was it? It was Zamir. He prohibited himself from eating his fill. Why? Because he thought he was a monster?
I lowered my body to the ground, nudging his shoulder with my head, then gestured toward my back.
"You want me to climb up?" he confirmed, and I nodded. Grinning, he did just that. "Tell me if I'm hurting you."
I snorted to let him know how impossible that was, and he chuckled as he straddled my back, his fingers digging into the softer scales at my neck. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Okay, I'm all set. Don't drop me, okay?"
I huffed, then got to my feet, and Zamir let out a whoop as I took off, my wings spread wide as we went higher and higher.
"Dots seems to be having fun too!" Zamir shouted over the wind, and I turned to shoot him a grin, which made him laugh. "You have a terrifyingly sweet smile in this form."
I shook my head, and he exclaimed in delight when I banked left and turned almost ninety degrees before straightening us.
I wanted to tell Zamir I admired the strength of his thighs, but a) that sounded creepy for some reason, and b) I couldn't speak in this form.
Some dragons figured out how, while others—like me—never did.
I supposed part of it was because I'd spent much of my life in my human form.
It was only recently that I'd started shifting more, since I'd decided to keep my distance from people.
My dragon hadn't appreciated being locked up, of course, and a few centuries ago, it'd decided enough was enough.
If I didn't shift often, my dragon's fire filled my insides and tried its best to burst through my human illusion.
Now, I shifted at least once a month, and flew to the closest volcano to expel the excess fire that built up in that time.
Spotting our destination, I dropped low, and Zamir shrieked, his fingers sinking into my neck as his heels dug into my sides.
I glided toward the bare cliff edge, and Zamir braced himself as I landed near the trees—the last thing I needed was for the cliff to break off because I landed too close to the edge. Been there, done that—folding up my wings as Zamir sucked in deep breaths above me.
"Wow. That was... wow. I'm gonna need a minute, okay? My legs are jelly."
I laughed, which sounded more like a growl in this form, and Zamir leaned over me.
I raised my head, and realized that even upside down, Zamir looked mesmerizing.
His wild curls were windswept, falling into his sparkling eyes as he grinned ear to ear.
Leaning forward, he pressed a kiss between my eyes, and I lowered my head before I developed a crick in my neck.
"Okay, I'll climb off now," he said, and I lowered myself to the grass as he slid down my side with a laugh. I waited until he walked a few paces away before shifting, and he shook his head. "I'll never get tired of seeing that."
I smiled at the implication that he'd be seeing it often, and closed the distance between us, taking his hand in mine. "Did you enjoy it?"
"Hell yeah. I feel like I'm high. My skin is buzzing. I can't wait to do that again on the way home!"
"I'll take you flying as often as you wish," I said, and his grin softened, his skin turning the lightest shade of pink over his beard.
The moon was bright, and with our supe senses, it was easy to navigate the weeds and loose stones to the edge of the cliff where the large basket I'd stashed earlier waited for us, a slim ring of dragon fire around it keeping the big and small critters away.
"Oh," Zamir murmured when he saw the basket, and I smiled. I pressed a kiss to the back of his hand, then let it go so I could set up.
With a wave of my hand, I extinguished the fire, then removed a thick blanket from the basket, and spread it over the rocks.
I hoped it would be soft enough to negate the hard ground underneath.
Instead of candles, I filled the air around us with small balls of my fire, dousing the area in a soft orange glow.
Zamir joined me on the blanket, and seeing my fire reflected in his dark eyes filled my chest with warmth. "Nolan, this is wonderful. Thank you."
I smiled, then pulled out a red rose from the basket, holding it out to him. "This is for you."
He beamed as he took it from me, and held it to his nose, humming as he breathed in the scent. I'd made sure to pick one that smelled good without being overwhelming.
"This is the best date I've ever been on," Zamir declared, and I grinned, satisfaction coursing through me. It was exactly what I'd hoped to hear, but that didn't mean I was done. Our date was just getting started.