Chapter Four
Lying to his guardians wasn’t high on Jules’s list of favorite things in life, especially since they dedicated their lives to his well-being, but Elouan made a good point.
At twenty-one, Jules should be free to make his own decisions and live as he chose, instead of devoting his entire existence to some legacy he only knew of through their telling.
What if they were wrong? He avoided others his age not only because of Moira’s insistence but also because Jules simply wasn’t a part of their world. Latest TV shows or movies? We don’t want you too immersed in human culture.
He blushed and all but ran from conversations with classmates involving sex, replaying details in his head later. One day, when you meet your alpha, you’ll imprint on them and have no need for any others. But wouldn’t abstinence make Jules “a loser” who “doesn’t know what to do in bed?”
Moira also never mentioned the gender of this mysterious mate of Jules’s destiny. While he’d never so much as kissed before, he'd always imagined a male when he replayed images from the conversations he’d overheard.
A tall male with broad shoulders, dark hair and eyes, and a protective nature.
In short, the man currently matching Jules’s steps on the sidewalk, trying not to be too obvious about slowing his pace to accommodate Jules’s shorter legs—only one capable of becoming a dragon. Wait, that wasn’t Jules’s criteria, but Moira’s, as he’d only met a handful of dragons and zero alphas.
Or so he thought. He discreetly sniffed. No one around, so his attackers must be long gone by now.
“Have you lived here long?” Elouan asked, stopping for a crossing light. With no cars in sight, they still waited until the light turned green. Worked for Jules. The longer the walk took, the more time he’d spend in Elouan’s company.
Don’t tell him where you live! Don’t talk about yourself! A memory of Moira screamed in Jules’s head. If Elouan posed a threat, wouldn’t Jules's dragon intervene? He kept the pebble close at hand, just in case.
“Almost all my life,” Jules found himself saying. “You?”
Elouan paused for a few moments before replying in the low baritone Jules might come to love, “I moved here three years ago.”
Jules couldn’t decipher the subtext, but Elouan’s inflection implied more meaning than the actual words themselves.
“Really? What brought you here?” Jules spent so much time wishing to leave. Why would anyone willingly come to this city?
Elouan rolled one shoulder. “A friend sent me here, and another found me a job. It’s a nice enough place. People are friendly.” A touch of wistfulness edged into his words. “Kinda reminds me of home.”
“What do you do?” A safe enough topic of conversation, right?
“I work construction.”
Images came to mind of the man Jules had seen earlier, walking a steel beam twelve stories above the ground, showing no fear. A man with a long, dark braid. “Are you working on the big high-rise near the college?” One could hope, right?
A dimple formed on one cheek when Elouan smiled. Oh, hell. A dimple. So unfair for such a little thing to make an already hot man even hotter. “Yeah. I’m a welder.”
Maybe Elouan could enlighten Jules about something he’d always imagined. “You work on the girders, right?”
Elouan gave a decisive nod. “Yes. Few guys I’ve met like working so high, but I do.
” His face took on a dreamy quality when he talked about his job.
“You can see for miles. Everything down below looks so small.” His smile abruptly faded to embarrassment, and he ran a hand under his braid to rub his neck.
“Sorry. I’ve been told I’m way too into my job. ”
“Actually, your job sounds pretty cool, having the wind in your face, seeing so far. I’ve been to the mountains, but never on a tall building.” Down, boy! Jules gushed about heights like he’d heard others rave about a favorite musician or rockstar.
Elouan’s smile returned. “You’re into adrenaline rushes? My coworkers think I’m crazy, but being so high is like being on top of the world, you know? Like I can spread my wings, go anywhere, be anything.”
Spread my wings? Was he merely using a figure of speech?
Jules ventured, “Wouldn’t it be great to fly?
” while closely watching Elouan’s face by the illumination of a streetlight.
No hardship, watching shadows and light play over prominent cheekbones, a square jawline, and a chin divot barely discernible beneath a healthy growth of five o’clock shadow.
Elouan gave a noncommittal shrug, then returned his attention to the sidewalk. The childish chalk drawing must hold some kind of fascination. A car thumped by them, the loud bass beat making conversation impossible.
Once the car passed, Elouan said in a nearly inaudible murmur, “I dream of it sometimes. Flying, I mean.”
Should Jules mention his recent dreams of riding the air currents with a mottled bronze dragon? No, Elouan likely already thought Jules weak. No need to add strange to the mix. “I’m told many people dream of flying,” Jules answered in a way he hoped sounded noncommittal.
Elouan rammed his hands into his jacket pockets. “I suppose so.” Did he sound…sad? He grinned again. “Do they bungee jump?”
“Bungee jump? You mean tying a rope around your waist and jumping off a bridge? You do that?” Jules watched videos on the library computer but never knew someone who’d done such a thing. Then again, for all he knew, most of his classmates did since he didn’t talk to them much.
“I told you, adrenaline junkie here.” Elouan patted his chest, flashing a knee-weakening grin.
“Have you jumped out of planes?” Jules always wondered about doing something so daring.
“Twice.”
What would it be like to do the things Jules always wanted to, but didn’t think he ever could? Instead of wondering, Elouan did things. “What’s it like?”
“Bungee jumping or skydiving?”
“Either. Both.”
“The anticipation builds as you’re strapping in and getting into position.
Then you jump. It’s only a few seconds but feels so much longer.
You’re in freefall, just you and the wind.
” Elouan’s passion came through in his description.
Hearing someone speak so fervently about something had a strange effect on Jules. Was he getting…turned on?
“Anyway,” Elouan continued, “the straps catch you. The parachute allows you more time in the air, but the bungee cord means the adventure is about over. You really should try it one day. With as much attention as you’re paying to my description, I’m thinking you’d enjoy jumping out of a perfectly good airplane. ”
As though Jules could. He could dream, though, imagine the experience as conveyed by an aficionado.
They passed a restaurant with a closed sign on the door, though lights burned within where a man with a mop cleaned the floors.
Jules scented burgers and fries. Somewhere a radio played what sounded like a Spanish ballad.
Storefronts gave way to two-story apartment complexes, flickering lights indicating TVs in some windows.
After the apartments, they entered tree-lined streets with single-family homes, some with lighted pumpkins on their porches.
Streetlights washed the landscape with lighter spots, though heavy shadows lingered in some backyards.
They finally approached the two-story dwelling Jules had grown up in.
He stopped when they rounded the corner. “There’s home.” Darn the luck. Maybe they could stroll around the block another time or two. Would Elouan agree if Jules suggested extending the walk?
Elouan ran his gaze up and down the quiet street. “Which one?”
This man had saved Jules but didn’t know who he was.
Jules pushed aside objections Moira might make, pointing across the street.
“There, the blue one.” The only one on the street not decorated.
The neat single-story to the left sported hay bales, scarecrows, and a pile of pumpkins and fake leaves.
On the other side of his house, a giant inflatable spider waved hairy legs at passersby.
Jules sometimes watched the creature from his bedroom window.
Elouan let out a low whistle. “All that house for you and two others? I share a two-bedroom apartment, so tight we literally run into each other occasionally.”
“There’s the three of us, and a housekeeper as well.” Oh, no! Did that sound like bragging? He’d mentioned the housekeeper at school once, only to have someone call him a spoiled rich boy.
Elouan chuckled. “I wouldn’t mind one of those myself. Curtis tries to keep the apartment clean, but I’ll admit I’m not much help there.”
Jules's heart did an uncomfortable lurch, amazingly similar to disappointment. “Curtis? Your boyfriend?” Funny how Jules held his breath, waiting for the answer. Get a grip. You’ll probably never see this sexy beast again.
“My roommate,” Elouan corrected. He lowered his chin, peering through dark lashes. “I’m currently…unattached.”
That didn’t answer whether Elouan liked men but sent Jules’s pulse to pounding all the same. Why would he put such inflection into his words unless he was showing interest? “So am I,” Jules muttered, but not by choice.
“Say…” Elouan studied Jules’s face for a few moments. “Would you like to meet for lunch sometime, if you’re not busy, since your school….”
School? How did this stranger know about Jules’ school? Had he traded would-be muggers for a stalker? “How do you know about my school?”
Pinkish purple suffused Elouan’s face, barely visible in the low light of a streetlight and likely not visible at all without a dragon’s enhanced vision.
He rubbed the back of his neck with one large hand.
So, he had a nervous tell. Interesting. “I…um…I've noticed you while on break. Of course, I didn’t know it was you in the alley at first. The backpack and being near the college helped too.”
Really? “Oh, right. You already told me you work on that construction site.”
Elouan nodded. “That would be me.” He flourished a bow.