Chapter 8
CHAPTER EIGHT
Lila
The next morning, it’s a struggle to get out of bed.
The overload of emotions and influx of questions had made me toss and turn for ages before my mind finally succumbed to exhaustion.
There were so many that I couldn't possibly remember them all.
I had to make myself a note to write down everything when I got a chance.
Maybe it will be easier to sort through it all if I have a tangible list.
The ringing of my door has me stumbling toward it, hair in my face, wearing only the tank and panties I fell asleep in last night. Not bothering to check the monitor, I fling it open and growl at the person on the other side.
A chuckle has me pushing my hair out of my eyes and grinning sheepishly when I see it’s Dylan, not one of the grandpas.
“Sorry about that. I didn't sleep so great last night.”
He smiles widely and shrugs. “Lila, I’m a dragon.
A little bit of growling doesn't scare me.” I wave him inside my room and go back to my bed, burrowing under the covers and pulling the pillow over my head.
For some reason, I feel completely comfortable with Dylan despite how smoking hot he is.
Must be because I know nothing is going to happen there.
“Hey, none of that.” I feel him sit on the bed and shake me. “William sent me to bring you to your first lesson in possible powers.” He pulls the blankets off and wiggles his fingers in a woo, woo jazz fingers kind of motion. “Aren’t you excited to give it a try?”
Another growl escapes my mouth, and I must be seeing things because I could swear a flame appears in his eyes for a moment.
The reptilian green flashes with fire before going back to normal, or normal for him.
I sit up, looking my fill. He’s wearing a Galaxy Circus t-shirt and black jeans.
No sign of his fangs like last night, but his skin ripples with scales before they settle back down again into smooth ebony skin.
He is black like no person on Earth is though, so I’m not sure how they could mistake him for human.
There’s an otherworldly glow to him that I guess could be misconstrued as being in good health.
“Sorry if this is rude, but are your eyes always like that? Can you appear more human?” My curiosity is getting the better of me, so now I’m hoping he won’t eat me. He just chuckles again, and his eyes turn from the full vivid green to a green pupil surrounded by a white outline.
“I’m not offended at all. I understand your curiosity, but I warn you not everyone will.
William said to bring the tablet so you can read up on all the races whenever you get a free moment.
” His smile turns down for a moment, and he won’t meet my eyes with his next question.
“Does how I look upset you? I can hold this, but it is uncomfortable.”
“Oh god no, D.” I reach forward, grabbing hold of his hand to make him look at me.
He seems surprised by the nickname, or maybe it’s the unexpected contact.
I probably shouldn’t just touch people without getting to know them better first. Man, I fucking suck at people-ing.
“I’m sorry, please don't be uncomfortable on my behalf. I think you’re hot the other way!
I was just wondering if you can leave the ship or if you’re stuck inside when on Earth.
” The glamour fades away, and his eyes return to normal when he smiles again, those slight fangs and rippling scales visible again.
Are his scales affected by his emotions?
He rolls over me and stretches out on the other side of the bed, getting comfortable. “I can and have done it, but to be honest, Earth is not all that great. It’s primitive, and the people are small minded and intolerant.”
I bristle at the words, insulted on behalf of the place that has been my home for so long now. “Not all of them... Some humans are capable of the greatest compassion and love. More so than the horrible ones.”
“I guess there are horrible people everywhere, but human beings seem hellbent on destroying the planet they live on.
Nowhere else in the galaxy is there a race so unconcerned with preserving their planet.
Most races take care of their worlds. And what makes it worse is Earthlings don't even know that there are other options out there.”
His words resonate with me; the world has always been so wrapped up in the turmoil of whatever political agendas are loudest, while the general state of our world and our environment tends to get forgotten about in the midst of that chaos.
Establishing better ways to dispose of our garbage and finding cleaner energy should be the priority, but they’re unfortunately not as entertaining as the latest scandals.
In any case, I’m sure he didn’t mean to send me off in a tangent inside my head, so I try to focus back on him.
We’re both quiet for a moment before he claps his hands. “Come on, lazy, get that sweet ass moving. Otherwise, we’ll both be in trouble with the boss men.” He shoves at me unexpectedly, and I’m not able to brace myself before rolling off the bed.
Omph. I hit the ground hard to the soundtrack of Dylan’s chuckles echoing through my room.
Getting myself up, I place my hands on my hips and stare down at him.
“You’ll keep! Payback is a bitch.” As I turn to go to the bathroom, I swear I see his eyes flame again, but when I look back, he’s not paying any attention to me.
He’s grabbed my tablet off the bedside table and is doing something to it.
“I programmed my number in here. My room is quite a distance from here, so if you need me, now all you’ll have to do is call.
I’ve also programmed it into your watch,” he calls out through the door while I pee and brush my hair, wash my face, and clean my teeth.
Thank goodness I wasn't trying to impress him because I almost screamed in fright when I caught sight of myself in the mirror.
My hair was everywhere, and I hadn't taken off my eye makeup before bed, so mascara and eyeliner were smeared around my eyes, making me look like a raccoon.
After a quick spray of deodorant, I call it good.
From my first step out of the bathroom, then back around the bed to the closet on the other side of the room, I can feel Dylan's eyes on me the whole time.
“Are you going to give me the inside scoop on all the gossip? Everything I need to know that isn't in that tablet of my grandfathers’?” I call out to him as I search through my drawers for something to wear.
When I shoved all my clothes in there last night, I noticed a few Galaxy Circus shirts like Dylan is wearing.
“Girl, I have all the knowledge you need and more,” he calls back as I pull my tank off and put on a clean pair of undies and bra.
Grabbing one of the Galaxy shirts, a favorite pair of jeans, and some socks, I head back out.
Almost ready. Throwing my clothes on the bed, I start with the socks.
“So, if you don’t mind, can we go through the different races who work for the circus first?
Then you can tell me about the actual people that are from each one.
Start with you and Mr. Grumpy. Grandpa John said you guys were shifters from the planet Flux. ”
Once I pull my socks on, I grab my jeans and put them on too, waiting for Dylan to start, but he doesn't. When I look up, he’s casually resting with his hands behind his head, watching me with wide eyes.
“You okay?” I ask him, and he sort of shakes his head and nods.
“Ah, yeah, sorry. Yes, we’re shifters. Just about any animal you can name would exist on our planet. In fact, I think the Earth legends of dragons and unicorns and things come from Fluxxians not being careful when they've been on your planet.”
After I button my jeans and pull the zipper up, I throw myself down next to him and impatiently wait for him to tell me more.
But again, it’s almost like he’s mesmerized by the globes of my tits, almost spilling out of the top of my bra, his eyes locked onto them.
Poor guy, I must be making him uncomfortable.
I guess I just thought a gay dragon wouldn’t be all that bothered by breasts.
I quickly grab my top and pull it on, which breaks his staredown with the girls.
“Ah, right, where were we? Yes, shifters. Our race has three forms. We have a humanoid form which is what you’re looking at now.
” He gestures to his body. “That also has the ability to glamour as I showed you before. We have our full animal form which I can’t show you in here because my dragon is about the same size as your room.
And then we have our hybrid form which is what you saw Caspian wearing last night.
It’s a half-form.” He sits up and slides off the bed. “You want to see?”
I bounce up and down like a kid at Christmas. “Fuck yes!”
He smiles widely at my enthusiasm. “You are a real treat, Lila. I never would have guessed a human would be so excited. The usual reaction is terror and aggression, and then we need to make them forget everything they've seen.” He pulls off his shirt, and I basically need to admire his body now that it’s right there in front of me.
I mean, it would be rude not to. The guy is ripped, practically all muscle, no body fat whatsoever, but not with that overly bulked up look like so many of the musclebound bodybuilders that used to frequent the bar I worked in.
He’s sleek and elegant and… A throat clearing has me looking up to find him smirking at me.