Chapter 7 #2
“No pressure.” She pulled the trigger, and a loud pop set my ears ringing. “Should I go again?”
“Give it a second.” I wasn’t sure if Rían would see the light when it was still bright outside. “We have two more rounds if we need them.” I chewed on my bottom lip, about to lose my patience and reload, when the massive dragon released an unholy bellow. “I think that got his attention.”
With more grace than a creature his size ought to possess, Rían banked left, tracing the hazy smoke trail straight to us.
I had expected him to land, but I greatly misread his intentions.
He slowed down, hovering above us, then lashed out with his long tail.
I flinched, expecting the sting of a whip, but he wrapped me in a gentle but firm hold before climbing with me into the sky.
As I clutched his warm scales, I grew queasy as Sloane became ant-sized within seconds.
“I hope we’re not going far.” I rested my forehead on my arms. “I’m not cut out for this.”
A low vibration rattled through my bones, and I peeked up, certain that was a growl and not a laugh.
Unlike Liam, Rían had never lost his temper with me. I wasn’t sure what to make of my predicament, but I wasn’t afraid. He would never hurt me.
Though, to be honest, I had never imagined Carmichael raising a hand to me either.
Nope. Not going there. Rían was not Carmichael.
He was more likely to chew off his own arm than take a swing at me. I had nothing to fear when I was with him. I couldn’t pinpoint how I knew, not when people who had surrounded me my whole life proved so skilled at hiding their real faces. It was simply the truth.
We flew for a good thirty minutes, most of that time I spent with my eyes closed against wind and bugs, which put us well outside Brentwood.
Dragons are fast.
The area where Rían chose to end our high-flying adventure was a heavily wooded forest with an honest-to-God landing strip. A municipal airport maybe? Dragons weren’t common enough to rate these sorts of amenities. Either way, Rían was familiar with his surroundings and charted a direct path.
Near the start of the asphalt, he spread his wings to slow himself and began a careful descent, lifting me high over his head to ensure I wasn’t smooshed in the process.
Except higher wasn’t always better, and I flopped over the coil around my waist, certain I was about to toss my cookies on his neck.
Trees shook when he touched down, and he carefully placed me on my feet next to him.
Usually, his transformation was fast, but this time it was a clear struggle. That, or he had yet to decide what he wanted to say and was electing to remain in a form that made talking impossible. I took it as my cue to start the conversation and met his pale gaze with a quiver in my stomach.
“This is why people think dragons steal fair maidens.” I waited to see if he would respond, but he simply watched me. “Are you mad at me? I get it if you are, but did you have to bring me so far out to eat me?”
The dragon made a choking noise and ducked his head so he could slide a scaled palm down his snout.
Magic prickled over my skin as Rían exchanged one form for another, which left him standing naked in front of me. I won’t lie and say I kept my eyes to myself. But I was too nervous to allow my gaze to dip below his navel. Mostly. Except for a quick peek. Like three seconds. Ten at the max.
“Give me a minute,” he rumbled, walking away, forcing me to watch his bare backside in action.
God, he was beautiful. And muscley. And, yes, tall. But wow. He really was the total package.
No.
Bad girl.
No thinking about packages.
While I battled inner turmoil, Rían must have located a cache and retrieved a tee and sweatpants.
Neither fit him. The tee cut off at his navel, a perfect crop top.
The elastic cuffs on his ankles strained against his calves.
But all the interesting bits were covered, sadly, which I suppose was the point.
“I almost lost my mind. I thought you had been captured.” He prowled toward me, bare feet slapping the pavement.
“Then I noticed Sloane was missing too, and I knew she would be with you. That’s when it hit me that, bond or no bond, she would cut ties with the clan and run with you if you asked her.
The temptation to yank on our connection, to force her to submit, made me so furious with myself that the corner of Vine Street and Terry Boulevard is now flat from where my dragon ripped out of my skin. ”
“I’m sorry I put you through that.”
And I would miss window-shopping at the frilly boutiques turned pancakes. Thankfully, the four stores in that area had been closed since the Walshes’ arrival.
“How I react isn’t your fault. It’s mine.
I own that. I’m not trying to blame you.
I want to, I don’t know, warn you? I’m unraveling, Ana.
It’s so much harder than I thought it would be to control myself where you’re concerned.
” He heaved a sigh. “I’m not sure how yet, but I’m certain Liam had something to do with this.
I’m considering murdering him. I do have Fayne as a backup, and she’s much less annoying. ”
“The unraveling is why we’re on an airstrip?”
“I had to get you alone. I couldn’t handle sharing you just yet.”
“That’s oddly flattering.” I ventured closer. “Just so we’re clear, the eating-me thing is off the table.”
“Let’s shelve that discussion for when I have two brain cells to rub together.” His mouth pulled to one side. “Can I hold you for a minute? Would that be okay?”
“Yeah,” I said hoarsely and stepped into his open arms.
“There’s something I want to show you.” He bent his legs, hooked his hands under my knees, and lifted me until I straddled his waist. “I think you’ll like it.”
“Hmm.” I linked my arms behind his neck. “That’s a line if I ever heard one.”
A soft chuckle moved through his chest, and his expression lightened even more.
“You saved my life,” he said after a few minutes. “I wouldn’t have come out of that lake if not for you.”
“You wouldn’t have gone into the lake if not for me, so that makes us square.”
“No one blames you for what happened, Ana. This is all new to you. No one expects you to get it right on the first try. Not even on the hundredth try. I’m the one with experience.
I should have sensed the surge in your power quicker and cut our connection before we burned out.
” Warmth filled his expression. “It’s a good lesson for you to learn, where your limits lie, and a good refresher for me.
Now that I know what to pay attention to, I’ll be prepared for the next time. ”
“Next time, huh? You’re brave to volunteer again.”
“I liked it.” A blush dusted his cheeks. “How it felt having part of you inside me.”
Heat crept up my nape until my entire face burned like I had given myself a ghost chili facial. “Me too.”
Awkwardness kept us quiet until he leapt over a fallen tree in our path, jostling out more words.
“We’re lowering the wards in three days.
” He readjusted my weight. “That’s another reason I wanted to have a private moment to talk.
” He cut me a look. “There have been too many incidents lately to justify keeping Brentwood on lockdown. We need phones operational again. We’re spread too thin to allow trained enforcers to continue playing messengers. ”
As he stepped off the path, I began wondering where this side quest would end, but it was nice being held. Even if it gave me flashbacks to my day as a dachshund. Too bad I couldn’t burrow into him and blame it on the magic.
“Will your clan be safe?”
“We can protect our people. We have measures in place now. We’ve finished sweeping properties for surveillance equipment and any other nasty surprises. The spy is still a concern, but we should be good to resume business as usual.”
“Welcoming the humans back gives the clan an extra layer of protection too.”
There were few hard and fast rules in the paranormal world but keeping humans in the dark about the existence of supernatural creatures was universal.
There were simply too many of them and too few of us to win a fight if it came down to it.
Especially since so many factions would rather die than work with an enemy.
Even if the original cause of their animosity was lost to time.
True immortals nursed centuries-long grudges, personal ones, making them even more invested in stoking the fires of resentment.
“Normally, I would say yes, but Sartori proved he’s willing to endanger humans if it helps push his agenda. The Nelson pride wouldn’t have kidnapped your friends at Pampered Pooches otherwise.”
The trail cut a hard vertical right, and I couldn’t suppress my curiosity. “Where are we going?”
“There’s a decommissioned ranger station a quarter of a mile west of us.
You and I are going to spend the night there, if that’s all right with you.
” His excitement was impossible to miss.
“I have a camp stove, a few sleeping bags I stack for extra cushion, lanterns, and other necessities. I usually hunt fresh meat for my dinner, but I have canned goods in the pantry too.”
“You must come here often.”
“Not as often as I would like, but yes. I enjoy the quiet. No one bothers me here.”
“Not even Liam?”
“Especially not Liam.”
“So, you’re telling me this is paradise. What did I do to earn a ticket?”
“I’ve never brought anyone else here, but I want to share it with you. Anytime you’re overwhelmed, you can come here. With or without me. You can even bring Sloane if you want. There are several deer herds that could use thinning.”
“Does that mean I’m the first girl you’ve brought to your tower?” I cocked my head. “And since you’re the one with the tower, does that make you the princess and me the dragon?”
“Currently I have rainbow toenails, and I’m wearing a purple pinkie ring with a dollar sign stamped on it. Two years ago, Goldie used a crimson lip stain on me that lasted three weeks.” He huffed softly. “I’m not afraid to embrace my feminine side.”
Content in his arms, I concluded that my feminine side was no longer afraid of embracing him either.