by J. D. Monroe
He drove her car, listening to the quiet rhythm of her breathing on the drive back to Beaverton, where she lived in a modest neighborhood of identical houses with small yards and cars parked along the street.
She stirred when he parked in the driveway. He glanced around. No neighbors were outside to gawk. After hitting the remote on the garage, he carefully scooped her up and ran inside, hoping no one saw him carrying her limp body and got the wrong idea.
The garage door opened into a neat laundry room that smelled of detergent and dryer sheets. He breathed deep and caught the hint of cinnamon from an air freshener. She wriggled in his arms and opened her eyes. He deposited her gently on a large leather couch in the open, airy living room. It was nicely decorated in white and silver touches, but there were no pictures of family hung on the walls or the mantle. It was pleasant, but cold.
“Thank you,” she murmured as she met his eyes. Then she slowly covered her mouth. “I was all over you. I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t apologize,” he said. He knew she’d regret it, and that sent a stinging wave of rejection through him. “That happens sometimes.” He glanced over his shoulder. “Can I get you some water, and then we’ll talk?”
She nodded, not quite meeting his eyes. “There’s a pitcher in the fridge.”
He scrounged around the small, neat kitchen and found two glasses, filling them with water from the pitcher in the refrigerator. When he returned, she was sitting up on the couch. Her eyes drifted to the empty space next to her, and he settled into it, enjoying the closeness of her. She gratefully accepted the glass and drained half of it. “How are you feeling?”
She frowned. “My body hurts, but not like it did before,” she said. “I’m mostly tired. I’m sorry I freaked out on you afterward.”
He shook his head. “It’s overwhelming at first.”
“It felt like I was completely different. When you told me I had to change back, I was so angry. And when I changed back and smelled you, well…” Her cheeks flushed as she stared down at the floor. “Everything felt simple, but so intense.”
“That’s normal, too. If it makes you feel better, Tellana punched me so hard she broke my nose the first time,” he said.
Her eyes widened. “Really?”
“Yeah,” he said. “It took her a lot longer than most people to shift the first time. We had three or four attempts where she couldn’t get past the pain. She had this mental block, so once she finally got past it, she wanted to play for hours. When I made her come back, she was mad, and she let me know it.” He chuckled and gently took Chloe’s hand, pressing her fingers to the bridge of his nose. “Do you feel the bump?”
She laughed, stroking the narrow bone. “She doesn’t look like the punching type.”
“When she doesn’t get her way, she is,” he replied. She pulled her hand away, but he caught it, holding it lightly. To his delight, she let him. “My people argue a lot over whether the dragon is really us or if it’s something different that takes over us. Sort of a Jekyll and Hyde thing, you know? I think the dragon is the simplest, most primal form of ourselves. It doesn’t care about looking proper or behaving politely. It wants what it wants, with no shame.” Her eyes drifted to him. “I am flattered that your first reaction was to kiss me and not to punch me.”
She shook her head. “I barely know you. Twelve hours ago, I thought you were insane,” she said. “And I was about to—”
“Oh, I know what you were about to do,” he said with a laugh. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t tease you. Really, it’s okay.”
“Did I do okay transforming?”
“You did very well,” he said. “The first few times are the hardest. For some people, the second time is a little harder because you remember that it hurts, and it’s difficult to make yourself do something when you know it’ll hurt. But it won’t hurt any worse, and now you know you’ll survive it.”
She winced. “Will it always hurt that way?”
“Yes and no,” he said. “Eventually, you’ll get much faster. Think of it like snapping a bone instead of bending it slowly until it finally breaks.”
“And I can fly?”
“Yeah,” he said. “We have certain places that are secluded and protected, so people won’t see us. My family is probably out there right now. I’ll take you next weekend if you want to go.”
Her eyes shone as she looked at him. “I would really like that,” she said. She sighed. “Are you being so nice to me because you have orders? Or because you like spending time with me?” Her tone was innocent, almost hesitant, rather than coy. Her wide eyes betrayed a vulnerability he hadn’t yet seen in her.
“Why not both?” he asked. “I would help you either way, but I do like spending time with you.” Her head bowed and he felt bold. He tugged on her hand. “Come here.”
There was the tiniest bit of resistance as she looked up at him. “Why?”
“Because I wasn’t finished kissing you,” he said. She wore a faint smile. Pulling her closer, he tangled his fingers into her hair and kissed her. Her body was unyielding, her posture stiff and awkward. His heart thumped. “Did I misjudge?”
Resting her hands on either side of him, she sighed. “This whole thing is so confusing.”
“It doesn’t have to be. Do you want to kiss me right now? That’s an easy question.”
“I barely know you. I can’t have sex with you this soon. Even after what happened earlier.”
Well, that was disappointing, but he’d live. “That’s fine, and that’s not what I asked you,” he said. “I still want to kiss you. Do you want to kiss me? Just be honest.”
Her lips played into a smile. “Yes.” The lack of hesitation pleased him.
“Then kiss me,” he said. “Nothing more.”
Her wavy hair tickled his face as she lowered her head to brush her lips across his, shy and sweet in comparison to her ravenous kisses earlier. He closed his eyes, bathing in her warm presence and the sweet scent of her attraction. Everything was heightened after they shifted. A brush of her fingertips was like a live wire on his skin, still sensitive from the change.
If he was sentenced to die tomorrow, he needed no last meal. He would have simply requested to kiss Chloe Madsen until his time came. A man could die happily with the taste of her on his lips. She was hungry, eager for him as her tongue explored his mouth. He was happy to let her take control, tasting as she wished.
With the dragon’s energy still coursing through her, her body was blazing hot, and magic crackled from her skin to his. Her hips rested against him, teasing at his groin. His mind was filled with the image of her, eyes closed and back arched, as he sank deep into her fiery warmth.
He groaned and gripped her shoulders gently, pushing her up. Her brow furrowed. “I’m sorry,” he murmured. “I am a hot-blooded male, and I have no control over this.” Her head tilted, and she slowly settled back against him. A shiver ran down his spine as her ass grazed his erection. Judging by her smirk, it was no accident. “Chloe. Be careful how you tease.”
“I mean, we have been on, what, five dates?” She sat up, pulling him with her. “Coffee,” she said, kissing his cheek. “Dinner and the concert.” She punctuated it with a kiss to his jaw, her hand drifting over his chest and to the bulge in his shorts. “The afterparty.”
“That was all one date,” he reminded her. He groaned as she reached into his shorts, grasping him gently. Her touch was electric, instantly igniting the primal hunger in him. That was a quick change of heart.
“And today,” she said, running her fingers along the underside of him, sending a shiver through him. “That’s five.”
“Or three,” he said.
“Hmm,” she murmured in his ear. Her teeth tugged at his ear lobe, as she stroked him slowly. “If it was only three, I shouldn’t do this.”
“Maybe it was five. I could be wrong,” he said. She released him and got up suddenly, leaving him cold and stunned. He gaped as she disappeared around the corn
er. “Wait. What did I say?”
“Keep yourself busy for a second,” she called.
His heart pounded. Down the hall, he heard a drawer open then close with a rattle. When she returned, she was still wearing his robe and had a small bottle in hand. Squeezing the bottle, she gripped him gently. A warm, wet feeling surrounded him. He groaned and leaned back into the couch.
“How’s that?” She caressed him slowly, both hands engulfing him.
The feel of her warm hands on him drove the protest out of his mind. It was hard to be a gentleman with her doing that, with the smell of her heating all around him, and their magic mingling. “Really good.”
Her lips brushed his cheek. “You know, I shouldn’t admit this because it makes me sound like a creeper, but…”
“What?”
“I peeked when you took off your clothes to change,” she said.
He turned to give her a look of surprise. “I didn’t peek at you.”
“Really?”
“No,” he said. “I said I wouldn’t.”
“Well, I didn’t make that promise,” she said matter-of-factly. “I’d apologize, but I’m not sorry.”
“Did you enjoy what you saw?”
“Very much,” she said. She glanced down. “Still do.” With one hand still stroking his length, she traced circles over his ribs, then walked her fingers down to his hip and scratched gently. He jolted forward. “Are you ticklish, Mr. Asharin?”
“Maybe,” he breathed.
Without breaking her rhythm, she kissed the underside of his jaw, then made her way across his throat. Whatever the dragon had awakened in Chloe, he was in favor. She kissed the curve of his ear. “Do you like when I do this?”
“Yes,” he said.
“I like doing this.” Her voice was almost a purr. “Thank you for being so patient with me. I’m glad you found my shoes.” His breathing quickened, and he felt like he was chasing her again, desperate to break through, not to let her sip away from him. “Although I don’t think Cinderella did this in the fairy tales.”
“Not the ones I’ve read,” he murmured.
Her teeth grazed his ear again. “Now, I want you to tell me when you’re close.”
It was getting hard to think clearly beyond the animal simplicity of Hunger. More. Need. Her skilled hands drew him toward the edge, and her essence crackled just beneath her skin, stoking the heat in his chest. He wanted to hold on, to bask in that whirlwind of heat and pressure and desperation, but it was too much. It was too easy to imagine himself buried deep in her warmth. “Almost,” he panted.
“Come on,” she said. “Let it go.” The sound of her voice echoing the words he’d shouted at her earlier shoved him over the edge. His body tensed as orgasm slammed through him. Like sinking into a warm bath, he relaxed, enveloped in the hazy warmth of pleasure.
Her weight shifted, and she kissed his cheek as she straddled him. As her lips grazed his throat, he murmured, “When can I see you again?” he asked. She laughed, but he growled and lifted her chin, bringing her lips to his. Her body melted into him as he kissed her, hard and hungry. When he broke away, she followed, trying for his lips again. He dodged her. “Answer me.”
“Tomorrow,” she breathed. “Whenever you want.” Her heart thrummed, and the spicy scent of desire was thick in the air.
“Maybe tomorrow you’ll let me return the favor. Unless you want to cash in right now.”
She went still, and dread sank into his belly. “I’m sorry,” she said.
“God, I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to make it weird. I was trying to…” He sighed. “I say the wrong thing every time.”
She shook her head vigorously. “No. It’s definitely not you. What I just did…I wouldn’t usually do that so soon. But I really like you. It’s just that everything is so confusing.”
He cupped her cheek. “You don’t have to apologize,” he said. “As long as you agree to give me another date. And we don’t have to do anything you’re not ready to do. Is that a deal?”
“It’s a deal.”
The day before a school holiday had turned her classroom full of ten-year-olds into a barely-contained barrel of chaos. With four years of experience, Chloe knew better than to teach anything new, and instead had her students playing a math game that channeled their energy into cutthroat competition over adding fractions.
She couldn’t be irritated with them, not when she was checking the clock every two minutes herself. After her weekend with Taegan, she was about to burst at the seams. He’d made her promise to hydrate and take a hot bath before leaving her on Sunday night. She wasn’t sure if it was Dragon Chloe or Six Months Single Chloe that had the idea of inviting him to join her in the bath, but Logical Chloe had managed to keep her mouth shut. He’d promised to call and make plans, and he’d kept that promise.
With a holiday week, their schedules hadn’t aligned to allow for another date, though he’d texted her several times a day. He’d invited her to join his family to fly tomorrow. She wasn’t sure if she was more excited that she was actually going to fly, or that she’d get to see him again. Maybe both.
Definitely both.
And yesterday, for the first time in what seemed like forever, she’d awoken without a headache. Her senses were sharper; beyond the usual waxy smell of crayon and lemon floor polish, she smelled the morning’s coffee from down the hall and the spray air freshener they kept in the teacher’s restroom. She heard teachers down the hall scolding their students, in a dozen variations on you’re not on break yet!
The worst of it was that she couldn’t tell Maura anything. How was she supposed to explain that her hot date was a dragon, and by the way, so was she?
Chloe was ready to crawl out of her skin by the time the bell finally rang. After sending the car riders toward the front of the school, she hustled her noisy bunch down the hall to the bus ramp.
Her gleeful energy was dampened when she saw Alyssa Kouris lingering at the back of the line. Her eyes were downcast. “Don’t run, Aidan!” Chloe shouted toward the head of the line. The boy turned back and gave her an apologetic look, then power-walked as fast as he could without disobeying. She approached Alyssa with wariness. “Alyssa, are you excited about Thanksgiving?”
The girl shrugged. “I guess.”
“Do you have any special traditions?”
“No,” she said flatly.
“Are you…” She trailed off as Alyssa hurried to catch up with the line, not looking back. Amidst the flock of children streaming toward their buses, she watched Alyssa shove through the crowd and board her bus. Miss Davies had called her up again that morning to check in. The counselor confirmed that Alyssa’s father wouldn’t be home for Thanksgiving, which explained her dour mood this week. As much as she wanted to smooth things over, there was nothing Chloe could do to fix the situation. She struggled to find a balance of giving Alyssa space without ignoring her.
Once the buses pulled away, Maura joined her from the opposite end of the bus ramp. “So, are you going to eat Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome for Thanksgiving dinner?”
“Good Lord, Maura,” she muttered. She’d told Maura she and Taegan had an enjoyable date, then met for a walk in the park afterward. She hadn’t told her any of the more salacious details, only that she hadn’t had sex with him, and he was fine with waiting. “I am seeing him tomorrow, though.”
“I’m so excited for you,” Maura said. “And for God’s sake, be safe.” She tilted her head, counting on her fingers. “If you get knocked up now, you’ll be due in August, and I can’t have you out that long. You missed the window, so you’ll have to wait to have his babies until…September. Then you’ll be due in the summer, and you can be back for the first day of school.”
“I love how my sex life revolves around your schedule,” Chloe said.
Maura shrugged. “We’re a good team. You can’t be out for three months and leave me alone with this zoo. I don’t trust anyone else to be my partner.�
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Chloe laughed. “First, I’m not going to get knocked up now or in September,” she said. A nervous flutter tickled through her belly. “Second, I don’t know that anything is going to happen this week. He’s great but it’s so soon. I don’t want him to think I’m too…I don’t know.” Even though she desperately wanted him already. With the dragon’s fire still burning in her veins, she was ready to climb on board and ride him all the way to paradise. Even three days later, the thought of him still made her heart skip a beat.
“Hmm,” Maura said. “If it makes any difference, I had sex with Rick after our fourth date. Honestly, if I had worn cuter panties, it probably would have been on the third.”
“Really?”
“Really,” Maura said. “I knew I liked him and I trusted him. Fifteen years and three kids later, I’m still pretty confident in my decision.”
“He’s a good one,” Chloe said.
Her friend beamed. “He is. My point is that you can wait if that’s the right choice for you. Never let someone pressure you. But if you feel ready and you trust this guy, then go for it. You should always guard your heart, but don’t put it in a cage.” Her warm smile etched creases around her eyes.
“When did you get so wise?”
She scoffed. “I’ve always been wise. You’re just now figuring it out.” She veered down a side hallway to the library. “Lamination,” she explained. Chloe followed her into the library, where the media specialist was checking in a stack of books in a rhythmic chorus of beeps. “This guy seems really good for you.”
“What makes you say that?” Chloe asked.
“Because you’re smiling just talking about him. And happy Chloe makes me happy,” she said, gathering up a roll of laminated posters and charts. One sheet slipped from the pile, and Chloe lunged for it, catching it before it hit the ground. “So, you have a date tomorrow. Jury’s out on getting laid.”
