Ryker Drake

by Emilia Hartley

  “I’m sorry if I crossed a line. I was only joking.”

  “It’s okay. I needed a job. This is a job.” She tossed a flattened box onto the pile. “I don’t even know what I would want to do if I wasn’t doing this, so it doesn’t matter.”

  Ryker watched the weight of the world drop onto her shoulders. It fought to press her into the ground. He had no words to make the situation any better. He’d never been any good at talking to women. He framed himself as the strong and silent type to get out of having to participate in any conversations.

  He slid toward her. She looked up at him with wide eyes. His gut tightened with the need to pull her into his arms, but he pushed it back and reached into her pocket instead. He found the small stereo remote and held it in the air. The pounding music returned before he tucked the remote back into her pocket.

  A second ticked by. Then two. And Ryker still hadn’t moved away. The space between them warmed. Mina looked up at him, no hint of fear in her eyes for once. If anything, Ryker thought he saw expectation. His hand rose to touch her pointed chin.

  No. He shouldn’t.

  Ryker spun away. He almost ran for the nearby stairs. The beast tried to haul him back to Mina, but he fought it. Ryker wondered if he needed to get laid. Maybe he was wound up because it’d been so long since he last slept with a woman. If he could get it out of his system, then maybe he wouldn’t be bothering Mina so much.

  The way she stepped around him and avoided his gaze was a sure sign that she wanted to keep their relationship strictly platonic. To ask anything more of her was disrespectful. No matter how badly he wanted her.

  Downstairs, Ryker hid himself in the mud-room. There were no more guitars to break. The lawn was already littered with the remnants of the last instrument. All he could do was fall onto a bench and rest his head against the wall behind him while he wrestled with the beast’s lust.

  Chapter Six

  Mina thought about that moment on the second-floor landing over and over. The entire drive home, she thought about the things she should have done. Ryker looked like he’d wanted to kiss her. She found that she wanted it. She wanted to know what his lips tasted like, what they felt like between her teeth.

  It was forbidden fruit, though. Perhaps that was the appeal of it. Ryker was someone she should have never interacted with. They fact that they’d gotten so close was a fluke of fate. Some threads had gotten twisted. Eventually, they would right themselves and Mina would go one way while Ryker went in another.

  She finally pried herself out of her car. Exhaustion made her limbs heavy. She had to shut her door twice because she didn’t push it hard enough the first time. Ryker’s house was nearly free of boxes. Tomorrow, she would start the deep clean, though he hadn’t lived there long enough for it to take too long.

  That was when she would go her own way. The job would be finished soon. She didn’t think the board at Aurum Bank would want her service to be a regular thing. All they wanted was someone to help clear out the mess Ryker made when he moved in.

  At the front door, Mina stopped. Cold poured over her. She’d been so caught up in doing her hair and make-up that morning that she’d forgotten to make dinner again. Her uncle would be waiting at the kitchen table. He would have words for her, would see the make-up she’d put on and how she’d done her hair. Mina didn’t want to deal with any of that tonight.

  She crept around the side of the house. There was a forgotten trellis that led up the side, remnants of the days when her mother and aunt lived in the house. Her aunt had passed from a human disease and her mother had run away, leaving Mina in the hands of her uncle.

  While Mina tried to imagine feminine flowers growing up the side of the house, she couldn’t envision it. The flowers didn’t fit the home she knew. They were too bright and cheery.

  She sighed and shook free of the thoughts rolling through her mind before tilting her head back. Her window was to the left of the trellis. All she had to do was climb and pry the pane open. It took some work, and more than a few times she thought the whole thing would come crashing to the ground before she made it to the window, but she reached the top of the trellis.

  The hard part was opening the window from the outside. Mina had dragon strength, but it meant nothing if she couldn’t get a grip. Finally, she pressed her hand flat against the glass and pressed as she pushed up. The window fought her, but it finally began to slide up.

  Careful to make no noise, she climbed through the window and onto her bed. She smothered a giggle, realizing how ludicrous she’d been. Never in her life had she attempted anything so wild. She’d never been the kind of person to sneak out in the middle of the night. Mina was a dutiful person, always doing as she was told and answering to those above her.

  Tonight was the first time she’d ever purposefully avoided her uncle. She could hear him tapping the table downstairs. Eventually, he would see her car parked outside and come upstairs. He would know that she snuck through the window.

  Yet, Mina couldn’t bring herself to care.

  Ryker had almost kissed her.

  The thought filled her with glee. She pressed her knuckles against her mouth to silence her girlish laughter and rolled over to pull the stuffed dragon into her body. Her stomach growled hungrily. The last thing she’d eaten had been the cake Ryker shared with her, but she wasn’t about to go downstairs.

  In the morning, she would make herself a big breakfast and remember to prep dinner for once. She’d make something nice to ask her uncle for forgiveness. Everyone screwed up once in a while. Surely, he would forget all about this.

  ***

  Ryker was restless once again. Dark had fallen over the mountains, over Grove. The tiny town glittered with little lights. Somewhere down there, Kennedy and Wyatt were cuddling the night away. Behind him, Makenna and Ashton were probably driving Jasper mad and keeping him out of trouble.

  Unable to sleep, Ryker had taken to the skies. He flew over town. The wind whistled beneath his wings and slipped between his claws like water. It’d been a long time since he’d felt comfortable enough to shift and fly so freely. The past years he’d been moving from city to city, always surrounded by humans who wouldn’t understand the presence of a dragon.

  The other shifters in the crew had it easy. Sighting a wolf or a bear was strange, but explainable. A dragon, on the other hand, was impossible. Despite everything he hated about the mountains, he couldn’t argue that being able to fly was more than worth the silence.

  He coasted over town, high enough that no one would sight him immediately. Below, he glimpsed a familiar house, one he’d driven past numerous times the night before. He hadn’t realized where he was going until he was there. He’d tried to call her again, but she hadn’t answered.

  Ryker should have taken that as a sign that she wasn’t interested, but his beast clearly disagreed. The creature had sought her out again.

  He twisted, intending to drag the beast away, when shouting came from the ground below. It was faint at this height. He never would have heard it if it hadn’t been for his dragon abilities. Immediately, he swooped toward the ground below. There was an empty lawn behind Mina’s house that he landed in. His claws tore up the turf.

  He didn’t stop to think about the damage he was causing. All he cared about was the shouting inside. Lights flicked on and the shouting grew louder. Then, the back door flew open and Mina stepped out into the night.

  She stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of the giant dragon in her backyard.

  “What are you doing here?” Mina hissed, eyes wide.

  Her arms were crossed over her chest, but her shoulders were hunched. Ryker looked to the house behind her and growled. Someone inside was hurting her. Ryker wanted to make them stop, make them apologize. He wanted to carry Mina far away from here.

  “Get out of here,” she said, waving her hands at him like she was shooing a stray dog.

  He should have known better. Mina didn’t want him.

&n
bsp; Still, he wanted to protect her. Their relationship had nothing to do with the situation at hand. Ryker lowered his head to get a better look at her. In his dragon form, his sight was sharper. Tears fell down her cheeks. A growl filled his throat.

  She wiped at her face as if she could hide them now that he’d seen the evidence. Her hair was mussed, tangled on one side. Did she have a boyfriend that he didn’t know about? He hadn’t smelled male on her. He’d assumed that she was single.

  No one came to the door behind her. He was tempted to force his way inside and stomp on whoever was hiding in there, but it was Mina’s house. He wouldn’t destroy it like that.

  Ryker lowered his whole body to the ground so that he was level with her. She let her hands drop, no longer trying to shoo him away. In fact, she stepped toward him and wrapped her arms around his neck. Ryker moved, tilting his head to keep her from accidentally stabbing herself on a rigid spike.

  How she thought he was cuddly was beyond him. Ryker was the sharpest of all the dragons. Spikes ran down the length of his back and clustered at the tip of his tail. He looked as though he were made for fighting, and for doing the most damage in a fight.

  “Your nipple ring has nothing on your dragon form,” she mumbled against his scales.

  The sound of her voice so near his ears comforted his enraged beast. He let out a breath and leaned into her, careful not to knock her over. Whatever had been going on inside was now over. Ryker couldn’t go inside and change it. It wasn’t his place, though he wanted it to be. He didn’t know how much trouble he would cause by marching in there butt-naked.

  When Mina pulled back, he tossed his head toward the skies. He wanted to see her beast. It also meant that as long as she was in his company, she wasn’t inside that house. He would know she was safe, at the very least.

  “I can’t.” Mina shook her head. “I have work in the morning.”

  Work at my house, Ryker thought. He wouldn’t be mad if she was a little late or if she took the day off for herself. Once more, he tossed his head. This time, he flapped his wings. A trellis against the house shuddered unsteadily.

  Mina shook her head again, but he saw her indecision. One foot was placed forward. She wanted to fly with him, but something held her back. He had no voice to ask her why she wouldn’t fly or what scared her. All he could do was wait for her to come to a decision.

  To make things easier, he shuffled around so that he was faced away from her. If she wanted privacy while she shifted, he could give it to her. Though, the desire to peek was overwhelming, he distracted himself with an oversized rock embedded in the ground. He poked at it with his claws, pried it out of the earth, and pushed it around.

  A small beast crept around him. She was nearly half his size and as dark as the night sky. Tiny silver spots glittered on her scales like the stars above. Ryker was at a loss for words, grateful that he couldn’t speak anyway. At least he couldn’t embarrass himself as he fumbled with his tongue.

  Mina looked up at him, her head slightly cocked. He let out a sound, his beast pleased. She bobbed her head. She leapt over the fence separating her yard from the next and spread her wings wide. In moments, Mina was in the air. She circled above to reach higher and higher.

  The house behind him shook when he opened his wings and beat the air. He pushed off the ground and launched into the sky after her. She snapped her wings closed and rolled out of the way. He watched her wings open again and the air lift her away from him. He growled and gave chase.

  They frolicked, flying after one another for what felt like hours. More than once, Ryker lost her. She became the night sky and disappeared. His heart would thump and then he would catch a hint of movement, stars dancing just out of sight. The rushing of wind filled his ears with a soft roar as he tucked his wings into his body and dove after her.

  Mina twisted out of the way. He caught nothing but empty air. They did this a few times, until the light of early morning began to bleed over the horizon. He knew they would both have to return to their lives soon, but the desire to continue frolicking was nearly overwhelming. He flexed his claws, like he could cling on to the moment and make it last forever.

  She’d already turned back toward home, dutifully returning despite whatever had shaken her earlier. Ryker wanted to shift back to his human form and pull her aside to make sure she was safe, but Mina went on without him. Before he could do anything, she was landing on the ground.

  He circled overhead. Mina, back in her human form, didn’t waste a moment before running back inside. She was a flash of pale skin and dark hair. There and then gone.

  Ryker found himself hoping this wouldn’t be all there was to their relationship. He craved more of her laughter, of her carefree playfulness in the air.

  Chapter Seven

  Mina was exhausted the next day. On her way to Ryker’s house in the mountain, she stopped and used her meager change purse to buy an iced coffee, hoping the cool liquid would shock her awake. She hadn’t meant to spend all night flying with Ryker. The hours had slipped away from her, nary a thought about responsibility on her mind while she was beside him.

  It meant she only got a couple hours of sleep before she had to dash out the door in a frantic rush. Thankfully, she managed to bypass her uncle. He was probably still asleep after having woken her in the middle of the night.

  Mina knew that sneaking inside was a risk and that her uncle would find her eventually. In the moment, she’d been too tired to care. It’d felt like she’d barely laid her head down before he burst into her room. He shouted and flung his hands, claiming she no longer cared about her family, that she was a disrespectful brat.

  A spark of bravery had ignited inside her and she’d tried to defend herself. She really had. The words had been on the tip of her tongue, but her uncle was too loud. He was too dominant. In the end, Mina had trudged downstairs to make his dinner. As soon as she finished, she ran outside.

  It’d been a surprise to find Ryker in her back yard. The way he’d looked at the house, with murderous intent in his metallic eyes, had frightened her. Not because she thought he would actually hurt anyone, but because she feared what his presence meant.

  Ryker was far above her. If her uncle knew she was hanging out with a metallic dragon, he would tell her to look for a new job, one where she didn’t interact with anyone. He would remind her that it wasn’t her place to even look at a man like Ryker. Already, Mina knew she was indulging in attention that never should have been hers.

  Ryker should have been searching for a mate to keep him company and give him little dragons. Not flying in the middle of the night with Mina. The difference between them was staggering after she’d shifted. Her beast was easily half his size. Where he was elegance with his sleek steel scales, she was a mess of white spots on murky blue.

  Iced coffee in hand, she rushed inside, not once stopping to notice that the door was unlocked. She quickly set up and got to work. The boxes were finished, tucked away in the bins that Ryker hadn’t realized were for recycling. Now, she had to dust and wipe down the windows.

  What then? Once the house was clean, she wouldn’t have a job here anymore. It should have been a good thing, but she found herself mourning. Having Ryker in her life had been an unexpected surprise. He was much nicer than she thought the metallic dragons would be, despite his frightening appearance.

  While she was deep in thought about Ryker, the front door opened. She hadn’t seen him at all since she arrived and, when she stood, she went looking for him. The man standing in the foyer was not Ryker. Mina had to school her face to hide her disappointment.

  He stood with his hands in his pockets, eyes wide in appreciation as he took in the house around him. Those eyes flashed metallic when the light caught them. It was another of the court, Mina realized.

  “I didn’t know what the floor looked like,” the man commented. He laughed and shook his head before noticing Mina trying to retreat.

  She stopped, feeling all too much like a
rabbit in the headlights. Her blood ran cold and her feet turned to bricks.

  “I didn’t know Ryker was seeing someone,” the man said. “If you guys are busy, I can come back later.”

  Mina was shocked by the idea that anyone would think Ryker would date her until she looked down at herself. Her work smock was still in the car and her hair was kind of a mess. Anyone might assume she’d slept over from the way she looked.

  “Ah, I’m not…” She struggled to find the right thing to say. “I’m just, you know, cleaning.” She waved her duster as if that explained it all.

  He narrowed his eyes, clearly not following, until his lips formed an O of understanding. He slapped his hand over his forehead. “I completely forgot about the maid service. I’m standing here thinking about how clean the place looks and I didn’t even think about that.”

  She offered a small smile. All she wanted to do was slink back into the shadows and get on with her job. Ryker had not shown up yet, and she felt oddly vulnerable being alone with this dragon. Mina shouldn’t even be in the same room as him.

  “Have you seen my fool of a cousin?” the dragon man asked, stepping further into the house.

  Mina just shook her head. She wished he would appear in the doorway, perhaps at the top of the stairs. She wouldn’t blame him for sleeping in after the night they’d had, but the house didn’t smell like he’d been there recently. Ryker’s scent was faded, especially now that the house was cleaner.

  The man scowled and turned looked out the windows, his gaze going blank. He shook his head. “It was his turn to host family day,” the man said with a sigh.

  “Family day?”

  He snorted. She caught the glimmer of bronze in his eyes and thought this must be Wyatt Drake. Mina was fairly sure she could tell the difference between copper and bronze. Last she heard, Ashton was a trickster, and this man wasn’t particularly funny or troublesome.