Dallin just raised an eyebrow at her. “I’m not sure what you want me to say. I’m still no angel.”
“I know,” Liz said. “But maybe you have changed. And maybe there’s a softer side to you, and you should show that to this girl.”
Dallin let out a sigh. “I will think about it.”
Right now, he just wanted to be back protecting Jo.
It felt like that was where he should be.
“Oh, they’re done,” Liz said as Ian came out of the office, followed by Landon and Ryder, who were eagerly discussing something about wands.
“Everything okay?” Ian asked, coming up to put an arm around Liz’s waist as Dallin stood as well.
“Just giving love advice,” Liz said.
“That’s your area,” Ian said, leaning down to nuzzle her nose.
“If you guys are done being gross, can I go now?” Dallin asked.
“Yes,” Ian said. “Just remember to write in your dragon diaries. All of you.”
“I am!” Landon said, putting a hand up.
Dallin glared at him. “Do you have to be an insufferable suck-up, or is that just a preference?”
Landon’s eyes went suddenly sharp. “Maybe I prefer it to being an incredible jerk.”
Dallin went quiet for a moment. Then he met Landon’s eyes apologetically. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”
Landon’s smile was back again in a second. “Thanks. And no problem.”
And then he disappeared down the hall, humming, probably going off to write in his dragon diary.
Dallin sort of wanted to read it…
“The diary is important,” Ian said, patting Dallin on the shoulder. “You never know when it’ll come in handy, being able to look back on your thoughts.”
“I hate it,” Dallin said.
“Yeah.” Ryder agreed. “Who wants to spend time with their own thoughts?”
Liz and Ian laughed at that, though Dallin wasn’t sure why.
“I’ll keep writing,” he said. “But only because I’ll probably get zapped if I don’t.”
“Probably,” Ian said cheerily. “Now, should we get you back? Brett is probably missing Avery.”
Dallin nodded, walking with Ian toward the small half bath where the oracle had set up a semipermanent portal so he could go back and forth for sessions easily.
As he walked through it, tuning out the sounds of his friends still chatting, all he could think of was getting back to see Jo.
For some reason, a part of him was soothed just at the thought of being with her.
And as possessive as he was, even over those he was only protecting, he knew he wouldn’t fully relax until he was back by her side.
When Dallin stepped out of the portal, he found himself on a small patch of well-kept grass just outside Jo’s quaint, wooden patio.
He turned around to see Brett, who was standing against the fence, looking bored.
Dallin strode over to him. “You aren’t even paying attention.”
Brett raised an eyebrow. “You’re lucky I’m even here, dragon. And now I can go back to my soul bond.” He sniffed. “Ungrateful.”
Brett looked like a textbook fairy. Tall. Pretty boy. Arrogant. But unlike the evil light fae Dallin hated, Brett had a deep sense of honor. Dallin had to admire that.
“Thanks,” Dallin muttered, remembering what Liz had said.
Brett narrowed his eyes at him. “I suppose that’ll do. It wasn’t much work. I think she’s with someone right now.”
Dallin’s head jerked up. “What?” He turned toward the house, where he did in fact hear a man’s voice faintly, along with Jo’s.
“I’m heading out,” Brett said, waving a hand as he started for the front of the house where he’d parked a car down the street. “Kind of glad to be off stalker duty, honestly.”
Dallin’s hands were already in fists as he tried to calm himself, staring at the house. “How could you just let someone in there?”
“She’s fine,” Brett said. “Go see for yourself.” Then he shrugged, shaking his head, making his ash-blond hair fall over his forehead. “So hot-blooded. Are you really part ice fae?”
Dallin just glared at him.
Brett waved a hand. “Well, if you ever want more info—”
“No,” Dallin snapped. “I’m a dragon. I don’t need any other powers.”
Brett nodded and just strode out of sight, and Dallin crept closer to the house, listening for any sign of danger.
As he peeked inside the back door before opening it, he saw a bald man seated on the couch, facing Jo. He had glasses and was talking to her intently.
Dallin couldn’t see Jo’s expression, but what if this man was threatening her? What if he was like that pushy salesman or a chaos fae? What if Brett just hadn’t realized?
Panic lurched through Dallin as he leaped up the steps and threw the sliding glass door aside, mouth open to say something. But just then, the room burst into laughter between Jo and the man. The laughter was so raucous they didn’t even know he’d come in for a moment, leaving him standing there awkwardly.
Upon closer inspection, Dallin noticed a large microphone sitting on the table between them, with several digital-looking devices strewn about. But that still didn’t explain who the hell this stranger was.
“Dallin, oh, you’re back,” Jo exclaimed, looking over her shoulder, tears of mirth still in her eyes.
“What the hell is going on here?” Dallin, feeling a little silly for having barged in so single-mindedly, folded his arms in annoyance.
“Ah, yes. Dallin, this is Jack. Jack, this is Dallin,” Jo said, standing and motioning between the two of them.
Jack, whose slightly rounded face and well-trimmed mustache gave off an air of utter amicability, stood and offered his hand. “Oh, I’ve already heard of this one,” he said, adjusting his glasses and looking Dallin from head to toe.
Dallin, still put off that there’d been an intruder—at least in his opinion—just waved the hand away, and Jack sat back down. “And what’s all this?” he demanded.
“Oh, we do a weekly podcast together,” Jo said, “Usually, I go to his house, but Jack agreed to come over here today.”
“Sugar Therapy and The Quest for Delectable Delicacies,” Jack said, sitting up proudly. “Jo always has the best cooking advice of any of our guests.” As he spoke, Dallin was again aware of the fact that Jack was watching him with keen interest.
Great, now he had to ward off attention from human females and males.
Dallin opened his mouth to say more, then thought better of it since he’d already jumped to conclusions.
“We’ll just be a few more minutes if you’re okay with that,” Jo said nicely.
“No, have him join,” Jack said eagerly. “I’m sure some of your viewers would love to hear more from—”
“I won’t bother you,” Dallin said, moving to the kitchen and sitting on a stool, watching closely as Jack resumed asking questions about something.
But even knowing that Jo wasn’t in danger, he couldn’t shake a twinge of jealousy as she laughed again at something Jack said. Near his feet, Puggles walked in little circles, begging for attention, and Dallin reached down to pick him up, setting the small dog in his lap while he pulled out the small, magical diary he was supposed to be making entries in.
Dear Dragon Diary,
Attempted use of my mind control on Puggles the pug this morning. No apparent effect as the dog seems to lack any intelligent capabilities or the function of rational thought. As punishment for my actions, he licked my face. Subsequent scratches behind his ears on my part were well received and had a much more measurable effect than mind control. Further tests required.
On a side note, I cannot stress how stupid this diary is.
Dallin, the mostly emerald dragon
For a moment, he wondered if anyone was actually reading it or not.
Either way, he didn’t give two shits.
Across the r
oom, he tuned in to the conversation again, trying to not pry but not being able to help himself.
“Yeah, I try to just roll with it. Get creative if things go awry,” Jo said with a grin. Man, she had a winning smile.
“Which brings me to another question. What about your video from last night? Rumor has it a certain someone went off on one of the people in the comments section. What are your thoughts on that?” Jack asked conspiratorially.
Jo’s gaze flitted over toward Dallin for a moment, then back to Jack. “I get what he was trying to do, but I wouldn’t exactly call it… appropriate behavior.”
Appropriate? Dallin didn’t care how inappropriate what he did was so long as he got the job done. He narrowed his eyes as he continued to listen to Jo.
“I mean, it’s our job to be the bigger man, take it on the chin if people get out of hand. Otherwise, we’d lose the respect of our viewership.” Jo finished, looking slightly tense.
Probably because Dallin was staring now.
“Wise words, as always,” Jack said thoughtfully.
Dallin tried to look away, instead staring at nothing on the wall as he did his best to tune out the conversation. And even though the tension in the room remained, Jo resumed her easy banter with her supposed “friend.”
So she thought he was overbearing. Inappropriate, huh?
He couldn’t help feeling a slight sting of betrayal at her not standing up for him. He was sure he had done the right thing.
Once he got his powers back, Dallin wouldn’t hesitate to show every single one of those trolls on her videos not to mess with the woman under his protection. With his emerald abilities, it would be child’s play to make the cretins pay.
After all, once a dragon got obsessed with protecting what was his, it only made sense he’d go to extreme lengths, right?
Even if he got a little “inappropriate.”
10
Jo waved to Jack from the front door of her house as he got into his car and drove off. And the longer she lingered there, the more she could feel Dallin looming behind her, hovering like a vengeful ghost as he had been ever since he’d burst into her living room like she’d been in trouble or something.
When she turned around, Dallin was only a few feet away, arms folded, leaning against the wall as he grimaced.
She closed the door.
“What the hell was that?” Jo asked in exasperation, letting out the stress from being so closely scrutinized it felt hard to breathe at times.
“What was what?” His lips were pressed together, expression flat.
“You barging in here like the house was on fire,” she replied, walking past him and into the kitchen. The counters were clean, so instead of wiping things down as was her nervous habit, she took out a cookbook and started flipping through pages absentmindedly.
Dallin gave her that too-cool-for-school glare, pushing off the wall and standing in front of her. “There was an intruder inside.”
Jo sighed. “Jack isn’t a stranger. He’s my friend, and we work together.”
Dallin didn’t look the slightest affected by that reasoning. “You’re under my protection right now. And when you’re under my protection, I need to know everything that goes on, who’s coming and going, if I’m going to do that properly.”
Jo had a slight suspicion there was more to it than just that.
“I get that you have a job. Protection this and protection that. But my world doesn’t stop just because I found out yesterday I have magical powers. Until those powers can pay my bills, I have to keep working.”
Dallin softened just slightly, but that only meant his scowl went from one of “pure annoyance” to only “moderate annoyance.”
“Does that have to include Jack?” he grumbled.
“Yes. All the people I work with, Dallin.” Though, in truth, she’d probably get along fine without it. After all, podcasts weren’t really her thing. It was just nice to help out someone that had been a big influence in getting her started in doing what she did now.
But Dallin didn’t have to know that.
“I’m grateful for all the times you’ve helped me so far. I really am. And for explaining everything to me as well. I’m still just adjusting to all this new information, and work is one way I can do that.”
Dallin still looked guarded.
“I thought you couldn’t condone my actions?” he finally said, somewhat sarcastically.
Of course he was stuck on that.
For a dragon, Dallin could also be surprisingly petty.
“Well, I’m not unhappy you did that, but yes, I can’t support anyone threatening physical violence in my videos. I don’t think anyone should,” she explained.
“They were saying things they had no right to be saying. They deserve to be afraid.”
“Whether they do or not, you can’t chase every internet troll down just because they said something, Dallin.” She stepped a little closer toward Dallin, both annoyed at his outburst but also fonder of him than even she was willing to admit.
“Why shouldn’t I? It’s my duty, after all,” he retorted.
“To protect me from literally everything?”
“Yes. Everything.”
By the time she was standing next to him, Jo could make out the multicolored layers of blue and green in his eyes as they watched her closely. And for some reason, the grim, almost doggedly determined way he spoke of protecting her was too much to not be able to smile about anymore.
Her laugh was just a giggle at first. But as Dallin sneered in dismay, her laughter became uncontrollable, a raucous, heaving in her chest. After a moment, she had to put a hand on the counter just to support herself.
“What’s so funny. Why are you laughing like that?” His extra-serious tone only made everything more absurd.
“Just… everything,” she said, trying to suppress herself now that the initial stress of the day was wearing off.
After all, her heart had practically jumped in her chest when Dallin had barged in, even though she’d done her best to hide her reaction. Then, after that, she could tell what she’d said during the interview had upset him, but she hadn’t had a chance to fully explain either.
“I don’t find this amusing at all.” Though, contrary to his words, his flattened frown was starting to curve up in the corners.
“Just, when you charged in from the backyard, I felt the ground shake, and for a moment there, I thought it was another instance like the alley. I thought Jack and I were done for,” she replied earnestly, patting Dallin’s folded arm congenially. Just the slight touch seemed to make his icy demeanor thaw even more.
“Oh, so Jack wouldn’t have stepped in to save you, would he?”
“No. Jack’s the kind of friend you take to brunch and have girl talk with. Nothing like a big, strong dragon I know.”
Dallin looked a little proud of himself, but Jo didn’t intend to stroke his ego more than she already had.
“And then when you looked at Jack, for a moment, I thought you were going to pick up the couch and throw him outside.” Jo giggled again at the mental image of it. “I didn’t even know what to think.”
Dallin scratched the back of his head, looking slightly abashed. “I suppose I might have overreacted. A little.”
Just seeing him relax a little after all that tension was heartening, and Jo waggled a finger in mock sternness. “Just so long as you don’t actually beat up any of my co-workers, I can try to be a little more aware of the fact that you’re just looking out for me.”
“All right. Apology accepted,” Dallin said with a nod.
She prodded him in the arm this time, not satisfied with the cocky grin he was wearing. “Now you apologize. Or do dragons never apologize for anything?”
“Not if they didn’t do anything wrong. But I suppose that, since you were so thoughtful as to go first, I can apologize for being too awesome.”
She glared.
“And for interrupting you and jumping to con
clusions,” he said with a shrug, though even the awkward apology was certainly more than she’d expected.
“Thank you.”
“And thank you,” he said with a little bow. “But if Jack had done something bad, I would have most certainly thrown him out the back door.”
She brushed her hands off, pulling things out in the habitual way that could be done with her eyes closed if needed. “Well, lucky for both of us that’s never going to be a problem. Now I have to make some things for a bake sale being put on by our local animal shelter. Are you in or out?” she asked.
Dallin smiled that winning smile for just a moment and clapped his hands together. “If you’re involved, the answer is always yes.”
And as they spent the afternoon together making a mess and creating all sorts of treats, Jo couldn’t stop thinking about the kiss from last night and how it still haunted her.
And when, if ever, she’d get another taste.
The next day at the bake sale, Dallin found himself feeling a tad more uncomfortable being around so many people at once than even he had anticipated.
When Jo had asked him if he wanted to come, of course he’d said yes. If she was going anywhere, even staying at home, he was going to be there too. Also, the fact that she and others were selling their baked goods to support homeless animals like the ones he’d befriended at Callie’s home seemed a noble enough cause to risk being outside.
All around him, the scent of sweet things intermingled with the sound of people talking together and kids squealing. Along with twelve or so booths—one of which Dallin was currently manning—there were a number of stalls selling other assorted services or goods, all grouped around the front of the shelter. Off to the side, kennels and play areas were set up for people to interact with animals from the shelter.
Even if he couldn’t busy himself contributing to the freedom of his dragon brethren, he could be satisfied with helping free these homeless animals as well.
Jo, who was interacting with one of the volunteers, looked gorgeous today in a pair of curve-hugging jeans and a gray T-shirt. Her brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail, showing her pretty face even better, and her winning smile seemed to beam with joy in such a way that even Dallin could feel his heart warm slightly.
Dragon Released (Reclaimed Dragons Book 1) Page 7
