by Aurora Reid
“And it looks like you broke me,” she said, staring down at her wobbly legs.
“Go put yourself back together again, I'd like to break you again and again.”
“You are a feisty dragon.”
He grinned at her, took her by her hips, and pressed against her stomach. He was hard again. But how?
“Let me show you.”
“That sounds very enticing, if I could handle it, and if a whole army of doctors weren't going to come back here to ask how you are.”
“I'll deal with them. This better not be the last I see of you. I have wings you know. You won't get far.”
“I see it didn't take you long to be controlling.”
“I just want to keep you, that's all. And I'm letting you know.” He brushed her hair and kissed her, a lingering kiss that ignited the sparks in her again, but her body still felt like she'd been popped out from a jello mold.
“Is that so bad?”
“No.” She felt wonderful.
“Good, then I want to see you again before we leave.”
“What are you proposing?” She licked her lips. She stood on her toes.
He beamed down at her, his eyes practically spitting fire at her cleavage. “I'll pick you up for dinner and then...” He scratched his head. “Then we'll think of something.”
She swung her hips toward him. “I'm sure we can think of something.”
“I didn't mean it like that, I'm sorry. It's been a while since I've been on a date, but I promise I'll make it special for you.”
“You mean a date outside of your home, with other people around. We’ve been on two already.”
“Oh, so those were dates now?”
“Yes.”
Nico squeezed her against him. “I don't want to let you go. Will you stay the night with me?”
A night where? They could go anywhere, couldn't they? With his money and his flying ability, she could go anywhere in the world.
But there was worry lurking in her that stopped her from doing so. Even if she wanted to stay with him for nights, weeks even, in his bed, she listened to that small voice that told her to be reasonable, to have some sort of backbone.
Best to take this slow, girl. This dragon burns hot, and you don't want to get burned again.
She wouldn’t be so stupid to put herself in the same situation twice.
Last time, her family had been involved.
She couldn’t do that to them.
“I can't tonight. I'm exhausted. But I'll see you on Saturday.”
Saturday couldn't come soon enough.
Before she left, Nico stopped her.
She should’ve figured he’d ask about it. Sex had happened so quickly, though, and he’d been so good at it that she hadn’t thought of anything else.
“Did he do that to your back?”
“Yes,” she said softly. “But don’t worry about that now. Think about our date and how much fun it’ll be.”
“Fine,” he said, but she could’ve swore she saw his eyes shift crimson when he let go.
As Cass left to get a cab back to her hotel, she wondered the whole ride how she'd gotten so lucky. Could she be out for good, able to live her life, free from Jae?
Jae letting something go…that sounded rich. It was another worry of hers. For now, it would have to be put aside.
Back at her hotel room, she plopped down onto bed, ready for one of the best sleeps ever. Her body swam in a lovely high from Nico. She expected to still have a glow when she woke.
Sleep wouldn’t come. Jae still bothered her.
She needed to prepare. Cass connected to the Wi-Fi on her laptop, searched a few sites of local protection services, and then wrote down places to check out if she was still feeling worried in the morning.
She trusted Nico. Yet she couldn’t expect to have him following her at all times. She needed to be able to protect herself. At least, to make herself feel safe when she didn’t have her dragon’s protection.
The next day was all about getting ready for her date. Nico said that he hadn't been on a date in a long time. The same could be said for Cass.
She went shopping, bought makeup and a beautiful new dress to wear, along with a brand new pair of heels. By the end of her trip, she had a shopping high like never before, and never wanted to stop.
“You've got to eat sometime,” she told herself. “And, sleep.”
Before going back, she checked out a local shifter security shop, Protect All Humans. There were a lot of Americans who were afraid of shifters, believing that they would use their powers against them and eventually take over the government, committing mass genocide. A lot of their business came from those conspiracy types. The protection services also heard a lot from women who needed to protect themselves from stalkers or abusive husbands.
It made domestic incidents a lot more complicated when husbands could rage shift into a bear or wolf.
The clerk had a hat on that said “I Ain’t Afraid of The Big Bad Wolf.”
“Shock them with this baby and watch them try to shift on ya. They'll be chasing their own tail, licking their own balls.”
“Sounds like a neat trick,” Cass said.
“Basically, they'll be stunned long enough for you to escape. It shoots much faster than a regular stun gun, and the barbs are designed specifically to go through some of their thick hides.”
They were paid handsomely for the shifter model stun gun. Cass almost pulled out of the transaction multiple times because of how much money it cost. Eventually, she decided her peace of mind was worth it.
“We've also got some scents you can rub on you, depending on what kinda’ animal it is.”
After she asked how they got the scents, Cass refused.
“Probably for the best. We're trying real hard to sell these. Can't find any takers. Can you believe no one wants to smell like cat piss?”
“I just hope the tazer you gave me will work better.”
“Trust me, that baby will work.”
“Hopefully I won't have to use it. Thank you.”
“That's what we tell everyone, ma’am.”
Back at her hotel room, she laid out all of her jewelry and her outfit for the evening. Then she lay on her bed while reading through shifter science forums, notably, searching for threads that dealt with dragons. This was something she couldn't do while she was with Jae, even if she were to find a signal outside of the room, she knew that he would have a tracker on everything.
Dragons are highly territorial. They are immortal. That doesn’t mean they can’t die. All dragons have one mate that will appear in their lifespan. Because their lifespans are so long and they prefer isolation, sometimes they will pick other mates, often to disastrous consequences.
One fated mate a lifetime? That would mean that Cass probably wasn't Nico's fated mate. Dragons could live for eternity, so there was a high probability that she wasn't. Cass was a realist. She closed the laptop and thought about canceling the date. Nope, couldn’t do it. So what if she wasn't his fated mate? It sure felt like fate to her, and she needed to trust Nico. She needed to believe that he knew what he was doing.
Nico was good to her, so very good to her, and she couldn't deny herself that. She got a shiver when she thought about how he used her body, how he brought her to a climax that seemed like magic.
She knew this was right. Probability be damned, she would go on this date, and have a beautiful, romantic evening with a handsome shifter.
After dressing up, Cass was sure that Nico would be ready to swoop her up and take her back to his place the moment he saw her. She looked gorgeous in a light pink body con off the shoulder dress, only able to be worn because Nico had seen the scars already.
They were meeting at seven thirty at an upscale restaurant, The Fireside, twenty minutes away from her hotel. Nico could've picked her up and flew her there in a minute. It was for the best if she arrived less dramatically.
She fretted nervously on her phone, tryin
g to distract herself, but the words were a garbled mess in her brain. As soon as she sat down at her table across from Nico, she wouldn't be so nervous. Waiting was what got to her.
The cab ride really tested her patience.
When she got in, the cab driver had mumbled a feint “Okay,” when she told him where she was going. What she assumed was confidence now she thought was confusion.
“Excuse me, sir, we're going to The Fireside?”
He grunted, hands on the wheel, focused ahead.
Cass let it go for a minute longer. They were clearly going the wrong way once she hooked her phone up to her GPS, which she placed up toward him so that he could see.
“Hey, I think we're headed in the wrong direction.”
He had to hear her. He didn’t turn around.
Something was wrong. Panic struck her.
“Pull over,” she said.
She attempted to open the door, but the handle was locked, and then she really became frantic.
His voice was stern and clipped. ”Calm down.” Calm down? Hell no, she would not calm down! That was the exact worst thing he could say!
Cass kicked the back of his seat, not very powerfully, it still had him cursing.
“Stop it.”
“I said let me out.”
“We'll be there in a minute. In the meantime, you can shut up bitch.”
Bitch. Please, don't tell me he said bitch.
Cass reached into her purse to get the tazer.
Was this guy a shifter? Too bad for him, Cass found she didn't care.
But he was lucky in one regard—Cass didn't want to use it on him while they were driving. She waited, biding her time, her heart leaping into her throat, her body lightweight with anxiety.
“We're here. Stay in the car. I'll let you out. And don't do anything stupid if you want to leave alive.”
If this were Jae, it would mean that he would want her alive. She held onto hope that it would be him as she looked at the pitch black, abandoned garage.
The driver parked, got out, and opened her door.
She reached for her tazer. He caught her by the arm before she could and dropped her onto her knees on the cracked asphalt. Another man walked out from behind the darkness of the garage, walking closer, barely visible but he was leaner and taller than Jae.
“What do you want?” She shuddered before looking back at the taxi driver, who leaned against it, tapping his foot.
The man ahead of her crossed his arms. “Don't go anywhere. Or try to, that is. I'm a panther shifter. You won't get far before I catch you.”
“What if I fight?”
“Don't fight. Want to lose a finger or a toe? How about I scratch that pretty dress off you. There's lots of options here. The client only wants you to come back alive.”
She might as well be a bland piece of gold that someone had taken from the dragon. He didn’t care about her, he cared about keeping her.
The driver started back to the wheel. “I'll be leaving now.”
“You wait until she's in my car.”
“I'm only getting paid for driving her. That's it. I'm leaving.”
The panther shifter growled. The taxi driver might be worse than a scratching post if he didn't shut up.
While they argued, Cass slipped her hand into her purse. The way she had it against her, it looked like she was cowering. Her fingers grasped the handle and she said a quick prayer that the guy at the counter hadn't sold her a piece of junk.
She swung it out like brandishing a gun. Still smirking, the panther shifter jerked his head at her. When he saw the blue glow from the tazer, his smirk slipped. He was about to yell when she pushed the trigger.
The air cracked and the barb flew faster than she could see. Cass held on as it dug in and he flopped like a fish at the end of the line. He stumbled, jerked, and then collapsed, Cass still pumping volts into him, keeping the trigger pressed for as long as possible.
“Oh, shit,” she heard from behind her.
The taxi driver. Shit.
Cass released the trigger. The barb unhooked as she swung the tazer like the workers told her.
Money well spent, she thought as she turned around, only to watch the driver run full speed to tackle her.
Shit. Oh, shit.
They collided but not fully as she stepped to the side and whacked him on the head with the butt of it. The whack didn't do enough damage and his weight fell upon her, her vision whipped, and then she heard the thud and felt the pain from landing, giving him the advantage.
Pinned down, there was nothing she could do. But her one hand was still free. He caught her left fist that tried to smack him.
She squirmed underneath him. He wouldn’t budge.
Her fingers caught the tazer and Cass put it up to his chest. Pressing the trigger did nothing but flash a blue light.
He chuckled. “No, no you don't.” His eyes wild as he picked her up and slammed her against the pavement.
It hurt. She still had fight in her though.
He grabbed her by the throat. His laughter got louder as she continued to click the trigger, nothing happening.
Screaming, he pressed down on her throat, now feeling like a collapsing tunnel fire. Cass pulled the trigger, what she thought might be her last try. A bright flash celebrated her survival as the barb flew out, sticking into his forehead.
Grabbing his eyes, he screeched, blue sparks flashing. Cass kicked him off, scrambled away, and pumped more volts into him.
After she was done, he lay like a corpse. He seemed to be alive as he was breathing. That was too bad.
She ejected the barb. Her neck was still throbbing as she fell into the back seat of the taxi.
So much for not having a dramatic entrance to the date. She would have quite the story to tell Nico.
14
After Cass got a few miles away she couldn't take it. She pulled into a brightly lit gas station and broke down. What had happened was too fucked up, she'd been too vulnerable. She'd almost died back there.
Jae must’ve sent his goons because it would be too obvious who had taken her with a dragon flying about. He was getting more cunning.
“I'm such a jerk.” She shook the steering wheel. “I've got to call Nico.”
Cass called him. He picked up on the second ring.
“Hey Cass,” he said, sounding a bit down.
It wasn't her intention to call him up and sob, to worry him even more, but she couldn't help it.
Tears began to flow. “I'm scared.”
“What's wrong?” Silverware clattered on the other line.
“I don't want to bother you. Don't want to ruin the date. I was looking forward to it,” she sniffled.
“It's fine. We can have the date another time.” There was the sound of footsteps on the other side, then car engines. Nico was outside and ready to come to her aid.
“Now tell me what's wrong.”
It all came blurting out. “I was attacked. I think they were men sent by Jae. They wanted to kidnap me. One was a shifter. I think I need help. I think I might still be in trouble.”
“Where are you?” he shouted.
Cass reeled back. “Don't yell.”
“I'm sorry. I'm worried about you. Tell me where you are.”
“Wait, no, I'll come to you. Where do you want to meet?”
“Listen, tell me where you are. I'll come pick you up. I'll fly you back to my place, where it's safe.”
She hunkered down in her seat. There was nobody around, but she still couldn't be sure.
“I want to go somewhere Jae doesn't know about. Can we get a room somewhere tonight? Somewhere safe. I don't want to deal with it. I want to have our date, maybe we can get room service or something? Does that sound stupid?”
“No, that's exactly what we'll do. I’m just worried about you right now. Are you in a safe location?”
“Yes, I'm in a car.” Now that she thought about it, a car wasn't a safe place, either.
Nico had a brilliant idea. After he called up a hotel, he transformed into his dragon. He kept close to her and watched over her, flying high in the skies, far enough to scout.
As soon as she neared the glamorous hotel, she wanted to jump out of the cab. At least now she was with Nico. Nico would keep her safe.
Cass met him behind some bushes, hiding out, completely naked.
“You're going to need to bring me a sheet. Unless you don't care,” Nico said.
“I'll bring you a sheet. The plan was not to attract attention.”
She smirked at him waiting for her with his cock and balls out. It was a little strange when she had to explain to the front desk what she needed. “He’s a shifter, so he’s naked.”
“No problem. We get a lot of shifters here,” the front desk manager said. “I can do better.” She opened a box kept for this situation. There was an XL shirt and some baggy pants inside.
“They usually come in big.”
Don’t they? Cass chuckled a little to herself.
With Nico all dressed, they headed up to their room, the cleanest and most elegant hotel room she’d ever been in. It was a double-room styled in velvet, grey, and brown with a view of the LA lights.
The ordered food was a guilty pleasure. They brought up a smorgasbord of food, all of it top of the line from their four-star restaurant downstairs. At the end she had various truffles and a glass of wine just how she liked it.
By the end of the dinner she was calmer than Nico. Who she had convinced to dress down to nothing, wrapping himself up in a sheet, because the clothes were a little too baggy.
She was convincing like that. The whole time she ate, she had eye candy.
“Do me a favor, and just don't worry about it tonight.”
“That's going to be difficult,” Nico said, looking out the window, the lights of the city all clear from his vantage point, like he owned it all.
He turned to her.
“I should kill him.”
“Yes, I know, but not tonight. And no, actually you shouldn't do that, ever. Remember what happened last time?”
“He needs to die for this,” he said under his breath.
“I heard that.” Cass huffed and fell back to the cushions.
