“Fine,” she said. “I’m attracted. That doesn’t mean anything.”
“Right, because we’re friends now. And I have an idea for our first friend outing.”
“I haven’t agreed to that yet,” she said, pacing. Nerves buzzed through her. What did she really want when it came to this frustrating dragon? It felt as if she didn’t know her own mind anymore.
She looked over her shoulder and then turned, bravely facing him.
Despite everything, he really was less intimidating without that intense, focused glint in his eyes.
He really was offering to cool things down. He really was offering to be her friend.
Part of her was mildly offended it was that easy to let go. But most of her was just glad she could let her guard down after all this time.
Aside from his constant pursuit of her, she trusted he’d keep her safe. He’d been the one to rescue her, and he’d watched over her ever since.
And without that sexual tension between them, perhaps she could get to know him, too. Maybe see him as more than a shifter, as he saw her as more than a potential mate.
“All right,” she said. “What’s your idea for an outing?”
He cocked his head. “How does the shelter sound? As a friend, I think you could use a cat.”
She flushed. Had he seen her chasing Bo around? Sometimes, when she felt nervous or scared, Scrangey, Bridget and Alistair’s cat, would come into bed with her to snuggle. It was comforting. She was oddly touched he’d thought of it.
“It was Zach’s idea,” he blurted out, reminding her dragons could read minds. Though they only did it occasionally.
“You want to give him extra credit?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.
Dom snorted. “No. But I do want to be truthful.” He looked at her bunny slippers. “Should I meet you downstairs?”
She kicked them off and slid into some flats. “No, I’m ready to go now.” Getting out of the mansion? Hells yeah.
“Do you want to take my bike?” he asked.
A shiver went through her at the thought of being on the back of his bike, holding on to his hard waist through the leather. It was like dirty thoughts were coming more frequently now that he wasn’t pushing on her.
And how weird was that?
“Sure,” she said because she wanted to feel the wind in her hair. Wanted to feel safe. Wanted to see what it was like having someone like Dom as a friend without him reminding her of Galen.
Wanted to live a little without as much fear.
“Let’s go to the shelter. I do need a cat.”
Dom gave her a quiet smile and held the door.
Chapter 3
Dom’s legs felt like mush as he dismounted the motorcycle after a short, windy ride with Lana behind him.
This friend thing was going to be harder than he thought. Just her touch had an unbelievable effect.
It was so odd that in all of his travels, women had pursued him ceaselessly, and he’d never been interested. And now he’d met the woman of his dreams, and he could only be her friend.
Still, he focused on the shelter and what it could do for them, looking up at the sign with the little animals on it.
He wasn’t having many visions lately, just vague, discomfiting nightmares, and he definitely wouldn’t mind having more to do. Something to take care of.
He didn’t know how Lana would take a suggestion of getting a kitten together, but he hoped it would be okay. More time to get to know her. More time to understand why she didn’t want him. And what would make her happy.
She seemed to be slowly relaxing with him, which relaxed him in turn.
He held the door to the shelter for her, and she walked in, along with a little cat behind her. It was orange with white stripes, and as it looked up at him, he felt a swift rush of cold.
An echo.
A cat echo.
His eyes followed it even as Lana walked forward to talk to the shelter employees about what she was looking for. The women were all avidly chatting as he snuck by them, hands in pockets, following the little cat who was walking ahead and stopping every few steps to make sure he was coming.
Echoes weren’t ghosts, per se, more like psychic remnants of hopes and dreams left by people (or animals) who died with strong concerns on their minds.
That’s what he felt, at least. Perhaps they were ghosts, albeit ones that disappeared quickly after delivering their message. But he liked the word echo because it described the way they were just a resonating, fleeting version of what they’d been.
He looked over at Lana and the others and then followed the cat to a door with a small window. He opened it, wondering if he was about to get in trouble, and walked into a room full of cages.
Cold moved over him, and he walked with the cat to a certain spot on the wall and stopped, looking through a window between rows of cages to a small basket of kittens sitting on a sterile-looking counter.
The cat looked up at him, and he felt an echo of the cat’s last feelings. Its worries as it left the world. A car coming closer, a loud screech, the kittens alone in a box under some bushes.
He stared down at the kittens, helpless white balls of fur with little pink noses and tongues, and melted inside. For once, an echo had asked something easy of him.
“I got it, Momma,” he said quietly. “I’ll take care of them.”
And then the cat was gone.
The door behind him opened, and he spun around to see Lana glaring at him, the shelter workers behind her.
One of them, a kind, older woman with dark hair and eyes, walked forward with a smile. “Sorry, but you really shouldn’t be back here without supervision.”
“Sorry,” he said. “I couldn’t wait to see the kittens.”
The worker walked over to him. “I’m Leslie,” she said lightly. “Oh, you’ve seen our new arrivals.” She sighed. “Breaks your heart.”
“I know,” he said. “How could someone kill the mother and just drive off?”
Leslie stared at him, and he swallowed, realizing he’d said something he shouldn’t.
He saw Lana’s eyes widen slightly and focused on the kittens, hoping it would just blow over.
“How did you know that?” Leslie asked.
“I guessed,” he said. “I mean, why isn’t their mother here?”
“Well, you guessed perfectly,” Leslie said. “Someone else stopped to check on the mom and heard the kittens. They didn’t know what else to do with them, so they dropped them here.” Leslie wiped her forehead. “We’re looking for a foster home that can help with them since they need to be hand nursed, and we’re already short-handed here.”
“Don’t you get enough donations?” Lana asked, referring to the fact that the wealthy dragons all liked to donate.
“Yes,” Leslie answered. “Plenty of money, never enough hands. It’s not work most people want. It’s often sad. Often hard. And you have to get the right people.”
Lana nodded. “I get it.”
“We’ll take them,” Dom said resolutely.
Lana looked at him with shock. “We will not.”
Dom shook his head. “We will.”
“No, we won’t,” she said. “Look, you don’t know how much work you’re signing up for—”
“They need a home. We have plenty of room.”
“It’s just to take care of them until they are old enough to adopt,” Leslie said. “We’ll have no trouble finding homes for them if that’s what you want.”
Dom nodded. “Either way, I’m taking them.”
Leslie shrugged. “Usually I’d ask more questions, but any friend of Zach’s can take one of our animals any day. I don’t know how, but all of you big men are the sweetest. God bless you.”
Lana had to smile at that, and Dom felt her watching him as he stared at the kittens.
But this wasn’t about the two of them. This was about doing something to assist. Being useful. His favorite thing in the world was using his powers to
actually help. It kept him busy and not thinking about the nightmares.
Lana came up behind him. “It really is a lot of work. I won’t be able to always help because I’m still working on my line.”
“Of course,” he said, giving her a smile. “How about this? I’ll take care of the hard part, and you get all the cuddles.”
Her face slowly lit up at that, until she was radiant. Like he’d just promised her the world, not some snuggles with orphan kittens.
She looked at the kittens with new excitement. “I think I’d like that.”
“Good,” he said, feeling a new kind of connection between them. Warm. Gentle. So this was being friends. He hadn’t had that since Thurston.
He blocked those thoughts.
The workers went to start paperwork and said they’d send them with instructions and carefully explain what they’d need to do for the kittens.
But Dom felt Lana’s hand on his arm, stopping him before he could follow them into the main room. “What is it?”
“Dom, how did you know about the kittens’ mom?” she asked quietly.
He was silent. He had no idea what to say. As a rule, he never told anyone about this aspect of his powers. It never went well.
He walked forward, facing away. “Come on. Let’s go home.”
She respected his wish not to talk about it and released him so he could head out.
He hated the distance it put between them. Hated the secrets he had to keep.
But right now, she didn’t want him even as he was. How much less would she want him when she knew he was a freak?
Lana didn’t know what had just happened with Dom at the shelter.
Now that they were driving home, after getting Zach to come pick them up so the kittens could have a safe ride, she couldn’t stop thinking about his face when she’d asked him about the kittens’ mother.
Fear.
On that tall, intimidating man’s face was clear, bald-faced fear.
It made no sense. How could a man as strong as him be afraid of anything?
If she were his size with his strength, she wouldn’t be.
She looked over at the box of mewling kittens, letting out tiny cries of distress. She stroked one, and it sought her touch, rubbing its tiny cheek against her, melting her soul with its cuteness.
At first, she’d thought Dom had just been drawn in by the cute kitties, but then he’d said what he did to the worker, and everyone had just been in shock.
She knew, as a dragon, he had powers no one understood. That he spent a lot of time in his room talking to no one. Hearing things. That he was the psychic dragon, though she didn’t know what that entailed. She’d heard that just in conversations between other dragons.
But there was also a hushed reverence about it, a carefulness when they discussed him that they didn’t have when they discussed other powers like Red’s ultra-hot fire or Zach’s onyx shield.
He was sitting on the other side of the backseat, looking down at the kittens with lowered brows.
The juxtaposition of this huge, dark man and the tiny, white fluffs was almost too much for her brain.
He was handsome. Something she was able to notice more when he was focused on something other than her. So far, he’d been true to his word about them being friends. He hadn’t made a single move, and she was becoming more comfortable with that.
Zach made small talk as they headed home, and Dom straightened in his seat and was reading through the papers and instructions for feeding.
Alistair had come along to take Dom’s motorcycle home. He’d been wanting to steal Dom’s bike for some time, a common point of contention, but for once, Dom hadn’t cared. He’d been far more involved with the kittens.
It appeared once he had something to rescue, he became wholly focused on it.
Was that why he’d become so focused on her? Was this how he’d been when he’d been helping them look for her?
She didn’t know.
All she knew was in one day, one afternoon really, of being friends with him, she was already coming to know more about him than she had in a month of him chasing her.
He caught her watching him and looked over. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” she said, blushing. She looked ahead at the road. “Just thinking it’s a huge responsibility.”
“I already said you can just have the fun part.”
She looked over at him, ignoring her own blush and hoping it would just go away. “You know, it’s really unexpected, you wanting to help kittens like that.”
“Really? Why?” he asked, reaching down to stroke one with his long, strong finger that made the kittens look even tinier. “Who wouldn’t want to help these little guys?”
“Well,” she said, feeling the cursed blush grow deeper, “you just always seemed like the silent and alone type. I mean, when you weren’t stalking me, you were just hiding in your room.”
“Working in my room,” he said. “Which, yes, involves privacy. And wait, stalking you?” He raised an eyebrow.
“You heard me,” she muttered.
He took a deep breath, raising himself as if about to debate her, and then a kitten mewed, stealing his attention. He sighed. “All I can do is say I’m sorry and try to be a better friend. I went about it the wrong way. I’m fixing things now.”
“I know,” she said, feeling a small tingle just looking at him. “And I’ll stop bringing it up. I’m sorry.” She pressed her lips together and glanced over at him. “I guess I could have done more to give you a chance as well.”
“You have your reasons,” he said.
She liked that about him. He didn’t try to intrude on her secrets, didn’t want to share his. Just respected the comfortable distance she’d requested.
Even if, watching him play with the kittens, a part of her wanted to close that distance, just a little.
Chapter 4
That night, after everyone was done cooing and mooning over the kittens, Dom was left alone in his room, taking care of nursing them.
It was a tricky endeavor, even though the shelter workers had showed him just how, but their warnings about the risk of overfeeding or doing it wrong still haunted him.
Plus, he felt a responsibility to the momma cat. He’d make sure these kittens were taken care of even if he had to monitor every last drop.
Lana had seemed to enjoy the kittens, but at the end of the night, she’d seemed almost afraid to spend more time with him, despite how they were getting along, and had headed to bed early.
Dom missed her.
He gently nudged the kitten in front of him, who was lying on its stomach (the position Dom had been told to always feed in) to try and get him take the nipple of his bottle again. The special kitten formula he’d been given was the perfect temperature, and the other two kittens had done just fine, but this one was struggling to latch.
At three weeks, they could just barely walk well, their ears were up, and they made little purrs when happy or squeaks when distraught. But they weren’t that coordinated.
Still, after he massaged the nipple and released a couple tantalizing drops, the kitten began to suck, and Dom let out a sigh of relief.
The kitten had almost finished the carefully measured amount of formula when Dom heard a noise that made him sit bolt upright. A low moan.
Then a choked sob.
Some alarm going off inside him told him it was Lana. Usually, he was asleep at this time of night, lost in his own nightmares, so he wouldn’t know if she’d ever made noises like that before. Plus, he was on the other end of the hall.
He set the kitten back in the box, but it let out a little displeased squeak and tried to follow him, clumsily working to climb out. The others were sound asleep on the blankets and heating pad he’d installed in their nesting box. But little Spot didn’t want to go along with it.
Dom had decided to name him Spot because he was pure white, save for a little black spot on his nose. He sighed and picked Spot up, t
ucking him into his sweatshirt, and walked down the hall quietly to stand outside Lana’s room. Listening.
Like the stalker she’d accused him of being.
But he couldn’t help it. If his mate was in distress, he couldn’t stay away from her and not try to do something to alleviate it. It just wasn’t in a dragon’s nature.
He heard another choked sob, cut off short as if the person crying were trying to fight not to be heard or to not cry at all.
He lifted his hand and gently knocked.
The crying halted, but gentle sniffles still punctuated the quiet.
“Lana?” he asked in a low voice.
“What is it?” she asked hoarsely, clearly not in the mood to be bothered.
“Can I come in?”
No answer.
“I’m having some trouble with Spot. I was wondering if you could help.”
He heard something rustling, perhaps tissues, and heard her moving about, probably trying to compose herself.
When she answered the door, wearing red silk pajamas under a fluffy purple robe, her eyes were red but dry, and her demeanor was hard. Until she saw Spot cuddled in his arm. She reached for the kitten with a little cooing noise.
“Do you need me to take them for a while?” she asked, sitting on the bed and stroking Spot, who was curling into a tiny ball on her lap. He began to purr.
Dom tried not to be jealous. It was stupid to be jealous of a kitten. Especially an orphaned kitten.
But Lana’s soft touch and beautiful brown eyes were everything he wanted directed at him and couldn’t have, simply because he was a shifter. Abnormal.
Not for the first time, he wished he could have been a regular human.
“No, I shouldn’t have even come to bother you. But Spot’s being so needy, and I thought he needed a cuddle.”
Lana brought him up to rub against her cheek. “I needed a cuddle.” She lowered him again to her lap because he’d squeaked from being in the air. “I really can take the next watch, though.”
“No, I said I would do the hard stuff,” he retorted, leaning against the door.
Amethyst Dragon (Awakened Dragons Book 5) Page 3
