Besides, the dragons were seeming friendly enough. He had no excuse for his nervous overprotectiveness. Nothing that would make him look less crazy for insisting she had nothing to do with them.
Still, he thought after they’d made love, she’d have a little more respect for his opinions.
“Lana, can I talk to you?” he asked tightly, gesturing outside the room.
She shook her head. “It can wait until after dinner.”
He suppressed a growl low in his throat and tried to look like he wasn’t miffed. He saw Topaz’s eyes move toward him, and the grin on the other dragon intensified. Dom definitely didn’t like him.
“Okay,” Zach said. “So ground rules. There’s a guesthouse on the grounds. The dragons will stay there.”
“How are we supposed to learn culture if you quarantine us?” Topaz asked.
“I saw that so-called guesthouse,” Citrine said dourly. “It’s more of a shed.”
Alistair snarled. “If it were up to me, I’d put you in the lake. So shut the fuck up if you know what’s good for you.”
“Oh yeah?” Topaz asked, standing up, the collar on his neck emitting yellow sparks. “Want to take this outside and settle it now?”
“Sure,” Alistair said. “I’d take pleasure in beating your collared ass.”
“Alistair!” the oracle said, offended.
Bridget put her hand on her mate’s arm, and Alistair visibly calmed. Still, they’d all seen a bit of the old diamond dragon, who took on whoever he wanted, whenever he wanted.
Bridget had been good for him.
He slammed back down in his chair but kept his glare pinned on Topaz.
Topaz leaned back lazily, making the chairs creak. “So we’ll stay in the house, then.”
Zach sighed. “Sit forward. Those are antiques.”
Topaz rocked on them, making them creak. “Oh, are they?”
“Stop it,” Citrine muttered, and Topaz stopped.
Lana was watching them both now, hopefully a little less certain about helping them.
“So what are you going to do while we’re babysitting?” Zach asked the oracle.
“I’ll be trying to find my sister,” she said. “In fact, I may need your help, Zach, once I do.”
“You have it,” Zach said, resigned. He looked at Erin, his mate. She had pretty auburn hair and blue eyes and only ever seemed to support Zach with all his duties. The oracle had gotten them together, and Zach seemed forever grateful, if a little grumpy and hard to control at times.
They were dragons after all.
“I’m going to try and make contact, but if I can’t, I’ll be sending you in with a tracking device,” the oracle said.
“Why can’t you go yourself?” Alistair asked.
“Because I’m powerful but fragile. Nothing like a dragon. And the dragons need me alive, for obvious reasons. You won’t be able to take down my sister without me.”
“How come she’s your sister but evil?” Alistair asked.
The oracle sighed. “Mona always had trouble. She always hated humans. She had reasons, I suppose, but I’d rather not go into those. I put her to sleep many years ago. She was strong. I had to freeze an entire area to catch her. But I did it. I guess she woke up. I’m not sure how.”
“Someone found her?”
“Perhaps,” the oracle said. “Anyway, if it wasn’t Mona causing us trouble, it would be someone else. There will always be shifters trying to upset the status quo, always people who want to control and dominate and hurt others rather than protect them. That’s what you all are for.”
Topaz nodded, and Citrine just sat there. What would it take to get some actual emotion out of the guy?
“Anyway, I have to be heading back tonight,” the oracle said, rising. “Thank you for the meal and for taking care of my friends. I’ll leave you to figure out sleeping arrangements.”
Zach nodded tightly.
“Good night,” she said, leaving the table.
No one followed, other than Citrine, who slowly stood and walked after her.
The rest of them sat at the table, locked in a checkmate. Topaz stared defiantly, pleasantly back at Zach and Alistair, who were sending him looks promising death.
Dom didn’t know what to make of all this. Sometimes dealing with people and shifters made him just want to take off alone again. But not now that he had Lana.
He put his hand over hers and saw Topaz notice the movement and grin. “Can we go talk while they work it out?” Dom asked quietly.
She nodded and followed him from the room, allowing him to keep hold of her hand.
When they left, they could see the oracle standing in the entryway, talking to Citrine, whose head was bent, nodding.
“Let’s go up to my room,” Dom said. “The kittens need us anyway.”
Lana nodded, and they walked up the stairs, no longer holding hands.
When they reached his room, he was reminded of what they’d done, the hot moments between them. The scent of her in the air.
She took a chair by the window where it was coolest, and he sat on the bed with his hands on his knees, leaning forward.
“I don’t want you talking with them,” he said. “I don’t trust them as far as I can throw them.”
She smiled. “You can probably throw them pretty far, though, huh?”
“This is serious, Lana. Don’t go with them when I’m not there.”
“They’re collared,” she said. “The oracle trusts them.”
“You don’t know what they’re capable of. I don’t either.”
“So you don’t know them? You knew the others.”
“Vaguely,” he said. “But Topaz and Citrine weren’t in our area. I’m not sure where they came from.”
“Do they have other names?”
“Does it matter?” he asked, exasperated. “Or are you already looking at other dragons after we just made love.”
She raised a dark eyebrow, her tawny skin flushing. “Made love? I thought we both released tension. We’re friends.”
“Fine,” he said tightly. “You know it was more than that, but call it whatever makes you comfortable. So you’re looking to make ‘friends’ with other dragons.”
“I don’t know,” she said. “Shouldn’t I? Shouldn’t I be learning that not all shifters are awful like Galen?”
“I’m kind of worried that newly awakened dragons aren’t the ones to be teaching you that. And honestly, even a collared dragon is so much stronger than a human it isn’t funny.”
“Dom,” she said, standing. Her curls were still mussed from what they’d done. He longed to reach out and touch her, go back to how well things had been going just hours before. “Thing are going well. Don’t be controlling. Don’t get weird on me. We said we were friends. I’m not ready for a mate.”
“I could protect you as a mate.”
“I don’t understand why it makes a difference,” she said.
“Because anyone can challenge me until you’re claimed.”
“And they’re collared and you aren’t,” she said.
But he wasn’t really afraid that he’d let anyone overpower her. Really, he was afraid maybe Lana didn’t want to only be friends with him because she hated shifters. Maybe she just wasn’t that into him. She wasn’t rude to Zach and Alistair, and she’d said it was because they were her friends’ mates. But what if it was more? What if she wasn’t interested in Dom?
Then why had she sucked his dick and come in his arms? And if she did that without liking him, what was to stop her from doing it with another dragon?
She walked over to him, sensing his distress, and put her arms around his neck. “Stop worrying. I’m not going to… I mean… What we did today, I don’t know what it means. But I’m not going to do that kind of thing with anyone else until we sort it out. But I still need things to go slow.”
He nodded, feeling discomfort curdling his insides like sour milk. “I don’t trust them.”
“Would you tru
st anyone with me?” she asked.
He shook his head. “No.”
“You’re a good friend.”
He huffed as he stood and started getting formula for the kittens, who were waking up and starting to mew. I’d be a better mate, he wanted to say.
He began to feed Mallow, and she picked up Spot and took the bottle he gave her.
She glanced at him as they listened to the kittens suckle. When Mallow was done, Dom picked up the little gray tail and fed him next.
“Dom,” she said. “I want to explore things with you, but I want to be honest with you in that I still may want to go home at the end of this. Back to my world.”
He grunted a yes, and even that felt painful. Why did he have to get the only mate who didn’t want anything to do with dragons romantically?
“If you hate dragons so much, why are you going to help Topaz?” he asked.
“I guess because he seems like he’d be a good friend. I didn’t sense anything pressuring or tough from him. Unlike most shifters.”
He gritted his teeth. So Topaz would win because he seemed less into her? Dom couldn’t act any less interested in her. It just wouldn’t be the truth.
But that didn’t mean he was worse for her than Topaz.
“I’m really attracted to you, Dom. Obviously, and I really appreciate everything you’ve done. And what we’ve done together.” She grinned. “So hot. I want to do that again. But in the meantime, I need to be free. I can’t have you controlling me.”
Dom let out a breath through gritted teeth. “Fine.”
She looked like she knew he was uncomfortable, but they weren’t likely to come to any better arrangement. She finished feeding Spot and stroked him on her lap, cooing.
His heart softened toward her. He needed to stop being jealous. To just be patient. She was kind. She was fun. She was his, even if it wasn’t easy for her to see that. He just had to have faith that if he was a good enough friend, she would have the room to realize he was the one for her.
Even if it would require more patience from him than he’d ever exercised in his life.
She smiled at him, stroking Spot, and he knew it’d be worth it.
Chapter 12
Lana was looking forward to being alone in her own bed, behind a locked door that night. So much had happened that day and she hadn’t had time to process it.
Everything with Dom had been amazing. So comfortable, so exciting.
Her cheeks warmed as she flopped back on her bed, and then she sat up and pulled her laptop in. After such an exciting day, she felt like designing. She’d missed it more than anything when she’d been imprisoned.
Someone knocked softly on her door. “Can I come in?” It was Bridget. “Erin’s with me.”
“Okay,” Lana said, opening the door.
The two girls walked forward. Erin’s enviable long, auburn hair was back in a ponytail, and her kind blue eyes were full of concern. She wore a black track jacket over black yoga pants. Beside her, Bridget was in a nightgown with a dark robe over it. Her dark-blond hair was back in a bun, and her mossy-green eyes were hesitant.
Lana gestured for them both to come in.
Erin sat on the bed. “Love your room. Do you like it?”
“Yes,” Lana said, sitting in the chair next to the desk they’d given her to work at.
Bridget sat on the bed next to Erin. Despite her long friendship with Bridget, she kind of felt like the odd one out. She wasn’t mated to a dragon. In fact, she was resisting it as hard as she could.
“Dom’s really sweet with the kittens,” Bridget said.
“Did something happen between you two?” Erin said, always the blunt one.
Lana flushed. “I don’t know.”
“Yes, you do,” Bridget said, a grin spreading over her freckled face. “Do tell.”
“I don’t want to,” Lana said, running a hand through her messy curls. “Ugh, was it that obvious to everyone?”
“I don’t think so,” Erin said. “I didn’t realize it until I saw how Dom was acting. I mean, he’s protective in general, but he was practically over there crackling with tension.”
“He’s my friend,” Lana said. “That’s all I can do for now.”
“Friends?” Bridget asked skeptically. “Then why are you bright red?”
“I don’t know,” Lana said. “Dragons are hot. We made out. Maybe more.” She threw her hands up. “What do you want me to say?”
“Are you going to mate him?”
“No,” Lana said. “I mean, come on. I’m human. In the human world, we can hook up a few times without it being permanent. You need time to get to know someone.”
“Ouch,” Erin said.
“Yeah.” Bridget agreed, wrapping her arms around her knees.
“What do you mean?”
“Just that it’s probably hard for Dom for you to be so unsure of him despite you two doing things,” Erin said.
“Yeah, isn’t that leading him on a bit?” Bridget scolded.
Lana stood, folding her arms, and walked to the window. “Look, neither of you would understand. You weren’t imprisoned by shifters. Nearly raped by them.”
Erin frowned. “With all respect, you don’t know what I went through with Zach. In fact, several shifters tried to attack me.”
Lana looked over at her. “Really?”
Erin nodded. “But it was different. I mean, your first experience with shifters was bad. Whereas, I’d met Zach. But I’ll tell you, I would have been way more into him if he’d been like Dom.”
“Me, too,” Bridget said. “You should have seen Alistair. He was practically a sociopath when I first met him.”
Lana sank down in her chair. “How do you mean?”
“When Zach met me, he just went on and on about being a dragon and how lucky I was to be able to pair with him. And this was just a crazy guy walking off the street in a trench coat.”
“Oh my gosh,” Lana said. “What did you do?”
“We worked it out,” Erin said. “But I can tell you it wasn’t a bunch of flowers and notes and trying to be friends.”
“For me either,” Bridget said. “In fact, Alistair didn’t even know he’d mated me when he gave me the ring. We had a huge fight over it. Dom’s seriously a hunk.”
“I know. Such a catch. Didn’t even need a collar. A perfect gentleman.” Erin agreed.
“He talks in his room,” Lana muttered, feeling overwhelmed by their praise for him and not having anything else to say.
“Do you know why that is?” Bridget said, looking at her owlishly.
Lana laughed nervously. “If I did, I wouldn’t betray Dom’s trust.”
“See, you do care about him,” Erin said.
“You aren’t really going to hang out with that Topaz dragon, are you?” Bridget asked. “That’s why we had to come up and bother you. I really don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“Even if we’re just here at the mansion?” Lana said. “He seems nice enough. Plus, he seems as lost in this world as I am. It would be nice to have a friend.”
“I thought Dom was your friend,” Bridget said.
“I mean, it would be nice to have a friend I don’t want to fuck,” Lana said.
Erin laughed. “Girl, you don’t want to fuck your friends. You like Dom; you just aren’t ready to admit it.”
“Right,” Lana said, folding her arms a little tighter. “I mean, is there anything wrong with that? Why shouldn’t I wait a little, get to know other non-evil shifters? Galen and the others were bad, but Dom is the only shifter I’ve gotten to spend time with that wasn’t taken and wasn’t evil. So there are some new, single men in the house. Don’t you think it could only help me learn more about shifters? And more about why Dom is special? Heck, it’ll probably make him like me more.”
“Lana, you don’t understand dragons. Dom is the only one you’ve been around a lot, and—”
Lana held up a hand. “Then isn’t this my chance? I’m still
going to keep exploring things with Dom, but I’m not willing to just give up on my life and world outside this place when I don’t know if what I’m feeling is just about him. How can I know if it’s just because he’s attractive and dragons are charming? If I make friends with other dragons, that should help me see if what I feel with Dom is more than friendship and the fact that dragons are attractive, right?”
Yeah, that sounded more reasonable the more she thought about it. Even if an uncomfortable part of her thought she was just trying to run from anything serious happening too quickly.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea,” Bridget said. “But I can’t stop you. Will you at least take Dom with you?”
Lana shook her head. “How am I supposed to get to know another dragon with Dom growling over my shoulder? You know he couldn’t deal with it.”
“You really don’t get it,” Erin said. “It’s beyond not safe.”
“They are collared,” Lana said. “And Topaz really does seem nice. That safe, friendly, older brother type.”
“Didn’t you see him about to take on Alistair?” Bridget asked.
“Because Alistair threatened him,” Lana said.
“I know Galen scared you,” Bridget said. “But I still don’t think it’s a good enough reason to doubt Dom. You should just decide if you like him. You shouldn’t need to hang out with anyone else to know that.”
Lana frowned. “I want to be alone for now. I need to make my own choices. I hope the two of you can respect that.”
Erin stood reluctantly and came forward to give her a hug. “I’m sorry if we spoke out of turn.”
Bridget joined the hug, and Lana let down her hackles and relaxed into the warm embrace.
Friends. She really needed to start trusting people again. But she also needed to trust her own judgment. Make her own decisions.
“We’ll support you in whatever you do,” Bridget said. “Just know I’m totally team Dom.”
“Me, too,” Erin said with a wave.
Then they were gone.
Lana sat back against the bed and opened her laptop. All desire to design was gone. She was just tired. Perhaps they were right. Perhaps she shouldn’t talk to the other dragons. Should just avoid them.
Even though she’d already promised to help Topaz, if he came to her, she would just have to say she’d changed her mind.
Amethyst Dragon (Awakened Dragons Book 5) Page 9
