by Riley Storm
“Trent,” he said and then peered more closely at her. “Ah.”
She lifted her eyebrows. “Ah? Ah what, Trent?”
“We have met. Somewhat. Several weeks ago.”
“I feel like I would have remembered you,” she said, catching a glimpse of short, gently curled black hair piled on top of his head, the sides cut down short to the sides.
He had a very square forehead and cheekbones, tapering down to a deliciously chiseled jawline, which in turn was complemented by his broad shoulders, the muscles of them and his chest filling out his shirt extraordinarily well.
Yeah, I definitely would have remembered meeting a hottie like you, she thought to herself.
“Well, I didn’t quite look like this,” he said with a shrug.
“What did you look like?” she asked, confused as all heck now. “I haven’t been to any costume parties lately.”
“Um, think more like sixty feet long and blue.”
Lilly’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head. “It’s you,” she said softly. “The dragon shifter on the mountain. You’re him.”
He nodded. “Trent Atrox.”
“That’s amazing!” she said, clapping her hands together and grinning from ear to ear. “You found me. How about that. What are the odds we’d run into each other again?”
“Uh, yeah,” Trent said, shifting awkwardly. “What are the odds…”
She noted his distinct lack of enthusiasm about it all.
“What is it Trent? Why are you here?” she asked, suddenly curious.
“Because I’m the one who did this,” he said, gesturing at her damaged shop. “I’m the one who broke everything.”
Chapter Five
Lilly
All of her excitement and thrill at seeing Trent again came crashing down around her like the shattered glass of her window.
“You what?” she repeated, scarcely believing what she’d heard.
“I destroyed your shop,” he said uncomfortably. “The lights, the window, the electrics. That was me.”
She shook her head. That just didn’t seem like the kind of man that she’d met on the mountain in the dark of night.
“I don’t get it,” she said, frowning. “Why would you do that Trent?”
He shrugged but didn’t respond.
Lilly’s lips flattened into a thin line as she glared at him, good mood giving way to anger once more. Unlike her parents, she didn’t have to hold her anger in with him. She could simply let it out. Let it go.
“Why are you here then? Did you come back to gloat? To taunt me about what you did? Or is this some sort of weird dragon thing that’s supposed to get my attention? You break something of mine so that I have to give you the time of day?”
“I’m not here to gloat,” he growled, a hint of anger seeping into his own voice.
“You’re not? Not here to see how this might screw me over? That you’ve set me back from opening, again? That I’m going to have to use the last of my loan to pay for your damage? Do you want to rub in the fact that I might have to close up shop before I even open? Is that why you’re here?”
She flung the last question at him with all the pent up vitriol and anger she could muster. What was his problem?!
Her eyes strayed to the interior of her shop. She didn’t know if she had the money to fix everything. Light bulbs were one thing, but if he’d fried all the wiring of her shop…
I’ve failed. That’s it then. I’ve failed. Again.
“I’m here to help you,” Trent was saying, bringing her out of her internal misery and looming depression.
“What?” she asked, wondering if she’d heard him correctly.
“I’m here to help. Clean up, fix it. Whatever you need,” he said tightly.
Lilly’s jaw dropped slightly from the surprise. “Wait, hold on. You are? What the hell for? Who destroys something then comes back later to help fix it?”
“I do, I guess,” he said, giving her an awkward, forced smile. “I, um, feel bad.”
Lilly was nodding slowly by this point, not sure what else to really do. “Really. Well then maybe you should have, I don’t know, not done it in the first place!”
Trent stepped back at her sudden outburst, but he remained silent, simply grimacing in acknowledgment of her comment.
Lilly opened her mouth to send him away, to tell him to get lost, but something stopped her. A feeling in her gut that doing that would be the wrong thing. That she should keep him around. She frowned at herself. Where had this feeling come from? Why did she want him around?
“Okay, let me get this straight then,” she said, forcing down her anger and frustration. I will not cry right now. I will not. “You’re here to do whatever I want?”
“In terms of helping clean up, yes,” Trent said.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Okay,” she said, glass crunching underfoot as she marched back to the counter and grabbed a few things stored there. “Okay. Here’s a broom, dustpan and brush. You can start by cleaning up all the glass from the light bulbs that went everywhere. Work your way from the top down.”
Trent took the cleaning utensils as she shoved them at him roughly.
“Right. So you want me to clean all the dragon stuff?” he rumbled, looking around at all the figurines and models.
Lilly’s lip pulled back in a snarl. “Yes, that’s exactly what I mean. Do you have a problem with that?”
Sheesh. What the hell’s his problem? Does he not like dragon stuff or something? I would have thought he’d approve of what I’m doing here.
Trent just looked at her, then turned and brusquely walked by her to start working, his motions stiff and uncaring.
“You know that for a guy who is professing to want to help, you’re acting like a real dick, right?” she asked, the words tumbling from her mouth, bypassing the filter of her brain.
Trent snorted as he swept off a statue of a dragon rearing up on its hind legs, wings spread wide. The statue rocked slightly under his fervent brushing, and Lilly winced, wondering if maybe she should have him do something else before he broke stuff.
“You’re one to talk about being a dick,” he muttered more than loud enough for her to hear.
“Excuse me?” she barked, shocked. “I’m not the one who came and broke your place of business for absolutely no reason.”
Trent turned to her, teeth clenched tightly, muscles straining at the seams of his shirt and at his neck. His biceps were practically straining to rip through the flimsy-looking fabric, and his entire body had puffed up in size.
Even with the angry look on his face, it was hard to deny the attractiveness within. Now that he was facing the street so light landed on his face, Lilly could see the deep blue of his eyes, dark and mysterious, like the depths of the ocean. It threatened to drag her in, to pull her past the outer anger.
She glanced away, not wanting to get into a staring contest with a man who was pissing her off to no end.
“You heard me,” he growled.
It really was a shame that he was a dick because he was very handsome.
“You really are a dick,” she said, uttering the words vocally again as well. “I didn’t get that impression from you the first night we met, but now…Now I can see the real you.”
Trent opened his mouth to speak, but she beat him to it, cutting him off.
“Tell me, Trent, the night we met. Were you really looking for space, or had you been kicked out of wherever you come from because you’re an asshole?”
“That’s rich,” Trent said, throwing his head back, a single bark of disdainful laughter filling the store. “So very rich, coming from the woman willing to exploit my species!”
Lilly’s jaw dropped wide open. “I am what?” she shouted, taking a step toward him.
“You heard me,” Trent sneered, brush and broom forgotten, clattering to the floor as he came closer as well.
“I have no idea what’s going on in that head of yours, Trent, other than not much
, but you need to stop being a judgmental asshole.”
“And you should stop trying to capitalize on my existence by making money from it!”
“What the hell is your problem?” she snapped, glaring up at him, unafraid despite his size.
“You are,” he snarled, looming over her.
“I didn’t do anything to you!” she shouted, at her wits’ end with whatever his problem was. “It’s so easy for you to be so judgmental up there isn’t it? The air too thin, making you think you’re so much better than the rest of us?”
Trent abruptly came down to her level. “Is that better?” he asked, fury filling his eyes.
“Yeah, it is!” she hissed. “You big, egotistical bastard.”
“Capitalist bitch.”
“Fragile male.”
They stopped and stared at each other, lungs rising and falling with heavy breaths. She locked gazes with him, feeling herself pulled into the depths of his eyes, a vortex of emotion she couldn’t avoid.
Trent hissed and then came at her.
Lilly had no time to react before his lips were on hers, lifting her chin up into a kiss that burned with a fiery intensity to match what she’d seen in his eyes in the last brief instant before he’d closed them.
Chapter Six
Trent
He felt her lips pressed back against his. Her back seemed to arch as she pushed up into him. Sparks were exploding behind his closed eyes, and his ears roared as blood rushed through his body, propelled by the frenetic beating of his suddenly awoken heart.
Damn she feels good against me.
The rising warmth was suddenly doused as the hands on his chest went taut and then pushed him away, the duo staring at each other in shock. Both of them were breathing even harder than before, neither able to speak for long moments, drawing out the realization of what had just happened.
The woman was the first to recover.
“What the hell was that?” she asked, anger lashing through her eyes. “You don’t even know my name.”
“I don’t know,” he replied truthfully, stunned by his own boldness. Where had that come from? What had spurred him to do such a thing? “But it was good, wasn’t it?”
He flashed her a grin, feeling a rising surge of something, though he couldn’t identify what it was at first.
The woman seemed stunned by his comment. “How are you so cocky?” she snapped.
Belatedly, Trent realized what he was feeling was contentment from his dragon, the beast half of him coyly smug about what had happened.
And abruptly he knew where the sudden surge of lust wrapped around the anger he’d been feeling had come from. His dragon had managed to spur him onward.
“Why would I ever think that kissing you was good?” she added. “Do you not remember that you’re the jerk who destroyed my store?”
Trent sagged. “We’re back to that again, are we?” he asked, hoping that they had managed to move on. Couldn’t she at least yell at him for kissing her, instead of that song and dance? “Yes, I did it, okay? I’ve admitted that. You know that. I’m also here to fix it. Let’s just move on.”
He neglected to inform her that he wasn’t here of his own wish, but what did it matter? Especially after the kiss they’d just shared. Now Trent definitely did want to be there. What if there was another opportunity to kiss her? What if she kissed him back?
The short woman was certainly his type. A couple of inches over five feet, she was tiny, with a thick waist and plenty of lushness to explore. Thick legs, generous waist, and—though he’d only caught a brief glimpse—a rear that he could really grip onto, he was sure. She also was a good kisser.
And feisty. Very feisty.
His dragon liked that as much as Trent did.
“You know what?” she said. “No, I’m not moving on. Not yet. Not until we get something clear.”
“And what is that, Shopkeeper?”
She ignored his remark and pointed at the nearest dragon object. “I am not exploiting you or your people. You’re the only one I’ve met. I am not using you.”
Trent snorted. “Look around you, Lady,” he said, using the word as a proper noun. He would keep coming up with different ones until she told him her name. “Take a look at all this dragon junk. You’re making money off my people. Turning us into curiosities. Like a zoo.”
Her brown eyes flashed with a hint of golden anger behind the thick eyelashes. “Are you for real? A zoo? Do you see anyone moving in here? Any live exhibits? Get a grip. Does a store that sells stuffed animals exploit animals? Get over yourself, Trent. Not to mention, did you actually look at any of the big stuff?”
“Uh, yes?”
“Not glance at it. But actually look, you arrogant jerk,” she said. “Here. Look at this one. Actually examine it.”
Trent glared at her, but she just pointed at the cast-iron depiction. He leaned in closer. The dragon was curled up around something, its head facing a different direction, teeth bared. He looked inside and saw a trio of small children cowering under the wing. Human children.
“Now try this one,” she said, pointing to another large model.
This time, the dragon displayed was alone, its shoulders taut, head up, a very proud pose. A plaque was carved into the base of the model. The words on it read Protector of Humanity.
Trent frowned, and without prompting, he looked around at several of the other showpieces she had scattered in her store.
“You see now,” she said quietly. “They all paint your people in a good light. As the good guys. Yes, I’m making money off it, but I’m helping your people. We both know that not everyone has been thrilled by your appearance.”
“Are you talking about those stupid CAW people?”
“CAW?” the woman asked, confused.
“Church of the Anti-Wyrm,” he said, spitting out the hated title. “We just call them CAWS.”
She laughed. “That’s good. CAW. I’ll have to remember that. But yes, that’s what I was talking about. I’m on your side, Trent.”
He growled but didn’t say anything either way. The thing was, she had a point. Sort of.
It doesn’t matter.
“You’re still making money off us,” he said. “Regardless of how we might be judged because of it. I can’t support that.”
“Okay. Well, get to work,” she said, obviously done arguing. “Clean up your mess and then get out of here. I don’t want to see you again.”
She pushed past him and walked down an aisle, disappearing into the back, closing the door firmly behind her. Trent frowned, but as his gaze focused on the door, he began to smile.
On it was a name plaque.
Never want to see me again? We’ll see about that, Lilly Vickers…
Chapter Seven
Trent
He frowned at the memory of a closed door.
True to her word, Lilly hadn’t emerged from the office at all. She’d left him to clean the entire shop from top to bottom, freeing it of any and all glass from the light bulbs. The window was also cleaned up. He’d removed the pieces of glass that had been left in the frame as well, ensuring that the replacement pane would fit easily and with minimal work.
Trent might not have wanted to go to her shop in the first place, but when he’d told Lilly he would clean up his mess, he’d meant it. That had been before they’d shared a kiss. After that, he wanted to clean to make her happy. Unfortunately, he’d had to leave before he could get her reaction to his work.
After all, he had a second part of his punishment to fulfill.
Sighing unhappily, he continued descending the smooth floor of the mineshaft, following a well-known route into the depths where the Gate awaited him and eight hours of his time.
“Can’t believe this shit,” he muttered. “Thought I’d left Gate guarding duty behind.”
For some, being assigned a permanent position guarding one of three known Gates to the Otherworld was a position of honor and prestige. The Otherworld was t
he realm where the enemies of humanity lived.
All sorts of dark and feral beasts lived there. True, not all were evil, but precisely none were welcome on earth. The dragons guarded the Gates against all comers, be they Fae or their servants, or the legions of trolls, orcs, goblins, elves, vampires, or any number of dark demonic creatures that inhabited the other side. Most had learned long ago never to come through and challenge a dragon, but still, the Gate was guarded, nonetheless.
In addition to the permanent guard, every shifter spent five years training and guarding the Gate. Most were eager to leave it behind. Nothing ever happened with the Gate. It was boring. Uneventful.
At least it had been, until a year ago, when something came through. Trent shied away from the memory of what had followed. The death of his leader, and with it, Trent’s failure.
“What fun to be back,” he complained, rounding the corner, the Gate coming into view.
After five years of guarding it, Trent knew what to expect. The roughly oval shape hovered in mid-air, twelve feet high, perhaps seven wide at the maximum. It was mostly dark inky blackness with the occasional spike of color racing through it, deep purples and blues. The edges were lined with gray and white lightning, the ripples in reality that enabled the Gate to stay permanently open.
That’s what it looked like in his mind’s eye, ever unchanging. When Trent laid eyes upon it for the first time in years, however, he immediately knew something was wrong. It might seem presumptuous to assume that any change was a bad change, but with the Gate, that was a sensible approach.
“What the hell is going on?” Trent asked, having to raise his voice slightly as an unnatural wind abruptly picked up, beginning to swirl around the cavern, lifting bits of dust and debris as it went.
The guard, four dragons—double the normal complement of two, after the event of a year before—looked at him sharply, his presence obviously surprising them.
The Gate was bigger. It fairly crackled with energy, the usual deep colors of purple and blue now complemented with oranges and reds and greens and whites. Energy raced around the perimeter. It was easily two feet taller now, towering over the dragon shifters.
