Rich coming from you, dragon. You like nothing more than to flash naked images of her inside our mind.
It helps me with waiting since we only saw her naked the one time.
Ivy had decided that she couldn't be naked around Zain until she was cured. It was too great a temptation.
Never in his life had Zain hated clothing more.
He paced the living room, glancing at the clock. It was five minutes past two. Ivy was late.
Just as he was about to charge into her workspace to see what was going on, Blake emerged into the living room with a smile on his face.
Zain clenched his fingers into a fist and ground his teeth. Remember, he's not a threat, not a threat, not a threat.
Blake finally noticed him and blinked. "She's upstairs waiting for you."
Not wanting to encourage the male to go into a long spiel about things he didn't understand, Zain nodded and raced up the stairs to Ivy's office.
He found her hunched over a desk, scribbling furiously. Despite the fact she wore stretchy yoga pants and a loose T-shirt, with her hair hastily tied back, she was still the most beautiful female in the world to him.
While impatient, he merely watched her work. If Ivy was on the cusp of a breakthrough, not even he would be selfish and risk her losing her train of thought.
After all, Ivy was working to safeguard not only Stonefire but dragon-shifters the world over.
When she finally sighed and tossed aside her pen, Zain took that as his cue to approach her. Without a word, he placed his hands on her shoulders and kneaded the tight muscles. She moaned into his touch and said, "If you ever decide to give up on your Protector duties, you'd be an excellent masseuse."
He snorted. "Right, because my brusque manner will surely put people at ease." He kissed the top of her head and asked, "Did you solve your puzzle?"
Ivy shook her head. "No, but I'm nearly there. There's just one last bit of the formula I need to crack, and I may have something to counter any human-made drug against dragon-shifters. Well, within reason. It won't protect you against something like sarin gas, or other types of biological weapons."
"I think that's fair. Not even you can make us immortal."
She smiled and looked up to meet his gaze. "An immortal dragon-shifter would be far too cocky. I don't think the world would be able to handle it."
He chuckled. "You're probably right." He removed his hands from her shoulders and motioned toward the door. "Can you still come out for a break? My dragon is getting rather impatient for some ear scratches."
She nodded and stood. However, Ivy swayed for a second. Zain steadied her, frowning in the process. "Are you sure you can handle going out? If you're exhausted, then tell me the truth."
"I just need something to eat, and I'll be fine, I promise. And before you get extra protective, Dr. Sid saw me this morning and said I was doing well. She even sent me home with a copy of the results, just in case I needed to prove it to you."
He grunted. "I'm not that bad."
"Oh, yes you are." She placed a hand on his chest. "But I wouldn't have it any other way."
As they stared at one another, Zain battled the ever-present urge to kiss his female. "Since we don't have a lot of time before you need to work some more with Nate and Lucien, I'll take your word. But you're getting an energy bar first."
She sighed. "I hate those things."
"I know, but you need them to gain a little more weight. Doctor's orders." He reached for her forearm crutches and turned them toward the door.
They'd fallen into a routine, and whenever they were inside the cottage, Ivy leaned against him and used him instead of her crutches. However, she wanted to appear less vulnerable outside their home and would only use the crutches then.
The dragon side of him wanted her to always rely on him, but his human half respected his strong, independent female.
After Ivy quickly ate her food, they went outside. As they walked, he noted every person who turned away from them. The list was growing a little smaller as news of Ivy's work spread, but not fast enough.
Every individual who snubbed them was on his list to watch for any sign of danger.
His dragon spoke up. It takes time. Remember when Melanie first came here? She is merely human, nothing more, and it took months, some even more than a year, to accept her.
Melanie Hall-MacLeod was beloved not only by Stonefire but also by many dragon clans who supported human-dragon pairings. After all, she'd done much to sway public opinion with her book. They may have been wary of Melanie, but Ivy's situation is different. There are probably some people who want to kill Ivy for merely being a former Dragon Knight, regardless of what she's doing now.
His beast growled. We won't let that happen.
Agreed.
They approached the main landing area, and Zain mentally sighed in relief to see it empty. He'd picked early afternoon on purpose since it was the quietest time of day for takeoffs and landings.
Ivy whispered, "You're going to keep your promise, right? Not to fly away this first time?"
He placed a hand on her lower back. "No, I won't fly away. And if you want me to change back, you know the special word to say."
She bobbed her head. "Watermelon."
Yes, he and Ivy had a safe word for dragon forms. Zain didn't think anyone had had that before.
He stopped them at the edge of the huge, empty area surrounded by low walls. He turned her face up toward his and searched her eyes. "I know I keep mentioning my dragon's desire to show off to you, but if you're not ready, just tell me now, and we'll do it later."
Ivy shook her head. "No, I'm ready, truly. If I can't accept all of you, then this will be doomed before it barely starts."
He cupped her cheek and stroked her soft skin with his thumb. "Whilst it may not seem brave to most, you are exceptionally brave right now, Ivy Passmore."
And if not for her condition, he'd kiss her in reassurance.
But he fucking couldn't. Zain was all for getting to know a female he cared for before sleeping with her, but it was starting to get ridiculous.
His dragon murmured, Forget about that. It's finally my turn to show off.
Aware of how patient his dragon had been, Zain caressed Ivy's cheek one last time before he moved toward the middle of the sheltered landing area. Methodically, he stripped off his clothes, and he couldn't help but notice Ivy's gaze turn heated. Although the hunger in her eyes made both man and beast stand a little taller, he did his best to tame his cock.
The day he could claim her couldn't come soon enough.
His dragon growled. Hurry up. You've had a lot of time with her. It's my turn.
And so Zain closed his eyes and let his dragon half take over so he could shift.
Ivy's mouth dropped open as Zain's body changed. His nose elongated into a snout, his arms and legs morphed into limbs, and wings sprouted from his back. It couldn't have been more than thirty seconds or so, but time seemed to move slowly until her dragonman stood in his red dragon form, wings snapped out behind him.
He was tall, so very tall, to the point she had to strain her neck to look upward at his face. The sharp points of his teeth poking out from his mouth made her still a second. But then she met his eyes—eyes that were similar to Zain's when they flashed in his human form—and she let out the breath she'd been holding.
This was her greatest test. And if she failed, it meant no Zain, no closeness, and a life without anyone to call family.
In other words, Ivy would do whatever it took to grow accustomed to his dragon form, no matter if it had once been the stuff of her nightmares.
Zain crouched down as much as he could and folded his wings against his back. When he tilted his head in question, Ivy shook her head to clear the momentary panic and said, "I'm fine, I promise, but just give me a minute to process it all." Taking a deep breath, she added, "Stay there, just like that, okay? So I don't hurt my neck as I look you over."
Zain's dragon f
orm snorted. The humanlike action made her smile. Yes, her man was inside there, too.
The reminder gave her the courage to walk around him, albeit keeping about ten feet between her and the crouching dragon. Even though Ivy had seen a few scales inside a lab, they seemed so much bigger on a dragon itself.
And for a split second, her stomach heaved, thinking of how the Knights had retrieved the scales she'd studied.
Stop it, Ivy. You can't change the past. And yet, as she glanced at some of Zain's talons, she recalled studying those, too.
All of those clinical situations had dismissed the individuals behind those bits and pieces of a dragon.
If only she had a way to convince everyone inside the Dragon Knights of just how wrong their information and fear-mongering was.
Then she remembered that her formulas to safeguard the dragon-shifters were far more important. If the dragons were immune to the Knights' drug concoctions, then they could fight and hopefully defeat the Knights in the near future. Only once the dragon-shifters were safe could she try to help the other humans like herself who'd been persuaded to hate dragons, all because of believing lies.
Ivy made her way around Zain's other side until she stood in front of the dragon's face once more. This time, however, she took a few steps closer and tentatively reached out a hand toward his snout.
When her fingers met the hard, smooth surface of his scales, Ivy stood still for a second, taking in the enormity of the situation. A hand that had once worked so hard to kill the dragons was about to caress one and maybe even scratch behind his ear.
Zain blew a quick breath at her, and she finally met the one eye she could see. It blinked slowly before staring back at her. She knew dragons couldn't talk in their dragon forms, so she sensed it was a form of communication, probably one of reassurance.
She needed to ask Zain more about dragon nonverbal communications later.
But his gesture was the disruption she needed to get out of her head. And so Ivy lightly ran her fingers back and forth against his snout, marveling at the warm yet hard surface of his scales.
Unaware of how long she'd been stroking the same small patch, Zain twitched one ear and then the other. She smiled. "That's right, you mentioned something about how you liked to be scratched behind the ears, didn't you?"
His beast grunted and lowered his head some more. Standing on her tiptoes, Ivy reached behind one ear until she found the tiny stretch of thick skin not protected by scales and then dug her nails in lightly. As she rubbed them back and forth, Zain leaned into the touch and hummed. The sound reverberated down her arm and throughout her body.
Maybe at one time it would've freaked her out or made her scream. But now, the sound and feeling calmed her bit by bit, almost as if the sound reminded her that this was her dragonman. And while she couldn't guarantee every dragon-shifter would do so, Zain would never hurt her.
When Zain lightly bumped his head against her body, she stopped and allowed him to raise his head again. He stood upright a little and motioned with his forelimb for her to stand back once more.
Even though probably ten or fifteen minutes had passed, she nearly pouted as she turned away. She wanted more time with Zain's dragon, to better know the other half of the man she was falling for.
However, Ivy knew Zain was being careful and following Dr. Sid's orders. After all, no one had known how Ivy would react to standing so close to someone who had shifted into their dragon form. Stress, fear, or any negative emotion could trigger her and send her health reeling backward.
So she gave him one last pat and returned to the edges to watch him change back.
The sight of his wings shrinking, his limbs morphing back into human ones, and the dragon face slowly becoming Zain's familiar human one, free of scales and pointy teeth, only solidified that the two halves were truly one.
And no matter what her fears had been or still would be with strangers, she accepted Zain for who he was, dragon and all.
The realization shifted something inside of her a little more. Ivy had been changing her views bit by bit over time, but when it came to her dragonman, she was no longer afraid of any part of him.
If she let herself, she could fall in love with him.
However, Ivy quickly pushed that notion aside. Until she was completely healthy, it was unfair to both her and Zain to think of or wish for such feelings.
So her determination to finish her work to protect the dragon-shifters grew even stronger because now she had more than mere acceptance driving her. She might, just might, even have love in her future, too.
Chapter Sixteen
Every day for the last two weeks, Zain had taken Ivy out and shown her his dragon. Each time the visit was a little longer, to the point he didn't think she had any fear. At least when it concerned him.
His dragon huffed. Of course not. She is our mate. When she's cured, she'll be begging for us to claim her.
Some may think his dragon was being cocky, but Zain sensed it was true. They'd been sleeping together, in full pajama-wear, for weeks. He wanted nothing more than to spread his female's thighs and make her scream his name.
But Dr. Sid and Gregor still didn't have a guaranteed cure. Something about a few leads, but they wouldn't risk it yet.
Good thing the doctors had their heads on their shoulders because if it were up to Zain's cock, Ivy would try any and all leads as soon as possible, regardless of the drawbacks.
Pushing the bloody reckless thought aside—his brain agreed 100 percent with the doctors—he replied to his beast, That will come eventually. For now, Ivy said she wanted to meet us at the surgery. And whilst she said it was nothing bad, I'm uneasy every time she returns there.
She hasn't gone back into a coma since waking up. She loves us too much to leave us.
Ivy had never said those words to him, but he sensed she might. Zain wasn't the most articulate about his feelings, but the thought of losing Ivy made his heart stop.
And no matter how much he tried to deny it, he was falling for his own mate.
His dragon grunted. Don't fight it. She will be ours in all ways soon enough.
As the surgery building came into view, he said quickly, You can go on about that later. Right now, Ivy needs our help, or possibly our support, with something. So let's focus on that.
His beast fell silent, and Zain picked up his pace. By now, he was more than familiar with the building's back entrance and had memorized the keypad code required to enter. Dr. Sid's office door was open, but when he peeked inside, only Gregor was there with his and Sid's son—Wyatt—on his lap. Gregor said, "No, Cassidy's not here. They're all in the research lab. But before you go, I wanted to give you a wee update about curing Ivy."
Zain and his dragon went on full alert at the mention. "Did you find something new?"
Gregor bobbed his head. "Aye, we think so. Although there's still some testing left to do. And whilst I wish it was all good news, there's a side effect that you should know about."
"As long as Ivy will be alive and no longer poisonous, I don't care what it is."
Gregor bounced his son and handed the young one a set of toy keys. As the baby gnawed on a bright yellow one, Gregor replied, "You might care about this, though, Zain. What we think is the cure will most likely alter her DNA code a little. And whilst that doesn't seem a big deal, it means that if she's your true mate now, she may not be once she goes through the treatment."
He relaxed a little. Zain had been prepared for far worse. "Is that all? I don't bloody care about her being my true mate or not. Ivy is my female, end of story."
Gregor smiled slowly. "Aye, I thought as much. But I wanted to ask all the same. Your answer proves you care for the lass."
He resisted the urge to verbally lash out at the Scottish dragonman. After all, Zain would owe the male more than anything he possessed if he finally healed Ivy. "Does Ivy know about this yet?"
Gregor shook his head. "No, not yet. Trahern and Emily are doing a few la
st tests to ensure Ivy's health and safety. And whilst I hate keeping it from the lass, Sid and I thought it best not to distract her from her work. So don't tell her yet, aye?"
"You want me to keep something this important from Ivy?" he asked incredulously.
"Only for a wee while. Sid and I are going to talk to her about it tomorrow. Since it requires using bits of dragon-shifter DNA to make things right, we want to make sure she's okay with that."
Zain's honor was torn. Ivy had been lied to for so long during her time working with the Dragon Knights, and he'd vowed to always be honest with her.
And now the doctor wanted him to lie. By doing so, Zain wouldn't take Ivy's focus away from her work, work that could protect his entire clan.
For a male who used to believe everything was black and white, it was yet another gray area.
His beast spoke up. It's more of us not telling her the full truth than lying. And I know that's just as bad, given her past. But let's just check out what she's doing in the research lab first and then decide what to do.
Zain said to Gregor, "Maybe, but I can't guarantee it. I want to be honest with her."
Gregor nodded. "I'll leave it up to you. If you think she can handle it, then tell her. But if she can't, and her health regresses, we'll have to wait to give her the treatment, and we have no idea what could happen in the meantime. Everyone speaks of you having good judgment, including Sid, so I hope it's true. Either way, just let us know which path you choose."
He grunted, not trusting himself to say something he might regret.
Not wanting to stick around and learn if he had just been put through yet another test, Zain left the office and headed toward the research lab. While he'd never been inside, he'd learned the entire layout of the surgery during his post of watching over Ivy.
So he knocked and waited to see what his mate had to share before he decided what to do about telling her the truth.
Ivy did her best not to pace. While she didn't always need her forearm crutches anymore unless she was tired, she didn't want to risk tripping and having Zain order a full examination and set of tests to ensure she was fine.
Persuading the Dragon (Stonefire British Dragons Book 12) Page 14
