by Rinelle Grey
But if no one had come to wake him…
Was everyone he had known dead?
No. The Trima clan was still hunting the Rian clan. They would have forgotten the grudge in a hundred cycles if none of the others had survived too.
He couldn’t be the only one of his clan left.
He couldn’t be.
Chapter 6
The strange conversation required enough concentration that it helped her calm down. That, and every minute that no more lightning hit the ute. Hopefully, the dragon was far behind them now. She wasn’t sure the vehicle could take a second blast.
She snuck another look at Taurian, staring out the window, his face in shock.
His story was crazy, insane, unbelievable.
Yet the other dragon attacking them was undeniable proof. It had to be true.
“Are you all right?” she asked softly.
He didn’t even look at her. “They must all be dead. There can be no other explanation. If they were still alive, they would have come for me.”
“Your family, you mean?”
His eyes turned on her, their golden hue dulled. “Yes. All of them are gone.”
The pain in his eyes was more intense than anything she’d ever seen before. But she could understand it. She’d been there. Easing off on the accelerator a little, she reached out a hand and rested it over his. “I’m sorry,” she said quietly.
He put his other hand over hers and, once again, she was startled by how warm his hands were – she was instantly aware of exactly where they were touching and everywhere they weren’t. She shouldn’t be reacting this strongly to a simple touch, and she nearly snatched her hand away. Instinct, and the thought of the expression on Bruce’s face when she hadn't immediately answered his proposal, told her she should indeed pull back. But when some of the shine returned to his eyes, she didn’t have the heart to withdraw the comfort.
That’s all it was, comfort for a fellow, uh, creature, in pain. She had no personal reasons for wanting to keep touching him.
She wanted to ask a million questions, suddenly curious to know everything about him, his clan, and the centuries old war. But now wasn’t the time.
Those questions would wait until they were safe. If they ever were.
“Do you think the dragon will follow us into town?”
Taurian stared at her, his face blank for a moment, until her words registered. He shook his head. “I don’t think so. He’s injured, and will probably take a day or two to recover. And if your tribe have never seen a dragon, then they have continued to avoid human contact. I don’t think he’ll break that to come after me. Not in dragon form at least.”
Crap. Of course. If he was anything like Taurian, he could look perfectly innocent. “Would you recognise him in human form?” she asked.
Taurian’s immediate nod gave her a measure of relief. “Yes, I would recognise him instantly, by scent even if he tries to disguise his looks. Don’t worry, he won’t sneak up on us.” He paused, then out of the blue asked, “What’s your name?”
“Karla.”
“Karla.” The way he said her name was throaty and warm, and totally unique. “I like it.”
For some reason, she shrugged. “It’s just a name.”
“No, it’s your name. And that makes it special.”
What the hell? He’d better not be getting any ideas. “I have a boyfriend,” she said quickly.
Where had that come from? Bruce had made their breakup quite clear. If she couldn't say yes to his proposal, then there was no future for them.
“Boyfriend?” His nose wrinkled as he said the word, as though it smelled bad. “Is this someone who wants to be your lifemate?”
“Pretty much.”
“You must care about him very much.”
Her thoughts about Bruce were in too much turmoil for her to even know how to respond to that statement. So she just shrugged and changed the subject. “What are we going to do when we get into town?”
“It's best if we go to your sleeping place. We should rest while we can, to be prepared. The dragon will heal quickly, and there will be others.”
Karla shivered at the thought.
And Taurian’s words left her in a quandary. By the time the other dragon was healed, she would be back in England. Part of her was relieved the problem wasn't hers to deal with. Part of her felt bad for Taurian. He didn't know anyone here in Mungaloo. He didn’t even know how anything worked.
She couldn't really dump him on the side of the road and tell him to find his own way.
Even if his enemy was way out of her league.
But what other options were there? Was it any fairer to take him home and get her dad involved?
She gave a laugh. She was pretty sure her dad would be mad at her if she didn't. He'd be thrilled to hear that there had been a secret to the Dragon Scales after all. And there was no way he'd even consider letting her face this on her own.
“What are you laughing at?” Taurian asked curiously.
“My dad’s reaction when I bring you home and say I found a dragon.”
A frown crossed his face. “I'd rather not tell anyone else about being a dragon. It is not done to share our secret with humans. I only told you because there was no other choice.”
“Well, I'm certainly not taking you home and not telling my dad that you're a dragon and your dragon enemy could come and fry him with lightning at any minute.”
Taurian looked sheepish. “Of course. I'm sorry. I didn't realise you lived with your parents.”
“I don’t. I live in England. Further away than you can fly.”
Of course, she wasn't sure how far he could fly in one go. She tried to calculate how long it would take to cross the ocean, given that the other dragon could only just keep up with the ute, but gave up. Days anyway. Crossing the ocean was probably out of his reach.
“Why would you live that far away from your father? Don't you like him?”
“Of course I like him! I love him. Things are different now though. We have ways of crossing that distance quickly, and communicating across it even more easily. It's not so far away, really.”
“So it isn’t hard for you to stay for longer then? Until the… uh… dragon is dealt with.”
Karla shivered. The thought of getting as far away from the lightning breathing dragon seemed like a good idea right about now. It wasn’t her problem. None of this was. She could just drop Taurian off at a police station, and he could explain his problem to them.
That would be the sensible thing to do.
It didn’t matter that she’d never find out what happened to him after that. She’d be safely back in England. She tried to convince herself that was a good thing, but she wasn’t buying it.
Now she knew why her mother had found it so easy to say yes to her father instead of following her own dreams. Karla needed to be stronger than that.
“The dragon isn’t my problem, he’s yours.”
“He’s seen you, and knows you are connected to me. He will kill you if he can find you.”
Karla’s hands tightened on the steering wheel. How could he just say that so calmly? “Even more reason for me to go home to England. He won’t be able to find me there.”
“It’s not that simple.”
“Maybe not to you. But it is to me. I just get on a plane and disappear.”
“If you leave me, you will get weak and sick, as will I. We are connected by the Mesmer bond.”
“What?” Karla looked over at him and the ute swerved to follow her gaze. Luckily, the road was deserted. “What are you talking about? What Mesmer bond?”
“A dragon should have been there to wake me, they understand the responsibility of the Mesmer bond. I need physical contact to complete the regeneration process. And until the ritual is complete, we are connected and cannot be apart.”
She struggled to follow what he was saying, to take in the implications. “Physical contact? What exactly do you mean by th
at?”
“The usual way is for dragons to mate. That would be the simplest and fastest method.”
His words produced an instantaneous reaction, sparking the same liquid fire that had swept through her when he had kissed her. What would it be like, mating with a human form dragon? Would it feel as different as his lips had?
He had to be making it up.
Yeah, just like he’d been making up everything else he’d said. A jittery feeling started in the pit of her stomach and radiated out. What if it was true? She was stuck in the middle of this mess with no way out except...
She shied away from the thought. “That’s not an option. I have a boyfriend, remember?”
“Yes, of course. I simply mentioned it as the usual response. Continuous close contact will work as well, though it takes much longer. Maybe ten sunsets. Maybe more.”
Relief mingled with a twinge of disappointment at his words. So this wasn’t the sort of magic where she really had no way not to sleep with him. “That is much better. Ten days is possible, though I’ll have to ring Bruce and tell him I’m staying for a bit longer.”
Why had she said that? Unless she had an answer to his proposal, which she most certainly didn’t right now, Bruce wouldn’t expect to hear from her at all.
“Bruce is your lifemate?”
He had wanted to be. But if she returned any of his feelings, why was she having this strange attraction to someone else now? Maybe it wasn’t anything to do with her at all, maybe it was all because of this bond he talked about.
Or maybe it was just because all of this was so exciting and different to what she was used to.
Yes, that was probably it.
Once this was over, and she was back in England, she’d feel…
Disappointed.
No. Not disappointed. Settled and safe. Following her own dream. That was far better than this exciting temptation. Excitement faded away over time, but safe and settled lasted.
“Is he?” Taurian repeated.
Karla nodded. “He is,” she confirmed.
Why did she feel like she was lying? It could be true. All she had to do was say the word. Bruce would still be waiting, she was sure of that, even if he had taken great pains to make it clear things were over between them, she never doubted there was a ‘unless she changed her mind’ clause.
Taurian stared at her, and she suspected he had more to say, but at that moment, they hit the edge of town, and he was too busy staring to keep quizzing her. His eyes wide, he didn't say anything for a few moments before turning back to her. “This is your… village?”
He didn't seem to get that she didn't live here. Karla gave up trying to explain. “More like a town really. About eight thousand people live here.”
Taurian gaped. “Eight thousand? This is a mighty city.”
Karla laughed. “No, just a small country town. The capital city a few hours away, Brisbane, has nearly two million people.”
“You're making that up.” His voice was flat with disbelief.
“I'm not,” Karla insisted. “And Brisbane is just a small city by the standards of the rest of the world. London, where I live now, has many times that number.”
Taurian shook his head in disbelief. “So many humans. It is hard to believe. No wonder the dragons have continued to hide from you. With such numbers, it doesn't matter how small and weak you are individually.”
He had a point. The dragon might be terrifying to her on her own, but the military, with their weapons, would make short work of him. Hell, he probably wouldn’t do too well up against a shot gun. A relieved smile spread across her face.
Then it fell. She didn't have a shotgun. And neither did anyone she knew. And somehow, she didn't think calling in the military would be a good plan. She'd seen the sci-fi movies. As soon as she said they saw a dragon, they'd want to study it. And if they found out it was sentient…
“It's probably best if you keep a low profile too,” she said. “So no telling anyone else you're a dragon, and none of that weird scales thing.”
Chapter 7
Karla’s father gave Taurian a sideways look, then pulled her aside. Not far enough away that Taurian couldn’t hear his quiet words. “Are you sure you didn’t breathe in a little too much stale air, K?”
Why did they find his story so hard to believe? He believed her photographs and trusted her ute, why was his story any more strange?
Karla gave her dad a grin. “I don’t know, you tell me. If you can come up with a reasonable explanation for everything that has happened today, including the damage to the ute, then I’d love to hear it. Until then, I’m inclined to believe Taurian’s story, and my own eyes.”
Her words eased a little of the constriction around his heart. She believed him at least. That was a start. Hopefully the next step would be gaining her trust.
Her dad glanced through the window at the ute parked out the back. Darkness had enveloped her home by the time they had arrived, but the damage was unmistakable even in the light from the veranda. “A dragon really breathed lightning at you? And you survived?”
Karla shrugged. “Something like that.”
Her father looked her up and down, as though searching for any hidden damage. Taurian bristled at his apparent lack of faith in his protection.
“So a dragon you say?” Her father’s voice was even lower now, but still perfectly audible. He glanced at Taurian again.
Taurian met his gaze calmly, and he looked back to his daughter quickly. “What are you going to do with him?”
Taurian stiffened at the words, even though he was fairly sure he wasn’t supposed to hear them.
When Karla’s eyes followed her father’s, the heat in them calmed his indignation. She looked away again quickly, saying “Find him some clothes to start with. Actually, maybe you can help him with that. I need to ring Bruce and tell him I’ll be staying an extra few days, and see if I can change my booking.”
What was wrong with his clothes? Taurian glanced down at the serviceable, leather pants. Admittedly, he would have chosen something else for this situation, but for the Mesmer, they were best. Easy to make the required contact with his partner, and easy to remove for the next step. That thought heated his blood so to distract himself, he examined what Karla and her father were wearing.
Their clothes did cover up quite a bit more than his did. Perhaps, these humans were shy. The few humans he had seen before hadn’t worn much either, it was practical in this climate.
Her father looked doubtful, but he nodded anyway. “I’ll try.” He turned to Taurian, and raised his voice a little. “Come on, let’s see if we can get you sorted.”
Taurian’s eyes followed Karla as she walked out of the room, and an itch started as soon as she was out of sight. He’d never gone this long without completing the Mesmer ritual before, so these feelings were new. He’d heard all about them though. First the itch, then the aches, and it only went downhill from there.
Despite the fact that his whole body urged him to go after Karla and remain as close to her as he could, preferably touching her, he forced himself to smile and nod at her father, then follow him through another doorway.
She would be feeling the same itch he was. Hopefully it would help her realise he spoke the truth about more than just being a dragon.
The room her father led him into contained a soft looking bed with a brightly coloured cover. The man crossed the room and opened a smaller door with more colourful fabric behind it. He turned and looked Taurian up and down. “We’re close enough to the same size I guess.”
He pulled out something with a stripped pattern and some long pants, both similar to what he wore.
Taurian stared at him. The man expected him to wear that? “No.”
Karla’s father’s eyebrows rose. “No?”
He needed to be careful, insulting her father probably wasn’t going to endear him to her. But there was only so far he was prepared to go. “I don’t think they will… suit…”
“Well, they’re all I have. Unless you’d rather wear some of Karla’s clothes.”
That he meant it as a joke was obvious from the tone in his voice, but Taurian failed to see what the problem was. In fact, the thought of wearing something that Karla had worn filled him with a warm, comfortable glow.
If only he wasn’t a good head taller than she was.
“Is there a problem with what I am wearing?”
“There isn’t enough of it,” her father said bluntly. “Definitely not if you want to go out in public, and probably not for everyone’s comfort around home either.”
Taurian sighed. Why had life suddenly become so difficult?
“What’s going on?” Karla stepped into the room, and Taurian immediately felt a whole lot better.
“He won’t wear anything,” her father answered immediately.
Karla raised an eyebrow at him.
Taurian folded his arms. “I am willing to try to make your people feel comfortable with how I look, but shouldn’t I also feel comfortable? These clothes will not suit me.”
Karla looked at the clothes her father was holding out, and a small smile twitched the corner of her mouth. “I see. Well, I do have one of Bruce’s shirts, maybe that will be better.”
Her father’s clothes, or her lifemate’s. Taurian wasn’t sure which would be worse. But after one more glance at the striped shirt, he decided it couldn’t get any worse. “Lead the way,” he said.
“Thanks, Dad. I’ll sort it from here.”
Her dad looked lost for a moment, then he brightened. “I’ll cook dinner.”
Taurian’s stomach rumbled at the words. He hadn’t eaten in a long time. A very, very long time. “That would be wonderful.”
He followed Karla into another room, looking around curiously. This bed was smaller, there was only room for one person, and the cover was a single colour, orange with some elaborate scrolls in the same colour. But the whole room lacked any personal touches. There were books and a wardrobe, but that was it. Despite that, it was drenched in her scent and Taurian immediately felt at home.
As she bent over a case of some sort in the corner of the room, rummaging for more clothes, he found himself enjoying this view of her. She was full and curvy in all the right places, and his body stirred at the sight.
