“I’m as fully aware in my dragon form, as I am now,” he said.
So, no real beast. Just a gorgeous, fearsome creature on the outside with the man I was coming to know well, on the inside. But those scales…
I crept closer, stopping when I stood a few feet behind him.
“We slept together,” I said.
His shoulders tensed. “Indeed.”
“Are we even compatible?”
He snorted and poked one of the roots with a stick. “I’d say we’ve proven that already.”
“I didn’t mean sex.” Though, he did have a point. We were more than compatible there.
Oh, hell. I was missing the most important part of this equation. I slapped my hand over my belly and gaped down.
We’d used no protection!
I wasn’t exactly worried about dragon STDs—did such things exist? But the thought of a dragon baby…
“Shit, shit, shit,” I grated out. Crossing around to the other side of the fire, I slumped down on my butt. It was questionable whether my legs would support me, anyway, should Drek choose to jump me. Pin me down.
Sparks not completely related to the fire flew through me at the thought of another kind of pinning.
What the hell was wrong with me? I was acting like Drek was some sort of destined mate, and I was unable to resist him.
Quadruple shit. He had mentioned mate.
No. Stuff like that only happened in books. Not in my world. But…I’d stumbled into Drek’s world. Were the rules different down here?
Regardless, I should not be thinking about Drek pinning me down at a time like this. We needed to have a serious conversation.
“What’s wrong?” He stared at me intently. With a few sticks, he eased the roasted roots away from the coals. Steam swirled from them as they cooled on a flat stone, and they gave off the most awesome smell I’d experienced since PJ made me homemade chicken stew that time I’d been sick.
He used a sharp, thin rock to slice each root into smaller chunks. After, he slid an equal portion onto two large leaves he’d collected, and passed one “plate” to me.
After staring down at it suspiciously for a few seconds, I lifted a piece, blew on it, and quickly popped it into my mouth. I chewed the slightly spicy, moist and tender morsel that had a rich, nutty taste. The flavors rushed through my mouth, and I closed my eyes and groaned.
It wasn’t often that a girl came across a food group better than donuts.
“Were you referring to genetics?” he asked after swallowing his own bite.
Ugh. That’s right. Opening my eyes, I lowered my plate of root things onto my thigh and stared down at my abdomen. My stomach roared, demanding more food, but I told it to shut up.
Was a tiny dragon growing inside me already, eager to gnaw its way out?
My deep swallow didn’t move the knot of fear forming in my throat.
“I come from a small city made up of about three-hundred dragon shifters.”
Three-hundred? I gaped around. There were that many dragons around here?
He must’ve seen my amazement, because he said, “We still have some time left to travel before we reach my home, but yes. Three-hundred of my people live here in the center of the Earth. We’re all that’s left of a once mighty race.”
“You said something about leaving the surface.”
He nodded. “Ages ago. We were hunted…by your people. A small group of us escaped and found our way deep below, where we gathered together and built our homes. Now, we live in peace, safe from surface predators.”
I shook my head, unable to fathom the idea of a dragon city down here. He'd mentioned his lair. Was his city a cave network? Dragons lived in caves. Or, so fairy tales told me. “So, are we genetically compatible?”
“Of course.” He waved to his body. “I’m as human as you.”
“Except when you become something else.”
He shrugged. “There are genetic differences in humans. Why not the ability to shift? It’s not as uncommon as you believe. Even on the surface of Earth.”
Wait. Was he talking about fictitious werewolves? Let alone honey badgers?
But no baby dragon was growing inside me, which was a relief. If something was happening, it would be human.
“Rest assured. We can’t shift until puberty,” he said carefully, his hands motionless as he stared down at his meal. “If we’re blessed with a child, which is quite rare for my people except under unusual circumstances, our baby would be born as human as you.”
And him.
I was coming to see that now.
Yes, he could change his shape—who wouldn’t like to do that every now and then, especially if they could become a dragon? But deep inside, we weren’t different, after all.
In fact, Drek was more human than many men I’d met in my past.
He was special. I’d already seen how kind he could be. And he was sweeter and more caring than anyone I’d been with before.
I was falling for him. Fast. And the thought wasn’t quite so scary, now.
“We come from two vastly different backgrounds,” he said, placing his hand over his chest. Over his heart. “But inside, we’re much the same.”
We did come from two worlds. Was it possible to join them?
“I hope you’ll come to see what you mean to me.” He stared at me with such longing in his eyes, I wanted to go to him. Hug him.
Kiss him.
Yet I needed to think about this first. Because I had a feeling that going to him meant committing myself to him, not just sexually. And I wasn’t sure I was ready for that.
I needed to be confident it was what I wanted, before I did it. Because him saying he had feelings for me told me it would be mean to offer myself to him if I wasn’t ready to be with him fully.
I didn’t want to hurt him.
My first priority needed to be finding my friends. Worry for them was ripping me apart.
Once we found PJ and Tanya, Drek’s people would take them home.
And I…Did I want to go with them?
Shock made me freeze, and I stared into the flames.
The sad lump forming inside me suggested I was considering staying here with Drek.
This was silly. Of course, I’d go home with my friends. It would be weird to consider doing anything else. My life was there. My apartment, friends, and my job. My goldfish.
Drek stared at me and I could swear I saw sorrow on his face, as if he’d guessed my thoughts and realized that, while he might ache for me to stay here with him, he knew I was uncertain.
I could also tell he would let me go if I chose.
Could I give up everything I loved and cherished in order to stay here and be with him always?
Chapter Ten
Drek
We finished our meal in silence.
What thoughts hid behind her pretty green eyes? Was she trying to find a way to tell me this was over when it had barely gotten started?
It would be fucking hell, but if she asked me to, I’d take her up to the surface.
Let her be free.
I couldn’t stay there with her. If I changed, her people would react like they always had. They’d hunt me down. Torture and kill me.
My dragon was an equal part of me. My lifeblood would eke away if I stopped changing.
But dying slowly because I didn’t change might be better than trying to live down here without her. Once mated, a dragon fell hard and fast. And I was no different than others of my kind.
I tossed our empty leaves into the fire and stood. “We should go.” Scooping up sand, I threw it on the fire, putting out the coals. Smoke swirled in the air, and on the shore, a tiny mole lifted its head, sniffed, and peered our way.
“Yes,” Jenny said. “Once we get to your…lair, we can send someone after my friends. This underworld is huge.” Arms wrapped around her waist, she looked around, her face tense. “Will they be able to locate PJ and Tanya?”
The catch in her voice told me how mu
ch her friends meant to her. I was stupid to think she’d stay with me when she had people she loved. She could have family, too, who needed her more than me. Remaining here with me would mean never seeing them in this lifetime.
“I’m sorry, but you may not be able to see your friends again,” I said.
“You think they’re dead?” As her body crumpled, I scooped her up off her feet. I held her close while she shook.
“No. I’m sure they live.” Hopefully. I had no way of knowing, but the Lifegiver had brought Jenny to me. She would’ve cared for Jenny’s friends equally. “But when my people find them, they will not bring them to the city.”
She looked up at me with tears cresting her lashes. “Why not?”
“We don’t want anyone knowing how to find us.”
“But I’ll know how to find you. You’re taking me there.”
She was mated to me. That was different.
“Whoever finds them will do so in human form,” I said. “They’ll then take your friends back to the surface. If they were brought to our city, they’d see dragons.” Flying from one perch to another was common. Why walk when a dragon could take wing and get there quickly instead?
Would Jenny beg to go with her friends?
“Maybe you should take me back, now, then.”
And there it was. My gut sunk all the way to the center of the Earth. “Now?”
She squirmed, and I released her, dropping her gently down onto her feet, keeping my hand on her arm, because touching her like this might be all I had left. “I have to see them again. Make sure they’re okay.”
“If I tell my people to bring your friends to the city first, would that be enough?” I refused to ask if she’d choose to remain here with me, because I wasn’t confident of her answer. I needed time to convince her that what we had was special. Worth fighting for. I could only do that once we’d reached my home and I’d shown her all my world had to offer.
All I had to offer.
Wiping her eyes, she blinked up at me. “You’d do that for me? Bring them to your lair first?”
I gripped her upper arms and stared down at her with what I hoped was promise in my eyes. “I will.”
Would I beg her to stay when her friends left?
Shrugging away the sadness the thought raised, I released her. “Are you ready to leave, then?”
“Sure.” She forced out a chuckle. “Not much holding me here.”
“Not even me?” I couldn’t help it; it slipped out. Raking my hands through my hair, I wished I could call the words back. Unsay them.
Turning, she avoided my gaze. She stared south, where the river flowed for some distance, before turning a bend. “Can we walk?”
I wanted to gnash my teeth, because I hated the idea of losing her. “For a ways.”
“Then we need to go.”
I nodded, and we fell into step, our bare feet leaving soft prints in the sand behind us.
“How long will it take to get to your lair if we’re on foot?” She still did not make eye contact.
I shouldn’t have pushed her.
Fuck. I’d told myself I wouldn’t. “At this pace, it’ll take us a month or longer to reach my lair.”
She groaned and ran her hands across her hair, lifting, then smoothing it. “Wow. That long?”
We rounded the bend. More sandy shore stretched ahead of us, through a particularly long channel.
“It’s just…” she said, flashing me a quick, concerned look. She picked up a stone and tossed it into the river.
I studied the water for a moment.
“My dragon. I scare you.” I finally said, hated naming it, but avoiding the topic wouldn’t make it untrue.
“Well.” She nibbled her lower lip. “You do intimidate me.”
I stopped, my chest chugging out a sigh, and faced her. Frustration edged into my voice. “I’ll never hurt you.”
Turning, she crossed her hands on her chest. “I’m beginning to see that.”
Her admission placated me for a moment.
We started walking again, and I could see she was processing all this.
Processing me.
What conclusions would she come to?
Stopping again, she whirled and placed her hands on her hips. Like a bird that had fluffed itself up to look more powerful, she presented a strong front. I liked this feisty side of my mate. And the fact that she challenged me.
I just hoped she’d keep challenging me for the rest of our days.
“Okay,” she said firmly. “Let’s do it.”
Do it?
I couldn’t help it. My body responded to her words.
Her gaze fell to my groin, and she grinned.
Pointless trying to hide anything when I walked around naked.
“Not that!” she said, her eyes twinkling.
I needed to remember I was following the rules. Not letting my cock guide the way.
If I’d followed the mating guidelines, we’d be at my home by now. My people would be seeking her friends. And I’d be wooing Jenny. Doing all I could to convince her to stay.
I’d be bending down on one knee.
Then covering her face with kisses if—when—she said yes.
It looked like I had no other choice. Unless I wanted to pay the price for taking things out of order, I’d need to back down. Step away.
Hold myself in check.
From now on, I’d have to resist her.
Chapter Eleven
Jenny
“It’s okay. You can change into a dragon,” I said, trying to ignore things stirring south of his border.
There was nothing like a guy who laid his feelings out for the world to see—if his response to my simple comment could be considered serious intentions.
Steel filled my voice, chasing away my lingering tremors, because I was still nervous about all this dragon stuff. “I’ll climb onto your back. Ride you.”
I smacked my forehead. There were so many ways of interpreting that last statement.
Drek’s body took it one way, but his words took it another. “I’ll change. Climb on, and I’ll get us to my lair as fast as I can.”
He didn’t wait for me to comment further, perhaps because he worried I’d change my mind and flee.
I hadn’t answered his question about whether I wanted to remain when PJ and Tanya left. Everything inside me shouted I wanted to stay here with him.
Wherever here was.
But a tiny part of me also said this situation was frightening. I knew, but didn’t know him. We’d met and screwed around immediately. We were starting to get to know each other better, and I really liked him, but we’d taken this backwards.
It wasn’t like I’d met a normal guy, dated him awhile, and then moved in with him. Drek came with complications. The dragon bit was only one tiny portion of it. It wasn’t like he was from Cleveland.
If I committed to him and I wanted to go home for a visit, was that even possible?
I had a feeling that, if I chose to stay here with him, I was closing the door on the Earth’s surface for good.
There would be no popping up there for a trenta mocha latte. Let alone a donut.
“After I change, climb on,” he said.
In seconds, he’d shifted into a dragon. Like before, he stooped down and nudged his snout toward his back. His glorious, magnificent dragon head, complete with curls of smoke coming from his nostrils, definitely wowed me. In a save-the-princess kind of way. Not that I was a princess, but a girl could dream, right?
Who wouldn’t be impressed by a man who could turn himself into a dragon?
“Here we go,” I said, pretending he was a steel pony on a merry-go-round ride, because it was easier to think of mounting a pony than an enormous dragon—even if he did bend his arm so I could use it as a stair.
Sure. Just climb on and he’ll play a perky tune and take you in circles.
No chance of that.
Life with Drek would never involve easy. B
ut, then, wasn’t life all about challenges?
After clambering onto his back, I searched for something to hold onto. He didn’t exactly come with handles. I’d held onto his neck before but that meant pressing my face against his body, which wasn’t exactly soft. Even in dragon form, he was built of rock-solid muscle.
His scales looked too sharp to hold onto, but I slid my fingertips along them, noting they felt like armor plating. As if he needed them all over his body to withstand molten lava.
And his wings…Well, they were pretty awesome, actually. But I couldn’t cling to them if I wanted him to fly. Searching around, I found a place I could grip, at the base of his magnificent wings.
With my thighs clamped tight on his broad sides, my ass wouldn’t slide of my dragon—Drek, that is.
“All set!” I said, and, with broad sweeps of his wings, he lifted off.
The ground dropped away from us like I rode a helicopter from hell.
Holy crap. I bit my lips together to hold back my shriek. Not only from fear this time, but from excitement. Now that I knew Drek wouldn’t eat me, this was sort of fun.
There was so much to see up here.
As we flew into the night, the pulsations of luminescent bugs clinging to the walls and ceiling lit our way.
My thighs soon ached from holding my position on Drek’s back, but I couldn’t stop cricking my neck around to take it all in.
Far below, the wide, churning river flowed in the same direction as us. We passed clumps of brush caught up on shore-side trees, and even log jams bobbing along that must be from trees uprooted by the river.
Lush vegetation grew along each side, thick meshes mixed in with patches of sand, like the beach where we’d stopped and eaten those roots. I marveled how trees could grow without natural light. Their long, leafy branches reached up toward the glowing bugs, which suggested the bugs must give off something similar to sunlight.
Birds squawked when we came near, maybe afraid of Drek, but he acted like he didn’t see them, flying past with slow sweeps of his enormous wings.
This place was unbelievably cool, and I couldn’t believe I was seeing it from the back of a dragon.
I could get used to this life. Which was a dangerous thought.
Captured by a Dragon Page 6
