“Well, let me get you that prize money,” he said, placing a hand on Kyle’s shoulder. “Come into my office.” Kyle kept his eyes on Laney, who tried to give him a subtle shake of the head, hoping that he would understand, and run immediately. Her heart sunk as he turned, following Lance to the office.
Laney began to follow, but pretended to trip. As Lance’s gang followers scattered to get out of her way, she grabbed the knife out of her boot. She got up slowly, pulling it into her sleeve. She glanced around the quickly emptying room.
Four men stood out—they were dressed well, in finely tailored suits. Laney frowned. Most of the spectators were grubby, dressed in jeans and t-shirts. She noticed a glint of metal in the hand of one of the men—it was a collar, she realized. It was a dragon’s collar. Laney turned to Kyle, who was still headed toward the office.
“Kyle!” he turned at the sound of her voice. “It’s a trap!” Noticing the men, he shifted, his form resolving into the shape of the dragon, large and dangerous in its wrath. Another two well-dressed men emerged from the office, focused entirely on Kyle.
Lance, on the other hand, whipped around, running toward Laney. He grabbed her with force, his hand clamping down roughly on her arm, causing it to jerk painfully. He grabbed her by the throat with his other hand. She tried to bring her hand with the knife up to stab him, but he was choking her. She did the only thing that she could think of, and stomped down on his foot with the heel of her boot. His grip on her throat loosened as he bellowed in rage and pain.
Meanwhile, the hunters were surrounding Kyle, chanting in a foreign language. Kyle struggled, attempting to breathe fire, but he seemed to be choking, unable to release his flames. He tried darting toward the edge of their circle, snapping with his fanged jaws, but they stood their ground. He seemed unable to get through.
Taking full advantage of Lance’s weakened grip as he shouted curses at her, Laney broke free, sprinting full-tilt at one of the hunters. She screamed as she stabbed him in the back. He fell face forward, breaking the hunter’s circle. Kyle attacked, ripping two into shreds—one with a claw, and the other with his teeth. Rearing back, he opened his mouth, shooting flames at the remaining hunters, who cried out in rage and pain.
Laney was caught off guard as she watched Kyle overtake his would-be captors. Lance’s hands clamped down on her arms, turning her to face him. He glared in her face.
“Were you with that animal all week?” he hissed. Laney responded by spitting in his face. He wiped it off. “You will regret that you bitch.”
Laney tried to free herself, fighting against his iron-tight grip. She struggled in vain as he brought his large, beefy hand back, slamming it into her face. The world faded to black for a second as Laney was almost knocked unconscious. She heard a loud ringing, and her left cheekbone throbbed with a painful heat.
With a vicious snarl, Kyle leapt at Lance. The dragon shifter brought the large man down with a single strike of his claw, darting his lizard-like head in and striking like a snake. Kyle tore Lance’s throat out easily.
Kyle shifted back to his human form. His eyes were wide with fury, as he turned and raced toward Laney. She dropped her knife, which she felt was useless. Kyle grabbed her, pulling her close to him.
“What were you thinking?” he yelled at her, over and over. Laney was unable to answer, her throat sore and raw. She found herself sobbing, large tears against Kyle’s hot dry skin. He kissed her on the top of her head.
“Hey. Hey. Look at me,” Kyle said, placing a hand on her cheek. She looked up at him, remembering when he had touched her on the cheek in the alleyway. He was looking at her like she was something precious.
“We need to get out of here,” she rasped. They looked about them. They were surrounded by the horribly mangled or burned corpses of all of the people who had chosen not to run.
“Man, you went from dating one monster—” Kyle began, but Laney wouldn’t let him finish.
“You’re not a monster,” she said. “You’re perfect. There’s money in the office.” Kyle placed his hand on the small of her back. He wasn’t forcing her; he wasn’t directing her—just reassuring her that he was with her.
Once inside the office, Laney walked to the metal desk. She opened the center drawer, pulling out the envelope where Lance kept his petty cash. She opened it, counting the wad of bills.
“Couple of thousand,” she said. Kyle gestured toward the safe in the back corner of the office, cocking his eyebrow questioningly. “I don’t know the combination.” Kyle shrugged in response, letting his right hand shift into a claw. He ripped off the door easily.
Inside, the safe was packed with money and drugs. Leaving the drugs, Laney filled a paper grocery bag with the cash. They left quickly, Kyle picking up articles of clothing off of the dead hunters as they went. They never looked back.
~*~
The house was cream-colored, with butter-yellow shutters and a red door. There was a wraparound porch with chairs. All around the house was a vast garden, filled with sunflowers, forget-me-nots, violets, roses, and daisies. In the back, there were rows of vegetables, which they sold to the day hikers.
There were large fields, where they kept their animals, their tiny farm backing up to a large national forest. It was quiet except for the calls of the birds and cicadas, and the wind in the trees.
Laney was on her knees among the tomatoes, her gloved hands covered in dirt. She loved the smell of the rich soil and the ripening vegetables. She leaned back, straightening her back to get out the crick in it from working. She wiped her forearm across her face, wiping off the sweat that was beading there.
Arms wrapped around her waist from behind. Kyle kissed the back of her neck as she cried out in surprise.
“I didn’t hear you!”
“Surprise, darlin.’”
“Oh, you.” She turned, kissing him deeply and passionately. They both fought to contain their smiles. She pulled away, looking at him happily. Kyle was shirtless, wearing only a pair of rugged blue jeans. Laney ran her hand over his sun-warmed skin. She looked up at him lustily.
He scooped her up in his arms, carrying her inside of the house and into their sun-filled bedroom. Laney giggled as he threw her down on the bed, trailing kisses along her neck and sternum. She returned the attention happily. He unbuttoned the chambray shirt that she wore whenever she was gardening, kissing her skin as he revealed more of it. Laney closed her eyes, letting herself enjoy being slowly undressed by her lover.
He paused, and she opened her eyes. He was waiting for her. She grinned widely.
“Don’t stop,” she plead joyfully.
“Yes, ma’am.” Kyle entered her, making her inhale with pleasure. The friction between them was electric. They made love frantically and passionately, hitting crisis at the same moment. They lay side-by-side afterward, Laney’s hand clutched in Kyle’s over his heart. Laney looked over at him.
“That was lovely.”
“Quite.”
“Do you want to go for a walk before lunch?”
“As you wish, milady.”
“You’re horrible.” Laney smiled. She was still as much in love with Kyle as she had been at the beginning of their relationship. She couldn’t believe how lucky she had been, for a former foster kid. They got dressed and left their house, making their way while holding hands through their sun-drenched fields.
The forest loomed over them as they paused to inspect one of their fences. The post was beginning to look a little worse for the wear.
“I’ll have to replace it,” Kyle said, pushing on it to see if it would break.
“Hello?” The couple turned to find a girl, just barely beginning her teens walking out of the woods beside them. She had a ragged and battered backpack on, and she looked tired and hungry. “Um. Does Kyle Danner live here?” Kyle frowned, but nodded.
“That’s me.” The girl looked relieved.
“You’re a dragon,” she said. “I can tell.” Kyle cocked his head t
o the side, waiting for her to explain. Laney gripped his arm.
“Who are you?” Kyle asked the girl.
“I’m a dragon shifter—I lost my family a few months back to the hunters. I heard that you had escaped from the city.”
“Who did you hear it from?”
“Another dragon shifter. There are others of us,” she explained. “We’ve all been looking for you. You stood up to the hunters and won…we all kind of thought that maybe when we found you, we’d find refuge.” Her eyes were wide, and Kyle looked at Laney. She nodded, and he smiled. They had officially become two former strays providing a home for other strays.
“You can stay here,” Laney said. “We’d be happy to take any dragon shifters.”
~*~
THE END
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