by Fel Fern
“But didn’t he stay when you asked him to? Plus, you mentioned he’d offered to head down to the pharmacy. How’s your hangover, by the way?”
“Awful,” he mumbled. “I woke up this morning feeling like someone put a hammer to my skull. Seeing Smoke’s text and the empty apartment didn’t help.”
“Did you message him back?”
“I did, three times. In hindsight, that makes me seem kind of pathetic, doesn’t it?” He sighed as more orcs appeared in the dungeon. The monsters proceeded to make short work of him and Ron. Crap. He shouldn’t be playing if his mind was so distracted, but he thought BeastWorld would help him forget about Smoke. Too bad it was the exact opposite.
“I’m sorry, Ron. I got us both killed,” he finally said, knowing a death in a high leveled dungeon like that would mean deducting experience points required for their characters to level up. He stared his character, one level shy of hitting the max. 98. It struck Toby he spent so much time in here that he was about to reach a point where he’d done every quest and collected every item, armor, and weapon.
What then? Should he move onto a new game? Wasn’t it time for him to stop running from his real life problems? God. He was 25 years old. Sure, he made a good living, but he was loveless, and—no. That last part hadn’t been true, because last night felt like a game changer, a promise that he could finally break away from the usual monotony of his life.
He rubbed hastily at his eyes.
“Toby?” Ron asked, sounding concerned.
He sniffed. Crap. He should rip his headphones away, log off, and make up something, an excuse.
“Are you crying?”
He sucked in a breath. “I really liked him, Ron. Worse, I really thought there was something between us.”
“Toby, he hasn’t broken up with you. Don’t give up now. He mentioned a raincheck, remember?”
“Yeah, but these days, any guy could make promises just to avoid a confrontation, and the next thing you know, you’ll never hear anything from them again.”
“Tell you what, we’ll both keep a look out for him. I know if he comes online, and you have his number. Don’t throw in the towel yet.”
He rubbed at his face with the sleeve of his shirt. “You’re right. I might have overreacted.”
That wasn’t true, though. When was he ever lucky when it came to dating, to love? His ex only dumped him for a better, more normal guy. Why would Smoke even want with an antisocial geek like him, who threw up after two bottles of beer and could barely tell the bartender his order without stuttering?
Smoke was smart for leaving him and never looking back, because if their positions were reversed, he wouldn’t want to be dating him, either.
Chapter 9
After giving Striker the contact of his lawyer and helping Striker explain to the local town sheriff he didn’t intentionally want to fry that construction site with his lightning bolts, Smoke flew back home. He’d left his truck parked on the road opposite Toby’s apartment building, mostly because traveling long distances was a lot faster with his wings.
“Lightning dragons apparently still exist, huh,” he muttered, entering his home and disabling his security system.
Looking around his house gave him an idea of where he wanted to take Toby for their next night out. Besides, with his house located right on top of a mountain practically inaccessible by most humans and paranormals, Toby wouldn’t be able to leave that easily.
Devious. He bet leaving early would be far from Toby’s mind, though, judging by the arousal he felt in Toby’s jeans last night. That kiss. Wow. He couldn’t wait to taste Toby again, and this time, he didn’t just want to plant kisses on Toby’s mouth, but also over his dick. Would Toby squirm for him, beg him for more?
That reminded him, he needed to charge his phone, because the battery died out on him a couple of hours ago. Smoke took a shower, debating if asking Toby out tonight would be too soon. His dragon rumbled in annoyance inside of him. Their flight just now appeased the beast, if only for a little bit.
His first meeting with Striker had been a little rocky, with his silver dragon instantly sparking off the aggression off Striker’s gold dragon, but he cooled down, reminded his dragon Striker was a friend. In the end, both beasts backed down, but that reminded him why two of their kind couldn’t be in the same territory for long.
After his shower, he booted up his PC, ignored a couple of work emails, and logged in to BeastWorld. He hoped Toby would be online, but no such luck. Maybe Toby still suffered from his hangover. A request popped up in his screen for a voice chat with someone called Ron123. Huh, that name sounded familiar. Could this be the same Ron, who accompanied Toby yesterday to meet him?
He accepted it only to have Ron yell at his headphones.
“Who do you think you are, you jerk? Toying with my best friend like that.”
“Hold on a second. I never toyed with him, I’d never do that to my mate. Calm down. Breathe, then explain.”
A pause. “Did you just call Toby your mate?”
Shit. He wanted to tell Toby first as time went on, to avoid shocking him, but there were no take-backs now. Either way, it wasn’t like he had anything to hide. Toby might have some confidence issues, but Smoke? He’d brag to the whole world if he could that he had the most amazing mate.
“Absolutely, but Ron, don’t tell anyone yet, okay? Things between Toby and me are still new, and the last thing I want is for him to withdraw from me.”
“He just doesn’t trust easily, but I’ll keep your secret. Just make sure you won’t hurt him.”
While he admired the other human’s determination to protect his friend, he got a little miffed. First, it had been Toby who assumed Smoke might break his heart and now Ron.
“I’m not a bad guy, Ron.”
“I hope so, because for guys like Toby, like me? We don’t open up to other people normally.”
“I get it, I think. I know trust has to be earned, and I planned on doing that.”
“Then, I wish you the best of luck.”
He logged off after that, mulling over Ron’s words. With his phone plugged into the charger, he finally turned it on, surprised to see Toby’s messages. Oh no. Toby must be worried about him. Smoke texted him an update, hesitated, then told Toby to meet with him tonight again. Then he waited, hoping he didn’t screw things up that badly.
* * * *
“The nerve,” Toby muttered, reading Smoke’s message again. The small cartoon dragon emoticon made him smile, though. Last night, he recalled the way Smoke’s eyes turned slitted, but he’d gone online to check. Snake shifters didn’t exist, so what animal did Smoke have in him?
He could ask Smoke tonight. It was strange, though, Smoke asked to meet him at the woods near the town, in the middle of nowhere. Were they going camping or something? What if Smoke had other sinister plans? He snorted. There he was, overthinking again. Smoke would never hurt him. Toby couldn’t understand it himself where he got that assumption.
Last night, in Smoke’s arms, he felt so safe, like it could be just them against the entire world yet they’d come out the winners. The old, wary him would consider it a trap, but Smoke’s words echoed in his head.
I’ll never leave you. You can’t get rid of me.
As if Toby wanted that. Smoke didn’t look the kind of guy who’d mince his words, either. Needing to sit, he perched in front of his computer. Escaping problems in real life used to be easy. He’d escape into BeastWorld or some other game for a couple of hours. Although it never solved anything, at least for a little while, he could forget about everything.
Not this time. Toby touched his lips, remembering the force of Smoke’s mouth against his, how his dick instantly went from soft to hard when their bodies touched. Brushing a hand on his neck where Smoke left his hickey made him blush. Smoke seemed to say, remember me.
As if he’d forget. Smoke seemed to have turned into a different person when they were alone, shedding his mask of funny
guy into this sexy, domineering man who knew what he wanted. Toby.
He shuddered in anticipation, knowing full well that he’d go to Smoke. His phone vibrated again and he found two messages, one from Ron and another from Smoke.
Ron: Had a chat with Smoke. Seems like you guys had a misunderstanding. He seems like a good guy.
“Huh,” he said out loud. When did this conversation between Smoke and Ron happen? He did have to admit, receiving that text from Ron calmed his nerves a little. Toby opened Smoke’s message.
Smoke: Still mad at me? Don’t be. I’m irresistible.
Smoke sent a cute sketch of a cartoon dragon holding up a sign with the words ‘I’m sorry’ on it.
He giggled. What was with these dragons? Oh right. Smoke’s character in the game was from the dragon race. Could it be—nah. No way dragons actually existed in real life.
He could imagine Smoke sitting next to him, wearing that infectious grin, a bright ray of sunshine capable of chasing all the storm clouds in life away. Toby had to stop. Stop letting his insecurities and unfounded fears get in the way of what he wanted and his true desires. He deserved to be happy and to find out if there was a possibility of a relationship, a future with his wonderfully funny and complex man.
Toby answered Smoke with a simple, “I’ll see you later.”
Smoke proceeded to bombard him with smiley emoticons. Toby rolled his eyes, but already, the texts from Smoke lifted all the initial gloom he felt that morning when he woke up alone in his apartment. He assumed Smoke planned some kind of night picnic or something. Did that mean he had to bring something?
Food? Wine?
Crap. Toby rushed to the shower and hastily dressed. He’d hit the local grocer, see if he could find cheese or crackers or something. Didn’t matter. He’d check online on picnics. Toby rushed out of his apartment, remembering to snatch his phone and wallet. Once out of his building and on the sidewalk, he paused. Was that Smoke’s truck? Then how did Smoke reach his friend? In his animal form? A cab? The shifter must have really been in a hurry. Okay, he thought. If Smoke’s truck was here, then it meant the dragon shifter would need it back.
Okay, he better not screw their second date up.
Usually, he walked at a brisk pace to avoid making eye contact with people, but not today. Today, he had a mission. Two blocks later, he reached the grocer, slightly sweaty. Toby grabbed a basket and headed to the cheese section and pursed his lips. What should he get? He was about to take out his phone when he heard a loud voice.
“So I hooked up with this super hot dominant shifter last night. He had this weird silver hair, but other than that, he was smoking,” said a guy from one aisle over.
Toby froze.
“Oh yeah?” the guy’s companion said. “Not a local?”
They couldn’t be talking about Smoke, right?
“Nope, some out of towner, but yum. He certainly gave me the best night of my life.”
Heart racing, Toby slowly made his way to the source. The lean, handsome guy about his age looked familiar. He might have been drunk, but he recognized the shifter who hit on Smoke and told Smoke to abandon him.
“Details, Benny,” the other guy said with an excited squeak.
“We got all down and dirty in the bathroom, and afterwards, he couldn’t have enough of me, so we went to a motel.”
Wow. This guy was unbelievable. How could Smoke do all that, when Smoke spent the entire time accompanying him home? He didn’t know where he found the courage to stalk up to the two men. Confrontation wasn’t in his vocabulary, but he couldn’t let this liar get away with this.
“You shouldn’t make up stories,” he blurted. God. What the hell was he doing?
Chapter 10
Both men paused from their conversation to look at him. Oh crap. Now they looked a little more hostile than he liked, and judging from their changing eye color, both were shifters. Even if they weren’t powerful ones, they definitely had the upper hand compared to a human.
“Who are you?” asked the guy’s friend, turning his nose down at him.
This time, he had a feeling it wasn’t because of his looks or the sloppy way he dressed, but simply because he was human. If he didn’t know they were shifters, they could have been poster boys for some hip clothing brand.
“Oh, I remember him. He came with the hottie, some nobody human,” Benny stated.
“Smoke didn’t have sex with you. After I hurled all over his shoes, he took me home,” he insisted.
“You what?” asked the shifter’s friend, then laughed right in his face. “Oh, that’s so pathetic. No wonder he left you for Benny here.”
He blushed, clutching at his basket handle tight. Most of the time, he’d pull away from a fight because he knew from personal experience that bullies never backed down. Once they scented weakness, they’d only keep on going.
“Ask anyone at the bar. They’d tell you. Better yet, if you don’t believe me, go see the security cameras.”
That silenced the Benny, who hissed at him, just like a cat. “Ray, let’s go. Clearly this human’s wasting our time,” said Benny, who began walking away from him.
“Are you sure? We can’t just let some loser human push us around or our rep will go down,” Ray said, giving him a dirty look.
Did these two live in town? He wouldn’t know. They were about his age, but shifters and humans went to separate schools, and he usually avoided any kind of town event or gathering.
“Who’d believe him?” Benny scoffed. “I bet he lives in his mother’s basement or something.”
He held Benny’s gaze, relieved when the two walked toward the check-out counter.
“Wow, you must be either incredibly brave or stupid to confront those two the way you did,” remarked a woman pushing a supermarket cart next to him.
“I can’t stand liars,” he mumbled. When he approached Benny and Ray, adrenaline surged through his entire system, but now? He didn’t know what the hell came over him.
“Those two belong to the local wolf pack, and you know how those guys are, always thinking they’re the boss of this place. Just watch your back.”
She left him feeling more worried than ever. The back of his neck prickled and he had the distinct sensation he was being watched, so he hurried with his purchases, grabbing a couple of random cheeses, then some crackers. Once he purchased his items, he speed walked back to his apartment, occasionally looking over his shoulder.
What had he done? He’d been so out of tune with whatever was happening in Burrell that he didn’t even know a wolf pack moved into town. When a shifter group claimed a place as its territory that meant they usually planned to stick around, and he just went and insulted two of them. He reached his apartment, quickly got inside, and locked the door.
“Okay, breathe,” he told himself. Toby was doing it again, being paranoid. Benny and Ray would probably forget him soon enough, and he seldom went out anyway. He did most of his shopping, including groceries, online and he’d only rush to the store if he ran out of food. Plus, Toby had a forgettable face.
He shook his head. Time to forget about those two and prepare for his date with Smoke later.
* * * *
Toby used his phone as a flashlight and slowly made his way further into the forest. He nervously jumped at the sound of a hooting owl. His sneakers crunched on a fallen branch. He should have asked Smoke if they could meet in town. Toby smacked himself. Why did he agree to meet in this strange location?
Goosebumps appeared across his arms, and he tugged at one of his backpack straps. A wolf howl came from the distance, and he shivered. At least he thought that sounded like a wolf. What if members of Benny and Ray’s wolf pack were around? Shifters liked being around nature, he remembered that, and there were always tales going around that monsters sometimes lurked in these woods.
He reached a clearing and stopped. This was crazy. Smoke must be insane, asking him to come out here. Toby refused to believe this was all a pract
ical joke, that somehow, Smoke would leave him waiting here all night. He wouldn’t do that. A cold breeze suddenly blew at his direction, and he sneezed. The heavy flap of wings made his heart speed up. Definitely not an owl or bird, but something bigger.
Toby dropped his phone with a curse, and he fumbled for it, only for a shadow to block out the light of the moon and stars. He cursed, relieved he closed his fist around the familiar metal body of his phone, then he looked up. Two slitted golden eyes the size of saucers stared back at him from the dark.
He choked, then let out a shrill scream, landing on his ass on the ground. Toby could see it now, the massive outline of bat-like gray— no, silver—wings and a graceful reptilian body. Giant talons glinted on the branches of the two trees the monster perched on, like some gigantic bird of prey. Was it possible he hit his head somewhere or that, in reality, he was still in his apartment, dreaming?
“A dragon,” he whispered, pretty certain he was done for. The dragon let out a brassy rumble. Then something fluttered on the ground. The dragon had dropped it. Hesitantly, he picked it up.
He read the note aloud. “It’s Smoke, so don’t wet your pants. Kind of a pain to turn back to human form now. Climb on my back and I’ll take you to our dinner location.”
Feeling a little foolish now, he squinted at the dragon. Oh, he thought, remembering the cartoon dragons, and those rounded scales, they were the exact same color as Smoke’s hair. Smoke flared his nostrils. With his wits intact, he could finally notice the humor evident in Smoke’s eyes.
“Not funny, scaring me like that,” he complained. He guessed the space was too small for Smoke to land, so he approached one of the trees Smoke was perched on and began to climb. Toby took his time, heart racing the entire time. He wasn’t exactly the tree climbing kind of kid growing up. Smoke lowered one of his wings, and he hesitated. Smoke let out a puff of, well, smoke. Was the shifter getting impatient?
