Chapter 2
They arrived at the nightclub and waited in line attempting to blend in with the crowd, still standing out among the humans milling around. The bouncer at the door of the club frowned up at the two men. The bouncer seemed like he was not amused with the idea of letting the two large men in. He begrudgingly allowed them to pass after Riley did his best impression of a completely harmless human, charming his way through the distrust. The girls were bubbling with excitement as they entered the establishment, Riley matching their enthusiasm. Blake followed, quiet and working as hard as he could to simply maintain control.
Blake’s eyes swept back and forth through the room as they entered the crowded space. Hell. The crowded, noisy club was his own personal hell. The music was pounding through the room, people were milling about everywhere, bumping into Blake over and over. A permanent sneer plastered itself on his face and he crossed his arms in front of his chest, making him look every bit the bodyguard he had been hired to be. His senses were overloaded with the changing bright colors, the roaring noise, and the constant movement of the room.
The girls dragged Riley off to the dance floor, and he seemed content to follow. He glanced back at Blake with an apologetic shrug. Riley seemed to be enjoying the attention of both females enough all on his own.
Blake hung back, leaning against the wall. The pounding bass from the music made him feel like his whole body was vibrating. The overwhelming scent of lust and desperation in the air set his teeth on edge. Every time someone brushed past him, Blake glared at them accusatorily as if they were a threat.
Every so often, a woman who would approach him, the same look in her eyes full of lust, and would try to talk to Blake. The few brash ones would place a hand on his arm, or try to make physical contact in some way. He said nothing, just glared at them until they would walk away slightly confused, often an irritated, “Asshole,” muttered under their breath.
Blake didn’t care what they thought. They were so far beneath his notice, why should he bother even talking to them? His eyes stayed trained on Riley and the girls as much as possible, occasionally scanning the room for threats. They were there for a single purpose, and that was all he would focus on.
The night progressed much the same for an hour or so. Riley and the girls were drinking copious amounts of fruity drinks with vaguely suggestive names. Blake was still guarding the same square of space, bored out of his skull. Blake was certain all the music they were playing was the same. He felt as if the same driving bass was present in every song the DJ had played. He was contemplating just how satisfying it would have been to set the entire establishment ablaze, when he scented something altogether different enter the room.
Blake’s eyes snapped to the doorway, where a female entered. He could sense power off her even from across the room, but for some reason couldn’t figure out what she was. His eyes were glued to her, following her path through the room. The woman seemed to weave her way through the humans, writhing against each other, without disturbing anyone, like a boat moving through the water without causing a ripple. Blake found himself fascinated, despite some deeper instinct sending up warning flags.
The distraction made him doubt the security of the room. Blake could see one of the females standing at the bar, head bent over the soft glow of her cell phone. His eyes traced through the crowd to find Riley, who was now completely lost in making out with Nina. Apparently, Riley was taking the whole escorting idea to another level all together. Blake reminded himself if the woman who had caught his attention were something they should be worried about, Riley would have sensed it too.
Feeling incrementally less alert, Blake considered the mess that Riley was creating for himself. Blake was confident that having a dragon escort and ravage his daughter was the opposite intention that the girl’s father had for their actual evening, but that was for Riley to sort out. Not Blake’s problem in the slightest. His senses calmed, Blake found his mind drifting back to the woman, who had entered the room.
Blake brought his eyes back to where he thought the woman would be, but had lost track of her in the swirling crowd. He knew she was still there as he could sense the power off her, but for some reason she had slipped past his view. Blake stood straighter, hands dropping to his sides trying to crane his neck around the room to find her, when he felt a small hand on his arm. He froze and turned to look behind him and found the female standing at his elbow.
She arched an eyebrow looking up at him. “Looking for someone?” She asked with a lilting, teasing voice. She was teasing but was not looking at him the way all other women did. There was no lingering, no salivating, and no lust there. She looked at him simply intrigued and friendly. It was something Blake was altogether unprepared for.
He was taken aback a bit, and attempted to hide his surprise at himself. His eyes slid down to where her hand was on his arm in irritation. What was it with people and touching?
“What are you?” Blake demanded, his voice low so as not to carry, though the music would have drowned out what they were saying to anyone overhearing anyway.
He surveyed her small frame and thought perhaps she was Fae, if not something else. He had met Fae in the past a few times, but it was rare to come across them out in the human world, and, frankly, she didn’t smell anything like she should have if that’s what she was. Fae normally smelled like light, spring rain mixed in with an overwhelmingly earthy scent.
Blake inhaled deeply, his senses were far more sensitive than a human’s and it should have been easy for him to figure out what creature the woman was. He couldn’t understand it, and he felt the beast in him responding in the strangest way, urging him to just go…anywhere other than there in that moment.
Blake normally had excellent control of himself, or at least had for a very long time. As he stood there though, he could feel power pulling at him surrounded by so many fragile humans, his dragon instinct pulling his mind in odd directions. He needed to be away from this woman, and away from these humans as soon as possible. It was a perfect example of why Blake avoided crowds, especially crowds of humans. Nothing good ever came from interacting with the humans.
Blake turned to walk away and the woman grasped his arm, pulling him to a stop. She wasn’t overwhelmingly strong physically, but in that moment, he knew he had to stop regardless of what his intention to leave was. “Where you going?” She asked with a tilt of her head, “You don’t want to dance?” She seemed confused by his leaving, genuinely confused.
He shook his head no slowly as his thoughts remained clouded somewhere between rational and instinctual. Blake was sure it was just that the chaos in the room was getting to him. Somewhere deep in his mind, the dragon in him was still screaming that he needed to be out of that room, but, for some reason, he hesitated at her question.
Blake narrowed his eyes examining the woman more closely. She had the brightest amber-colored eyes that looked too large for her face, and dark brown hair pulled back in a neat braid. Her body was nearly skeletal, she was so thin. She had small hips, and barely any curves to speak of. Blake was sure even in his human form he could snap her bones she was so thin, though he wasn’t sure how well he’d fare as waves of power rippled off her.
The music seemed to amplify, driving the level of energy in the room up even further. The level of angst and lust in the room seemed to be increasing exponentially. Humans were grasping at each other hungrily on the dancefloor. He wasn’t sure if it was just their normal state in this setting, or if they were somehow sensing her power and feeding off it. It made the atmosphere of the room hang heavy and seductive around Blake.
He met the woman’s eyes skeptically. “I’m not much for dancing,” he stated, unsure what exactly to say to her. It sounded vaguely combative, as most things did coming out of his mouth. Blake was taken aback when she smiled warmly, which made her face look gaunter. She was young and beautiful, despite the frailness of her body. Blake frowned at the thought th
at she was beautiful. He didn’t do compliments. He wasn’t the type to notice one way or another if someone was attractive or not.
“You seem so out of place here,” she commented in a sing-song voice, “How in the world did they convince something as magnificent as you to coop yourself up here with all these humans?”
The flattery went to his head a bit. He was sure it wasn’t what she had meant, no one ever recognized him for what he was. Dragon-shifter yes, most other magical creatures could figure that much out, but it was rare that anyone beyond other dragons appreciated what he truly was. Even among the other dragons he felt discounted and underappreciated. No one thought there was much use for fire dragons any more. There were so few of his family left in the world, that the dragons had seemingly forgot what fire dragons were truly capable of.
“Business,” he answered slowly, not really sure how much he should be sharing with her or not, “You never answered my question though. What are you?” His voice was transactional at best, clipping his words short with his sheer annoyance at the entire situation unwrapping before him. Blake was not accustomed to anyone getting him to feel flattered in the slightest, let alone getting him to carry on a conversation when he was so decidedly uncomfortable.
She leaned closer to him, reaching up and wrapping her arms around his neck to draw him down to her level with the pretense of talking in his ear. “Go ahead and take a closer look,” the woman said, leaning her head to the side below his.
Rigid at the contact, Blake was unsure of exactly how to behave in that instant. He wanted to throw her hands off him and run, but was also beyond intrigued to know what kind of Fae this woman might be. Blake inhaled deeply and found himself overwhelmed with the smell of nature and what he could only explain as pure power. He had no idea what she was. Fae in some fashion, but something altogether more than Fae at the same time.
Blake had the oddest sensation as he felt his body responding to the closeness of her form. A tightening of his muscles, the feeling of blood coursing and rushing through his body. Blake had not often felt himself truly aroused by a female, the experience was almost as uncomfortable for him as the idea of having a conversation with someone, but somehow this thin wisp of a woman was drawing him in. Blake could feel the pull she seemed to have.
He hadn’t even thought to check on Riley and the girls, his focus was solely trained on the amber eyes of the woman before him. He stepped back from her arms, reaching up and pulling her arms away from him. Blake turned to walk away again, the need to get away from her and the crowded place welling up in him.
“Well,” she sighed, “You certainly are a surprise. Here I thought fire dragons were supposed to be full of passion. You are positively frigid!” She laughed, slapping him lightly on the butt as she fell into step with him.
He frowned at the contact. What was it with personal boundaries? Did no one keep their hands to themselves? Despite his anger, she was pulling his attention back in again. Blake felt the sway she held on his attention, it was as if as much as he tried to fight, the stronger the appeal was. She seemed to understand Blake, or at least that was the impression that was flooding over him.
The woman swayed lithely back and forth to the music as she walked, her hips keeping time with the driving bass that was still pumping through the room. The crowd seemed to press closer and closer around them, until she was dancing up against him.
Blake was consumed with the urge to place his hands on her and pull her closer against him, but realizing just how bizarre a reaction that would be he fought it again. He side-stepped away from the woman, forcing his way through the crowd without much care for if people would move out of his way or if he needed to move them. Whatever the woman was or wasn’t, he didn’t like the confined space and humans crowding all around him.
Blake could still feel her influence pulling at him as he was walking away. He reached the edge of the crowded room and turned, looking for Riley and the girls. They were lost in the crowd. Riley should have been visible slightly taller than others in the crowd, but Blake didn’t see him anywhere. A frown drew on his face, and his eyes searched the room again trying to figure out where they had disappeared to.
The strange Fae woman approached and stood casually at his side. “Your friends left already,” she offered in a helpful tone, “He seemed smitten with his wolves, and they all seemed to be having quite a bit of fun. I doubt you’ll hear from him for a while.”
Blake fumed at his impulsive friend, smoke seeping through his nostrils despite his effort to control it. Leave it to Riley, he never could turn down women. In his frustration at Riley’s recklessness, Blake didn’t think to ask how the woman had known that they were his friends, or even that they had been who he was looking for.
Blake reached in his deep pocket, fishing out his cell phone. Cell phones were one thing that he had to admit humans had right. They at least had some amazing technology, though he wished they didn’t make them so fragile. Blake went through phones on a regular basis, either crushing them by accident, or forgetting they were on him when he shifted. Apparently, smart phones aren’t meant to be dropped from the sky. He sent a message to Riley’s phone, irritated with his friend. You’re going to end up with fleas…I’m going home.
Blake shook his head as he glanced at the woman again. She was studying him with a look of fascination, devoid of attraction, just pure fascination. “What?” He snapped as he slid the phone in his back pocket and turned to head out the door. Blake wasn’t sure what she was, or what her deal was, but he was, frankly, beyond done with the human nightclub, and if Riley had taken the girls off to have some weird interspecies threesome, he was not needed anymore for the night. He scowled as the woman followed him out the door.
“Want to go get some coffee?” She asked with a sly grin, “Or are you too good for coffee?”
The way she spoke was like being challenged and flattered at the same time. Every time she spoke to him, he could feel her power pulling at the edges of his mind. He was conflicted. His dragon was telling him to go, as far and fast as he could from the place, but some secret place inside his mind was intrigued by the woman who seemed to be so unimpressed by him yet could flatter him at the same time. It was strange, and he couldn’t deny wanting to figure out just what her angle was.
Chapter 3
Blake had begrudgingly agreed to coffee with the odd female, though he wasn’t sure why he would willingly subject himself to yet more humans. He still couldn’t quite put his finger on why the woman made him so uneasy, but the longer he was with her the less he could think about it. He told himself it must have just been too much chaos around him with all the humans, and the music, trying to quiet the part of himself that was still so on edge.
She led him down the sidewalk to a small diner that was open all the time. Out of the stifling atmosphere of the nightclub he felt less overwhelmed, and was feeling better and better the longer he was away from the place.
She sat across from him at the diner, her legs crossed neatly under the table. Her thin fingers wrapped around a cup of coffee, amber eyes dancing over the top of the cup as she inspected him. “So, you really were out babysitting wolves for the night?” She asked quietly with a laugh, “They have you so wasted here! Mmm, I bet you’re magnificent.”
He could feel the flattery working on his ego, and felt himself warming to the attention slightly.
“Hardly,” Blake replied after taking a sip of coffee, “I just follow orders. No one cares much for what we can and can’t do any more. They just try to keep us manageable and in our place, no rocking the boat. I don’t make waves, I’m just happy they leave me alone most of the time.” It felt odd to him to be speaking so freely with the woman. Her influence on him was still palpable, making him feel more and more at ease as they sat there having what amounted to a friendly conversation for him.
Blake was taken aback when the woman leaned forward and placed a hand on his arm, intense
warmth beneath her touch. His eyes flashing with the simultaneous urge to pull away but also yearning for the contact. His usual reaction when people he didn’t know touched him was to recoil, but he could feel the soft pulsing of her power beneath her touch. Blake’s eyes met hers as she smiled up at him. “What are you?” He asked again, sincerely wondering just what kind of Fae he had stumbled across.
She laughed, dismissing his question with a wave of her hand.
“Oh, you know close enough what I am,” she explained with a smile, “I’ve just got a little extra. A small bonus…je ne sais quois.” The French phrase rolled off her tongue effortlessly, betraying a definite familiarity with the language.
For the first time in his life, Blake found himself genuinely interested in learning more about someone. The longer they spoke, the more fascinating he found her. He had lived an extremely solitary life even with his adoptive family, and his dislike and distrust of other species made it rare that he encountered anyone, who he found interesting enough to talk to like that. She somehow put him at ease, melting his generally frigid exterior, and he found himself relaxing more and more into the conversation. His mind clouded in a comfortable warmth he was unaccustomed to, and unable to explain.
“So, what am I to call you then, my fiery new friend?” She asked with a wink before sipping her coffee.
Blake shifted uncomfortably, his long legs brushing hers under the table as he did so. The small amount of contact broke his attention for a moment. His mind flashed with the urge to touch her again, in every place he could imagine. It spoke to all the darkest corners of his mind, and he liked it. It struck him just how odd this whole night had ended up. Blake considered that maybe Riley wasn’t so crazy after all, if this is what it was like to meet a female he desired.
Touch of Fire (Into the Darkness Book 1) Page 62
