“Can you stop that?” Erin asked, leaning back in her chair and watching with mild annoyance. “Zach, make him stop.”
Zach was perched next to her and shook his head. “I don’t know if I can. Sapphire is strong.”
“Ha!” Luc let out a bitter bark. “Strong. Strong is useless with women.”
“What happened?” Erin said. “If you just calm down and tell us, maybe we can help.”
“There are evil people all over this fucking planet; that’s the problem,” Luc said. “And my human won’t listen to me and gets mad at me when I protect her. That’s the other problem.” He pulled at his hair. “I mean, how am I supposed to do this if she won’t even listen?”
“Hallie has always seemed like a reasonable woman to me,” Erin said thoughtfully. “So I don’t know what you mean.”
“There was a guy at the shelter today. A complete creep. Coming on to her, touching her.” He ran his hand through his hair, messing it up further, knowing he looked ridiculous, but not caring as long as he and Hallie were fighting. “And he wanted to adopt. But he was thinking about hurting puppies.” He glared at nothing in particular. “How evil can you get?”
“Wait, so is this about the puppies, or is this about the guy hitting on Hallie?” Zach asked.
“Both. I don’t know,” Luc said, waving a hand. “What it’s about is she doesn’t trust me. She’s angry with me, and I have no idea why.”
“What happened on your date?” Erin asked. “I don’t know a lot of details, but Zach said it went well.”
Luc shook his head. Should he share that with her?
“Go ahead,” Zach said. “I’m okay with it.”
“It went well, I think,” Luc said. “I mean, I got in a fight to protect her and showed her some things I can’t really explain, but I felt like she accepted me for me. And we… did stuff. Good stuff. I mean, I care about her. But I don’t know what mating entails and didn’t want to screw up, so I left.”
“Oh,” Erin said.
“And she said it was fine,” Luc said, whirling on his heel. “I mean, she looked slightly disappointed, but—”
“Wait, you slept with her and then left immediately after?” Erin asked.
“You didn’t tell me that,” Zach said, putting a hand over his face. “Dude, not cool.”
Luc raised an eyebrow. “What was the problem? She was a temptation, and I needed to get far enough away that I could think things over. And plus, I knew we would be seeing each other the next morning. Why should one night matter?”
“Because you’d just been intimate,” Erin said, looking aggravated. “And to a girl, that really means something.”
“It means something to me, too,” Luc said. “It means I care enough to be careful and not lock her into something she didn’t want.”
“Have you explained that to her?”
“No,” Luc said. “I thought she would trust me.”
“Doesn’t sound very trustworthy to me,” Erin said. “I mean, you’ve been trying to spend all the time you can with her ever since you met her. You took a job there, for Pete’s sake. And then you get her in the sack and just can’t run away fast enough? I can see why she doesn’t trust you.”
When she put it that way, Luc had to admit it sounded bad.
“And then with this guy, she said it wasn’t my business because I wasn’t her boyfriend. As if I even know what that means.” He kept ranting.
“Oh,” Erin said. “So that’s what she wants.”
“Huh?”
“Some girls really want commitment,” Erin explained. “I wish the two of you had been more upfront with each other.”
“Commitment?” he asked. “I’m committed. Committed as hell. I want to follow her everywhere and make sure no one touches her.”
Erin cocked her head. “Well, I guess that kinda means what humans call a boyfriend.”
“So I am one, then?” he asked hopefully.
“If you want to be, you’ll need to ask her,” she said. “I don’t know. What happened today when you went in?”
“I sort of… threw the guy out of the shelter because she wouldn’t listen, and he was evil and he was touching her…”
“So you’re sending really mixed messages,” Erin said.
He threw his hands up. “I don’t think so. I took her on a date. I kissed her. I protected her. I took space so I could keep her safe even from myself, and I showed up the next morning to see her again. Then I did what I needed to in order to get filth out of her way. All of these are the same message to me,” he said stubbornly.
Erin looked at her mate, exasperated. “Zach, can you handle this?”
Zach stood, brushed off his legs, and walked over to Luc so they were face to face.
Then he hauled back and punched Luc through the face, sending him spinning.
When Luc regained his balance, he lunged at Zach, knocking him to the ground.
He heard Erin gasp but just grabbed Zach by the collar, raising a fist.
“That’s right. Fight back,” Zach snarled. “I’m so sick of your bitching and whining. Fight back and be the person you were. No, be a mix of that person and this one. But stop just bottling it up and exploding. Just for once, fight.”
Luc sagged back, letting Zach go. Zach brushed off his hands and crawled out from under him. Then he sat a couple feet away, staring at him.
“Look, I know it’s easy to fight evil guys. I get you can just throw people around. But that’s not why you’re here.” Zach poked Luc in the chest. “You’re here to fight this. To fight the fear that keeps you running from the kind of life Hallie can offer.”
Luc sighed. “I’m more worried about the kind of life I can offer.”
“So you hate yourself,” Zach said. “Well, fight against it. It does no one any good. Square off with what’s hurting you and let it go. And move on. And be happy. And now that you know what will and won’t mate someone, you don’t have to run from your woman.”
Luc put his hands over his face. “I don’t know what I want. I mean, I know, but I don’t think I deserve it.”
Zach put a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “I wish you would tell me why.”
“I can’t,” Luc choked out, memories flooding him. He’d been a good person once. He could remember a time without guilt, a time without self-hatred.
A time when he wouldn’t have been worried about fleeing the bed of a woman he loved just because he feared what he’d do to her.
He let out a low breath. The village. The dying. Could he really just let it all go?
Not yet.
“But in the meantime, what do I do with Hallie?” he asked, more to Erin than Zach. “How do I make it right?”
She sighed. “I don’t really know. I mean, I guess you could go the Zach way and just stalk her until you get what you want. Girls like to be pursued, and after all, she wants to know you want her. Not just for a one-night stand.”
“One-night stand?” he asked, confused.
“Think about it, dipshit.”
“I did not only want her for one night,” Luc said.
“Then go tell her that,” Zach said, reaching out a hand to help Luc up. When they got to the door, Zach opened it, and as Luc walked through, he got a boot in the butt, shoving him out. “And don’t come back tonight. I’m gonna have sex with my woman.”
Before Luc could even screw up his face in disgust, Zach was gone.
That was the onyx dragon for you.
Luc brushed himself off, rose his his full height, and cracked his knuckles.
He had a mate to stalk in order to prove his love.
11
By the time she got home from work, Hallie was just overall upset with how the day had gone.
She hadn’t been able to reach Bill to apologize, and she had no idea if he was going to sue the shelter, which would be a total disaster for everyone involved.
She also hated she’d gone off on Luc. True, he’d hurt her feelings, but
he hadn’t meant to, and she could have addressed it better. She could have done everything better, but unfortunately, she, like anyone, had bad days, and there wasn’t anything she could do about it.
Other than figure out how to make it right.
There was still light outside when she arrived home, and when she parked, she got out of her car and just leaned against it for a moment, enjoying the evening glow on the large hedge of bushes in front of her house.
She caught movement out of the corner of her eye and saw a man getting out of a parked car and walking toward her. She relaxed some when she realized it was Bill. Maybe he’d gotten her messages and had come to talk to her.
He’d always seemed like a reasonable, even friendly, person, and she didn’t want today to jeopardize their working relationship.
She knew Luc would be offended, but long after he decided to do whatever he wanted, she would still be here, taking care of the shelter. After all, Luc had never made any forever promises. It would be stupid to after knowing each other such a short time.
She sighed and walked toward Bill. She frowned as she saw the look on his face. A bit red, mercurial, his eyes glaring. He backed her up in the direction of her house, and she was in front of her car again.
He folded his arms as he stared down at her, not appearing as he ever had before. “Do you want to explain what happened today? What your boyfriend did?”
“He’s not my boyfriend,” she muttered. “He’s an employee who just happens to really care about the animals, and I don’t know what upset him today. He’s never like that.” She gave him a polite smile. “But I’m really, really sorry, and on behalf of the shelter, I’d love to know if there is anything I could do to make it up to you.”
He frowned, and then a dark smile curled the corners of his lips. “What did you have in mind?”
Not whatever he seemed to be thinking. Ugh. Maybe he wasn’t so nice after all. “I was thinking maybe a plaque on the wall that commends your donations. Or naming a room after you? Something that acknowledges everything you’ve done?”
He stalked forward, backing her up to the car until her back hit it. He looked her up and down, making her skin crawl. Why oh why had she chased Luc away?
He was turning out to be right about too many things. Still, why had none of this happened before?
“Why don’t you acknowledge everything I’ve done?” Bill said creepily, curling his lip as he got even closer.
She put up a hand to push him away. “Look, I’m sure we can work something out.” She tried to side-step around him, but he trapped her further with his huge bulk. She looked around the street for any sign of help but didn’t see anything. “Not like this, though.”
She struggled again, pushing on him, as he began to pull her into his arms. “Eek! Stop!” She pulled back, fighting to avoid his lips. “Help!”
The bushes behind them rustled, and she looked up in shock to see Luc standing behind Bill, glaring down at him with ominous rage in his icy eyes.
“Oh, you’ve done it now,” he said, grabbing the other guy by the scruff of the neck.
“I didn’t mean it. I didn’t mean it,” the other guy screeched, groveling as he dangled in Luc’s grip.
As usual, Luc looked intimidatingly large and angry, but she saw him take a huge breath in an effort to stay calm. Then he glanced over at her, his eyes noting every detail, trying to see what the other man had done.
He turned back to Bill with fury in his stare, letting his hands tighten as the other man struggled. “You touch her again, you’re fucking dead. You get it? Dead. Not able to think about torturing puppies, not able to creep on shelter workers. Because you’ll be dead.”
The man nodded, going slightly red. Luc gave him a look of disgust and dropped him.
As Bill got to his feet and started running away, it looked like it was taking every bit of Luc’s self-control not to go after him.
He was tense for a few seconds and then exhaled, letting all the air out of his chest. “Are you okay?”
She stayed against the car for a moment, trying to take everything in. She was glad he was here, but where the hell had he come from? She looked around her. Sure enough, down the street where she wouldn’t have seen it before, was his black Volvo.
She put a hand to her face. “Yes, I’m fine.”
He walked forward, hands in his pockets. “Sorry I didn’t move sooner. I didn’t know what you wanted me to do until you yelled for help.” He bit his lip. “And I already got in trouble once today for overstepping my bounds.”
“You didn’t overstep,” she said, letting out a shaky breath. “You were just in time.” She looked in Bill’s direction, where his car was pulling away. “It just… surprised me. I didn’t think he’d do that.”
Her heart was racing painfully fast. She looked up at Luc, grateful but confused.
“I know,” he said. “Let’s get you inside.” He walked her in, and she sat in her regular chair, still in shock.
What just happened?
She was still thinking about it when Luc brought her a glass of lemonade from the kitchen. “Thanks,” she said, bringing it to her lips for a slow sip. As she calmed, she thought over the situation, and something ridiculous struck her.
“You were hiding. In my bushes,” she said.
He nodded seriously. “I was stalking you.”
She let out a laugh and then covered her mouth. “Oh my gosh, why on earth were you doing that?”
“I wanted you to know I wanted you. That you weren’t a one-night stand,” he said.
She looked him over and noted the little bits of shrubbery stuck to his shirt and pants. “How long were you there?”
“A few hours,” he said with a shrug. “The right amount I guess.” He cracked his knuckles together. “I had no idea that was going to happen, or I’d be staying in your bushes day and night.”
“Or you could stay inside with me,” she suggested.
He gave her a small smile. “I’d like that.” He walked over and pulled a chair next to her, looking pleased with himself. “I didn’t beat the crap out of him; did you notice that?”
“I did,” she said. “I was pretty impressed.”
“I know,” he said. “But seriously, are you okay? Because I also wanted to talk to you about last night, if that’s okay with you.”
“Sure,” she said, her heart pounding nervously.
He went back to his couch and leaned forward, facing her. As usual, his hair was mussed, and he still looked like the most handsome thing she’d ever seen. “I sent the wrong message last night,” he said. “I wasn’t trying to say I didn’t want to commit. It’s just, for what I am, mating is a very big deal. And I’ve never met a woman I wanted to mate, so I didn’t know how it worked. You’re tempting, and I didn’t want to screw something up.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” she said. “What do you mean screw things up?”
“Trap you,” he said. “Mating is permanent.”
She rubbed her temples with both hands. “I don’t know what that means, mating. Are you some kind of animal?”
“Not exactly,” he said.
“Are you ever going to tell me what you are?” she asked.
“I think so,” he said. “When the time is right.” He sat up with a long sigh. “Okay, so from the top… When I came here, I was given a mission. One I didn’t think I could complete.” He touched his necklace. “I was supposed to prove I could care about the human world. I didn’t want to ever do that again. I cared once, and it broke me. It broke a lot of people.” Guilt clouded his blue eyes, and he looked away for a moment before turning back. “So I was planning to just sit here and do nothing and wait for my punishment.”
“What was the punishment?” she asked.
“Oblivion,” he said flatly.
Her heart sank, and her stomach twisted at the thought. “So you changed your mind?”
“I think so.” He nodded. “I mean, it’s scary to care again, b
ut I really do. I care about you… and Bastien. And even some others.” He twisted his fingers together. “I just… I’m bad at it still. When I left last night, I thought I was doing the best thing. I didn’t know what it meant to leave.” He gave her a hopeful look. “But if you’ll let me, I’ll stay tonight.”
She felt hope welling up in her, filling her like a hot air balloon, making her feel floaty. “You want to?”
“Of course I want to,” he said, folding his arms. “I wanted to last night. But as you’ve seen, I don’t always have the best judgment, even when I’m trying to do the right thing.”
“I know,” she said. “I didn’t react the best either.”
They both smiled and then sat in awkward silence together. She took a deep breath. “Well, you were right. He was a creep.”
“Yeah,” he said. “But I could have been better about telling you about it.”
She came over and sat next to him on the couch, and as he put his arm around her, she enjoyed the warm, soothing feeling that washed over her. That always did when he was around.
“What do you want to do tonight?” he asked. “I’m all yours, until you want to kick me out.”
She laughed. “I wouldn’t. Maybe just take it easy tonight? Watch a movie?”
He nodded. “Try that snuggling thing you were talking about.” He wrapped both arms around her, encircling her with strong muscles. “I think that’s what I missed most about leaving last night. I didn’t get to hold you.”
“I didn’t know you wanted to.”
“Of course I did,” he said. “I always want to.”
She smiled and gently pushed out of his arms. “Well, in that case, you better help me make dinner so we can eat and get that out of the way. We’ve got some snuggling to do.”
His blue eyes sparkled in a way she’d never seen before. Truly, it was like watching a black-and-white painting come into color the way he was changing every day.
“Sounds good to me.”
12
After dinner—where Luc had showed himself to be more than willing to help in the kitchen, if not woefully inexperienced with things as basic as boiling water—both of them returned to the living room to watch a movie as promised.
Sapphire Dragon (Awakened Dragons Book 2) Page 8
