But Erin was racking up too many positive points to count. She truly had a heart unlike any he’d met. Brave. Strong. Perhaps a dragon somewhere in her past lineage? No, she was too kind for that.
Even he could acknowledge that.
“So you need somewhere to stay,” she said.
He nodded. “But I now insist on staying with you. You’re in danger.”
“They aren’t going to come to my home.”
“I still insist on watching you.”
She frowned. “How do I know you aren’t dangerous?”
“I saved you, didn’t I?”
She folded her arms. “Saving me doesn’t mean you won’t attack me later.”
He fingered his collar. “I can’t attack you. Not unless you attack me. This ensures that.”
She took a step toward him and put her hand up as if to touch him, then pulled back, almost recoiling. “What is it?”
“It controls me. The one who sent me here, you could say she doesn’t trust me yet. I can’t just attack humans willy nilly.”
She giggled at that. “Willy nilly.”
“Yes, yes, make fun of my words,” he grunted. “Anyway.”
She eyed the collar. “If she doesn’t trust you, why should I?”
He frowned, turning the ring on his right hand thoughtfully. “I could give you my ring.”
She shook her head. “What good would that do?”
“It’s something that means a lot to me. I’ll be wanting it back. If I do anything you don’t like, you can refuse to return it.”
That was risky. If the ring was lost somehow…
Luckily, she turned down that suggestion, too. “No.”
“What would make you trust me?” he asked.
“Look,” she said, locking the register after returning the money from the robber’s dropped bag. “I’m grateful to you for rescuing me. I get now that there is something different about you. Something big, even. But I just can’t take you home with me. I’m happy to call a shelter or, hell, even rent a hotel for you. But I just… In this town, I can’t afford to take a risk like that.”
“Then at least allow me to walk you home,” he offered.
She nodded as she turned off the lights in the salon. “Fine. But if you try to follow me inside, I’m going to scream for the neighbors.”
He nodded. “Fine.” He would simply stay outside and watch out for her if needed.
She locked up the room and stared at the salon for a while before heading down the road. There were dark figures lining the street, watching them, and Zach glared back.
He was oddly protective of this human. He didn’t like other humans even staring. Then again, dragons were known for guarding treasure.
And Erin was a treasure if he’d ever met one. Even if she didn’t know it yet.
Such a rare specimen of humanity should be protected.
“Stop glaring at everyone,” she muttered as they walked. “Humans aren’t that bad. Maybe you should stop judging them.”
“Maybe you should think about the state your world is in. I can’t even watch the news.”
She sighed. “You have a point there. But the fact that we haven’t been destroyed means, technically, the good are still winning.”
He snorted. “Maybe not for long.”
She had no idea, did she? No idea of the shifter world encroaching, the fragile balance between worlds that could easily end in human enslavement or annihilation if certain shifter factions had their way.
The fact that modern dragons that were nothing like him, despite being created from his kind’s DNA, were the only thing keeping people like her safe.
And if things went right, perhaps he’d be on that side, too.
Still, he’d never expected to meet such a good human this fast. The fact that she was cute and curvy with a sweet, musical voice was just a bonus.
“Can you stop looking at me like that?” she asked.
“Like what?”
“Like I’m a piece of meat.”
He scoffed. “Not a piece of meat. A beautiful jewel.”
They turned down another dark side street, and he looked around suspiciously for any threats. Nothing was going to happen to her while he was around. Unfortunately, the very qualities that impressed him about her made her a terrible candidate for dealing with evil.
She was far too soft and kind to handle it on her own.
But that was fine. Now she had him to be evil for her.
He cracked his knuckles, thinking about it, as they turned onto a better lit street that led toward a small cul-de-sac filled with apartment buildings. She stopped in front of a small duplex and looked at him with a shrug.
“Home sweet home.” There were lights on in the other side of the house. Odd to have a wall down the center of a dwelling to turn it into two, but it was something he had noticed a lot while exploring this neighborhood.
She rummaged in her purse. “I have to go in and call my boss, because my phone was, you know, ruined. But first, I want to make sure you have enough to find a hotel.”
She pulled out a wad of currency and began to hand it to him, but he put up a hand.
“I’m staying out here,” he said.
“You’ve gotta be kidding.” She looked around the street. “It’s not safe.”
“I assure you,” he said sardonically, “nothing here can hurt me.” He eyed her. “You, on the other hand, you’re squishy. Anything can hurt you.”
Her eyes widened in offense. “Excuse me?”
He sat on the curb and then lay back on the sidewalk awkwardly, looking up at her. “Don’t be offended. All humans are.” His eyes roved over her wickedly. “Some more pleasingly than others.”
She let out a hiss of breath. “You really do need to learn what to say sometimes.”
He grinned. “So teach me.”
“I don’t have time,” she said. “I need to go inside and eat dinner and call my boss, and…” She tucked her long hair behind her ears. “Oh, dammit, I can’t leave you out here.”
“Then let me in,” he said with a grin.
“Why do I feel like I’d be letting a wolf in my door?” she asked.
“Dragon,” he corrected.
She sighed. “I’m sorry, but I need to think about this.” She set the money down by him, but he ignored it. “Go get yourself something to eat. A place to stay. Honestly, you can come see me again at the salon tomorrow. But I just can’t let you in my house.”
“Then I’m staying here,” he repeated stubbornly.
She looked at him in frustration. “It’s going to be cold tonight.”
He rested on his hands and looked up at the sky. “The oracle isn’t going to let me die before she decides if I’m useful.”
She let out a frustrated groan and then walked up her steps. “Fine, then! Freeze to death for all I care.” Then she slammed the door behind her.
He grinned, lying comfortably on the sidewalk. She’d be back soon.
She wasn’t the type who could leave someone out on the sidewalk, even if it were utterly their fault.
He was betting on it.
He watched the money blow away in the breeze and scoffed at it. He, Isaac Morningstar III, didn’t need it.
4
After Erin checked in with her boss and talked to her about filing a police report, she sat on one of the small chairs in her kitchen, tired and stressed.
Of course her boss still wouldn’t hear anything about security cameras. She had agreed it was pointless calling the police when they had no proof and no identities. It was a frustrating situation, and Erin wondered not for the first time if she should just change salons.
Dangerous things happened in the area all the time—drug dealing, robberies, assaults.
It was all just a part of living where she did.
But she loved so many of the people around her. People just trying to get by the best they could. And she’d built up a huge client base she loved and trusted.
She thought of Zach’s bitter words about humans and walked to the window, half expecting him not to be out there.
But he was, slumped over his knees, staring out at the road, an imposing figure even when sitting.
Who knew what to do with him?
He’d rescued her and the salon. He’d shown her something about him that he probably didn’t show anyone. Not safely anyway. Some people would want to stick him in a lab or something like that. Scales, like he was lizard man or something. Maybe he had some kind of mutation, bit by a lizard, like Spiderman was bit by a spider.
She scratched her arm, a nervous habit, as she considered her options.
He looked back at her, almost as if he could tell she was thinking of him, and she backed out of view, hoping he hadn’t seen her.
She didn’t want to leave him out there, but she couldn’t just invite him in either.
What if he were some kind of dragon? What if his crazy stories were true? If there were actually creatures like that around, shouldn’t they not be allowed to tell humans or something, for fear of mass panic breaking out?
But after seeing that knife crumple against him, seeing the feral gleam as his eyes had gone totally black, and then seeing the shiny scales that had faded into his body, she could almost believe it.
Dragons walking among them.
A dragon sitting on her sidewalk.
Thunder cracked overhead and rain began to fall. She frowned. Soon to be a wet dragon.
She saw him curse and look up at the sky angrily. Then he pulled his jacket closer around him, making her feel a stab of sympathy.
Dammit, why did she have to be so soft hearted? What if he was some kind of stalker or killer?
She wished she’d remembered to have him grab his trench coat before they left. It made him look a little suspicious, but at least it would keep the rain off of him.
She sat on her couch by the front window and peeked through the drapes, silently thinking about it.
Her gut said she could let him in. He was dangerous to others, but she’d never felt anything threatening toward her.
She walked to her coffee table and picked up an unopened package of mace that a coworker had given her in case something happened to her walking home. She hadn’t been able to imagine using it, but she guessed it was a good way to assure him there was something she could do if he got any ideas.
After all, she couldn’t let him just die out there. Not before she figured out more of the mystery about him.
And how exciting if he truly were something unbelievable? It would be the most exciting thing that had happened in her life, which had been pretty much set from birth.
She would be a hairstylist, like her mom, who had been a single mother. She would stay in her hometown, even though it was rough, because it was where she belonged. And she would go home alone every night because she’d never met anyone worth spending her free time with after work.
She opened the front door, mace can in one hand and the other hand wrapped protectively around her waist. As if she could actually protect herself against him if he decided to do something.
Still, it wouldn’t be the first time she’d risked her own safety trying to help someone. So far, her judgment had been good, and it had worked out all right. She’d have to hope it would be that way again.
“All right,” she said, meeting his dark gaze as she approached. Once again, even with his hair wet and streaming down his face, she was shocked by how handsome he was. She’d never met anyone like that, had assumed anyone that looked that handsome onscreen was totally fake.
She held out the mace, and his grin dimmed. “This is poison.” She lied, hoping if he really were as ignorant about humans as he pretended to be, it would worry him. “If I spray this your way, you’re going to be in terrible pain. We clear?”
A corner of his mouth quirked. “Crystal.”
“Fine,” she said. “You can come in. Just on the couch. Do you hear me? And if I hear anyone approach my bedroom door, I’ll be unleashing this.”
He stood, looking frustrated as he brushed water droplets off of him and shook his hair. He pinned a glance on her. “Took you long enough. I thought you were more soft hearted than that.”
She snorted. “Soft hearted. Not stupid.”
“Sometimes they’re one and the same, darling,” he said, striding ahead of her into the house and holding the door.
She sighed and led him into the living room, taking his wet jacket and hanging it on an old, worn chair. “Make yourself at home.”
He began stripping out of his clothing, and she turned away quickly.
“Make sure the drapes are closed,” she said with a squeak, tossing him a blanket while staying turned away.
Her throat was dry with what she’d seen. Powerful chest, arms roped with gigantic muscles she wanted to squeeze, rock-hard abs…
She heard him rustling the blanket.
“How do I look?” he asked in a deep voice, and she turned around and laughed at the way he was wearing it like a toga that was way too small. Sexy, muscled legs stuck out from beneath it.
“Silly,” she said.
“Eh.” He flopping onto the couch. “Got anything to eat?”
She frowned. “Now I’m your servant?”
“All humans are,” he said archly. Then his dark eyes twinkled. “Just kidding.”
She sighed. “I’ll see what I have.”
“I’m getting your couch wet. Sorry,” he said. “Though, it’s your fault.”
She stifled a growl. The nerve of him. Yet how could she still pretend to resent him when all she wanted to do was go back in there, rip the blanket off of him, and stare at him in all his glory?
He had something like charisma but on another level, and it definitely wasn’t his not-so-sparkling personality.
She came back with a hastily made sandwich on a plate and handed it to him.
He scowled at it for a moment before practically inhaling it, and then sat back in contentment, gazing around the room.
“If you have everything you need, I’m going to head to bed,” she said, stretching. “It’s been a long day.”
He nodded, checking out her chest.
She frowned. “And like I said, I hear a knock on my bedroom door, someone is in big trouble.”
“True,” he said. “Because if anyone tries to go up there, I’m going to kill them.”
Something unfamiliar shimmered through her at his words, and she stared at him. Someone watching out for her, the way she watched out for others.
Very odd, but not unwelcome. Even if it was a little weird coming from someone like him.
The next day, Zach woke up sore and scowled at the uncomfortably small couch where he’d spent the night. His human body was too large for regular furniture, and he was used to much better accommodations.
The oracle might be a witch who kept him on a literal leash, but she’d at least given him the type of living quarters a dragon shifter expected. Oversized bed, lush furnishings.
Yet, as he heard Erin moving around above him upstairs, he grinned, knowing he’d rather be here than there.
So much to still learn about her. He’d go to work with her again today, because it was a good place to observe humans and also because he was worried those men would return.
He didn’t like the way they’d been looking at his mate.
Speaking of which, he didn’t know if he should talk to the oracle about that when he checked in.
He touched his collar and turned it around until he found a small button under the clasp. When he pressed it, he heard a little beep that meant he was transmitting.
“How is it going?” he heard in his mind rather than his ears.
Pressing the button on the collar allowed her to speak into his mind and hear anything he said to her so she could check in with him. He didn’t know a lot about the oracle, but he knew she was more powerful than dragons, and her kind had been around even longer than his.
And not to mess with her.
“I’m fine,” he said aloud in a quiet voice. “More or less.”
“Good,” she said. “And your observation of humans? How is that going? You’re supposed to be using your dragon journal to send daily transmissions.”
“Well, here’s a daily transmission,” he muttered. “A human tried to stab me yesterday.”
“Really?” she asked coyly. “What did you do?”
“Nothing,” he said. “Actually, I was just observing another human who was attacked. I intervened.”
“You intervened… for a human?”
“Crazy, I know,” he said sarcastically in a low voice, looking up to make sure Erin was still upstairs where she couldn’t hear him. She’d think he was even crazier than usual if she caught him talking to himself.
“Not so crazy. Tell me about her.”
“What?” he asked. “How did you know it was a her?”
He could hear the oracle’s smile in her words. “It was obvious. Where are you now? Can anyone see you? You should be using the journal. It’s safer.”
“Her house,” he said. “And yes, fine, I’ll start using the journal. Listen, have you heard of a dragon having a human mate?”
“Of course, how do you think all of them work now?”
“Not those wussy dragons.” He scoffed. “Dragons like me.”
There was a pause. “No, back then, I don’t think there was necessarily any of that happening. But perhaps with you waking up in a new world with new needs, things are changing.”
Changing.
He didn’t like that.
“Well, I’ll look into it.”
“You know what finding a mate would mean,” she said. “As far as bonding with humans…”
“Liking her doesn’t mean I like any of the rest of them.” He sneered.
“Yes, but she does. How do you think she would feel about you detesting her friends and family?”
“I think she already knows that.”
The oracle sighed. “Zach, the world needs you. I need you. But while I’m glad you’ve found a human you would even consider as a mate, I need more than that from you. I need to know what side you want to be on and whether to keep you awake.”
Onyx Dragon (Awakened Dragons Book 1) Page 3
