“See what?”
“What's outside the window, Miss Amelia?”
“We don't see anything.”
“What's wrong, Miss Amelia?”
Amelia winced when she saw her students' baffled, innocent faces. Some of them looked a little frightened.
She was scaring them. She was the teacher, the adult in the room. Yet she was the only one seeing strange, flying, children-snatching dragons.
But the dragon looked terrifyingly real. She could see its deadly, serrated teeth when it turned its humongous head in her direction.
“Tessa...” Amelia said in a pained whisper. Tessa was in the clutches of that dragon. She couldn't have imagined that. There was just no reason why she would imagine her student being grabbed by a fire-breathing, flesh-eating beast. She wasn't a sicko!
Amelia's eyes darted to the window as she reached for a thick book on the shelf near the window. She didn't know what she was going to do, but she knew she had to save Tessa. Maybe she was the only one who could. No one else seemed to be able to see what was happening right outside the window.
Her first thought was to hurl the book out the window with all her might and try to hit the dragon. That would slow the beast down. But...it might also cause the dragon to drop Tessa in shock. And a fall from that height…
Amelia gulped down a curse and swung her panicked gaze back to the window.
With a cry of dismay and disbelief, she craned her neck and stared up at the clear blue sky.
The dragon was gone.
There was nothing out of the ordinary. She stared and gaped but she saw only wispy white clouds and the tips of tall buildings reaching for the sky. In the distance, she could make out a plane. And she made doubly sure that it was a plane. Not a dragon.
“Where is it?” she muttered. “It was right there! I saw it. I know I did.”
She couldn't have dreamed the whole thing up. She just couldn't.
Amelia gave herself a hard pinch on the arm just to make sure. Biting down her yelp, she rubbed her arm and scowled.
Some of the children had grown bored and were chasing one another round the classroom.
Hold yourself together, Amelia. Hold your mind together! Don't lose it…
Taking a long, shuddering breath, Amelia snapped her eyes open and swallowed.
““Go back to your seats now, children.” Amelia cleared her throat and managed to hide the tremor in her voice. “No running! Let's finish drawing before story time, shall we?”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“Fly faster, Daddy!” Tessa shouted as Rohan took off from their long driveway and soared towards the clouds. Tessa had no trouble seeing him in his dragon form. She had his blood in her. She might or might not be a dragon shifter, but it didn't matter to Rohan. As long as she was safe and happy, his little girl could be human, dragon, fairy princess, anything she wanted to be.
“Wheeee!” Tessa squealed happily as they flew towards the city. Driving her to school would take about an hour, and most of that hour would be spent stuck in traffic. Flying was faster, way faster, and Tessa was already late for school.
Her French braid was perfect though.
Tessa was used to flying. Rohan, Edriq and Zul frequently took her on joyrides. She had been flying since she was a tiny tot. The girl was a daredevil. She loved it when they executed aerial stunts and dived at death-defying speeds from a great height. She knew that her dad and uncles would never let anything happen to her. They always held her securely but gently in their powerful talons.
Rohan held his daughter very carefully so as not to wrinkle her dress and mess up her pretty hair. He glided smoothly past the skyscrapers and looked down at the snarling traffic on the roads. It was a good thing Edriq had stopped him from taking the car. And flying was a lot more fun than driving, according to Zul.
Catching sight of the neat little schoolhouse at the corner of Fifth Street, Rohan began to make his descent. He was invisible to the city folks, but he still had to find a suitable place to land. He couldn't just land anywhere he liked and risk toppling a building with his tail or crushing some parked cars underfoot.
The sprawling park opposite Tessa's kindergarten looked big enough. Rohan swooped down and circled the schoolhouse a few times. As he turned and headed towards the park, Tessa let out a squeal. “I can see Miss Amelia at the window, Daddy! I think she saw us! She can see you, Daddy!” Tessa began to wave excitedly. “Miss Amelia, Miss Amelia!”
Rohan chuffed as he held his squirming daughter. There was no way Miss Amelia could see them. Tessa was just delighted to see her teacher at the window.
Keep still, Tessa, he thought sternly.
“Okay, okay. Just hurry, Daddy,” Tessa urged.
Rohan flew to the park and landed soundlessly behind some trees. The few people in the park didn't seem to notice anything out of the ordinary. Only an elderly woman walking her dog looked up and frowned when she felt the gust of wind from his wings.
Tessa straightened up from her crouch and grabbed her bag. Quickly, Rohan shifted to human form and materialized. Taking Tessa's hand, Rohan had to jog to keep up with her.
As they passed the elderly woman with the dog, the dog sniffed at Rohan and began to bark agitatedly.
“Down, boy! Pepe, what's gotten into you?” The woman smiled apologetically at Rohan and Tessa. “He's not usually like that,” she said.
“He's a good dog, real smart,” Rohan commented, smiling back. He can scent my dragon.
“Oh he is.” The lady beamed. “Pepe! Stop barking at the nice gentleman. You're scaring the little girl!”
“I'm not scared of him,” Tessa said. “I would love to play with him. But I have to go to school now. I think I'm late!”
“You'd better run along then. Bye, dear!” The woman waved them off.
“Bye! Bye, Pepe!” Tessa called out, skipping backwards.
They hurried across the road and ran towards the schoolhouse. Rohan walked Tessa to the door of her classroom and was about to ruffle her hair out of habit but he stopped himself just in time. He had nearly ruined his masterpiece. He had sweated blood to finish that hairdo.
“Have a good day, sweetheart. I love you!”
“I love you too, Daddy.” She kissed him on the cheek and scrambled away. The door to her classroom opened and Tessa grinned up at her teacher. “Miss Amelia!”
Rohan's eyes rounded. It was her!
That sweet, flame-haired woman from last night.
He kept telling himself that he would swing by her apartment tonight, just to make sure she was all right. That was what he told himself. But the truth was, he wanted to see her. He needed to see her again.
And here she was.
Holding the door open and smiling at Tessa.
She was Miss Amelia.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Rohan saw Amelia gasp and jerk back sharply when she saw him. But she managed to compose herself and turn her attention to Tessa.
She placed a hand on Tessa's shoulder and looked searchingly into the girl's face. “Are you...okay, Tessa?”
Tessa nodded and shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “Can I go in now, Miss Amelia?”
“Of course, of course Tessa.” Miss Amelia gave her head a quick shake and forced a smile. “Come on in. I was just worried when I didn't see you this morning. I thought you'd gotten the flu from Rachel and Max.”
As Tessa scrambled past her, she gulped audibly as she turned to Rohan. “You...you must be Tessa's dad.”
When he nodded, she rushed on, “I'm Amelia Hawkins, Tessa's new teacher.” She stuck her hand out and stammered, “I...I saw you last night. Right? Y-you...”
Rohan took her hand and pulled her gently to him. She lifted her gaze, and her eyes showed more and more white as she stared up towards the ceiling.
“Dragon...” she whispered.
Rohan forced himself to relax his grip on Amelia's hand. Her
hand had turned cold and clammy, and she was starting to hyperventilate.
He should release her and step away but he just couldn't let her go.
His eyes had turned full gold. His dragon had reared up but he held on to his human shape. Man and dragon were occupying the same space, the same body at the same time so his dragon was towering above his human form. His dragon didn't materialize fully. Instead, it was glowing and flickering like a hologram, superimposed on his human shape.
In this incorporeal state, no one would be able to see his dragon.
No one except his mate.
“Amelia,” Rohan said in a low voice.
She didn't seem to hear him. Her eyes were fixed on his dragon, and his dragon stared right back at her. His golden eyes took in every inch, every curve of her and inhaled her scent deeply, hungrily. Amelia was beautiful and everything about her was so perfect. Her heart-shaped face was framed by tendrils of red hair, and her lips were full and plump. She was wearing jeans which hugged her generous, ample hips and thighs and her creamy skin was dotted with cute little freckles. When she turned her head, Rohan saw that she had done her hair in a French braid, just like the one he had so painstakingly done for Tessa.
“Dragon,” she repeated. This time there was more certainty and conviction in her voice.
Rohan took a deep breath and forcefully and violently wrenched his dragon back under his human form. His muscles bulged and his eyes glowed brighter as he fought with his beast.
Rohan exhaled roughly and saw smoke rushing from his nostrils. His dragon was most definitely not happy at being made to lie down and roll over. His dragon might be formidable but Rohan had an iron will. He would not let his beast get the better of him. Finally, his dragon receded but not before spewing out a puff of smoke to show its displeasure.
Pretending to gesture enthusiastically towards the walls, the door, the...notices on the notice board, Rohan quickly waved the smoke away and gave Amelia an innocuous smile.
“Wha—?” Amelia made a wordless sound and stammered, “W-where did he go?” She looked around frantically. “The dragon! It was right there. You saw the dragon, right?”
Rohan wasn't sure how to answer. He could lie to her, but he didn't want to.
Amelia shook her head repeatedly. “There was a dragon behind you, no, not behind you. It looked like it was coming out of you, like it was...a part of you.” She winced suddenly and clapped a hand over her mouth. “You must think I'm crazy.”
“No, not at all,” Rohan said.
Biting her lip, Amelia clasped her hands together to keep them from shaking. Rohan saw how scared and angry she was. She had seen his dragon, and now she thought there was something wrong with her mind. And mentally ill people couldn't teach kindergarten kids. “I'm not crazy,” she repeated in a pained, quavering voice.
The doubt and pain in her eyes was something he never wanted to see. He had to fix this. He wanted to fix everything for her, and make everything that was wrong in the world right for her.
Rohan knew that this woman deserved the truth from him, but how much should he tell her?
“Amelia,” he began slowly. “You weren't imagining the dragon. You did see...my dragon. You could see me clearly in my dragon form last night, right?”
“Yes. No! I mean...I don't know...”
“Will you have dinner with me tonight?” Rohan said. “I'll explain everything to you.”
Amelia sucked in a long breath and studied him for a moment. “Okay,” she said at last. “I'll meet you at six at the pizza place down the road, Mr Draek.”
Rohan knew why she had picked the pizza place. A lot of cops dropped by to pick up a pizza since there was a police station just down the road. With cops walking in and out of the pizza joint, it was the safest eatery in the whole city. If he tried anything funny, all she had to do was give a shout and cops would be on him before he could even blink.
“See you at six.” He smiled. “Please, just call me Rohan.”
His dragon started to stir as he walked away.
Simmer down, Rohan told his dragon. I scored us a date!
His dragon chuffed as he walked out of the schoolhouse. Six o'clock couldn't come soon enough.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Amelia walked into Papa Pizza and saw Rohan sitting at a corner table. He was in a well-tailored jacket but the top button of his white shirt was undone. He looked like he had just come from work.
But—didn't Tessa say that her dad was a soldier? Amelia frowned a little. No, what Tessa said was that her dad was a dragon. She hadn't thought that the girl meant it literally.
Amelia smoothed her hands down her jeans, feeling more than a little nervous. Rohan seemed like a nice guy and he was the father of one of her students. He was a single dad. Amelia had checked Tessa's school records. She didn't want to be going on a date with someone's husband! But—he was also a dragon. Strange but true. She had seen his dragon. It hadn't been a dream at all.
There was an air of danger and mystery surrounding Rohan Draek. He was an incredibly good-looking male, with wavy dark hair and striking blue-green eyes. Tall and broad with a commanding, almost regal, presence.
Amelia managed a smile when Rohan stood up and pulled out a chair for her.
“Thanks for coming,” he said, looking relieved. “I was afraid...”
“...that I'll stand you up?” she teased. “I'm only five minutes late.”
“Well, I didn't think I made a very good first impression,” he said with a crooked smile. His shy, boyish smile made Amelia realize that he was actually nervous about the date as well.
Amelia let out a small laugh and the tension fled from her body. A suave, handsome, confident man like Rohan Draek was actually worried about being stood up by her. Wow.
She suddenly realized how important this date was to him. Well, it was a date, sort of. She was having dinner with a single, eligible, handsome man, who could turn into a dragon.
She should be scared, but she wasn't. She felt perfectly comfortable with Rohan, even though she had only just met him. She just knew that he wouldn't hurt her and he wouldn't lie to her.
Amelia had never been on a date like this. The place was crowded and noisy but the atmosphere was relaxed and casual. Papa Pizza was just a modest pizza place. The food was fantastic but the restaurant was small and bursting at the seams. The door chime never stopped tinkling as people walked in and out. There were only a few tables for dine-in customers but there was a long queue of people at the counter. Cops, shift workers, busy moms were waiting in line to pick up their pizzas and dash off.
“I ordered two large pizzas to share,” Rohan said. “One vegetarian, and one with everything on it.”
“Sounds great,” Amelia said. “I eat everything.” As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she winced. She had said that to one of her dates in the past and the guy had looked at her curvy, generous figure and smirked. “I can see that,” he'd said cuttingly. “You didn't state that you're a big girl in your online profile. I don't usually date chubby chicks.”
Amelia shook away the memory of that horrible date and looked up to see Rohan watching her intently. “Is everything okay?”
“Y-yes. I...I think I'd like a cup of tea...”
A harried server was rushing around trying to do everything at once. She stopped at their table and asked breathlessly, “Can I get you anything?”
Rohan smiled at her. “It's okay. I'll just get a cup of tea at the counter. You have your hands full.”
“Yeah, it's crazy,” she answered and flashed Rohan a grateful smile. “Milly called in sick today, so we're shorthanded.” As she rushed off, she called over her shoulder, “Thanks!”
Amelia watched Rohan put in his order at the counter and chat amiably with the busy staff who were packing the pizzas into boxes for the waiting customers. In a minute, Rohan came strolling back with a cup of steaming tea. As he wound his way back to their table
, Amelia realized that Rohan was actually head and shoulders taller than everyone in the room. Yet he blended effortlessly into the crowd. His dressing was tasteful and understated, and he seemed to be able to mirror the mood of his surroundings. But his piercing eyes were sharp and alert. He noticed everything and everyone, and he was constantly watching and observing.
A spy, Amelia thought. He would make a great spy.
“Your tea, M'am,” Rohan said, setting the cup in front of her.
“Thank you.”
Amelia took a sip of her tea and decided to cut to the chase. “Tessa told the class that her dad and uncles were dragons. I thought that Dragon was a code name for some military unit. But that was before I saw—” She gulped. “I saw...”
“My dragon,” Rohan finished for her.
She sucked in a deep breath. “Is that what it is?” she asked, leaning forward. “Is that what you are?”
“Yes. My dragon is a part of me,” he said simply.
Amelia took a deep, fortifying breath and asked, “What exactly are you, Rohan?
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Amelia stared straight into Rohan's eyes and saw a strange glow lighting up his eyes. The gold flecks in his eyes seemed to glitter like stars and for one breathless moment, she thought that he was an alien.
A strange, wonderful alien dragon who could walk around in human form.
“Are you an alien?” she stuttered before she could stop herself.
Rohan's eyes widened in surprise and amusement at her question. “As a matter of fact—” His expression became serious. “Yes. I am.”
She opened her mouth to question him further but the server stepped up to their table and placed two humongous pizzas in front of them. “Enjoy!” The girl grinned and gave Rohan a wink.
Rohan put two large slices on her plate and ordered, “Eat.” When Amelia tried to ask another question, Rohan shook his head and said, “Eat, then we'll talk.”
To Date A Dragon: BBW Dragon Shifter Romance (Weredragon Warriors Book 1) Page 4
