by Amelia Jade
He had to admit Riss was quite pleasing to his eyes. It had been a while anyway. A smile spread over his face as he tugged the black silk shirt on, feeling the light feathery touch of the material on his skin, and wondering for just the briefest moment what it would feel like to have her skin pressed up against him instead.
There is room in here, he thought with a wicked grin, picking up the suit jacket and sliding that on as well.
Yes, he would take her home to meet his mother, to show her that he had, in fact, found a mate. Then she would sign the papers that would finally give him control. It irritated him that although she was over a millennia old, and he was close to two-and-a-half centuries in age himself, that she had still refused to grant him his birthright as her only son.
Dragon families relied on their names and their positions of power. His mother had been a successful politician, including a stint on the Guardian subcommittee of the Cadian Council, among other things. The Cadian Council itself was the ruling body of his homeland.
Several centuries before, a huge swath of territory encompassing everything from mountains to mesas and forests and deserts had been ceded to the shifters of the continent. It formed a massive independent stronghold where they could live in peace, without fear of having to deal with humans, unless they chose otherwise.
Cadia was the largest of the shifter territories across the world, though several others, such as Fenris, had been closing the gap of late. To keep itself in check, the Cadian Council had been formed, comprised of two shifters from each of the major races, as well as two representatives who spoke for all the minor races combined. It dealt with the large problems a population of ten thousand unruly shifters faced, while subcommittees such as the one his mother had served on oversaw much of the daily running of Cadia.
The Guardian subcommittee was arguably the most powerful of these. The Guardians of Cadia, of which Zander was one, were the police, security and armed forces of Cadia all in one. Drawn from the ranks of all the shifters, they patrolled the borders ruthlessly to keep the naturally inquisitive humans out, and to ensure the more destructive of their own kind stayed in.
The difference between a Guardian and a normal shifter from Cadia—such as Riss’ boss, for instance—was quite profound, which is one reason why they were given so much respect and therefore power.
When a shifter reached puberty, they got the first taste of their animal. The changes came abruptly, and often without much warning. Controlling the animal was fairly easy, even for Initiates, those who had just changed for the first time. The mental strength of their human brain was far more adept and strong than that of their animal.
But for a person who had spent the first twelve, thirteen, or fourteen years of their lives walking upright on two legs, the shift into animal form was disorienting. They often had to relearn how to walk, run, and generally live within their animals. It was easier for the landbound animals, like wolves, bears, the felines, etcetera.
Zander was a dragon, however, which meant he could fly. Theoretically. After being landbound for fifteen years before his dragon appeared, the notion of becoming a flighty being was…overwhelming and intimidating.
Many dragons, gryphons, and Pegasi simply gave up, and remained landbound when they did shift. Alternatively, they could fly, but it was an ungainly, awkward thing, just like those who had to learn to run on four legs often couldn’t adjust.
That was where the Guardians were different. Each race had a school, a place where they learned how to become one with their animal. To become a swordmaster wielding their beast like a katana, as simply an extension of themselves.
For Zander, that had been Top Scale Academy, the best of the best, where the dragons came into their true power as the lords of the sky and most powerful of all shifters. After several centuries of training, he had then been invited back by the Wing Commander of Top Scale, Daxxton Ryker, as an instructor.
That was where he spent his days, and he couldn’t lie, he loved it.
But there was more to life in Cadia than just being a Guardian, especially as a dragon. His family name, Pierce, was powerful in its own measure. Everyone knew he was a Pierce, that he had been born into that lineage. But until his mother formally acknowledged him as her heir and the successor to the name, it was nothing but a moniker, something to differentiate him. He couldn’t trade on the respect and power that came with it, access the family fortune or estates, or anything like that.
He was provided an allowance, which was more than enough to get by and afford such things as the atrociously overpriced suit he was now wearing—which looked much better in the black shirt, he had to admit—but he wasn’t in control of it, and that bugged him.
Most of his friends and colleagues, if they were going to inherit, had done so by now. Or they had at least been acknowledged as the heir, meaning it was but a matter of time until their parents either stepped down, or passed on from the material world.
Not Zander though.
That was why he needed this young woman. She would be the key to finally providing him with something that was at least a century overdue.
Pulling the door open, he spread his arms and beamed a smaller, mischievous smile at her.
“How do I look now?” he asked, doing a slow turn, knowing she would likely be eying him up and down as he did.
Zander saw her eyes wander as he looked at her in the mirror. Then a shiver ran down his spine as she bit her lip unintentionally and took a deep breath. He liked the way she was eyeing him. A lot. Weird, but ultimately inconsequential, he decided.
It must be me getting excited at the prospect of getting this whole silly mate thing out of the way early on.
“Well, the legs are a little long, and we need to tighten up the buttons on your jacket a bit,” she said, fully immersed in her salesperson role.
Without waiting, she bent down in front of him and began to fiddle with the cuffs of his pants. Zander, well aware of how close her head was to his cock, took deep breaths in and out, willing himself to stay calm. This was not the place to do that, no matter how much his dragon wanted it. Sometimes, he had to listen to his human side first, and this was one of those times.
It wasn’t made any easier as her fingers pulled the pant leg tighter against him while she rolled it up, emphasizing his bulge just a bit more. Nor did her eyes straying either.
No, this wasn’t proper. There were steps to go through before they got to that level.
“Okay,” she said, standing up, looking a little flustered. “You can take it all off now.”
Her cheeks went red almost immediately. “I mean, like, you can get changed back into your other clothes,” she said so fast the words almost blended together. “I’ll get these off to the tailor.”
“Excellent,” he replied slowly. “When will they be available for pickup?”
“Should be ready for tomorrow morning,” she told him, falling back into her cheerful personality. “The tailor comes in early, and there isn’t much ahead of you.”
Zander nodded, and turned back for the dressing room.
“Oh, do you have this in gray?” he asked.
Riss nodded, pointing out the same design on another rack.
“I’ll take one of those as well,” he told her, enjoying the smile that broke out across her face as he just doubled her sale without any effort on her part.
It was a nice suit. What could he say? His mother would be aghast at the cost, but this much, at least, was his money to spend.
A satisfied look crossed his face as he went back into the changing room.
***
Riss
Her cheeks burned long after he disappeared back inside.
Of all things, Riss had caught herself staring right at his crotch, and the rather nice outline of his cock!
Shaking herself, trying to regain her composure without losing control to the big, hunky dragon shifter, she busied herself by grabbing the gray suit. The pants came up and over the ch
anging room door, and she inhaled sharply, realizing that just on the other side he was clad only in his underwear.
His abs probably ripple all the way down to his dick without stopping.
Stop it. Right now. You can think of him later in your bubble bath. For now, you need to close this sale. You need the money, badly.
Zander was a strange one. There was an attraction between them, that much was clear. Or at least, she was attracted to him. Whether he felt anything in return, she wasn’t sure. His big, reserved personality was quite at odds with what she’d heard about the metallic dragons, and so she wondered if it was a mask he was wearing on purpose. They were normally firebrands she’d been told, hot-tempered and quick to act.
That, so far at least, did not describe Zander Pierce. She’d detected his temper when her boss had come over, but it had died away after that, as if she calmed him, or something else ridiculous.
But beyond the magnetic physical attraction—which was more powerful than anything she’d felt about other shifters before—there was also a comfortable, at-ease glow that had settled over her. It was as if she naturally felt safe with him, which was utterly ridiculous, to say the least. He was a dragon. They were not trustworthy, end of story. Some were, but the Guardians were few and far between.
“Zander,” she heard someone ask in her voice.
“Yes, Riss without a last name,” came the reply.
“It’s Levion, Lev-eee-en,” she said, sounding it out phonetically for him.
There was silence.
Right, she’d been asking a question. Riss slammed her palm off her forehead.
“What do you do, Zander?” she asked, still not sure how she’d worked up the courage to ask that question.
“Does it matter?” came the rumbled reply, so deep she could see the mirror hanging on her side of the door vibrate a little.
“Not particularly,” she said affably, “I’m just curious. We don’t get many dragon shifters in here.”
There was a pause.
“How do you know I’m a dragon shifter?” he asked, and she sensed a bit of real interest there.
“Your walk,” she said without hesitation.
“My…walk?” he asked in mild surprise.
“Yes,” she said, hearing his belt jingle slightly as he did it up. She turned around, putting her back to the door as she took a deep breath, trying not to focus on the image in her head, the one where he was just taking his pants off, instead of putting them on.
Come on girl, control yourself.
“Can you explain that?” he asked, opening the door.
Riss sighed in relief as she turned back to face him. The words died in her throat though, as she realized he was still in the process of doing up the buttons of his shirt, despite the door being open. Her mouth went drier than the desert south of Cadia at the sight of his bulging pecs, before they disappeared under his black shirt once more.
“Ah, of course,” she stalled, trying to recover herself.
Zander arched an eyebrow, but thankfully refrained from actually saying anything.
“It’s tough to describe,” she said. “The wolves prowl, the bears amble, and you dragons, you just…move. It’s so graceful and yet powerful at the same time. Not arrogance, but just a sureness and belief in your own strength and ability. That you know you needn’t worry about anything, but you also aren’t trying to intimidate anyone either.” She paused and thought over her words. She nodded. “Yeah, that. If that makes any sense.”
Zander regarded her, none of his thoughts showing through to his face. “That’s very astute of you,” he said at last.
Riss shrugged. “As a human in Cadia, I learned long ago to be astute and wary of my surroundings. It’s not the safest place for us, even those of us who live here legally.”
The dragon shifter didn’t respond to that. His eyes were focused beyond her right shoulder, toward the back of the store. Riss didn’t turn around, because she could see what he was looking at in the mirror behind him. Her boss had returned and was eyeing them both with interest. Zander, it seemed, didn’t particularly like that.
“Do you like working here?” he asked her suddenly, his eyes still focused behind her.
“Sure,” Riss replied. “It pays the bills mostly, and I get to meet a lot of new people, even if most of them aren’t as kind as you.”
The brass-brown eyes flicked back to her sharply at that. “Kind?” he asked.
“Sure. You’ve talked to me, kept actual conversation with me, instead of just ordering me around. ‘Riss do this. Riss do that,’” she mimicked with a helpless shrug.
“And your boss,” Zander asked in a low voice. “Does he just do that?”
Was that jealousy in his voice she detected? There had definitely been a sliver of something, but it was too brief for her to place it.
“Mr. Barnesworth?” she asked, surprised. “Sometimes, I guess. But he is my boss. Usually he’s just rude.”
Zander frowned, but nodded in understanding. “Very well, shall I pay?” he asked, and began to move toward the back counter.
She watched him go, wishing she could just fill the room with sheer force of willpower the way he did. Even Mr. Barnesworth, a wolf shifter himself, was cowed simply by Zander’s presence. He backed away slightly from the counter. Zander said something, though she couldn’t hear what, and Barnesworth moved away completely, gesturing for Riss to come over and help.
Scurrying across the floor, she got behind the counter and began to put his bill together.
“I’ll need two pairs of shoes to go with this as well,” he told her. “Size thirteen.”
Without looking up, Riss scribbled a note on his bill. “I’ll have some set up for you to try on tomorrow with the suit,” she said.
“Excellent.” Then he spoke again, but this time it wasn’t directed at her. “Riss is an excellent employee, Mr. Barnesworth. I hope you treat her as such.”
“Riss is my only employee,” came the slightly arrogant reply, followed up by his trademark sniff of disdain. “For a human, she has exceptional taste and judgment when it comes to outfitting our clientele.”
Angry silence radiated outward from Zander at those words. She risked a glance upward and saw the smoldering rage burning in his eyes, a fire that wouldn’t be quenched any time soon. For a moment she thought the dragon shifter was going to hurdle the counter and attack her boss. His muscles began to shake and she knew that it was now or never. She had to do something.
Steeling her nerves, she reached out and placed her hand on top of his, where it rested on the counter.
Zander jerked as if stung, but Riss didn’t flinch. She stood her ground and held his gaze as he looked at her, instead of her boss. Searing heat reached up from his hand and moved up her arm like a rolling tidal wave, but she didn’t pull it back. The feeling excited her, though she was afraid of what might happen when it reached her core.
“How did you want to pay?” she asked into the silence, hoping to focus his mind elsewhere.
The big stony-faced dragon shifter hesitated for a moment longer, then he closed his eyes and removed his hand, much to her dismay. The fire receded almost instantly, never having reached her center. Her lip pulsed pain as she bit on it unconsciously, aching to reach out and touch him again, to find out what would happen the longer she had her skin against his.
“Cash,” he replied at long last, and pulled out a thick roll from his pocket.
Behind her, Barnesworth inhaled sharply. Riss tried to put him out of her mind, and began sorting out the stacks he was laying on the counter in front of her.
“I’ll see you,” Zander replied once they had settled up.
“Tomorrow morning,” she replied with a little smile.
Zander gave her a strange look, and then he was gone, the entire shop suddenly seeming much larger than it had moments before.
Tomorrow.
Chapter Three
Zander
The sun was
already down by the time the final light was doused inside Challer’s. Summer was over, and while the days were still quite warm, the nights came earlier and they were getting cooler with a rapidity that suggested winter wasn’t too far away. The high Quicksilver mountain range to the west of Cadia didn’t help the situation. They rose up like giant teeth into the sky, cutting the sun’s light off well before it would have set over the horizon.
All of which meant that the shadows were long, but the stars were still absent. Twilight. One of his favorite times of day. Everything was just beginning to shut down from the day, and the nightlife had yet to stir. Zander preferred to be high in the sky at this time of day if at all possible.
Not today.
No, he had another thing to take care of today.
Movement brought him forth from his reverie and he used his elbow to push off the brick wall of the nearby building he’d been leaning against. Long, booted steps took him across the street and into the alleyway.
The figure in the coat and hat hunched over the door, oblivious to his approach at first, but as he got deeper into the alley his footsteps began to echo more. Zander could move silently if he wished, but just then he wasn’t trying to conceal his presence. In fact, if he was aiming for anything, it was the complete opposite.
What he didn’t expect was the unanticipated side effect of the person knowing he was approaching.
“Stay back,” came the voice.
Zander didn’t reply, not having any intention of doing so.
“I said stay back!” the voice said once more, firmer this time.
“Look, I—”
Riss whirled and fired the Taser at him.
Zander’s hand flashed out and he caught the leads mid-air, his hand tightening around them and crushing them into pieces. He still caught some of the shock, and his face tightened as he absorbed the electricity into his system, shaking slightly as his body fought back against it.
