Lawrence
We’ve dilly-dallied long enough. I didn’t mean to fall asleep, but when Julie and I kissed, I felt this warm comfort descend over myself. It was kind of wonderful. I’ve never really felt anything like it before and I don’t know if I’ll feel anything like it again.
My inner-dragon thinks she’s our mate.
I think it’s a fairytale, but I kind of want it to be true.
I stand up and stretch under Julie’s watchful eye.
“How are you feeling?” She asks. “You seem to have regained all of your strength.”
I nod. “I feel normal. Pretty good, really.”
“Are you ready?” She asks.
“Not really.”
“How far is it to your clan?”
In lieu of answering, I jerk my head toward Nicole, who is definitely awake now.
“Let’s get her and go,” I say. “We’ve been loitering long enough.” Julie moves to untie Nicole’s legs. She removes the woman’s gag and whispers something to her. Anyone else wouldn’t be able to hear, but my shifter hearing enables me to clearly hear her asking if Julie needs anything before we go – the bathroom, a drink, food. I shake my head. Julie is so fucking considerate. Most people aren’t that way.
Most people would give her a hard time.
Hurt her.
Julie doesn’t do that.
She treats the woman like she’s still important, like she still matters, and I have to respect her for that. After a minute, Julie gets back up and helps Nicole to her feet. She leaves the woman’s hands bound, but Nicole remains silent.
“All right,” she says. “We’re ready.”
“Are you going to give us trouble?” I ask Nicole. She shakes her head. I’m not sure what changed overnight, but some of her bravado seems to be gone. Okay, all of her bravado seems to be gone. I can’t pinpoint exactly why she’s being so meek, but I sure as fuck hope it isn’t some sort of weird trick.
“No,” she finally says.
“Fine.” I look at Julie. “Do you have a bandana?”
Julie fishes one out of her backpack and I motion for Nicole to come closer. She almost looks afraid as she steps forward.
“What’s wrong?” I’m not as kind as Julie. “Scared of the monster you tried to kill?”
“I didn’t try to kill you,” she whispers.
“I just…it was just…”
“You just wanted to capture me,” I say simply. I shrug. “I get it. That’s what Lucky is good at, after all. You guys capture shifters and then torture us until we give in and die.”
Nicole gasps.
“What?”
“Don’t act innocent,” I say. “I know what you are. Now fucking come here.”
Somehow, she manages to move. Her feet don’t seem to want to come forward, but I don’t care. I don’t care if she’s scared. I don’t care if she’s afraid. She’s part of something horrible, something evil, and I won’t stand for it. When she nears me, I fold the bandana neatly and then tie it around her eyes.
“Is that necessary?” Julie asks quietly.
“I can’t risk my clan,” I tell her. “I’m not going to kill you,” I say to Nicole. “But I also can’t have you seeing where we’re going. You understand,” I add, softening my voice. Maybe I am being too hard on her. Then again, I did see her shoot Bernie. Nicole isn’t above hurting people. Fuck, she isn’t above killing people. If it means getting what she wants, she’s going to do what it takes.
“I understand,” she says. She doesn’t move as I turn to Julie. The beautiful human raises an eyebrow, as if silently asking me if I’m going to do the same to her. Am I going to bind her? Blindfold her?
“Oh, believe me,” I tell Julie pointedly. “If I’m blindfolding you, we’re going to be alone, and you’re going to be completely naked.”
Julie blushes bright red and Nicole lets out a tiny giggle. I’m not even bothered, although I should be. I like seeing the blush creep along Julie’s neck and cheeks. I like knowing I put that there. It’s not often I have the chance to surprise a woman, and I enjoy knowing I can catch her off guard.
She’s delightful, and I want to get to know her better in so many ways. I can’t believe we stayed up all night talking. We were like a couple of fucking high schoolers: young and driven by hormones.
“So how does this work?” Julie pointedly changes the subject.
“I’ll shift and then you need to help Nicole onto my back.”
“Got it.”
“She needs to sit closest to my head. You sit behind her so she doesn’t fall.”
“Fall?” Nicole swallows hard.
“You aren’t going to fall,” Julie says softly.
“Easy for you to say,” Nicole spits. “He fucking likes you. Me? I’m the one who shot him with a damn dart. You really think he’s not going to try to kill me?” She shakes her head. “You really are innocent.”
“Hey,” I reach for Nicole’s shoulder. She flinches, and I pull my hand back. “I promise I won’t hurt you.”
She doesn’t say anything.
“Promise,” I repeat.
“The promise of a dragon,” she whispers. “Real rich.”
“My word is the most important thing to me,” I tell her.
“Until now,” Nicole points out.
“Excuse me?”
“Your word was the most important thing to you. Until now.”
“What do you mean?”
“I might be your arch nemesis, dragon, but I’m not blind. A know a dragon’s mate when I see one.”