Chapter 6
“Okay. This is where it gets interesting,” Colin said, seeming completely oblivious to the fact that he was standing stark naked in front of two strange women.
She wondered if it was a Scottish thing or if he was just that uninhibited, but the thought quickly passed as she struggled to focus on what was happening in front of her. There was something strange taking place that was hard to wrap her head around. At first, it had seemed that he was just posing weirdly, spreading his legs apart, his rather generous cock dangling lazily between his legs. He spread his arms out to either side and held them there, looking face forward, not taking his eyes off her. The last thing he said resonated in her mind as she continued to watch.
“Don’t be afraid of me,” he had said.
Then he seemed to ripple, no, maybe that wasn’t the word. Stretch? His arms seemed to be getting long, as did his legs, and then, there was his face. It all seemed to be growing, somehow distorting. The room echoed the sounds of popping and breaking of something. Bones? Tendons, perhaps? It was hard to say, but it was disturbing to listen to in such close confines. It was like an extremely amplified version of a bowl of Rice Krispies being hit by their first dose of milk. That was the best description she could think of to describe it.
“My God!” she exclaimed as his skin began to crack and divide, turning into large scales that covered the entirety of some massive beast she couldn’t quite wrap her mind around just yet. It was still growing and almost . . . unrolling? It was unbelievable what she was seeing and, more importantly, terrifying. She turned to leave, but Ms. Stanford stopped her with a gentle hand on her arm.
“It’s okay, Ashley. He won’t harm you. This is still the same man you saw in my office only moments ago on the inside.”
“The same man? That’s not a man at all! I don’t know what that is,” she screeched, terrified.
The sounds from nearby began to fade away. Now, there was only the sound of something breathing - loudly. Ashley turned back toward the opposite wall, but the creature there was no longer as far away as it had been. It filled more than half the large auditorium-sized room in which they stood. She could feel the heat of its breath as it stood perfectly still, as if waiting for something.
“It’s a dragon,” she said, her voice almost a whisper.
“Yes. It is a dragon and it is also Colin Thomson,” Ms. Stanford replied.
“I don’t understand. This is impossible.”
“It’s not impossible. It’s just nothing you’ve ever seen before. Would you like to touch him?”
“What? No!” Ashley shrieked, perhaps a bit too loudly.
She looked over at the dragon. As frightened as she was of it, she was oddly mesmerized by it. It was somehow both hideous and beautiful at the same time. The eyes of the massive creature followed her as she walked toward it and to one side to take a closer look at the dark shimmering scales. They were the color of a highly polished gunmetal, but rough. Reaching out, she touched one, expecting it to be cold, like the barrel of a gun or a metal pole. Instead, they were warm and vibrated against her hand.
The claws that rested against the floor were massive as it rested there, waiting for her to complete her inspection. It was hard to believe this thing was real, even more difficult to accept that it was the hunky young Scotsman who had previously been sitting beside her in Ms. Stanford’s office. She walked closer to his head and looked at his eyes, the only portion of the dragon that reflected the man. They were identical in the dark brown color of his own.
“How long before this wears off?” she asked Ms. Stanford.
“It doesn’t wear off. He can change back and forth as he wishes. He’s what people call a shifter, some call it a shape shifter, but he can’t shift into multiple things like some people think. He is either a dragon or a man, and nothing else.”
“That’s enough, isn’t it?” Ashley said, still touching the scales with childlike wonder.
Ms. Stanford laughed. “I suppose it is.”
“I have a lot more questions.”
“Shall we let Colin change back so you can ask them? He’s much more qualified to answer than I am.”
“Yes,” Ashley said, moving quickly back to stand beside the other woman as if she expected him to start snapping and popping in different directions like the green guy in The Mask.
She watched as he began to change again, this time shrinking and seeming to absorb the scales until he was once again standing before her in his glorious, naked, human form. She couldn’t look away this time, staring at him, wide-eyed. It was as much about what she had just witnessed as it was about his ripped abs and bulging biceps, but she finally caught herself and looked away.
“Come on back to my office and we’ll talk some more about the details while Colin gets dressed and joins us,” Ms. Stanford told her.
They were back to discussing the particulars of the contract when Colin returned and sat down in the chair beside her. He reached over and touched her arm gently, catching her off guard.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes. Are you?” she asked.
“Me? Of course,” he replied with a big smile.
“Doesn’t that hurt?”
“No, not like you think it would. It’s more like a pressure and then it releases as things expand and rearrange themselves.”
“Why do you take your clothes off? Would things get pulled into you and stuck there or something?” she asked.
He looked at her as if it was the most insane notion he had ever heard, then laughed.
“No. I do that so I don’t rip my clothes.”
“Oh. Of course,” she replied, blushing.
“Don’t be embarrassed. I know this must be incredibly strange for you.”
“Yes. You could certainly say that,” she replied quietly. “And it has something to do with why you have to find a certain blood type to, um . . . mate with?”
“That’s correct. My DNA is a bit different from regular humans and only a small percentage of you have something compatible.”
“Us? Are you not human?”
“I don’t know what I am. Shifters don’t know where they came from any more than humans do. We are just what we are.”
“I see. Why not just mate with another dragon shifter then?”
“Dragon shifters primarily produce male offspring. The male population greatly outnumbers the female population and, for some reason, mating with humans gives an extra strength to offspring that isn’t replicated when two dragons mate, so it is honestly preferred.”
“I guess that makes sense, even though I don’t understand it completely still.”
“Well, if you accept this offer, you’ll have about nine months to learn what you can about it.”
“Can you introduce me to Nathrach Sgiathich? I’d love to meet him or her. No one seems to really know where to find the elusive artist, but I’m guessing a guy who has at least a half dozen of his sculptures does.”
“Yeah. I can certainly do that. Is it a deal then?”
“Can I think about it?”
“Sure. I am staying in the city over the weekend and I understand you are here until tomorrow. Perhaps we can have dinner and talk further if you have more questions.”
“I think I’d like that,” she replied.
“Then it is settled. I’ll pick you up at your hotel at seven and take you to my favorite restaurant.”
“Well, I guess we are done here for today,” Ms. Stanford said, standing as if to move things along.
“Thanks, Margaret. We’ll talk soon, either way,” Colin told her, waiting for Ashley to say her goodbyes so he could walk her to the elevator.
“Hopefully, there’s a cab outside. I haven’t rented a car this trip,” he noted as they exited.
“Oh. Ms. Stanford got me a car service. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind him dropping you somewhere. Just tell him where you need to go,” she said.
“Perfect. I’ll take you up on that offer,” he said.
Much to Ashley’s surprise, it turned out he was staying at her same hotel. They rode in near silence, with only an idle comment here and there about the city that passed outside their windows. She still had so much she wanted to ask him, but it was hardly anything she could discuss in front of the driver, as she wasn’t sure how much he knew about the dealings of the surrogate service he drove for. He might just be a driver for hire, completely unaffiliated with them. She had no idea.
“Well, this is us then,” he replied, holding the door open as they arrived and approached the front entrance. “Ladies first.”
Ashley couldn’t help but notice how charming he was, but his comments about not wanting a wife hadn’t escaped her. The bigger picture to that was that he didn’t want any serious relationship. He enjoyed playing the field and had every intention of continuing to do so. Still, it made him no less appealing on a purely physical level. He must have quite a trail of broken hearts strung out across Scotland and perhaps wherever else he roamed.
“How long is the flight here from Scotland?” she asked, unsure why that suddenly occurred to her.
“About ten hours,” he replied.
“Really? How fast do you fly?” she replied.
“I have no idea. You’d have to ask the pilot,” he told her.
“Wait. You came here on a plane?”
“Of course. How else would I get here?”
Ashley stopped to look at him as they arrived at the elevator. She hesitated as the doors opened and two people got off, but someone else got on with them. He looked at her quizzically and she made a small flapping motion with her arms. He laughed and shook his head.
“That’s a bit too far for such . . . uh, activities.”
Ashley blushed, ashamed at having asked such a stupid question. Of course, it was. That was thousands of miles. Of course, he had booked a proper flight to come across. She looked down at her feet as they road up toward the 8th floor, where her room was located. She hadn’t noted which button he had hit for himself, so she was surprised when he got off behind her.
“You are on this floor too?” she asked.
“No, but I thought I would walk you down to your room. I’m up on the tenth.”
“Oh. Thanks,” she said, feeling a little awkward.
When they arrived at her door, she fished around in her bag for the key card and held it up for him to see.
“Looks like you’re all set then. I’ll leave you alone for a bit to think things through and maybe get some rest before dinner. I’ll see you at seven then.”
“Sounds great. See you then,” she replied, opening the door, and walking inside.
She turned to say a final goodbye, but he was already gone. She stuck her head out to find him already halfway down the hallway. Closing the door, she leaned against it momentarily, feeling suddenly overcome by all the thoughts rattling around her brain. She pulled her phone from her purse for the first time since that morning, looking sourly at the list of rejected and missed calls, all from bill collectors. Grumbling, she tossed it on the bed and then lay down across the bed herself, her mind whirling with everything that had happened today.