by Starla Night
"He slashed you."
"I lost my head. He moved so fast. I never should have walked into that alley."
"And then he slammed you into the wall and whipped out his dick," the officer said, as though confirming the last part of her story.
Darcy's heart stopped. "He didn't."
"Yes. He made a tactical blunder. I can't imagine why." Amber made neat stitches on her shirt as she was wearing it, closing the fabric gap.
"He ... it wasn't to ... he didn't try to rape you?"
Amber paused her stitching and tilted her head. "That word doesn't translate."
"What word? Rape?"
"Yes. My implant can't translate it."
He struggled for a close concept. "Forced sex."
"Forced?"
"Sex against your will."
"Against my will? You mean a small, weak, fire-less, male takes the initiative to request sex with me, a dominant female? Is that possible?"
"Er, for humans who have, um, mental problems, yes. And it's a crime."
"He made a grave mistake. His manner of requesting sex was all wrong. He must be very ill." She gestured at the ambulance where the man was being loaded up with still-smoked jeans. "Now he has second-degree burns on his abdomen. He will not initiate sex for some time."
"He has priors." The officer clicked his pen. "I wouldn't lose too much sleep. Assuming you dragons do, uh, sleep."
"We do," Amber said.
"Great. Learn something new every day." He headed back to his patrol car.
"Well, you did what you had to for self-defense," Darcy comforted her.
She huffed. "I'm too upset for your teasing tonight, Darcy."
"Teasing? Who says I'm—"
A deafening roar filled the night.
"Oh, no." Amber finished her repair, bit off the knotted string, and looked up into the sky. Misery painted her face. "I've summoned everyone."
The oldest brother Mal, head of the Onyx Corporation, floated to the sidewalk with his human wife, Cheryl, hugged tight. They were both dressed up in Onyx Corporation designs; Cheryl in a cherry red pinup dress with a black belt and petticoat, and Mal in a slick black three-piece suit. Cheryl's gaze averted as she touched down in her heels. She hid against Mal.
"What's going on here?!" Mal snarled at Amber. "Did you interrupt my Cheryl's graphic design award ceremony because you attacked a human?"
Amber stowed her sewing kit and linked her fingers in front of her. "I made a mistake."
"How could you let this happen?"
"I was distracted. And then I...I got..."
"You got mad." Mal lowered his voice but remained the harsh, blunt CEO. "Alex is on his way to speak with the President. Then, the United Nations. If the Dragon-Human Treaty breaks, our enemies will flood in and declare martial law. They'll rule over us. All of us."
His harsh green gaze took in Darcy, the rest of the dragon siblings gathering behind him, and returned to Amber. "Do you want to lose Earth? Our company? Our rank?"
She hung her head.
Darcy flexed his fingers. "The treaty says no dragon can hurt a human. But Amber was hurt."
Mal fixed him with a hard stare. "No, she wasn't."
"Look at her, Mal."
"I'm looking."
"Her shirt's destroyed. Her purse slashed. She was attacked."
"What are you saying?"
Darcy blinked. Was he taking crazy pills? "It's normal to fight back when you're being attacked."
Mal looked at him blankly.
Cheryl nudged Mal and murmured in his ear. "Darcy's right."
"How can he be right? A human can't attack Amber with a knife. When a fly lands on you, is it an attack? No, it's annoying."
Cheryl shrugged.
Mal tipped his head, seeming to think of something new, and jerked his chin at Pyro. "Could we claim 'self-defense' for Amber?"
Pyro's mouth opened and closed. "How?"
Mal shrugged. "I don't know. Darcy and Cheryl seem to think so. 'She's spent too much time around humans and forgot she was the most powerful and dangerous being in this galactic region. She struck blindly. The fire surprised her as much as it did her attacker.' Eh?"
Pyro's brows twisted into knots. "Maybe it would fool the humans..."
"I'll call Alex." Mal whipped his phone to his ear. "Keep talking about this 'self-defense,' Darcy. What other phrases do humans want to hear?"
Darcy turned to Amber. "You weren't surprised? Frightened? Helpless and on your own?"
Amber crossed her arms over her chest, eyes half-lidded with anger. "Frustrated."
"...surprised, frightened, helpless, and on her own," Mal conveyed into the phone. "I know, Alex, he's brilliant. This is why we must keep him close. What else, Darcy?"
Darcy rolled off the emotions he'd feel if attacked in a dark alley, and his brainstorm eased Mal's panic.
Amber glared as if she was plotting Darcy's murder.
"I'm trying to help," he murmured to her.
"By giving me a mental disorder." She tightened her arms over her chest. "I know you like to tease, Darcy, but this is the first time you've been cruel."
His guts fell. "I'm not—"
Mal's laughter cut him off. "Yep, just write it up like she was a confused young male dragon cornered by an aggressive, lust-filled female. If the humans forgive this error, maybe it will slip past our enemies." Mal ended the conversation and glared at Amber. "Thanks to Darcy and Cheryl's quick thinking, we might survive. Go home."
"Mal. Cheryl. Pyro." Amber looked hopeful. "Can we still go get drinks?"
Mal looked thunderous. "No!"
Her shoulders dropped. "But Amy just got back from—"
"You almost destroyed the company tonight! And the planet! Human-dragon relations will be strained for weeks. All because you were 'distracted'."
"I just want to join the welcome back party."
Pyro interrupted. "Everyone left."
"Not already."
"Melody had to bake brownie bars for the police precinct. They want the recipe she used to save me from the lizard cultists. Amy went home with her and Josh to catch up on Earth news."
"And Pyro's got to review his first product launch since taking over Carnelian Clothiers," Mal barked. "So that sniveling Chrysoberyl Carnelian up in orbit overhead can't claim we're ruining his family's company because Sard Carnelian gave it to us instead of the useless little aristocrat."
"Right, and that." Pyro sagged with exhaustion. He squeezed Darcy's shoulder. "Thanks for celebrating with us."
"Yeah."
"We could still go out," Amber said to Mal. "Cheryl won a graphic design award. You should celebrate."
"Mal," Cheryl murmured. "I'm tired."
"My wife is tired and pregnant." He hefted her proudly. She buried her face in his shoulder at this new level of mortification. "And you should go home."
"I never get to have a drink."
"You can buy alcohol anywhere."
"But ... you always go out and I never do." Amber squeezed her slashed purse. "I wanted to go out. Just this once. With all of you."
Darcy's heart thudded.
He'd always respected the unique sibling relationship between Amber and her brothers. He came from a family business too; the demands of a company could strain relationships beyond their ordinary shape. But how could Mal and Pyro be so clueless? Could they hurt Amber without noticing?
Yes. Yes, they could.
Amber's brothers stared at her like she was crazy.
"You see us every day," Mal insisted.
"Not outside the office."
"I never leave the office!"
"Mal," Cheryl soothed. "That's right. Let's go home."
Amber looked away while Cheryl calmed her husband. Pyro held his phone to his ear. Amber stood with her arms crossed utterly alone.
Darcy rotated to Amber. "I'll get a drink with you."
She frowned.
"You will?" Pyro clapped Darcy's shoulder, caught Ma
l's eye, and both brothers relaxed as though Darcy were taking one for the team. "Great. Darcy's got you, Amber. You can 'get a drink' like a normal human, you know, just like you want."
"That's not what I want."
"Don't antagonize the humans," Mal ordered Amber. "Go get your drink. Don't destroy the company. And I want a complete incident report on this on my desk before the morning meeting."
Without waiting for Amber's response, Mal lifted himself and Cheryl into the air, rising as if gravity had reversed around them. He flew away.
"Darcy's tons of fun. He's a real joker." Pyro lowered his voice to check on Darcy. "Don't let her push you around. You can leave whenever you want. If you're tired, say so."
Anger washed over Darcy. "I'm fine. I wasn't the one slashed tonight."
Amber crossed her arms tighter.
"If you're sure." Pyro backed away, his gaze a brief, amused, that's your funeral look before he, too, lifted into the dark night and disappeared.
The two of them remained at the mouth of a dark alley. The emergency crews had left.
Amber looked hurt, confused, and upset.
Darcy had to ease her pain. With anyone else, it would be easy. But with Amber, he always stumbled with his left foot.
Still, he had to try.
He stepped forward and offered his elbow. "So. Drinks?"
Her fiery gaze narrowed. "Did you really want to?"
"Get a drink with you? Yes."
She tilted her head, eyes narrowed. "You'll make fun of me."
"No."
"You always do."
He bumped her shoulder with his. "I never make fun of you."
"You're doing it right now."
"How?"
"By ... everything. Your smile, the way you touch me like you're not afraid of..." Her honey-gold gaze traveled down his body lighting him on fire.
His cock tugged in his trousers. Could she sense the desire? He wanted to pull her into his arms, clear away the confusion, and tease her into ecstasy.
Her lips parted and then she shook herself. "I can't deal with you tonight."
"Then I have a proposal." He set his feet, drew her hands into his, and splayed his thumbs across the cool knuckles. "You want to get a drink?"
She tipped her head.
"But going with me is a hassle because I'm 'always joking'?"
Her nod was more assertive. "It's exhausting. I have to second-guess everything you say."
"Fine. My proposal?" He pressed the back of her hand to his lips and then rested her palm on his heart. "Take me seriously."
"How can I? You're always treating me like Mal treats Cheryl. Like you want to touch or kiss me. Or—"
"Or seduce you?"
"Right, or initiate sex, which is a joke because I'm a female dragon and no one purposefully approaches a female dragon for sex. No one."
"Amber." His voice roughened in his throat. He held her gaze captive like her fingers to his hard beating chest. "Tonight, believe."
Chapter Three
Tonight, believe.
Darcy's words echoed in her ears over the rush of blood. That's why she was light-headed. Like the tingles in her belly, sometimes she forgot to breathe in his presence.
His heart beat warm and steady beneath Amber's palm. Electrical currents flowed up her arm from the contact even though his skin was separated from her hand by layers of cotton and fine gray pinpoint oxford.
Her chest tingled.
She tried to suppress the sensation. Darcy was a valued business contact and her brothers' closest friend.
But the intensity in his deep brown eyes held her hostage.
She wanted to take him seriously.
The tingles dropped lower between her thighs.
His lips curved into a familiar smirk that, not for the first time, made her stomach flip-flop.
He looped their elbow and tugged. "Come with me."
She quick-stepped after him.
He slowed to accommodate her shorter stride, and they fell into an easy stroll toward the waterfront. For a few minutes, she could pretend she was having a night out with a companion. Laughter spilled out of late-night restaurants in the brightly lit city. Darcy hummed a quiet tune.
With every stride, his dress shirt swished against her arm.
Even this little contact set off fires in her belly.
Since when...?
She pulled her arm free.
Darcy lifted his brows but placed his hands in his slacks pockets. His tune quieted and only the beeps and growl of cars filled the space between them.
And that made her stomach flip-flop more.
This night poised on a razor's edge. Not only because she'd lost her temper and endangered the planet and her brothers, but also because Darcy was so different...
He stopped in front of the bar. A crowd spilled outside smoking, sweating, and shouting. Abrasive bass vibrated the taped, black windows.
She squinted at the overfilled entryway. "You always go here?"
"It's less crowded earlier."
Which she would have known if she hadn't gotten lost. "Sorry."
"Hm? About?"
"Everything."
Darcy studied her for a long, hard moment. What did his deep brown eyes see in her? The ever-present twinkle spread heat across her chest.
He rested his arm around her shoulders and guided her across the street. "This way."
Disappointment sank her heart. "We're not going to your bar?"
"I want to talk." He strolled to the food carts dotting the busy parking lot across the street.
Sparkling lights strung between carts and poles cast cheery reflections in the dark water of the river. A guitarist strummed a pleasant tune on a golden guitar.
Darcy wove between sturdy wooden picnic tables draped with couples and friends, seated her, and returned with two beers and a sack of peanuts.
"Do you do this with Pyro?" she asked.
"Get food? Sometimes." He cracked open their beers with a device on his key chain, then clinked the neck of his bottle to hers. "Cheers."
"Cheers." She wrapped her fingers around the chilled bottle and sniffed the damp mist emerging from the lid. "Hmm."
"Not a fan of IPAs?"
"I don't know. I've never had one."
His smile deepened. "Then I'm pleased to provide your first."
Again the tingling heat warmed her. Unlike her prickly fire, this heat made her wake up and hunger. Darcy aroused feelings she never allowed.
She sipped and swirled the alcohol over her tongue. It tasted wet, gassy, and sour. Why did Pyro and Darcy consume it? She took another sip.
"Well?" he drawled. "Is it worth the trouble?"
"The flavor is..." She huffed. "I was so happy to be invited and then so sad to lose the chance. Now, I don't know what I feel."
"You feel like you want to come out with me again."
"That assumes I'm ever invited again."
"Come any time. You need a monogrammed invitation?"
"For my brothers, yes."
"They're your brothers." Darcy leaned in, the teasing gleam suggesting he saw more than she wanted to reveal. "Invite yourself. Come out and relax."
She tugged her turtleneck, confirming that it hid everything. "But that's why I can't invite myself. I make them nervous."
"They're around you all day, every day."
"At the office, which is why I don't force myself on their private time."
"Do they really care?"
"Yes, of course. Why do you think they don't?"
"You're family far from home running a business together. If you don't have each other, who do you have?"
The question made the beer sour in her stomach. She had no answer.
He shelled a handful of peanuts and pressed them into her palm. "That's sad, Amber. You're in this together."
She accepted his offering, another tingle passing through the hot core of her belly and centering between her thighs. The little nuts tasted sal
ty and roasted with filling flavors. Another new food for her and another new experience provided by Darcy.
"Do you know the story behind our company?" she asked.
"Your mom's parents disapproved of your dad so you were all raised in orphanages. Your father died in a mining accident before your mom took over as head of the family. Mal convinced you to cross the galaxy and seek your fortunes on this small, backward planet named Earth."
"That's mostly right." She undid her bun pins and shook out her messy hair. "Except I wasn't invited."
His gaze, which had been glued to her red tangles, fixed on her face. "You weren't?"
"I'm a female dragon. Unrecognized or not, I am still the heir, and so I lived on the family estate. Mal couldn't reach me no matter how hard he tried."
"He wanted to."
"Did he?" She fixed her bun as best she could. Straggles messed her neck. She rested her cheek on her fist. "I showed up because after spending an entire childhood alone in this massive manor, I wanted to meet my brothers. I wanted to find the family I'd never had. But I didn't think about how my presence would burden them."
"Mal doesn't think of you as a burden."
Her heart lightened. "You're right, Darcy. Mal's so blunt. I would know his opinion if he did. That's why I stay. It's the others that ... well, every day I wake up and work hard to perfect one thing."
"Which is?"
"How to repress my dragon."
He handed her another shelled peanut. "But you're all dragons."
She held the kernel. His small gesture was so sweet. Her stomach rolled up and down. "I'm female. "
"And?"
"I'm terrifying."
His hot gaze traveled over her tumbling red locks, across her heated chest, and lower. "You don't scare me."
Another wave of sensual heat tingled between her thighs.
If Darcy were a male dragon — if he knew what he was doing, how he tempted her — then she might even act. Fly and encourage him to fly after her. Tease him by exposing her throat, see if he would try to dive in and bite, claw and master her.
Of course, since she was a female, a lowly male would only succeed if she allowed him to. She was so much faster, stronger, and more dangerous that an undesired male would never dare approach her.