And she most definitely wasn’t going to notice how broad his shoulders were, or how quickly he moved without making a sound.
For the first time since initially hiring him, Tasha wondered more about his life on StoneRiver. And not just because she was possibly entrusting her life to him right now, either.
Brad jumped to his feet and gestured toward the passenger side. “Get in.”
While she didn’t normally like taking orders, she was eager to get under the protection of the dragon-shifters for the night. So, she slid into the seat. However, once they were both inside the car, she asked, “What can you do in one night to help me?”
He pulled out onto the street. “It’ll give us time to make a plan.”
She noticed the “us” part of his statement. “I’m grateful for your help earlier, I really am. But I’m not sure I follow how you and your clan can help me once I’m no longer on StoneRiver.”
He gripped the steering wheel tighter. “League activity has increased in recent months. Given what we’ve heard on my clan, they’re starting to target humans, too. I had hoped I was wrong, but after tonight, the whole situation is a lot more serious than you think, Tasha.” He finally glanced at her. “I’m not being dramatic when I say your life might be changing forever in the next few days.”
She searched his gaze, noting how his pupils flashed between round and slitted, revealing his inner dragon’s presence. Maybe to some, the sight would be weird. But she’d grown used to flashing dragon eyes. So she merely replied, “That’s vague as hell, Brad.”
He shook his head. “I can’t say anything else until we talk with my clan leader. David will have a better idea of how to handle ADDA than me.”
“If you’re going to rely on ADDA, then let me call Ashley. She said to call her anytime.”
“And you might have to. But let’s wait and see if the men from tonight are charged or not. That will tell us a lot about if the police will help or look the other way.”
She studied him once more, noting his strong jaw and slightly crooked nose before asking slowly, “What do you mean ‘if’ they are charged? I know the police can be wishy-washy when it comes to dragon-related crimes, but they attacked a human. There’s no disputing it.”
He growled. “We’re still gathering proof, but we think some of the local police are League sympathizers.”
Shit. If that were true, then the situation had gone from a little jarring to downright dangerous.
And for the first time in over a decade, Tasha wasn’t sure of what to do.
Brad’s voice interrupted her thoughts. “Don’t worry, even if the police give up on you, we won’t. David promised to help look after your bar for reasons not even I understand. But just know that he’s an honorable male and will see it through.”
While never confirmed, Tasha suspected it had something to do with her aunt and someone from StoneRiver. She’d heard rumors about how her aunt had tried to run away with a StoneRiver dragon-shifter but had been caught and moved across the country. For all she knew, a promise had been made or something. Her aunt had passed before Tasha could ever ask her about it all.
Regardless, she would take StoneRiver’s help for now. It’d give Tasha time to talk with Ashley Swift, who still worked for ADDA, and a few other people she trusted. Maybe she could come up with a solution that meant she could still run her bar and sleep in her own bed without constantly looking over her shoulder for another bullet.
Because she didn’t want to listen to the tiny voice inside her head, the one saying she might have to sell her bar and start over somewhere else. Tasha had worked too hard for too long to give up on her business.
There had to be a solution, there just had to.
But as Brad drove them to StoneRiver, exhaustion finally won the battle over her racing thoughts, and she fell asleep.
Chapter Two
Brad being stuck in a car for nearly two hours with Tasha was pure hell. And not just because normally he’d park at the edge of the forest, shift into his dragon form, and quickly fly the rest of the way home instead of taking the long drive.
No, it was hell because his dragon kept mentioning her heat, or how her lips parted as she slept, or how nice it was to be surrounded by her scent.
All things Brad didn’t want to notice but couldn’t help doing so in such a confined space.
Gripping the steering wheel tighter, he tried to focus on what could be done about Tasha’s bar instead of the fact his true mate slept in the seat next to him. The sooner he figured out that problem, the sooner he could put distance back between them again.
His dragon yawned. Aren’t you getting tired of denying your attraction yet? You notice her as much as I do. And if you push her away for good, you know you’ll regret it.
Pushing her away will mean a hell of a lot fewer problems.
So you’d rather the League target her than be around her?
I didn’t say that.
His inner beast sighed. You make no sense whatsoever. Talk to me again once you figure it all out.
As silence fell inside his mind, it took every iota of strength Brad possessed to keep his eyes on the road and ignore the sleeping female.
His dragon was right—she smelled so damn good. He imagined waking up next to her, with his nose at her neck, and it made his cock stir.
Fuck. He was supposed to resist her. Humans equaled trouble in his book. Besides, he’d loved Amber.
He nearly blinked. Brad had used the past tense, which he’d never done when thinking of her before.
Had he finally gotten over Amber? He’d been so fucking in love with her and had been about to propose when she’d fled in the middle of the night. No one had known she was gone until the next day, not even him.
His beast whispered, Amber is no longer here. But Tasha is right there.
He dared a glance at the human’s sleeping face. She leaned against the window, her hair lying against her cheek. He itched to touch the blue streaks she had in it, curious as to why she constantly changed the color there.
What am I doing? He most definitely didn’t need the headache of a true mate on his plate. Dancing around her, never kissing her until she was ready, would distract him from his work, both for the clan and to keep her safe. After all, a dead Tasha was of no use to anyone.
His dragon said smugly, But you’re starting to think it’s worth trying with her. Deny it all you want, but you can’t lie to me.
Damn his dragon and his meddling.
But then they reached the main entrance to StoneRiver. Brad ignored his beast to pull up to the intercom and keypad unit situated several feet away from the twelve-foot-high metal gates. While height was nothing to a dragon-shifter who could fly over them, the spikes on top helped to keep human enemies or the dragon groupies out.
Brad typed in the correct code, and the gates swung inward. When he finally pulled in front of the main security building, he sent a text message to David to meet them, also letting his leader know about the further threats. Since he’d called his leader while the police had been talking to Tasha earlier, David knew mostly what was going on already.
A reply pinged back straight away from David, saying he’d be there soon. Tucking his phone into his pocket, Brad turned slightly toward Tasha.
She was still asleep. He had no idea if she was a heavy sleeper or if on some level, she trusted him to protect her.
His dragon said, I think it’s the latter.
Not wanting to give his dragon hope in the true mate department, Brad reached over and lightly brushed Tasha’s arm. She moved a little but didn’t wake up.
So he touched a finger to her jaw, daring to stroke her warm, soft skin.
Electricity raced up his arm and ended between his legs. Damn, if touching her with just his fingers was this dangerous, he needed to be careful. If she ever crashed into him, Brad might not be able to resist her.
Good. Then I’ll have to make that happen, his dragon stated.
He continued brushing Tasha’s cheek until she finally blinked her eyelids open. Even in the almost darkness, he loved the deep brown color of her eyes. She finally glanced out the window—the front of the security building had lights, so her human eyesight could see it—and then asked, “Are we on StoneRiver?”
“Yes. Now, come on. My clan leader is coming to meet us.”
She scrunched up her nose. “Can’t I use the bathroom first? After all, wild hair and dried drool won’t make a very good impression, and I should be halfway presentable with a dragon clan leader.”
His lips twitched. “You look fine.”
She raised an eyebrow. “I could be covered in mud and feathers and a man would still say I look fine. Sorry, but your words aren’t very reassuring.”
He chuckled and nearly did a double take. He wasn’t one to laugh easily, and here the human had made him do it.
His dragon whispered, Give her a chance.
Not ready to deal with that comment, he opened his door. “Come on. The sooner we talk with David, the sooner we can find you a place to sleep for the night.”
Without waiting for her reply, he exited the car and stood in front of it. Thankfully Tasha followed suit, and he guided her inside the security building. With any luck, he’d be free of the human female’s intoxicating presence soon enough and he could finally clear his head.
Tasha followed Brad inside a several-story building she couldn’t really make out in the almost darkness. So much for gawking at the inside grounds of Clan StoneRiver for the first time. Her curiosity would just have to wait until morning.
Inside the building, the halls looked like many other hallways she’d seen—tiled floors and neutral-colored walls that she could only describe as light brown-ish. It wasn’t exactly what she’d imagined her first impression of a dragon clan would be. It was almost…normal. For all the rumors and tales about the dragons, they might be a lot more like humans than most people believed.
Serving dragon-shifters at her bar had definitely opened her eyes to how similar they were to humans in public. But she still imagined something a little more special when it came to their home turf.
Brad guided her into a room—another nondescript place with a table and chairs—and motioned toward one of the seats. He said, “David will be here soon. Sit down and I’ll get you some water.”
She nodded and Brad exited the room. Tasha tapped her feet as she waited, trying not to let her mind run wild.
After all, she might, just might, have a hateful group bent on driving all dragons out of the country targeting her. She was safe for the time being, but that could change at any moment. Especially if the police ended up being sympathetic to the League guys who’d tried to shoot her.
And tough as she may be, Tasha wasn’t stupid. She wouldn’t be able to fend off the League on her own if they were indeed outside the law. She needed help, plain and simple. And not just any kind of help, but from the dragon-shifters.
However, she had no idea how—or if—the StoneRiver dragons would be willing to help her. And if they did offer to do so, there had to be a price. No one would risk so much for free, at least in her experience.
The door opened, revealing Brad’s tall, broad-shouldered figure. She barely noted how much more at ease he seemed here than at her bar when another man entered behind him. The man with short, black hair, golden skin, and assessing brown eyes was no stranger. She’d met him before—StoneRiver’s clan leader, David Lee.
David smiled at her and sat opposite. Brad took the seat next to her.
Before she could say anything, David spoke up. “It seems you being nice to us has backfired spectacularly. Believe me when I say that I never intended for this all to happen.”
She shrugged one shoulder. “I know that. You can’t control assholes and their actions.”
David snorted. “True. But you opened your bar as a favor to me and Ashley Swift. And while I can’t speak for Ashley, I can for me. And now that you’re in trouble, you’re under my protection.”
She frowned. “But only for as long as I stay here. You know as well as I do that dragon-shifters can’t stay full-time in Reno. I’ll just have to hire some human security guards.”
Brad grunted. “That won’t be enough.”
She had a feeling he was right. But for some reason, she wanted to push back against him. Almost as if she didn’t do it now, she might regret it later. “How do you know that? The League are human, so other humans should be able to stop them.”
David jumped in. “Except that in recent months, the League has been glorifying self-sacrifice. And that is a huge fucking problem for all of us.”
She resisted blinking at the statement. It was the first she’d heard of it. “What the hell are you talking about?”
David sighed. “Someone is trying to drive up the hatred of dragon-shifters again. And one surefire way to do it is to make sacrificing themselves for the cause as some fucking brave, patriotic act. Something like cleansing the US of dragons will make the humans the strongest, the richest, insert whatever you like here in the world. In their line of thinking, dragon-shifters only hold them back or drag them down.”
She blinked. “How in the hell are dragons holding people back?”
David replied, “They’re not. But most League members are looking for someone to blame for their problems, troubles, or whatever is wrong in their lives. And so dragons are those targets. They dismissed the League down in Florida, and now it’s chaotic there. I hope we can keep the same thing from happening here, but I’m still working on how to do that exactly.”
Tasha looked from David to Brad and back again. “Why haven’t I heard anything about this? I would think that a crazy hate group willing to commit suicide to kill a dragon would make the news.”
David shook his head. “ADDA is trying to keep it quiet, as are the officials of the human cities in Florida. I doubt even the other Tahoe clans know what’s going on.”
Great. So rather than a minor pain in the ass, the League idiots could possibly be out to sacrifice themselves for the cause. In that case, burning down her bar or using an explosive wouldn’t be out of the question.
Tasha was used to isolating a problem, figuring out the best solution, and bouncing back up again. However, she might not be able to follow the same strategy this time. Death was pretty permanent, and no amount of security guards could protect her from the crazies.
For the first time in her life, Tasha was glad her parents were no longer alive because if they were, then they’d become targets, too.
Taking a deep breath, she met David’s eyes again. “So then, what are my options?”
He nodded. “I like your levelheadedness, Tasha. I’m not sure many humans would be as strong as you.”
She waved a hand in dismissal. “I’ve had to face more challenges than most to get to where I am. It’s nothing new.” She leaned forward. “So don’t keep me waiting, David. What can be done?”
David replied, “The only way to truly protect you is to keep you on StoneRiver. I know Clan PineRock has been having some problems with the League, too, thanks to information from Ashley Swift. If I reach out to them, we can work together to maybe figure out a solution.”
She frowned. “But I can’t stay on StoneRiver forever. I have a life, my bar, my house, and my friends.”
David smiled sadly. “I know it won’t be easy, but you’ll have to give them up. At least for a little while. There is a way for you to stay on StoneRiver, but I need you to have an open mind about it.”
Okay, that didn’t sound very promising. “What is it?” she asked slowly.
David shrugged. “You can mate a dragon-shifter. Eventually you can divorce him or her—I don’t know your preference—but the mating will allow you to stay here legally for as long as you like.”
She blinked and tried to process what David had just said. “You want me to marry, er mate, a dragon-shifter? What will you do, just pick some poor guy at random?”<
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Brad grunted. “It’ll be me.”
She whipped her head around, her usual filter forgotten. “But you can’t stand me.”
He cleared his throat. “That’s not exactly true.”
Feeling lost, she glanced at David and back to Brad. If she was to get any true answers, she was going to be blunt. “But you always walk away from me as quickly as possible, barely mutter a sentence at me a day, and always glare at me.”
“There’s a reason for all that.”
She stared him down. “Which is?”
For the first time ever, Brad shifted in his seat and looked uncomfortable.
It seemed her usually unflappable part-time security guard wasn’t as devoid of emotion as he usually portrayed.
David’s voice filled the room. “Either tell her, Brad, or I will. She deserves to know before committing to anything.”
Okay, David’s words made Tasha a little leery of Brad’s secret.
Still, she wasn’t going to just brush it aside or be afraid of the truth. “Tell me, Brad. Whatever it is, I’m sure I can handle it. I mean, someone tried to shoot me a few hours ago. It can’t be that bad.”
He sat up straight and cleared his throat. “Well, that depends on how you look at it. You’re my true mate, Tasha. That’s why I’ve kept my distance.”
“True mate?” she echoed, trying to remember what she could about the phrase. “Isn’t that like some fated-bride scenario or something?”
Brad nodded. “Yes, my inner dragon recognizes you as our best chance at happiness.”
Okay, that was even more fantasy-like than she’d imagined. Especially since Tasha didn’t believe in fate in the first place. Still, if Brad believed it, then he’d been pretty damn good at keeping it a secret. She blurted, “Then why have you tried so hard to stay away from me?”
He muttered, “It’s complicated.”
Tasha rolled her eyes. “More complicated than being a target of some sort of domestic terrorist group? One, whom I might add, is this close to killing you?”
The Dragon's Charge (Tahoe Dragon Mates Book 4) Page 2