Damaged Daddy Dragon

by Leela Ash

  He wasn’t going to let the guy see him. He would rather make it an ambush if anything. This was just one card he could keep up his sleeve.

  Instead of going there for spaghetti ingredients, he ran to town, picking up about a week’s worth of groceries. On the way out, he saw a toy capsule machine and smiled to himself. His daughter loved these things. even if she couldn’t put the coin in herself, popping the cap open and retrieving her gift was like Christmas to the child.

  He stuck a quarter in the machine and out popped a little capsule. He stuffed it in his pocket, then returned to the van, where the other two men were also complaining of hunger. Luckily, spaghetti was a meal they could all enjoy with relative ease. But he was going to have to talk to Quinn about the catering options. If they served food 24/7 at that place, they were about to be best friends.

  Apollo’s chest tightened when he thought of Quinn. Driving down the scenic roads to the bed and breakfast had gotten him into a quiet mood. In the quiet, he felt her there, just as he had felt her when she had him on the floor of her studio, cradling his head gently in her arms as she attempted to create a space of peace and healing. And then again in the shower…

  She was a different sort of woman; he already knew that much. And the way she kept creeping into his thoughts? He wasn’t sure he liked it. And yet it was like an itch he couldn’t fully scratch. Always there, persistent but unattainable…

  He was grateful when the men had all returned to their cabins to wait on dinner and he was able to duck into his own, where his daughter and Quinn were waiting. He was surprised by the elation he felt stepping inside, the warmth of the cabin’s room, the beaming face of his daughter and the gentle serenity of Quinn inside with her… it almost felt right.

  The thought sobered him. He couldn’t think that way. Not after everything he had been through and all his poor daughter had dealt with on top of it. He couldn’t even consider dating a woman. No matter what the elders said, the time for him to find a mate was far in the future, if at all. For now, he was as content as he could be on his own. A mate would only distract him.

  “Welcome home,” Quinn said, her voice as smooth and gentle as silk. Vera ran over from across the room and clung onto his legs in a big hug. He bent down and lifted her up, grappling her in a big, cozy bear hug.

  “Daddy!”

  “Hey, kid!”

  He kissed her forehead and let her settle into her favorite spot in the crook of his arm before turning to regard Quinn.

  “Everything was all right today?” he asked, his demeanor turning serious. If Vera’s mother was looking for her, it might only be a matter of time before they found her. and he would rather die than surrender his child to the evils of the corrupt noble family.

  “It was fine. There was nothing bad about today at all. She did miss you, though.”

  Apollo nodded, planting another kiss on top of his daughter’s head. “I missed her too, of course. But if I didn’t go to work, I couldn’t come back and make spaghetti for my favorite daughter.”

  “I’m your only daughter!”

  “That’s right.”

  He stopped his banter when he noticed that Quinn was staring at them. Her expression was troubled, though he couldn’t imagine why. Unless she had been lying about there being an issue while he was away and just hadn’t wanted to alarm Vera.

  “Are you all right, Quinn?” he asked, frowning. If it wasn’t about danger, then what would her expression be about? Was she unhappy watching his child? Had Vera been naughty? What was going on with her?

  “Yeah. I think maybe you and I should have a discussion though,” she said, shifting uncomfortably. “It’s not a big deal, but it might be. I don’t know. Anyway, we can bring Vera over to my friend’s cabin. She has a little girl about her age, maybe they will hit it off until her dinner is ready.”

  “A friend of yours?”

  “Yes.”

  Apollo considered this. He didn’t like to leave Vera with anybody he couldn’t trust. But he trusted Quinn, for whatever reason. So maybe this new person would be all right.

  “Why don’t we go meet this friend of yours and then I will decide. Otherwise we may have to speak some other time.”

  He wasn’t about to take any chances. Even if Quinn had given them the seal of approval, that meant nothing in comparison to his own fatherly instincts. He would protect his child against any threats, real, imagined, or potential. And that was just the way it was going to be, even if it meant Quinn thought he was overprotective.

  Maybe he was, but he had every reason to be. And wasn’t that the same thing as being the normal amount of protective? He protected. That was just his job.

  “I’m sure she would love to meet both of you,” Quinn said, her sweet smile easing his tense nerves. “She isn’t staying far from here. It would be a short walk. Then you can get your dinner going, I’m sure the both of you are hungry.”

  Hunger? Apollo hadn’t even been paying attention to hunger. Maybe he was and he didn’t realize it, but for the moment, things were so tense he could hardly think about food, let alone handle the act of eating. No, he would just wait on that.

  “Vera might be.”

  “Maybe.”

  Quinn headed out the door, then lead the way toward her friend’s cabin. When they arrived, she knocked quietly on the door. A woman answered, greeting them all with a big, welcoming smile.

  “Hello! My name is Sandra. Quinn calls me Sandy, and Rachel calls me Mom. Come inside.”

  “Thanks,” Quinn said, smiling warmly at her friend. “Sandy, this is Apollo and Vera.”

  “Nice to meet you both!”

  They all huddled into the little living space of the cabin. A small girl was on the rug with some blocks, and her eyes instantly darted to Apollo, then to Vera. They lingered on the potential friend for a moment, then back down to her blocks.

  “Don’t worry, she’s just shy. Rachel, why don’t you come say hi?”

  The little girl slowly sat her block down and stood up, walking cautiously to Apollo. She stood in front of him and craned her neck up to where Vera was perched.

  “Hi.”

  Vera looked down at Rachel. “Hi.”

  Apollo smiled. The child was a sweet soul, and he could tell that her mother was as gentle and kind as Quinn was. He felt instantly at home in the cabin. She had made many minor changes to the interior in comparison to his own, and they lent the living space a very cozy quality. He wouldn’t mind his daughter spending time here. Not as long as he was only a few steps away. He would be able to hear if anything happened to her. He was deeply in tune with his child.

  “Do you want to play with me?” Rachel finally asked, sucking in a deep breath to brace herself against the possible rejection.

  Vera smiled, but looked to her father first. “Can I play with her, please?”

  He felt Quinn and Sandy watching him curiously, and he smiled at his little girl. “You can play with her for a while. But I have to get dinner ready.”

  “Is it okay if Vera stays here with you for a little while?” Quinn asked her friend. “She’s a sweetheart. Nothing has gone wrong with her all day. I just have something I would like to talk over with her father privately.”

  Sandy nodded. “The more the merrier! Rachel is lost without the little neighbor boy coming around. But it’s nice to come out here and get out of the neighborhood sometimes. Those two get into trouble sometimes but mostly they’re a real joy.”

  Quinn beamed and embraced Sandy. “Thanks! I really owe you one.”

  “Don’t worry about it, Rachel loves the company! See?”

  They all looked over at the children, where Rachel was already building a block wall around Vera. Somewhere, Vera had found a little plastic tiara, and Rachel was referring to her as Queen Dragon lady.

  Apollo was surprised slightly, but more amused than anything. A lot of the younger humans were innately open to the realities of the shifter species. They seemed innately to know th
ings that most of the adults missed completely. He cast a glance at Quinn, who had heard the title as well and was watching the children with a serious expression on her face.

  “Shall we go?” he asked, interrupting her thoughts. He did so on purpose. The perplexity in her expression made him nervous. As though maybe she was getting close to a truth that wasn’t her right to know. Had Vera said something to her?

  “Of course,” Quinn said, her expression brightening immediately. Whatever thoughts or suspicions she had been having, they weren’t strong enough to deter her from making time to speak to Apollo alone. What if that was what she wanted to speak with him about? He would just have to brush it off as his child having an overactive imagination. Damn it, he hated saying or doing anything to invalidate his child, especially when she had done nothing wrong. Then again, he had told her repeatedly how important a secret theirs was, and usually she was particularly good about keeping quiet.

  Still, would this amazing woman knowing the truth about who he was be the worst thing in the world? There was really no way of knowing whether he could trust her. He wished there was a way to find out, but there wasn’t. Not without fully revealing everything. And given the current predicament his kind were in, that just wasn’t an option and never would be.

  When they were walking quietly together back toward his cabin, Apollo glanced down at Quinn. She was slight, despite her muscular and capable frame. She was lithe, graceful. Delicate but capable of taking care of herself. It was a nice shift from the types of women he had met on Earth. The majority of which were arrogant and vain. If they had bodies like Quinn’s, they would be flaunting them to get whatever they wanted. But Quinn worked hard for her shape and did nothing to invite attention to it. She just simply existed as herself. It was refreshing.

  “Is this about your yoga class?” Apollo teased as they neared the cabin. “Did I get an F?”

  A sudden, musical peal of laughter erupted from Quinn’s lips. “You can’t fail at a yoga class,” she said, shaking her head at him in disbelief. “Silly man.”

  Apollo grinned despite himself. It was nice to hear her laugh. Making her laugh, in fact, might have been one of the highlights of his day. Right after the hugs from his daughter. He had been missing her so much. Still, having a child underfoot while he dealt with saving the universe.

  “I figured I would ask. Clear the air.”

  “Well, maybe you should just work on clearing your mind. That’s when yoga works the best.”

  Apollo rolled his eyes. Clearing his mind was impossible these days. How was he supposed to do that when he hardly had time for his own well-being? But he supposed that was what the yoga class had been for. He would probably go back. Some day.

  “I’ll try,” he promised. They stopped in front of the door, and he looked down, accidentally catching Quinn’s eye. They both paused there, the tension between them enormous and tempting. It was almost the same feeling as dropping her off after a first date and waiting for a kiss outside the door.

  No, he was being silly. He didn’t have time for this nonsense. And she probably wasn’t interested in him, either. He had done nothing but bitch and moan about the thing she clearly cared most about. What were the chances she might be even remotely interested, no matter what their physical chemistry might suggest?

  “Uh, you can come in,” he said finally, fumbling for the door. He unlocked it and they stepped inside. It was then that he noticed the slight changes that Quinn had made. Things that brought life to the cabin, and made it feel almost as cozy as the one they had just come from.

  “Thanks,” Quinn murmured, standing awkwardly in the middle of the room. She inhaled deeply, as if she had something big to get off her chest. instead of even giving a hint at what it might be though, instead she wandered over to the window. “This room has a nice view.”

  Who gave a shit about the view? Quinn had something to say. Why couldn’t she just spit it out? Apollo didn’t have a lot of time for waiting around. He had a universe on his hands.

  “Quinn.”

  He said her name in a commanding way, though not unkindly.

  She turned away from the window and sighed sheepishly. “I have to know. Is Vera in some sort of danger?”

  Apollo cursed inwardly. He hadn’t exactly concealed the fact, but he had no idea just how much Quinn should know. He didn’t want to endanger her, too. But a human woman like her was not likely to understand the realities of the shapeshifters on Earth. He couldn’t risk being the one to tell her about them, either. They didn’t even have a solid romantic connection that might ensure she would keep his secret.

  And sure, there were ways they would be able to wipe out her memory and replace what she thought she knew with some false information, but that was a process he really didn’t want to undertake with her. The idea of doing anything to jeopardize her mental awareness repulsed him. He wanted to ensure that she was well taken care of, and he wasn’t going to be the one to put her in harm’s way.

  “She comes from a very… cruel family. Her mother’s side, not mine. And to be honest, her mother is an unpredictable deadbeat. I never know when she might show up thinking she’s got some right to the daughter she’s abandoned. And if that’s the case then Vera could very easily be snatched right out from under our noses.”

  It wasn’t the whole truth, but it was a start. This was something that had haunted Apollo since Heidi left. He would never be able to shake the feeling that he hadn’t seen the last of his ex, and that when she came back, things with his daughter might change forever. It was something he just couldn’t accept. Although it would be nice as hell if Heidi would just reform and learn to care about something besides herself for a change. The entire world would be better off for it.

  Quinn gasped. “Why didn’t you tell me that before I agreed to watch her?” Apollo winced, sure that she was going to back out now and scold him for withholding the truth. “If I had known that, I would have made sure to teach her more about how to handle herself if someone she doesn’t know tries to snatch her up. I took self-defense for like ten years!”

  Apollo was stunned. He had fully expected her to say, “If I had known that, I never would have agreed to this. It is way too much responsibility, thank you anyway.” But instead, she was scolding him because she could have been teaching his daughter self-defense?

  “I know it was unfair to withhold that from you,” he sighed, still bracing himself to be scolded. “But it is a very tender spot. We are just trying to adapt to life without her mother. Unfortunately, she and I parted on bad terms.”

  Quinn’s features softened in understanding. “I’m sure it wasn’t easy for either one of you.”

  “No, it wasn’t. And it still isn’t. Neither of us really know what to do without a woman around but we’re figuring it out. I can’t believe I was stupid enough to ever be with her in the first place.”

  Apollo was surprised by how easily he was speaking to Quinn about Heidi. This was usually a topic he kept under wraps. Nobody else knew anything about their relationship and he liked to keep it that way. But somehow it seemed that this woman was able to understand without judgment.

  Quinn was quiet for a moment, then stepped forward, her face softened with compassion. She instinctively reached a hand to his face, tracing a finger over a slight scar that he had gotten during one of his many impossibly dangerous missions. Something she would never know anything about. She was human. It wasn’t her place to know anything about him or where he came from. So why was he even talking to her right now?

  “She has hurt you a lot. Vera too.”

  The understanding in her voice nearly brought the burning desire to weep to Apollo. He had been struggling for so long to try to make sure everything was done according to plan, to protect the earth and to protect his child. It was a lot to deal with, and now, this tantalizing but false promise of comfort seemed to tempt him so easily at the tips of this woman’s fingers. How in the world could he trust it? It was
always so easily taken away.

  He stepped back, gently removing Quinn’s fingers from his face. But he couldn’t bring himself to drop her hand entirely, and held it there between them, a symbol of the trust he wished he had, the connection he felt toward her.

  “Yes. But I will never let that happen again. I can promise you that. And she will not touch a hair on my daughter’s head. Vera will not be subject to the pain her mother can, and will, inflict upon her if given the chance.”

  Quinn squeezed Apollo’s hand. It was like she knew an unspoken language that was laying inside of him, dormant and sleepy, a tender language that reminded him that it was all going to be all right and that peace was possible, even for those who worked themselves to the bone in an effort to sacrifice themselves for the greater good.

  It almost seemed cruel, this comforting place Quinn’s touch promised.

  But at the same time, he couldn’t seem to get enough. He wanted more, more of her touch, more of her interest, more of her love.

  Wait, he didn’t have any of her real love, not yet. He had none but that beautiful universal blanket she attempted to wrap every stray creature she found with, that energy she shared when she anointed people’s foreheads with lavender oils and cradled their heads to remind them that everything was going to be okay and they were all children of the same universe…

  “Are you all right, Apollo? You look a little shaken.”

  Quinn’s brow was creased in concern and Apollo tore his thoughts away from that strange, tender place that Quinn seemed to bring him to.

  “Yes,” he said, clearing his throat and casting her hand aside. “I’m fine.”

  Quinn quirked her brow. “Okay. Well. Is there anything else I should know in order to do my best to make sure that Vera is safe?”

  Apollo searched his mind for anything he thought might help, but without revealing all the details of his identity to her, it would be impossible. The dragon within him had its own idea about how to respond to Quinn, and to be frank, it was a little bit unseemly in Apollo’s opinion. As an alpha, sure, he had his impulses. He was a virile, adventurous man, and the beast within him didn’t hide its needs and desires. But he had always been the kind to keep those impulses in check. He didn’t want to be a slave to the beast inside of him. Not again.