“I’m telling!” The freckle faced youngling pointed his little finger at me and wagged it in the air. My dragon strongly urged me to bite it off. Instead, I kept my reaction to a low, menacing snarl. The youngling’s eyes rounded and he jumped up from his seat and ran off.
I scowled and reminded myself that in this world, it was not okay to hang younglings upside down and shake them to teach them manners.
Dropping the pieces of the controller on the table, I ran my now sweaty palms over my thighs. Between the delicious aroma in the room and the fucking baffling computer, my dragon was ready to break free and set the place aflame.
With interest, though, I noticed that the freckle faced youngling ran towards where I’d seen the black puffball. I listened intently hoping to hear something said, or better yet, hoping the owner of that ball of fluff would come into view.
7
Cherry
If Jimmy Long didn’t get the holy heck away from me, I was going to trip him the next time he walked by, I’d swear to Jesus. The little boy was always tattling on someone and there he was at it again. This time he was tattling on a grown man. The grown man who’d turned me into a quivering, cowardly mess. I was hiding. Still. Hiding like a scaredy cat. Not well enough, of course, that Jimmy hadn’t found me.
I’d seen the man struggling. I hadn’t expected him to shatter the mouse he was using, but he was awfully big. And strong. I fanned myself and pressed my back against the wall of the little nook I was in behind the bookshelf. And what was wrong with me? Why was my body overheating and why was I reacting like a frightened child?
“Well, Ms. Cherry, are you going to do anything?”
I snuck a quick glance around the corner and spotted the hottie looking in my direction. Jerking back around, I squeezed my eyes shut for a minute and shook my hands out.
“Ms. Cherry?”
“It’s fine, Jimmy.” I ground the words out harsher than I meant to and forced a smile to my face. “Sorry. I’m just looking for something right now. Why don’t you go ask Cameron to help the man?”
“Cameron already tried to help him.”
“Send her back over.” I spoke through gritted teeth.
Jimmy pouted and went off in search of Cameron. I figured she wouldn’t be far from the guy. Cameron loved men and was an expert at flirting with the opposite gender There was no way that guy wasn’t front and center on her radar right about then.
I backed farther into my hiding spot and rubbed the stress out of my forehead. My glasses fell off the tip of my nose and I caught them roughly as they fell. I felt the pieces twist in opposite directions and groaned as they loosened themselves even more from the tape I’d wrapped around them. The tape wasn’t going to hold out for much longer.
It was silly that I was hiding, but there was something so overwhelmingly five-alarm about the way my body was reacting to the handsome man that I didn’t think I could tolerate being any closer to him. He was beautiful, like a Roman statue or something, and I looked like death warmed over. I needed help. I was behaving crazy-like, but I couldn’t seem to help it.
After a few seconds, Cameron appeared at my side. “One of the visitors needs you. Demands you, actually.”
I flitted around with a book. “You can’t handle it? I’m very busy right now. I’m working. On something.”
“You’re not working on anything. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were hiding back here.” She flicked the ponytail ball at the back of my head. “Not that I can blame you for hiding.”
“Cameron.” I blew out a breath and shook my head. “Just go help him.”
As she walked away with an eye roll, I stayed where I was and prayed that she could help him and get him going on his way as soon as possible. Cameron was capable of showing him anything he needed to know about the computer. He didn’t need me. Not at all.
I poked my head out enough to look over at them and inhaled sharply when I saw Chyna stop next to him and Cameron. She smiled at the man and I felt myself growing irrationally angry as she reached up to run a hand through her beautiful, well-conditioned hair. Her shirt drew up to show off a couple inches of her flat stomach and, even though I knew my sister well enough to know that she was not flirting and that nothing she was doing that might appear to be flirty was intentional, I still grew irate for some reason.
When I looked back at the man, though, he wasn’t noticing Chyna and her smooth, mocha skin or her flat belly or her perfect hair. In fact, he was barely noticing that Cameron or Chyna were in the room. He was staring directly at me. When our eyes met, I startled so hard that I involuntarily let out a weird little yelping-squealy-squawk and flung myself back into the nook behind the bookshelf. Shit. That was really loud.
A few seconds later, Cameron and Chyna were both standing in front of me, arms crossed over their chests. Cameron pursed her lips and regarded me with a hard stare. “That man over there is insisting that you be the one to help him and you’re back here hiding from him. What’s going on?”
“Do you know him?” Chyna’s brows were furrowed and she studied my reaction closely. I just shrugged and shook my head, afraid of what my voice might sound like if I tried to use it.
“Do you want me to toss him out on his ass?” Cameron’s jaw locked and her hands flew to her hips. “Because I will.”
Chyna scowled at Cameron and inched closer to me, closing Cameron out. “Wait a sec, this is just you running like a scared bunny from any man that might show an interest in you, isn’t it?”
Well, if the hair fit... I ran my hands over my head again and fussed with my shirt. “Chyna…”
She flicked the end of my nose. “Sorry for this, sis.”
Before I could even ask what she was sorry for, she grabbed me and with both hands, shoved me out from behind the bookshelf. I stumbled, let out another weird yelping squeak, and windmilled my arms to catch myself. When I did catch myself, every eye in the place was on me.
My cheeks burned bright red as I turned to give my sister a pissed-off glower. There was no way I could avoid the man after that stunt. His mouth was open slightly in surprise and he was staring a hole right through me. My head, of its own accord, turned in his direction. It was like I couldn’t stop it. My eyes glanced up and then, from across the room, our gazes met, held, and locked. And, oh, talk about going weak at the knees.
My skin burned even hotter and I forgot for a second that I was a complete train wreck. My breath caught in my throat and I wondered if I’d even be able to move my legs enough to cross the room. My feet had melted into the hardwood floor.
“What are you doing?” Chyna’s sharp whisper broke through my stupor. “Get over there!”
I closed my eyes and breathed a deep inhale. I didn’t know what was wrong with me. It wasn’t like he was the first attractive man I’d ever seen in my twenty-nine years. Although, as I made myself take a step towards him, and then another, I felt that I could honestly say he was the most attractive man I’d ever seen. Blonde hair a little too long, eyes a brilliant green, and a dangerous edge that made him seem so out of place in a quaint little branch library.
I forced myself walk forward and stopped within a few feet of him. Trying to smile, I focused on a spot on the wall just over his left shoulder. I started to speak and my voice came out a crackle, so I had to clear my throat and try again. “H-how can I help you?”
My eyes flicked over his computer and I made a face before I could help myself. He was looking up a dating website. Why the hell was a man who looked like him on a dating website? I had a feeling he could walk down the sidewalk in a burlap sack and get propositioned every few feet.
“Hello.” Of course, he had a deep, masculine voice that sent tingles through me. Of course. Low, velvety and smooth, it was like a verbal caress.
I met his gaze and swayed just the slightest bit. Warmth coursed down my spine and pooled in my lower belly. I took a step back, feeling totally unhinged by all the sensations I was feeling. “Hi.
”
He stood up and closed the distance between us. His eyes traveled over my body and face, pausing at my hair. The corner of his mouth twitched and I got the distinct impression that he was amused by my hair. “Hi.”
I sucked in a sharp breath and took another step back. He was putting out predatory vibes to the extreme and I suddenly felt like a gazelle being stalked by a lion. It was scary. What was even scarier was how much I liked it.
“Well, Miss Cherry, are you going to yell at him for breaking the mouse, or what?”
I was finally grateful for Jimmy’s big mouth. I spun to face him and nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, I should do that.”
The gorgeous man’s face fell. “You should yell at me?” His voice dipped even lower and his eyes darkened slightly. His tongue snaked out as he licked his full lower lip.
“Yeah, mister, you can’t go around breaking stuff in the library, right Miss Cherry? Tell him.”
“I…um…” I licked my own dry lips and watched as his eyes followed my tongue. I thought I heard a low growling sound emanate from his chest. But, that was crazy. It was at that point that my supply of courage was depleted. “Actually, I have something to do. Bye!”
And, I ran.
8
Cezar
I found her!
Petite, curvy, brown skinned, and beautiful but very timid, she backed away from me and then flat out turned and ran. Strange. But, if she thought running from me would stop me, she was in for a surprise. I left the computer behind without a second thought. Fortunately, the dating site was a thing of the past. I no longer needed it. I had found my mate. She was everything I could want and more.
I trailed behind her, my longer, stronger legs eating up twice the distance of her shorter ones. “I am Cezar.”
She jumped, not realizing I was right behind her, and then glanced back at me. “Um…yeah.”
I stepped around two small human younglings and watched as my mate, Miss Cherry, grabbed a stack of books. I gently took them from her. No need for her to carry anything when I’m around. And, hopefully, I would never be far from her side. “Please, allow me.”
She looked confused. “I can do it…”
“Please allow me to help.” I smiled at her and shrugged. “It is an honor to assist a beautiful woman such as yourself.”
She stopped moving and I nearly bumped into her. “What are you doing?”
“Carrying your books?”
She shook her head and wagged her finger at me. “No. This. Carrying my books? Calling me beautiful? I’ve got a mirror and I’ve looked into it today. I’m under no delusions about my appearance. Are you trying to make up for breaking my mouse?”
“I did not break a mouse.” It was the second time I was hearing about a broken mouse and I was getting confused. “I am an excellent predator. I would have known if a mouse had been nearby.”
She frowned. “The computer mouse. The thing you shattered?”
“The controller?”
“What?” She started walking again and led us into a hallway of books.
“What?” I followed her.
“What?” she repeated. “Yeah, the mouse. I guess you could call it a controller. Anyway, you broke it. What gives?”
“I did not do it purposely. I believe it was broken before I crushed it. It would not work.”
She took a book from me and slid it onto the shelf. “It wasn’t broken.”
“Then why would it not work?”
“Maybe because you were holding it in the air like it was some kind of toy airplane.”
“Please, allow me to take you on a date tonight? Or, now?”
“What?” Cherry looked up at me, her face turning a bright red. It looked beguiling on her.
“What?” That was what human men did, was it not? They took their females places and called the outing a date. I didn’t want to be too pushy, but I was eager to change the topic from the broken controller and talk about the two of us. Perhaps I’d phrased it wrong. “May I take you to dinner? On a date? Or, if you prefer, we could go for coffee, or to a movie, or to a musical event.”
She backed up against the shelving unit behind her and bit her lower lip. “What?”
What a firemouthed fool I was! I placed the books on the floor and stepped closer to her. Of course! It was obvious now. My mate was hard of hearing. I raised my voice. “May I take you on a date?”
“Why are you yelling?” she hissed, staring up at me with confusion and a touch of anger in her expression. I’d gotten close enough to her that when she turned and moved away from me, her puff ball hit me in the chest. It not only looked interesting, it smelled amazing. She smelled clean and fresh like dew on newly sprouted grass.
“I assumed you were hard of hearing. You keep asking, ‘what’.” From that close, I could see that her brown eyes had bursts of gold in the center of them. Mesmerizing. Her skin was the silkiest thing I’d ever seen. It was the color of a sweet coffee beverage. I wanted to run my fingertips over it and feel her, all of her—or better yet, my lips. Her curves were mouthwatering, and I imagined they would be even more enticing without all the loose, bulky clothing.
I ran my hands through my hair, to keep from grabbing her. That was a no-no in the human mating rituals, but instinctual for dragons. I had finally found my mate. I was so eager and ready to begin a life with her, to learn everything about her and experience everything together. “I am asking you to go on an outing with me. I will take you wherever you wish to go.”
“Stop it.” She turned and grabbed the books off the ground, presenting me with a beautiful view of her full, round bottom, and then hurried away again. “I don’t know what your game is, buddy, but I’m not amused.”
I followed her, as I would always from that day forth. “I have no game. I would like to date you.”
“No.”
I froze, that one lone word paralyzing me. I felt as though my heart dropped to my toes, crumbling to pieces at my feet. “W-why?”
“Because. Because, that’s why.”
Was it because I’d been looking at a dating site? Perhaps that was the reason for her rejection. Perhaps if I explained…“I was simply trying to find my mate. I mean, a date. I was trying to find a date. Then, when I saw you, I knew you were the female I was looking for. You are perfect. Everything a dra—male could want. Please allow me to court you. That is what males and females do, is it not?”
She turned a corner and we were in another hall of bookshelves. It was darker there and she stretched up to put another book away. I caught my breath as her shirt came up the slightest bit to reveal a bare strip of smooth skin at her waist.
“You are too much. Leave me alone.”
“Leave you…alone?” Was she serious? She did not accept me? Did she not feel the magic between us? My chest ached and my dragon roared his displeasure. “You are joking, right?”
“No, I’m not joking. I don’t know what you’re trying to pull, but this isn’t funny. I am dead serious. Leave. Me. Alone.”
I did not want to upset her any more than I already had, so I backed away slowly. “I apologize for whatever I did that upset you. I promise I will learn to please you. I have nothing but the best of intentions.”
She furrowed her brows and shook her head. “Just go.”
Forcing my body to move away from her was torture. I felt as though I had cinderblocks for feet as I dragged them from where my mate stood. Everything in me, male and dragon, longed to stay and be near her. I knew from research that modern human women did not appreciate when males just took what they desired. Human females wanted to be listened to and heard. I would treat my mate the way she wished to be treated. I turned and walked out, feeling like the world was caving in on me.
I stopped just outside the library doors and tried to calm my dragon. I would fix this. Things would be okay. At least I’d found her—I knew she existed and who and where she was. I just had to figure out how to win her over. She was definitely mine. I knew tha
t without a doubt. As soon as I’d seen her, I’d known. I simply had to convince her of that fact. I foolishly believed she would feel the same pull towards me but I was mistaken. I would, perhaps need to consult with Beast’s mate, Sky, about how such things worked for human females.
I might need to revisit my research as well. I thought I knew how modern human men wooed their females, but I had not done well. I had a stack of books back at the castle on the subject and I had studied as much as I could find about it. I would re-examine them and do all that they said. I would do anything to prove to her that she belonged to me.
Mating in this world wasn’t as easy as it had been back in our old world. Evidently, we had to work much harder. I thought of my beautiful, curvy brown mate with the fluffy hair. She was worth it. Beast had worked hard for his Sky and he was happier than any dragon. Ever.
I would do the same.
9
Cherry
The next several days passed in a blur of overwhelming lunacy. It seemed that each hour that passed brought more gifts. I was starting to think that the man was one brick short of a full load. Cezar. What kind of name was that, anyway? Cajun? Creole? Everything about him was unusual. The way he’d followed me around the library, asking me on a date. The way he’d provoked such a physical response from me. Plus, I’d chastised the man. That was so out of character for me, but it was because I was freaked out by the way my body responded to him. All of it was crazy, but the craziest was the fact that he really seemed to think I would believe that a man who looked like him, Mr. Hollywood, would want to go out with a woman who looked like me, Nerd Girl.
Each new gift that arrived made me think that I was stuck in a surreal dream. First, it’d been flowers. Huge bouquets. The first practically engulfed the entire circulation desk. Then, two more came. I’d had to divide them into smaller bouquets and scatter them on different tables around the library. I couldn’t say I hated having their beauty and the delightful scent around, though.
Fire Breathing Cezar (Dragons of the Bayou Book 2) Page 4