He grabbed her ass. Goddess, he wanted her, but he wouldn’t. He would walk away and come back tomorrow for what he feared would be the last judgment. But perhaps she would see reason and follow her heart. It was up to the goddess now.
Deo gave her one last kiss and then pulled away. His hard shaft would be difficult to ignore as he moved back, away from her. Yeah, this would fucking suck, but he had no choice.
Turning away from her, he shifted and mid stride took off before he lost all control and his dragon overtook the logic. No one wanted a mate that wasn’t willing.
He took one last glance down at her as they rose higher and higher into the sky.
She looked just as tortured as he felt.
11
She shielded her eyes as she watched him fly away. She couldn’t breathe. Aisha wrapped her arms around her stomach, the stabbing pain of regret shooting through her. What had she done? Would he come back? Did she know how to get in touch with him?
This wasn’t supposed to be like this. Her personal life. It wasn’t supposed to be complicated.
Aisha had already dealt with complicated. She’d lost what mattered to her. She accepted that she would never really be accepted anywhere, and she accepted a marriage that was at its best agreeable. But right now. All that seemed stupid. What if she’d just lost the last thing that would really matter to her, something even more powerful than the love for her father?
The world started to close in around her. The air was too thick to breathe in. The gravity too strong to fight as she fell to the ground, her knees hitting the grass. She clutched at her shirt, gripping the fabric against her chest.
It hurt. Her heart literally hurt.
But she didn’t want to be someone’s to control, and she didn’t want to give up her research. The one thing that had made her feel something after her father died. Something that had given her purpose. She’d never truly known her purpose until she’d found her research. But now?
She just wanted to be touched again, but by him. He brought back feeling within her. She was no longer numb, and she wasn’t entirely sure that the human side of her could turn it off again.
Crap. What should she do?
Deep breaths. She needed to clear her head. This was just a panic attack. It was fine. She could be okay.
Her legs shook as she made her way to the back door. She would be okay. She would fix her mistakes.
Maybe. Yanking at the door, she nearly fell into the kitchen as she quickly scanned the room for her purse. It was here somewhere. The door slammed behind her and she turned her head back and forth. Her purse had to be here. She was sure of it.
There. Behind the chair on the floor. Someday she was going to get her shit together. Someday. Yanking it up, the purse thunked against the table.
Rifling around the disorganized interior, she couldn’t find it. The card. Deo had given her a card with a number on it to call if she ever figured out the chip. She needed that number now.
Think. “Where the hell is it?” she asked no one. Closing her eyes, she tried to remember. He’d handed it to her, and she might have been a little distracted by his looks, but she’d taken it and, and what?
Oh right. She still had it back on her desk. Of course she did.
Shit. Okay.
She just needed to go back to the college. It was fine. Running through the house, she grabbed her keyring with her office key and went straight through the front door.
“Aisha? Where have you been?” called Tan.
She waved him off as she ran past him. “Can’t talk. I’ll be back.”
“What?”
She didn’t bother answering. Aisha ran as fast as her chubby little legs would go. At some point she would get in shape. Maybe today was that day because her damn thighs burned, and she needed to push through. She needed to fix this, now.
Doubling over at the corner, it was apparent this was not the day. Sucking in air like one of those fish that cleans the walls of a tank, she tried not to pass out. No. Today was not that day. Still, she needed to get to the college.
As the air caught up with her and her lungs stopped heaving, she stood up and power walked. At least she would arrive breathing almost normally.
A few blocks, and she was finally climbing the stairs to her office. Wonderful, so many wonderful crappy stairs.
God, this world had it in for her. She passed a few labs, the science department's main office, and finally got to her door. A man stood in front of of it studying the posted hours. She didn’t have any office hours today, so why was he here?
“Can I help you?”
His lips formed a thin line, and she wasn’t sure if it was meant to be a smile, but a shiver ran up her spine. Creepy guy alert.
“Yes. I believe you can.”
She stood there, waiting. Creepy dude, let’s go, spit it out.
“And?” she asked.
This time she was pretty sure it was a smile, that or gas as a corner of his mouth turned up.
“I believe you have something that belongs to me? A chip?”
Strange request for a chemistry department.
“I, uh. No. Maybe you should try the engineering department?”
He lifted a device.
“Well, I don’t think I will need to. The chip has a tracker, and it suddenly started working again. Leading me here.”
Deo brought her the chip, and he hadn’t mentioned any creepy men. This guy didn’t look like someone Deo would associate with. Everything within her was screaming to run. Only Aisha wasn’t sure she could trust herself lately.
She’d just let Deo leave, thinking she didn’t want him. No, thinking she couldn’t handle him? Really, she just needed time. A few minutes of extreme soul crushing pain helped clear her mind. It wasn’t every day that you suddenly realized you truly, without exception, love someone. Until a few days ago, she wasn’t even sure she could feel again.
“Well, you must have a glitch then. I’m honestly not sure what you are talking about.”
He studied her.
“Do you mind moving so I can get into my office at least?”
The gentleman moved aside, but Aisha wasn’t sure she wanted to pass him. There was something off about him. He was pale, rail thin, and didn’t appear to have any facial expressions.
She didn’t trust people that didn’t like food or people that looked like robots. He was both and that wasn’t boding well for him right now.
Sidestepping him, giving him a quick glance to ensure he stayed put, she slid the key into her door. Aisha had hoped that he would leave, but as she pushed it open, he followed her in.
Pulling her phone out of her pocket, she unlocked it. Was this one of those moments you called emergency services, campus police, or the dragon?
Oh, right? She needed to find his number.
“Sorry. I’ve got some things to do. Could you come back for normal office hours and I will see if I can help track down what you think is here?”
She looked up, her skin crawling. He stood above her.
“Miss. I don’t think you understand. We are willing to pay handsomely to get our property back.”
Standing up slowly, Aisha was listening. Because, money.
“I’m still not sure I know that I have what you want.”
He nodded. “Well, let me be clear we know you not only have our chip, but you also have a creature, an alien, that turns into a dragon that also wanted the chip.”
Aisha froze. This conversation was going south. Was it in her head that the room had just cooled five degrees?
“My client is willing to pay you enough to fund your department for years if you not only return our chip but also the dragon.”
She froze. Who asked for a person, a living being, as if they weren’t something that had feelings? He was talking about Deo, she was sure of that. Who the hell was he, anyway? She needed to find Deo’s number, and now. Something wasn’t right.
“I’m sorry. Who are you?”
His skeletal like face almost appeared to morph into what might have been emotion.
“Who I am is not a concern. What I can do for you is.”
Aisha shook her head.
“I’m sorry. I can’t help you. I don’t know who you are talking about. And this chip? Again, I’ll look. Come back tomorrow.”
He pulled out a card.
“Here is my number. I will do as you ask. But keep this in mind. Is any one creature worth more than a lifetime of work?”
She paused.
“What do you mean?”
God, she needed to shut her mouth and get him to go away.
His thin bony fingers scratched at his nose, such a normal gesture for someone so freakishly not normal.
“What I mean is, what is one alien if we can supply you with enough funding you would never have to apply for another grant.” He pointed at his card. “I’ve taken the liberty of writing the figure we had in mind. If you return the chip, we may consider additional funds.”
Creepy man walked out, leaving a trail of what-the-fuck-had-just-happened.
But really. What had just happened? Opening her desk, she took out a key and turned around to a fridge she kept in her tiny space. She kept the lock on it to keep people out of her yogurt stash, and because sometimes she broke a few rules on handling chemicals. This time it was the chip.
Peeking over her shoulder, she wanted to make sure he’d really gone. Thinking twice, she got up and closed her office door, clicking the lock in place just in case.
She chewed the inside of her cheek. Unlocking the fridge, she reached for a small petri dish.
Pulling out the dish that housed what she thought was a dormant chip, she gently laid it on her desk.
The day this little chip had come into her life brought more than just Deo. The strange signatures of Lilly’s blood was one of them, and the odd residue that was most definitely a poison.
Knowing Lilly, seeing her timid and small, Aisha didn’t even consider that what she suspected was true. But it was. Her blood had demonic properties. She was human, but she was also something not from this side of normal. Aisha snorted.
“Join the damn club,” she mumbled.
Studying, she wanted to know what the man would want with it. Even if what he said was true. The chip held some familiar chemical residues, but there were also traces of elements that she couldn’t identify.
Why would they want this back, and what were they doing poisoning people? Yeah, turning Deo over to a bunch of people who thought killing people was a good idea, didn’t sound promising. If they wanted an alien, then they were obviously aware of them, and that gave her reason to pause. What were these people exactly? What was creepy guy? Not human?
She leaned back in her chair. None of this was a good sign. Years of grounding herself in science and here she was, believing that there was something else out there. If she didn’t know about other realms, maybe this would be more strange. Demons existed. Of course the Fae existed. So maybe it was logical to think that aliens did as well.
Sighing, she put the chip down and her eye caught the paper with Deo’s handwriting. She needed to call him. She needed to see him. She wouldn’t sell him. He was a living person, and no one was worth a price. The chip, however. Maybe she could talk Deo into letting her exchange that? Flipping creepy guy’s card over, her eyes bugged out.
That was a lot of zeros. So many. Damn, Deo was a catch apparently. Well, she knew that. But what would make him worth this much?
What she could do with that kind of money. She could start her own research facility, maybe even have a team of magically based chemists. She was certain that any cure would have to be a mix of human and magical compounds. She just hadn’t figured them out yet.
She was so close though. A rat that should have died a year ago was still running around and somewhat healthy. She’d even named him Herbie, because she was convinced he would be around for a while more. But it didn’t fix it all. Not by a long shot. This money, though. Wow.
No. She couldn’t. She loved Deo for whatever reason unknown to her; he was what her heart desperately wanted. Even the thought of turning him over to someone made her skin crawl.
Shaking her head in amusement, she did somewhat wonder how they thought she’d turn him in, anyway. Good luck making him do anything.
Crap. She’d come here to tell him that. To tell him she loved him. Right? That’s what she’d agreed with herself. She was fixing her mistake of sending him away.
It was probably in her head, but the air grew thicker as she tried to breathe. Yeah. She needed to call. She was falling apart without him. She just needed to figure out what to do with her life after that.
If she told him she loved him, what would happen? Maybe she could take her research with her? He said he had access to labs. He’d mentioned other science minded people, well probably dragons. And maybe her issue was she needed more perspective. Could you get more perspective than being light years away?
Okay. So maybe there were still a lot of questions.
Grabbing the chip, she carefully put it in her satchel hung over the back of her chair. Grabbing his number and her phone, she headed back out, locking her door as she left.
Aisha dialed the number to Deo’s phone as she walked. Her body maneuvered on autopilot as she waited for him to answer.
Before she knew it she was outside. Nothing seemed like it had before, not now. Not since she’d met Deo and then pushed him away.
There was no answer.
“Damn it.”
Pulling the phone away, the screen was dark. Not even the chance to leave a voicemail.
“Fine. I’ll just keep calling. We’ll see who is more stubborn.” She punched at the redial as if waging war on the phone. Okay, it wasn’t the phone's fault. She was determined though.
Hanging up again at the lack of answer, she growled at the black screen. This was annoying. Then she thought about it. Where exactly would he keep a phone in a dragon form. Maybe he wasn’t back to the ship, or wherever he was going? She’d just crushed his soul. God, that kiss, though. Her fingers rested on her lips as they tingled.
How had she let him leave after that?
Aisha needed to talk to him. She needed to let him know she was just confused, mostly. She also needed him to tell her she could sell this chip. Or maybe she needed to know what the expectations were.
He mentioned labs back home, so she figured out he would want her to go with him. Fine. But how long would they still be here? And if they went back, and she solved world peace, or at least something, could she bring it back?
She needed to focus. Only she couldn’t. Deo wouldn’t get out of her head.
“Aisha?”
She jumped as a hand caught her shoulder. “Tan. Don’t sneak up on people like that.”
He nodded.
“Okay. Sorry. That wasn’t my intention, you ran out so fast,” he said, keeping pace with her.
“Oh. Yeah. Sorry. Hey, you know what, maybe we should talk? How about tomorrow?”
He nodded. “Why not now?”
She checked her phone again. Nothing still.
“Because, Tan, I have to fix something. But I promise tomorrow.”
They walked up to the front lawn and there on her front porch was Deo, nearly naked for the world to see.
12
Deo leaned against the support of her porch. His arms crossed over his chest. He didn’t know where she was, but he would wait for her return.
Cy had informed him mid-flight that the phone device they kept for human reasons was ringing with Aisha’s number. He hated that device, but it served a purpose. Still, he wasn’t about to call her on it when he could drop back in.
This was unexpected. He’d circled back around several times, trying to remove the painful ache in his chest. His dragon fought Deo to go back and claim her. How she had changed her mind this quickly, he would never understand.
Or perhaps she hadn’t. He
growled at the sight of the small male walking in stride with her. Had she wanted to talk simply to break his heart all over again? Females on this planet were cruel.
He turned away, trying to control himself. The small male was near her again, he’d thought they had a truce. Deo also was fighting the urge to reach out and murder the male. That would not please his mate. Probably.
He sniffed the air. Fear reached him first, and then sadness. The male’s scent reached him next, he was the one who smelled of fear whereas Aisha seemed to only have a subtle scent of sadness.Odd. What was she sad about? She’d stomped on Deo’s heart, not the other way around.
“Deo?”
He took a deep breath before turning back around. Control. He was a warrior, for shit’s sake. He should be the definition of calm. Except when his mate was involved.
“Yes, mate. My brother said you called. I came to answer.”
She smiled at him before scowling at Tan.
“Tan. Now isn’t a good time.”
She rolled her eyes at him. Not a good sign in Deo’s experience.
“When is it going to be a good time? We need to talk before you do something you might regret.”
She stopped and Deo listened with his dragon’s hearing.
“Look, Tan, don’t you think that we would both regret getting married just to make my father happy?”
The male scratched his head. “Yeah. No. I agree. I want to be supportive of you, but I don’t think we have what we should for a marriage.”
Aisha’s scent changed, mixing into something new. Something he really didn’t understand. His heart on the other hand was very happy to hear Tan finally getting the hint that Aisha would never be his.
“You do?” she asked.
The male nodded.
“I do. Don’t get me wrong. I think you’re wonderful and you’re very smart, but perhaps that thing was right,” Tan said.
Deo growled at his comment. How dare something so small call him a thing?
Dragon Wanted: A Dragon Shifter Fated Mates Novel (Space Dragons Seek Mates Book 3) Page 8