“No!” Tide widened his eyes. “That would be terrible. Best way to scare off a human female. Go over and say hi. Check in with her, but don’t be pushy, that’s all. There is no rush.”
“What if—?”
“You heard Torrent. He’ll make his announcement. You have time to try to win her. The only thing I’m concerned about is that you might get into a fight and then—”
“I won’t fight!” Flood clenched his fists. “I will keep it together.”
“Okay, I can see you are serious about this female. There’s no rush ‒ that’s the last thought I’m leaving you with.”
“Thank you for the advice.” Flood nodded once, feeling his nerves take hold. He turned and strode towards the group.
There were twelve males including himself. The females were walled in. Completely surrounded. Flood narrowed his eyes, feeling his scales rubbing. No fighting. He kept on walking, making a growling noise low in his throat as he neared the group. It would be too low for the females to hear.
The males, on the other hand, parted. It was grudging but they moved to the side at the sound of the low growl.
“Oh, hi!” One of the females smiled broadly. Sydney walked straight up to him and hugged him.
He felt his brow creased in surprise. Flood was too astounded to react. He just stood there, while the female continued to hug him. Her face plastered to his chest.
“It’s so good to see you,” she said as she finally released him, a smile on her face.
“You too.” It seemed like the right thing to say.
He looked up, catching Paige’s eye for just a second before she looked away. She was still talking with one of the other males.
Flood had to work not to growl.
“How nice of your king to throw this party,” Sydney said, drawing his attention back to her.
“Yes.” He nodded, not sure what to say.
“That’s him over there, right?” she asked.
Flood nodded. “Yes, he is in conversation with Storm, one of the princes.”
“Oh, that’s interesting.” The female went on to ask him a multitude of questions. If she wasn’t asking him something, she was talking about herself. On and on. How did he extract himself without coming across as rude?
Paige was still in deep conversation with that fucker, Beck. He might be Flood’s second in command, and good at his job, but where females were concerned, the male was no good. He often disappeared with more than one female on a stag run. He liked to warm the she-dragons’ beds as often as they would allow. Beck was considered good-looking, charming, and yet he was an asshole. What did a female like Paige see in a male like that?
“I heard that you are the most senior-ranked person after the royals, is that true?” Sydney asked, pulling his attention back to her.
“Um…yes, of the Water Dragons.”
He had to force himself to concentrate as Sydney clapped her hands and smiled. “You need to tell me all about what it is you do.”
Chapter 18
Paige spotted Flood almost as soon as she walked in. She tried not to zone in on him immediately. Her stomach did flutter a little as she caught sight of him. This was the first time she had seen him since their escape. Would it be awkward and weird between them? Or would they be able to just move on like all that sex had never happened? Her stomach fluttered again…or maybe it was other parts of her anatomy reacting when she remembered the sex.
One thing she could say was that Flood looked good. He had cleaned up really well. His hair was trimmed short and his facial hair had been shaven clean. He looked fantastic. As in, healthy ‒ there were barely even scars on his chest. You wouldn’t know they had been there if you didn’t know.
He wore a pair of those cotton pants. All the shifters did and in varying colors. Flood’s pair was black. Plain and simple. Her eyes were drawn to him as he headed for the bar with another guy. Was he avoiding her? It was possible. Back to the part about things being weird and awkward.
“He is so hot!” Sydney gushed. Paige looked at the other woman, who was also staring at Flood. His back was broad. His muscles were toned and his skin was a gorgeous, healthy bronze. He seemed to dominate the room but that was probably because he was just so darned big.
Paige wasn’t sure what to say to that, so she simply nodded.
“Look at how he fills those pants.” Sydney giggled, giving her a nudge. The others still didn’t know what had gone down in the cell. At least, the women didn’t know; she wasn’t sure about the shifters. Her cheeks felt hot at the thought of everyone knowing. She hoped to god Flood hadn’t said anything to anyone. What had happened in there was between them. Something private and intimate.
“Then again, they’re all pretty hot,” Sydney whispered, winking at Paige. “I wonder if we’ll redo the hunt or if…if we still get to date them?” She smoothed down her dress, which was beautiful. An elegant cocktail number in a gorgeous shade of blue that complemented her skin tone.
“I don’t know.” It hadn’t even crossed her mind. She was so glad to be safe. Too thrilled that all of them had made it to even consider moving on in that way. What? Would she just start dating one of these guys? No, it felt wrong somehow.
Flood and that other shifter downed a shot. She smiled for real when she caught the disgusted look on Flood’s face.
“Hi.” One of the shifters sidled up to her, looking down at her. She realized that Sydney had moved off without her realizing it. She was glad. She didn’t particularly feel like making small talk with her. “My name is Beck,” the guy said, smiling. “You must be Paige.” He was a really good-looking guy, in a chiseled, movie star kind of a way.
She nodded, shaking his hand. “Yes, you would be right.”
“It’s good to meet you. I heard what a big hand you played in the escape. How you distracted the human male long enough for Flood to take him out. That was very brave of you.”
“Hardly. Just doing what needed to be done to escape.” She hoped he would move on to another topic.
“I was at the debriefing this morning. I’m Flood’s second in command.” He winked at her. “I have to say, you are some female.”
She didn’t like where this was going. “Not really, like I said, we did what it took to survive.” Paige took a sip of her champagne.
“You asked to be put in a cage with a male like Flood.” He widened his eyes. “That took some guts. He’s somewhat of a monster.” He laughed at his own joke. Paige couldn’t bring herself to smile even though he didn’t seem like he was trying to be nasty.
“Hardly.” Flood might be tough on the outside but she’d come to realize that he was a softy on the inside. A monster though? No way. “The only reason he was injured to begin with was because he was trying to save us, despite the odds stacked against him. And then, I have some medical background, so it seemed like the right thing to do.”
“I believe you work with animals…sick ones.” Beck laughed. “Flood is an animal alright. He doesn’t have much of a sense of danger. Balls the size of…” he gestured crudely with his hands. “They’re big.”
She nodded once, trying to force a smile. It didn’t work.
“Don’t get me wrong, Flood is a great male. We like to rag on one another.” Beck shrugged. “There’s the big lug now, not wasting any time, I see.”
Paige looked up to see Sydney with her arms around Flood. She was pressing herself firmly against him.
“I’m glad for him,” Beck said. “Are you okay with the whole thing? I know human females can be quite…emotional about things sometimes.”
“What do you mean by emotional?” she asked, frowning.
“You know.” He touched the side of her arm. “You let Flood fuck you in order to heal him. Like I said, I was at the debriefing.” He shrugged like it was no big deal. Thankfully he wasn’t grinning or leering at her.
Her blood turned chilly though and she broke out in a cold sweat. It was as she had suspected. Flood had blabbed a
bout very personal stuff. Sex was a private matter at the best of times, let alone when it took place in a situation like that. It was already embarrassing enough. Now others knew about it as well. She went from feeling cold to feeling really hot all over. She wanted to leave, run away, but she stood her ground. It would be rude of her to up and leave, all because Flood couldn’t keep his mouth shut.
“Hey, are you okay?” Beck looked at her with a concerned expression on his face.
“I’m fine.” She smiled, feeling anything but. Paige took a big drink from her glass, the champagne bubbled its way down her throat, making her feel a bit light-headed. It helped cool her down some. “I’m great! It was one of those things. Not something I want to talk about.” Please drop it! She willed him to stop.
“I’m sure you want to forget it even happened and move on.”
“Yes.” She nodded, meaning it. Paige downed the rest of her glass. She meant it wholeheartedly.
“Can I get you another?” Beck pointed at her empty flute.
“That would be nice.”
Beck flagged down a waiter and took a glass from the tray he was carrying, putting the empty flute down in its place. She snuck a glance at Flood. He and Sydney were in deep conversation, the other woman laughed at something he was saying. He was already over what had happened to them, by the looks of things. If he’d cared at all, he would have at least come over to check on her, to say hi, something. Not that she cared about him in any meaningful way, and if she had, she didn’t anymore. She’d meant it when she’d said their intimacy was a means to an end. They hadn’t even kissed or really touched, or anything that counted. There hadn’t been any emotion attached. Flood wasn’t her type at all.
She preferred guys like… Well, not Beck. Beck was too smooth. A little too good-looking. It didn’t matter anymore. Things had changed since she’d arrived a week ago; she wasn’t looking for a relationship. She needed time to digest what had happened. Starting a relationship off the back of the trauma they had just experienced would be foolish. If she was honest with herself, Flood had hurt her; as a friend, he’d hurt her. Not that she would have considered anything with him anyway.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Beck asked.
Oops! She’d been staring at Flood and Sydney. She brought her attention back to Beck. “Yes, great. I guess I’m still tired, even though I’ve slept a ton.”
“It’s going to take some—”
"Paige." His voice was deep and rough. As Flood said her name, goosebumps lifted on her arms. He said it softly, and yet despite all the chatter in the room, she'd heard him perfectly. He turned his dark eyes to Beck. "Can I have a word with the female?" Although he asked a question, it seemed to come out like a command.
Beck nodded once. “Be my guest.”
Paige wanted to ask Beck to stay. She didn’t want to be left alone with Flood. She was too mad at him right then.
“How are you?” Flood asked.
“Everyone keeps asking me that,” she snapped. “I’m fine.” Paige sucked in a deep breath. She couldn’t muster any politeness or fake smiles. Not with Flood. Not after everything.
His eyes seemed to darken. Like he actually cared. “I thought I would check.”
It’s a little late for that. “Well you don’t have to.” This wasn’t the place to have it out with him. Then again, there was nothing between them, so nothing to have out. “Look, what happened happened, we did what we had to do to survive. It’s over and I’d like to forget about it.”
He frowned. His eyes narrowed and his jaw tightened. Flood looked away, breathing out through his nose. It seemed like her words had affected him but it couldn’t be. He nodded, that look of…hurt gone. She had to have misread that particular emotion. “Sure. Of course. I came over because I wanted to thank you.”
Irritation rose up in her. “No need!” It came out harsher than intended. She was even more pissed with him than she realized. Why though? He didn’t owe her anything and yet…he sort of did in a bizarre way. They owed something to each other.
“Of course there is a need. If you hadn’t…been so selfless, we would never have made it out of there.”
She shrugged. “No biggie, like I said, I would like nothing better than to put it behind us.”
Put it behind us.
It’s over!
Forget it ever happened.
No! Flood didn’t want to do any of those things. He put his drink down on the tray of a passing server. This wasn’t going as planned. None of it was. The Paige he had known in that cell had been nothing but kind and sweet. This Paige was angry. He could scent it. Could feel it, could see it by the way she was looking at him. Like he’d hurt her somehow.
Was it something he had done? Something he had said? Maybe she was trying to tell him that she wasn’t interested and that he should back off. Who was he kidding? She was all out saying it to his face.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked.
Paige took a big sip of her drink. “Stop asking me that, I’m fine. You look fine too.” She was suddenly upbeat. Too upbeat. “The wounds look good.” She gave him a cursory once-over. It was clinical. Of course it was clinical. What else had he expected? “You should probably go back to Sydney. She’s looking over here at us. I think she wants you back.”
“I’m talking to you,” his voice turned gruff. “You don’t seem fine. What’s going on?” He was done pussy-footing around things.
“You told everyone,” she whispered. “About what happened.” Her eyes were wide. “About us…having sex.”
“There was a debriefing,” he said.
“I don’t give a shit about any debriefing,” she spoke under her breath. “I didn’t want anyone to know.”
He felt the blood drain. Of course not. Paige was ashamed. It was like she had said, she had been hoping to put this behind her and forget about it. It was a bad thing that others knew that she had rutted a male like him. “Very few males know the details. And even then, I divulged as little as possible. I respect you.”
She looked at him as if to say ‘yeah right’. She swallowed thickly. “Fine.” She shook her head. “Let’s not talk about it anymore, okay?”
His chest squeezed. “Okay,” he pushed out.
“Hey, Flood,” the female spoke in a sing-song voice that made him want to roll his eyes and groan in frustration. Couldn’t she see he was busy right then?
“I’ll be with you in a second.” He didn’t turn around. Said that just to get her off his back.
“Don’t let me hold you back,” Paige said, looking angry all over again. Her blue eyes blazed as they narrowed.
“You wouldn’t be holding me back. What’s going on?” He took a step forward and she took a step back.
“Nothing.” She shrugged and took a sip of her wine, trying hard to fake being relaxed. It didn’t work. After being holed up with her for days, he knew this female.
“There is definitely something wrong,” he whispered “Are you ashamed about what happened? About us?”
“There is no ‘us’,” she whispered back, her voice hard. “And yes, I’m ashamed.” With that, she turned and walked away.
Someone tapped loudly on a wine glass. “Can I have your attention?” It was Torrent. Fuck! Talk about shitty timing. Or maybe not. Maybe it was best to leave Paige for the time being. There was definitely something going on with her, and he planned on getting to the bottom of it.
Everyone stopped talking and turned to face the king. “Firstly, we need to bow our heads for the male who died trying to follow the helicopter when the females were taken.” Everyone in the room did as Torrent said. “Rock was an Earth dragon. He will be missed.” They stood in silence for a minute. “I wish to thank all of the efforts of the team who carried out the rescue mission. A big thank you to the Fire dragons for coming to our aid. It was a joint effort. A joint success, even though we didn’t apprehend any of the hunters. Thank you, Blaze. Thank you to our warriors.” Torrent held
up his glass and Flood followed his line of vision to Blaze, the Fire King. The male held up his glass before drinking.
Torrent took a sip of his drink. “Then, to the human females. To Hayley, Kelly, Sydney and Paige. We salute you for being so brave. A special word of thanks needs to go out to Paige who played an integral role in the escape.”
Flood glanced at Paige. She was squeezing her eyes shut, looking pained. Then she opened them and smiled. Flood could see it was forced. He had come to know her smile. How her eyes lit up and the tilt of her mouth. This was all wrong. Beck was standing next to her. Flood grit his teeth, having to stop himself from going over there.
“Really?” Sydney asked, frowning. “What did Paige do? She distracted that Tim guy. Big deal!” She rolled her eyes. “You were the one who got us out.”
Flood ignored the female. She was beginning to get on his nerves.
“We are hoping that something good can still come from this. King Blaze has graciously agreed for us to keep you females here at the Water lair, as our guests for the coming period.”
There were shouts of excitement from some of the males, as well as murmurs as others discussed it amongst themselves.
Torrent waited for the noise to die down. “If you so choose.” He looked from one human female to the next as he spoke. “We understand that you may not wish to remain with us and we would honor your wishes.”
“It would be wonderful if you could stay.” Tide stepped in next to Torrent. “You decided to apply to the shifter program because you wanted a chance at finding a shifter mate. We are hoping you haven’t changed your minds.”
“Exactly right,” Torrent said, nodding once. “With that in mind, we invited our top males, our leaders. All worthy to choose from as potential life partners. It was decided that only these males would be eligible.”
“Please understand that we are a base species,” Tide explained. “If we kept this open to all, fighting would ensue. Blood would paint the hallways. No,” he shook his head, “only the top elite ‒ the cream of the crop ‒ will do for females such as yourselves.” Tide frowned deeply. “Although, there is one who may not wish to take part.” Tide looked at the male. “Bay, do you want to be in the running?”
Captured Dragon (Water Dragons Book 2) Page 13