by Ruby Dixon
It was all especially clear after he disappeared when Amy and Rast showed up. That's a sign of guilt if there ever was one. Still, meeting Rast taught us that not all dragons are the bloodthirsty, wild killers that roam the skies and make the remnants of humanity huddle in forts. There's a few that are decent, it seems. Not long after Amy and Rast’s arrival, they left to go visit her sister, Gwen headed out of the fort to meet up with another dragon, and naturally Liam returned.
The timing was just so damn suspicious. I immediately confronted him, demanding to know if he was a dragon.
He only smiled this lazy, totally sexy smile as if I'd just figured out all his secrets. Didn't apologize. Didn't admit wrongdoing or deceit. Just smiled.
And that was that. After that, Liam stayed. He didn't cause problems, didn't make an ass of himself, and still tended to keep to himself, well, with one small exception. He hung around with me a lot. Everywhere I went, Liam was there.
I have to admit, I like it. He's a good-looking guy, even if he is a dragon. It's nice to be the center of someone's attention like that, and I fully admit that I'm lonely. Liam and Benny get along, too—in fact, Liam's the only person Benny gets along with, so I'd end up talking with Liam about my brother on a regular basis…and for a while, I thought up all kinds of reasons just to hang out with Liam.
But it's a small fort, and people started to talk.
They said I was all over Liam now that he was a dragon, and that I was “chasing tail.” They said I was jealous of Gwen with her dragon, and Amy with hers, and was trying to get one of my own. They said I was looking for the After equivalent of a sugar daddy—someone to handle all my problems and make them go away.
So I stopped talking to Liam, and I'm pretty sure he doesn't understand why. I can't stand the rumors, though.
It's really awful that they're not just rumors, they're pretty darn close to the truth.
Maybe I've got a protector fetish. I don't see how you can't after living in the After for a while. Someone to hold you close and make all your problems go away? Uh, that sounds pretty amazing to me. And there's no denying I find the dragons fascinating. No one knows that I confessed to Gwen that when her dragon, Vaan, was laying siege to the city, I thought he was here for me and went out to find him. Gwen never said a peep, which I'm eternally thankful for. If the rest of the fort knew, they'd never stop ragging me about it. Maybe they're right and I am a tail chaser.
I don't like the thought. I don't like the smirks that the others have on their faces when they see me talking with Liam. So I just…don't talk to him much. At all.
But Benny does. And if anyone knows where my tool of a little brother is, it'll be Liam.
So I head to the back of the school, to the guest quarters where Liam's currently staying by himself. I look around to make sure the hall is empty before I move to the door and knock.
“It’s open,” comes the casual reply.
I’ll give Liam credit. He speaks great English. Even hearing those two little words so effortlessly spoken makes it hard to reconcile “dragon” with Liam. Rast never says a peep. Gwen’s dragon Vaan? I’ve heard him say her name, but that’s about it. But Liam speaks English as well as the rest of us. For some reason, hearing his voice irks me and I open the door a crack and stick my head in.
“You’re going to miss breakfast,” I say, and it sounds bitchy the moment the words come out.
He rolls over in bed and scratches at his stomach, and my mouth goes dry. I’ve seen both Rast and Vaan naked—dragons apparently aren’t much for pants—but Liam always keeps himself covered. This is the first time I’ve seen so much of his golden skin, and it knocks the breath right out of my lungs. His barrel-shaped chest is taut without an inch of fat, his shoulders a huge triangle of golden perfection and rippling muscle. One big hand lazily scratches at his hairless stomach, just inches above his groin, and he gives me a sleepy-eyed look from his blankets. His sunglasses are gone—he’s been wearing them less now that we know the truth—and I can see the slow, golden whirl of his eyes, like they’re made of liquid metal. The hair he always keeps tightly hidden under a baseball cap is short (for a dragon) and stands up in thick golden spikes that look deliciously rumpled. Just barely noticeable peeking through his thick hair? Horns.
Right now, he looks so fiercely, incredibly dragonish that I don’t know how we possibly ever thought he was human.
And the look he’s giving me? His eyes are totally giving off come-fuck-me vibes.
“You came here to tell me about breakfast? So thoughtful.” Liam’s mouth quirks in a half grin, as if the sight of me amuses him. “Does everyone get this attention or am I just special?”
“Don’t flirt with me,” I snap back at him, my cheeks heating. “I’m just telling you because we’re low on eggs and if you wait too long, there isn’t going to be anything left. Though I don’t know why I’m bothering to tell you. You’re a dragon. You can just go out and get your own damn food.”
His brows go up at my nasty words, but his smile grows wider. “Are you here to pick a fight, Andrea?”
“Andi.”
“I like your full name. People are lazy and shorten names too often.” He gives a little shake of his head. “You’re the ones that choose to speak. The least you can do is speak all of a name.”
“So now you’re blaming me because humans like slang? Or shortcuts?”
He drags one thick-nailed finger over the bedsheets. I try to imagine him with claws like Rast, but his are all shorn off in an effort to look more human. “Am I?”
I give him an exasperated look. “I’m just trying to find Benny.”
“I thought you were here because you wanted to feed me.”
“You go on thinking that. I was trying to be polite.”
He looks amused. “Is that what that was? Why do you sound so angry then?”
“Because I’m talking to you,” I snap again, and it’s only made worse when his smile spreads. I hate that he’s got a gorgeous smile. I hate that he’s the most sinfully gorgeous man I’ve ever seen. I hate that I’ve never been so fiercely attracted to anyone as much as I have to Liam.
Maybe I am a fucking tail chaser. God.
“I still think you’re picking a fight.”
Also entirely possible, not that I would ever admit that to him. I bite back another snappy retort, because I think he’s getting a kick out of them. “I’m not here to argue. I’m here to ask if you’ve seen Benny.”
“You don’t think he went out? With a dragon attack today?”
I frown that he already knows about the dragon attack. “You saw the whiteboard? Or do you have the schedule memorized?”
“Neither. I just figured it was time. Females pick fights when they are in mating heat, so it’s about due.” He sits up in the bed, the covers nearly sliding completely off of him. By some miracle they remain over his hips and I don’t know if I’m pissed at that or relieved. “The ones flying in are in heat. I can sense it.” Liam scratches at his shoulder and then rubs a big hand down his arm. “Their nearness crawls under my skin.”
My mouth opens silently, and then I snap it shut again. What can I say that will make him feel better? He’s a stranger in this world, an alien for all that he looks mostly human. I don’t know how he feels. “I’m sorry” doesn’t seem to fit, not with the desolate expression on his face. “I won’t keep bothering you,” I say instead, and start to shut the door.
“Wait.”
I pause, my heart fluttering like it always does when I’m near Liam. “What?”
He gets to his feet, all sinewy movements, and the blanket falls to the ground. “I’ll help you look.”
A horrified squeak escapes my throat and I turn my back the moment all that golden skin gets exposed. It’s not that I’ve never seen a man naked before. I have. Or a dragon-man. Rast is naked all the time for some reason. But this is Liam.
That makes it different.
I squeeze my eyes shut and press my face a
gainst the doorframe. I’m still standing in the doorway itself, and for a moment I think I should have never turned around. I can still see his long, hard body rising from the blankets, the thick length of his cock against his thigh as he got to his feet, and all that rippling, lightly-scaled golden skin. I suck in a deep breath. “Put some clothes on!”
“What do you think I’m doing?” There’s such amusement in his voice. “Humans aren’t fans of naked bodies, for some reason. Why is that? This is the first chance I’ve had to ask.”
I press my lips together. For the last seven years, Liam’s been posing as human. I guess we’re the first ones that figured it out, so it does make sense that I’m the first one he can ask. But still…why me? “Because it’s not polite.”
“Such a strange people. As if covering your body does anything other than slow your reflexes.”
I say nothing, listening for the rustle of clothing. I wonder if he’s exposed himself to anyone else in Fort Shreveport? But somehow I know it’s just me. Despite the fact that his secret’s out, he keeps to himself for the most part. He talks to Benny, and he talks to me, and occasionally Amy and Rast.
Or he tries to talk to me, but I mostly avoid him unless I absolutely have to, because people talk. And if there’s anything I hate, it’s people talking in a fort. Just thinking about the rumor mill makes me break into a cold sweat. No matter how much I might like Liam, he’s not worth the rumors.
It’s a sobering reminder. I shut the door behind me and leave his room. I head down the hall, determined to return to my Benny search and forget all about Liam and his glorious body.
The door opens as I hurry away. “Andrea, wait,” Liam calls behind me. “I’m dressed.”
My entire body clenches up and I quickly glance around the hall. No one else is around. Thank god. I turn back to him, my fists balled up at my sides. “Will you keep it down? Someone could hear you!”
He’s wearing a pair of sweatpants now, but that’s it. His brows furrow together. “Why is that bad? I said I was dressed.”
“People are going to think you and I”—I gesture furiously at the space between us—“are doing something.”
“And…that is bad?” The lazy, flirty smile makes my ovaries flip.
But I remember Fort Tulsa and my reputation there. “Yes,” I say flatly. “You don’t know how bad it can be.” And I turn and leave again.
This time, he doesn’t follow me and I’m glad. Disappointed but glad. It’s easier this way. I’ve worked hard to establish myself with the group, to become someone new and strong and respected in Fort Shreveport. No matter how I’m attracted to Liam, I need Fort Shreveport.
This place is the only home I have left.
2
ANDI
I swing past all the spots I’ve already checked, just in case Benny surfaced while I was in Liam’s room. Still no little brother. My irritation’s starting to give way to fear. Where the hell is he?
Even though it’s unlikely that he’ll be there, I head to the gymnasium. I smile at Jenny, who’s leaving as I enter, and try not to study her face too closely. Is she looking at me oddly? Is there a smirk in her greeting? But no. Everything seems normal, so no one must have seen Liam chasing after me, half naked. I murmur a greeting as we pass and then push on the metal bar to open the gym doors. Walking into the gym is like walking into a hothouse. It’s humid and moist, the air muggy. The place is dark, the windows shuttered tightly against incoming dragonfire that’ll be hitting later this morning. There’s a couple of dragons in particular that like to hit Fort Shreveport, and they all seem to be morning attackers, which is good. Once they’re done with us, we can roll the plants back out into the sun so they can soak up the rays. I breathe in the acrid, greeny scent of the tomato plants and stare out at the rows and rows of cages and potted plants. Cucumbers, zucchini and tomato are the easiest for Fort Shreveport to grow, and squash. The vines are easily coaxed onto the tall metal cages and any fruit is carefully propped up. I love early summer and watermelons, but right now it’s late summer and I’m so sick of cucumber and tomato that I could barf. But, food is food and I can’t be picky.
“Benny?” I call out.
No answer.
“Benjamin Allen Foster,” I snap, and hear my voice echo in the empty gymnasium. “I am sick of these games. I know you took my socks. Come and fess up.”
Still no response. I wander through the rows of plants, careful not to disturb the fruit hanging from the vines.
“Just come talk to me. I’m not mad.” It’s a huge lie. I’m furious, but he won’t come out if he knows I am. Benny’s not stupid. In fact, he’s too clever, the little rat. He’s good at slinking away and hiding when he thinks he’s in trouble. Lately, there’s been a lot more slinking, and that’s concerning. I’ve tried really hard to be a parent to Benny and the harder I try, the more awful he seems to get with every passing year.
If I didn’t love him, I’d hate him, but I never say that to anyone. Benny and I are a team. We’re the Foster siblings, and when Mom died a year after the Rift happened, I took up the mantle of parent. If he’s a bad kid, it’s on me.
“Benny, please,” I say, quieter. “I’m worried about you. If you’re hiding, just come out, okay?”
Silence. He’s not in here. I don’t know where he is, then. Some new hiding spot in the fort that I don’t know about, somewhere he can smoke old stale cigarettes he’s hiding away or huff on an old spray paint can. Something.
He wouldn’t leave the fort. He’s a wild kid, but he’s not stupid. He wouldn’t leave me…would he?
“Andrea?”
I turn around, jumping at the sound of my name. “You scared the shit out of me, Liam!” I put a hand over my hammering heart, gasping.
He grimaces, adjusting his baseball cap atop his head in the most human gesture ever. He’s dressed now, wearing a plain white T-shirt and the sweatpants from earlier, and his normal scarf is around his neck, as if at a moment’s notice, he can conceal his face. He’s halfway across the room, but even from here I can see the bulge of his thick muscles through the straining, thin fabric of his shirt. His arms have the spikes along the back as Rast’s do, and they’re the only thing that, looking at him, seem odd or out of place. It’s only recently that he’s started to wear short-sleeved shirts, as if he’s testing the waters for how strange he can look without being booted from the fort. In the dark, though, he looks human. So human. You can’t see his strange eyes, his sharp teeth, and the shadows hide the fact that his features are a little too strong to be normal.
Liam takes a step forward, touching my arm as I tremble amongst the potted tomatoes. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine. Just…don’t sneak up on me, all right?” I pull out of his grip, hating that he’s seeing me act so weak. “What are you doing here?”
“I wanted to talk to you,” he says, and his voice is low and appealing. “You ran out of my room.”
“Because you were naked. I don’t want to be around you when you’re naked. It’s not…human.”
He grunts as if this makes perfect sense. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay. You just have to think about how that sort of thing looks,” I tell him defensively, crossing my arms and rubbing my skin. I’m covered in goosebumps despite the muggy heat of the gym. “Did you find Benny?”
“I wanted to ask you about that, too. How long has he been gone?”
I shrug. “Didn’t come to breakfast this morning, but that’s becoming a thing with him lately. Small rebellions and all that.”
Liam rubs his jaw absently, his fingers brushing over his lips briefly. “And you know he’s in the fort?”
“Of course he’s in the fort. With a dragon attack looming? He’s pigheaded, not stupid. He won’t get himself killed just to prove a point to me.”
He tilts his head, studying me in the near-darkness, and I become intensely aware of how close we’re standing. I haven’t been alone with Liam many times, but he’s b
een hanging around me more lately. Another test of the waters, perhaps, seeing what he can get away with before it’s too much. “Are you all right, Andrea?”
Flustered, I reach for the tip of my braid and play with it. “Like I said, you just startled me—”
“That’s not it.” Liam shifts on his feet, as if he’s on edge. Nervous? Or just trying to figure me out? “I am still learning a lot about humans, you know. Seven years and I still don’t have you figured out.” In the darkness, he might be smiling. “But I thought I knew the basics. I thought you and I were…friends? But you avoid me lately. I want to know what I did wrong.”
I lick my dry lips. I don’t want to launch into my history. Not right now. Probably not ever. “You haven’t done anything wrong, okay? You’re being perfectly normal. I’m just…stressed lately with Gwen leaving and Amy taking over.”
“A lot of changes,” he agrees carefully. “But the way you have changed to me is far more recent than that.”
Busted. “I’d really not like to talk about it. Just chalk it up to more human bullshit and call it a day, all right?”
“Day called.” Liam nods. “I won’t push. For now.”
What we need is a subject change. I eye the tomatoes he’s standing a little too close to and put a fingertip on his arm, gently steering him away a step. “If you kill that plant, Jenny’s going to have your head for dinner.”
He pauses. “That’s…a joke, right?” His tone sounds far more reassured than his words. “The head is the worst part to eat. Haunches have the best meat.”
I snort with amusement. “Dude, how on earth did you blend in for so long?”
“By being quiet and unobtrusive.” Liam’s chuckle fills the darkness around me and I get new goosebumps. “But now that you know my secrets, I get to talk.”