It was time for him to speak. She'd earned that much for helping him to stand and not fleeing.
"Thank you."
He felt her still and stiffen by his side. Based on how she stood next to him, he calculated she was of below average height and above average mass and weight of a human female. The same as he'd surmised the brief moment he'd spied her from above on his first night out. Noran dwarfed her; which made the human female's determination to help him all the more intriguing. By human standards his height and stature had many assuming he was an athlete for their professional sports teams. This assumption was something he'd stopped trying to deny when he was forced to go out among them for supplies.
Trusted humans with privileges to come onto sanctuary lands had spent a lot of time helping his brothers and him learn to assimilate into this region of Earth’s human culture. He'd done so much as to cultivate a passable voice accent for this area of Earth. It had only taken his first five Earth years to do so and brought him a bit of pride for the accomplishment. Some of his brothers had been here for many centuries and still had the gruff Dragon-tongue accent of their native languages.
By human standards, Noran was many hundreds of years old, although he looked to be a youthful human adult male in his humanoid form. Dragons aged differently, outliving many species of many worlds. That was another reason why they were counted as guardians of the galaxies for their experience and almost timeless wisdom. By Dragon age, he was still considered young and in his prime.
The boom and crackle of a loud thunderclap had the female clinging to him. Her warmth pressed into his side fit. Her being here with him was right--according to his beast.
No, it's too late for that. He warred with the errant thought that threatened to sow a seed of new hope for a mate.
Pushing away from her to remove the object of his struggle, Noran stumbled before catching himself.
The rain had slackened enough for him to make out the female's features. She was brown like the nuts of trees. Her appearance was that of African heritage, and her eyes were large and expressive. Like Earth humans, Dragons came in various hues and accents. Unlike them, Dragons paid little to no heed of those differences. To be Dragon was the same, no matter the outward appearance.
Noran had lived here on Earth long enough to know those of this female's heritage had suffered much at the hands of their fellow kind. To make matters worse, she was female. Unlike the Dragon galaxies where they were the most powerful, revered and worshipped, on Earth, being female could be a trauma unto itself. Despite his will to maintain distance and non-attachment to her, he found his desire to protect and shield her undeniably strong. The hurt that wafted off her essences in light pulses beckoned to his Guardian nature to intercede. This human had suffered significant damage to her spirit recently.
It made sense. Her hurt was the reason for his extreme interest in her, not attraction as his mate. Noran allowed the tension that had pulled his emotions taut to ease a bit. When she was safely back to where she'd come from, he'd take some time off to refuel at his personal Lair. Time away from patrol and active sanctuary duties would do him some good. It had been a long time since he'd done that. This little confrontation showed him the wisdom of taking time away.
Confusing her ache for the mating pull was a mistake of gigantic proportion. The mating pull? That was a huge jump in interpretation. Noran would work on his subconscious need to still desire to have a mate, after all this time. The female was a blessing from the Goddess to show him an area in his existence that needed to be strengthened and attended. Yes, it was time for him to do some self-care and some solitary time away.
"You who—can you still hear me?" she asked. "How about we get out of this thunderstorm? It's getting worse, and I'd like to get a look at those wounds of yours." She turned toward her van and motioned. "Let me help you make it to my van to get you patched up."
When he said nothing, she tugged on his arm and pulled with more force.
"Come on, big guy, let me take care of you."
Let me take care of you.
Those words had more impact than if she'd gutted him in battle. Too stunned to protest and weak take flight, he allowed the small human female to lead him to her little van on the outskirts of his territory.
5
Amber
"My name is Amber, Amber Chastain." She pointed to herself, speaking clear and her regular cadence.
Amber wouldn't make assumptions or God-forbid, insult this being by talking down to him. She could see the high intelligence behind those sparkling green eyes.
Those eyes. They were large, hypnotically inviting, and magnificent. The orbs seemed to glow in the dark of the van. Beautiful was too pedestrian a word to describe them. Yes, his eyes were magnificent and complex, like the rest of him. His body filled the small space of her van in a uniquely fulfilling way. Having him here seemed like the right thing to do. He was beyond her ordinary world. The best way to comprehend how his eyes and presence affected her was to accept her gut response of excited compatibility--if that was even a thing. It was as if he fit a puzzle piece that she never knew was missing.
Weird.
He sat on the floor of the van with one of Amber's sleep throws draping his lap. He'd accepted it as soon as they'd made it to the van. Thankful now for that little grace to concentrate, she pressed onward. The best thing to do was to attempt to build rapport and learn as much about him as possible.
He looked so—human. That was the biggest shocker to meeting her first alien. Yes, he was an alien for sure. The readings she'd gathered before this meeting confirmed that his Bioelectromagnetic frequency wasn't of this planet. A look at him in passing would generate an assessment of a hot young guy.
Sitting here this close to a highly evolved biological intelligence who could shape-shift was just one of the things that blew her mind. In addition to being the top apex predator of all time, this being looked like a gorgeous southern grown hunk of a man who could toss her around with ease in the bedroom. Never in a million years would she have thought that her biggest struggle would be keeping her hands to herself when meeting an extraterrestrial creature living on Earth.
Dragon-Man was too sexy to exist—for real. Even without the confirmation of her equipment, Amber marveled with certainty at how much his electromagnetic resonance impacted her.Amber's reaction to him was authentic want, need, and a bit of longing ache she had to combat forcibly. Grabbing a notepad to record her reaction to him, she scribbled down how her body responded to his. He sat with a patient quietness, not interrupting her need to document her thoughts and observations.
Next, she jotted down his physical features that stood out the most at this moment. It seemed as if she noticed different parts of his makeup in layers. Outside in the moonlight, his overall look was handsome. Up close here in the van, she might make an argument for testing the level of pheromones he produced. The effect of their proximity produced a sexual biological response in her that had to be off the charts with how attracted she found him. Amber’s entire being buzzed with arousal. This alien could render her a senseless, love-addled twit if she weren’t on high alert.
Note to self: alien Dragon-Men are hot as fuck. Take caution.
His skin was a healthy dark tan of honey hues, and his hair was a dark brown with mixtures of highlights that played off the lamplight of the van's interior. Its thickness made her fingers yearn to run through in erotic exploration. Amber could envision herself pulling and tugging the thick strands in the heated throes of pleasure.
Whoa—stop. Don't fall for the alien, Dr. Chastain, she chided herself, using her title. This whole setup is too cliché; don't go there, cuckoo. You're a scientist first, and Earth girls ain't always that easy. Remember that.
That bit of internal rebuke gave Amber the resolve to return to her pleasantries. When she was alone later, Amber would make sure she took care of the itch he gave her.
Who knew, this introduction might be the first documented
breakthrough between galactic intelligence and species? There was no way she'd muck it up by mooning over his fine ass and blowing the whole first encounter part.
Returning to her line of questions to build rapport, Amber asked, "What's your name?"
She waited, hoping he would speak again. The two words he'd spoken earlier had rumbled through her body shaking her ability to remain detached from the effect he had on her.
"Noran." His deep voice filled the van.
"Norand? Is that your first or last name?"
"Just Noran," he said, stressing the lack of a D on the end of his name.
"Oh, pardon me. Please, call me Amber. No need for my last name."
She extended a hand to shake, hoping this wasn't a faux pas or insult of some sort.
He took her hand in his. Heat suffused her body as his touch set up little tickling tingles of excitement in her core. Amber had to keep it together. At least he was familiar with a handshake, even it if it did make her panties wet.
Wet—her clothes and hair were still soaked, and he needed medical attention. Determined to keep her priorities straight, Amber crawled over to the area where her first-aid kit resided. Grabbing it and a few towels, she returned to find a strange look on Noran's face.
"What? I... " she looked down at the kit. "Oh, this is the first-aid kit I'll use to bandage your burns. I guess I should have explained what I was doing there." Wanting to ensure she didn't make him want to leave just yet, Amber added, "I promise, no funny business. You know, no more weapons," she said, eyeing the air gun a few feet away. "I hope you'll forgive me for, you know, any harm I caused you with my air gun. I thought you were trying to attack me, and..."
He didn't reply. His demeanor did seem to relax again, though.
Amber decided to take that as an acceptance of her apology. She moved closer before asking, "May I?" as she motioned to the first-aid kit again.
He nodded his approval.
Amber came to sit next to him and raised his arm to access one of his burns. What she found was a partially healed wound that had already scabbed over. Blinking to make sure what she saw was correct, Amber angled the light from her workstation to study the injury. Her eyes hadn't deceived her. The area was in an accelerated healing cycle, one that was outside the realm of human capability.
"Your burn, it's already started to heal—fast."
Her eyes must have been telling of all the unanswered questions swirling around because Noran's posture and demeanor grew alert. Amber watched with intense scrutiny of his every move. In response, he placed a large hand over the injury and felt around.
"Yes, I expected my body to start the healing process soon."
Confused but more so intrigued, Amber asked, "Then why did you allow me to bring you here for medical attention?"
"Because, Amber, you were sincere in your concern. I appreciated it and wanted to acquiesce to your request. That and the fact that I was still too weak to go back in the manner I came."
He smiled, and it took everything for Amber not to choke on how amazing the sight was.
"Oh, yes, I see," was all she could manage to get out. After a beat and no longer able to hold back the questions, she gathered courage and blurted out, "How do you do your Dragon transformation? Does it take a lot of energy? Are you able to do it at will or only in special circumstances?"
Instead of answering, Noran continued to smile. He captured her eyes with those green pools of erotic promise and held her gaze for a protracted moment.
Finally, he spoke.
"Thank you for not wasting time. I appreciate your candor in asking what you want to know about me. Since you have been sincere in your desire to help, I'll answer your questions. In return, I ask that you give me your word you'll never reveal who or what I am, my location or that any of this ever happened."
The invisible snatch of air out of her lungs was audible. There was no way Amber could agree to those terms. She'd made the most significant find of the world, and he wanted her to keep quiet?
"Noran, I'm not able to make that agreement. I'm a scientist, and I came here to prove that you exist." His eyes became intense emeralds scrutinizing her face as she attempted to form her next words. "The entire reason I'm here is to meet you and introduce you to our world."
Instead of shutting down or pulling away as she'd expected he leaned in to engage more. "Kind, pleasant, Amber, I do not need to be introduced to your world. Making a guesstimate of your age, I've been here for way longer than you've been alive. I'm almost sure I could introduce you to some aspects of your world that you have yet to learn." With that, he winked.
His words reeked of condescension—just like a man. Would she ever be delivered from the tyranny? And how about that wink? Even the alien men were in on the act to suppress feminine power. Humph—the alien Dragon-Man winked at her!
”Well... " she was at a loss for what to say to that. He'd bested her with that bit of information. Still, she needed to convince him to work with her. "Noran, please. If you'd only consider what this could mean for our world to know that—"
"Know what?" He interrupted, leaning in close enough for her to feel the heat that wafted off of his temple of a body. "For this immature world to have to grapple with the fact that humans are not the most elite level of the food chain, that they aren't in total control of their survival if my kind and others decide to make it so? No, dear, kind, Amber, this world is far from being able to know I exist." When he encased her hand with his own, she forgot to breathe for a moment too long. Noran added, "I'm here too because of how much you impressed me with how you handled our encounter. I want you to know that I mean you and the world no ill-will. My desire and quest are to live here in privacy and peace." Lifting her hand to his full firm lips, he placed a kiss on her knuckles and up to the back of her hand that was so provocative Amber almost lurched out of her skin. "Will you keep my confidence, for the good of the world, dear, Amber Chastain?"
The alien was a player! Skill learned from dealing with too many male majority environments was the only thing that got her through her next statement.
"You, dear, kind, Noran, are trying to play on my sympathies. Yes, I agree that some will not be able to handle knowledge of your presence, but I also submit that you at least allow me to gather more data and find a way to leave your identity and location out of it. That way, it's a win-win."
"Win-win? You telling anyone about me is a loss, as I see it, Amber."
"No, you have to think bigger. You know, beyond yourself."
"Like you're doing?"
His sarcasm wasn't lost on her.
"Touché.” He’d called her on her crap. She had to fess up. “Yes, I'll admit, this discovery would be a boon for my career too, but what's more important is that we allow those who can handle this knowledge to do so."
"Who says they don't already do so?" His heavy eyebrow cocked in her direction.
"What do you mean?" She hated not knowing how to gain the upper hand in this discussion.
"I mean, I would never live here without the blessing and protection of those who are in power. Trust and know, dear Amber, that those who need to know of my presence already do."
"What? Wait? Are you saying the government already knows about you?"
"I've said what I meant as plainly as possible. I would not dare come to your planet without first getting permission and blessing to do so and certainly not with plans to cohabitate here as well."
The headache of possibilities hit fast and hard. She was way out of the need-to-know importance level. How could she ever break through the invisible barrier of the masses to the magnificent if she was always the last to know anything of importance? Unworthiness slammed her gut, almost making Amber hurl. It was true, and she’d been the last to see it. She was still a laughing stock. Yep, she was just a stupid want-to-be scientist as they’d all said at BMEG. How silly had she been to think she was onto something groundbreaking and new?
Amber instantly regressed
to the singular event that was the cause of her current predicament. This moment was her BMEG humiliation happening all over again. Emotional weight too heavy to cast off crash down and pinned her in. Amber fought back the anxiety of losing power and being the last to know. It was happening here—now—in front of an alien she wanted to impress for some odd reason. Another something big that she'd been duped on and was out of the loop. Noran must think her a nitwit. Right here, this was her ultimate fail—to meet an alien and be the stupid, dim-witted wannabe invading his privacy.
"Amber, are you well? Your vitals have spiked. Is there anything I can do to relieve what appears to be extreme stress emanating from your body?"
Trembling that had a will of its own quaked through her being. Oh no, not now. It had been panic-attack freedom since leaving BMEG almost a month ago. Even when she'd thought he was dead earlier, Amber had managed to stay away from the edge. Now was the most inopportune time to have one. The amount of stress she'd processed in the span of this one night was here to collect its toll. Amber was finally going to crack. Oh, God, please, not in front of Noran. Any bargaining power she could hope to have would be lost. The space of the small van became too cramped and oppressive. Swirling thoughts and images of demise swarmed around, choking out the air supply. Any hope of corralling the thoughts that were spiraling into a depth of irrationality eroded.
"Amber, Amber look at me."
The deep, commanding voice broke through her grasp for dear life.
"Breathe with me. Focus on me," he said.
She couldn't. The frantic shaking of her head confirmed it. All the air had been sucked up, and she was going to die in this small space with an alien.
"Got to get more air," she wheezed between frantic attempts at breathing. Her eyesight was narrowing to tight pinpoints.
"I've got you."
Wet night air wicked at her face as the scene changed. Too much to decipher. Amber fought to remain calm and hold onto clarity. Scenes whizzed by in a haze. Her orientation was off. Was she upside down? Cooler air began to blast her face; looking around all she saw was night darkness, followed by total darkness.
Dragon's Curvy Invader Page 4