Protected by the Dragon (Banished Dragons)

by Leela Ash

  “He might be an asshole. But if he isn’t, then I guess he is really handsome and intelligent. It’s hard to tell, he is really private about revealing things about himself, but we had a strange chemistry, I guess. I just can’t tell if he is worth the trouble or not.”

  “What does he do for a living?”

  “He said he’s a mover, but he is in school to study engineering. And I can tell he really is smart. But he also insulted me a little and I need to clear something up before I decide whether or not he’s worth pursuing further. There is a high likelihood that he is just a giant douche bag and I would be better off never seeing him again.”

  “Well, that is a bit harsh for a first impression,” her mother said, gently reprimanding her daughter.

  “Well. Like I said. I have to figure out what he really thinks. Otherwise, I guess he is all right.”

  “I’m really glad that you are giving him a chance. That means something,” her mother said, an odd knowing sound in her voice. It made Mia pause, but she wasn’t sure what it might mean. “It’s going to go well for you, I can feel it.”

  “I guess we’re going to find out on Sunday,” Mia said, anxious to change the subject. She didn’t want to think any more about it. She already spent far too much time thinking about Rhett. His mysterious, amber and orange eyes; the way his muscles rippled so that she could see them even through the fabric of his shirt…

  “Right. Well, good luck. I will keep Jewel overnight on Sunday. You guys just have fun and enjoy the night together.”

  “Oh, mother,” Mia said, scowling at the implication. “That really won’t be necessary. But…thank you.”

  Her mother chuckled and, soon, they had hung up.

  Mia sank onto the couch and let out a long exhale. It had been hard for her to let men into her daughter’s life. In fact, it was almost impossible. But that was for the best. She had to think of her daughter’s best interests first. Figuring out how to date with an impressionable little girl around had always been kind of a challenge, but her mother seemed to have noticed the struggle and had been incredible about stepping in to help and allow her daughter the space she needed to grow.

  Now, it was all a matter of finding the right person to spend her life with. Someone who would be a good influence for her daughter and fit with her in all the most important ways. Hopefully, that someone would be at least a fraction as handsome as Rhett.

  8.

  Rhett fidgeted at the table, playing nervously with the cufflinks that Gavin had insisted he wear. The whole outfit was a little constraining, and he found himself agitated and uncomfortable. Not only that, but he was restless. He had been informed that Mia was going to meet him at the restaurant, and he was not to have any of her personal information. She wanted to remain independent and aloof, which was fine by him. Why would he want to get too close for comfort with the confusing human? She couldn’t possibly be his fated mate, so there wasn’t any point in keeping tabs on her.

  This whole thing was just a set up anyway. Just a date. For practice. There was no reason for him to get invested. …Right?

  Before he had a chance to overthink it, Mia suddenly arrived. The dragon within him alerted Rhett to her presence before anybody else even laid eyes on her. He caught sight of her just as the door to the restaurant opened, and he watched her intently as she went up to the host and was led to the table, where the reservations had already been made by the speed dating company. Neither of them were going to have to pick up the tab, so the only way that Mia had been able to assert herself as independent was to refuse him the pleasure of picking her up for their date.

  “Rhett,” Mia said once she finally approached the table. She stared into his eyes and he felt an intense surge of longing overpower him. She looked away quickly, almost as if she had been able to sense the shift in his mood. Or, perhaps, was reciprocating similar feelings. “Hi.”

  Rhett nodded graciously and stood up to pull the chair out for her. Mia froze, almost as if she was tempted to stop him, and he found himself relieved when she sat down.

  “Thanks,” she mumbled, scooting her chair in and looking down at the napkin on the table in front of her. Was she feeling shy? Or did she still seem to dislike him? It was very difficult for him to tell. But she was there. She had shown up. That should count for something. It was a good thing, right?

  That is, if he could get over his own complicated feelings about the situation. He hadn’t exactly been thrilled to go out on another date with the human that had confused his senses and nearly gotten him off track in seeking out the woman who was actually his fated mate. As far as he was concerned, this was a needless distraction. But he had promised to try to make the most of this, and if nothing else, Rhett was a man of his word.

  “Were you waiting long?” Mia asked once he had settled back in his seat and gripped the menu in front of him in his strong hands. He studied her briefly. Was this a trick question?

  “It doesn’t matter, we are both here now. That’s what counts most.”

  He cleared his throat and unraveled the silverware bound up in the big cloth napkin. He let them clatter onto the table and tucked the big napkin into the collar of his shirt. Mia gaped at him as he did so, and he tilted his head inquisitively.

  “What?”

  “Have you eaten here before?” Mia asked, turning her scrutinizing gaze away from him and scanning the room. A few people had turned their heads toward their table at the sound of the forks and knives colliding with the table, and Rhett raised a thoughtful brow.

  “No. I don’t like to eat out very much.”

  “That’s really funny,” Mia said, carefully unrolling the silverware without allowing it to fall onto the table as Rhett had done. “Neither do I. It seems like a waste of good money for something that could easily be done at home.”

  “I just don’t like the food here,” Rhett said with a slight shrug. He opened the menu and allowed his eyes to scan the words dancing in front of him. None of it was familiar. And, certainly, none of it tasted a thing like what he was used to enjoying on Fiora.

  “I thought you said you have never been here,” Mia pointed out, laying a napkin on her lap and turning her sharp gaze to Rhett. Why did he suddenly feel like he was being interrogated? What was wrong with this woman? And why did that fire in her eyes make him feel so aroused?

  “I haven’t,” Rhett replied, returning her gaze with one of equal intensity. “I meant the food here. In this place…”

  He had to be careful not to say anything about the food on Earth. Gavin had drilled them on that much. He was supposed to say he preferred things the way they were where he came from…elsewhere in the world. Not somewhere outside the world. That much would be a little bit too hard for humans to understand and absorb. Especially those who were not blessed with the dragon shifter/Loni blood that he was seeking. People like Mia.

  He turned his gaze away, feeling torn and guilty about his feelings for this human. She would never be able to understand him. Even if he could somehow turn his back on his sacred task, she would never know who he truly was. Feelings for her would go nowhere fast, and what would he be able to do about it? Nothing much. It was all useless.

  And yet, when he thought of getting up to leave, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Instead, Rhett planted himself even more firmly in his seat, unable to fathom the idea of parting company too soon. He wasn’t ready to be away from her. He wanted this. Wanted a date with Mia and everything that she had to offer him. Even if it meant he never found the person he was meant to spend his life with.

  How could that be possible?

  He tried to shake the thoughts away. What good would they do him in this state? He had to try to get through this date without making her feel more irritated with him, if that was even possible. Could it be possible? Did it really matter? He was going to have to break it off with her eventually anyway. What did it matter if things went well with Mia or not? This was just practice.

  “In
what place, exactly?” Mia asked, fixing that intense but alluring look back on Rhett. He pursed his lips briefly before clearing his throat.

  “Uh. Here. My brothers and I moved here from Europe, so everything is just a little bit too strange for my liking. I do not feel comfortable here. The food is different, the scenery is different, the people are different… I am adaptable, but it is simply not the style of food I prefer. That’s all.”

  Mia seemed intrigued by this.

  “I have always wanted to go to Europe,” she said. “What part are you and your brothers from?”

  RRhett was mildly dumbfounded by the light in her eyes when she asked the question, confused by her sudden interest. “That isn’t important. Nobody has ever heard of it. Did you grow up here?”

  He preferred not to talk about his made-up past and had become a master of deflection by then. Why was everybody so interested in Europe? He hated having to lie so much. Especially to Mia. For whatever reason, he felt like she could see him far better than anyone he had ever met before.

  “Yes, I was born and raised in Brookside,” Mia said, laughing softly. “I haven’t gotten out of here much, but I have always dreamed of being able to do that. Wouldn’t it be incredible?”

  She paused and laughed again. “Actually, I know it wouldn’t be all that special for you. You have probably seen and done all kinds of impressive things that I would never be able to fathom. What made you decide to settle down in Brookside of all places? There really aren’t a lot of prospects here.”

  “Ah…um…” Rhett froze as he tried to summon up the story Gavin had told him but was having a hard time bringing the specific location to mind.

  “It seemed like a good choice. We always wanted the opportunities that your country offers. There are a lot of big homes out here. We wanted to stick together.”

  Mia nodded thoughtfully. “I can imagine it would be difficult for people new to the country to try to go it alone. I really admire that you had the courage and strength to completely start over somewhere new. It takes a lot of dedication.”

  Rhett was surprised by Mia’s effortless ability to be sympathetic to his situation, even without fully knowing the whole story. He hadn’t realized a human could be compassionate. But he probably hadn’t been giving them the credit they deserved. After all, being banished had left most of the dragon shifters with quite a bad taste in their mouths. It kind of ruined things with the humans even though they could probably have managed to be quite amicable.

  “It took a while to adjust,” he admitted, choosing to gloss over the intense abandonment and betrayal he had been forced to process when the Elders had finally sentenced Rhett and the others to their punishment for a crime they hadn’t even committed. It was lucky that they lived in an evolved society where the death penalty wasn’t even considered.

  It had been shockingly barbaric to be banished to a planet where they killed each other off rather than rehabilitating and attempting understanding, or at least separation when values were clearly too different to cohabitate. At first, they had been convinced that humans were monsters, and that any wrong move might make them potential targets only to be victimized and possibly destroyed by Marshal Law, whoever he was. In any event, the laws of Earth were not to be played with. That much was certain.

  “Are you ready to order?”

  Rhett was startled away from Mia’s beautiful eyes and forced to look into the face of the waiter that had interrupted his train of thought. Mia glanced down at her menu and then to Rhett. “I know what I want. Are you ready?”

  Rhett shrugged. “I want one of every type of bread you have. And pickles.”

  The waiter gaped at Rhett, and he shifted imperceptibly. He was used to raising a few eyebrows and wished he could get more on the bandwagon when it came to Earth food. Some of the shifters couldn’t get enough of it, but some stuck with what they liked and refused anything more than that.

  “And for you, miss?”

  The waiter’s eyes lingered on Mia and Rhett sensed a shift in the man’s mood. Was he attracted to her? But she was his. Did he have to kick some ass at this fancy restaurant? He wouldn’t be bothered by that. He would do whatever it took to protect her.

  “I’m just going to have the salmon,” Mia said, pointing to her menu and smiling, a friendly but business-like expression on her face. Apparently, she had caught on to the man’s interest as well, whether it was out in the open where humans generally saw things or not. She was a pretty sensitive soul for an earthling, that much was certain.

  “Great choice,” the waiter said, trying a charming smile on her.

  Mia lifted a brow and turned her gaze onto the table in front of her. The waiter was pretty gutsy trying that shit with Rhett right there.

  “You can go now, pal,” Rhett said, doing his best to keep the dragon within from throwing a temper tantrum. He didn’t want anybody else wanting to possess Mia. He wanted to claim her for himself.

  But that was insane. She was a human. It was completely impossible. He knew he shouldn’t have come out with her like this. How stupid could he be?

  “Of course,” the waiter said, blinking awkwardly and turning away from the table.

  When he was gone, Mia let out a relieved laugh and caught Rhett’s eye. “That was kind of rude of you,” she stated, a dimple still present in her cheek despite the fact that she was doing her best to keep a straight face. “You chased him out of here pretty quickly.”

  “He is interested in you,” Rhett said. “And you are not very interested in him.”

  Mia nodded slowly. “You pick up on energies and vibrations, then?”

  Rhett stared at her blankly. “I what?”

  “You are sensitive to the vibes that are hidden around us. Like me. You know, I am really into that kind of thing. They call it New Age, but I think a lot of it is just common sense, you know?”

  “New…vibes?”

  Mia laughed again, her beautiful face brightening up. “Ah. You seem more like the practical sort. You are probably just thinking about what a freak show I am.”

  “Freak show.”

  Rhett let the words roll off his tongue in a statement and considered the words. What in the world was this woman going on about?

  “It’s okay. Really. I am pretty used to being misunderstood at this point. Oh, I suppose you are from a different country, though, so maybe I should try to be a bit friendlier or…clear or something?”

  “Clear is always good. I appreciate it when people are direct.”

  Rhett felt a small wave of relief wash over him. He was getting a little bit antsy not understanding all the strange slang and language that Mia was using. It was dangerous for the dragon shifters to stand out. While many humans had an idea about shifters and their existence, it was still a point of question in Brookside. A strange and mythical matter that was largely left undiscussed. So few humans were capable of opening their minds to special and different things that were outside their teaching or basic understanding.

  “Okay. Well, most people think this is weird, but I believe in a lot of kinds of out there ideas. I don’t think everything is limited to what we are taught. Or what we see and know. I want to be a life coach. I want to uncover all the mysteries of the universe and just, oh, I don’t know, go with the flow and find my life’s purpose. And help other people do the same thing. I love to help others.”

  Rhett gazed at her quietly, taking in the gentle but determined features of the petite woman sitting across from him. She was really something else.

  “That is very admirable.”

  “Well, I’m sure you can relate on some level, right?” Mia shifted in her seat, turning her intent gaze back to Rhett’s eyes. He felt frozen, like a deer in headlights. Him? Wanting to help people? Sure, on his own planet he had been a noble man who had done great deeds for his race. But helping people? Human people? He wasn’t particularly interested.

  “I don’t know,” Rhett said, trying to figure out where Mia was c
oming from in her assumption. “I’m not sure I see the connection between your goals and mine.”

  “Engineering improves peoples’ lives in little ways every single day. Without people who can think on that sort of level, it can be impossible for society to progress. So, if you are creating and innovating and fixing things, everybody benefits. I think it’s actually pretty cool of you.”

  Rhett considered this, studying Mia thoughtfully. “All right, I guess that can be true. And as for you, you want to help people on a more interpersonal level? Emotionally or what?”

  “Well, it would be really nice if I could start to get myself organized and on track, instead of having to count on my young daughter to stay on top of things,” Mia said with a small embarrassed laugh. “But once I am able to do so, I think that everything is going to get better and things are going to fall into place.”

  Rhett nodded, and Mia looked suddenly uncomfortable.

  “Not that I am not a responsible adult or anything. I am, it’s just…”

  She let out a high-pitched sigh and looked down at her hands. It was clear that she was feeling uncomfortable now, and Rhett smiled as charmingly as he could. She was so beautiful.

  “I’m sure you do the best you can, and that it is more than good enough for your daughter.”

  Mia’s face grew tense and the conversation was cut off by the waiter coming by to serve them drinks. He kept his eyes forward, acknowledging Rhett with a small and subtle nod before moving along on his way.

  “Food will be out shortly,” he said with his back to the table.

  Rhett watched as the waiter left, his eyes hard, and didn’t turn his attention back to Mia until he was sure the man was gone. Why did this waiter think he was good enough for a woman like this? He clearly had no respect for someone he could be so openly flirtatious with when it was clear she had an engagement with somebody else. It was rude and selfish. Rhett couldn’t abide by that.