5
Zach and Erin were making lunch in the kitchen when Luc walked in, hands in pockets, deep in thought about seeing Hallie again that night.
“You’re home early,” Zach said, taking off oven mitts to walk over to him and give him a half hug.
Luc winced. Zach was already picking up so many human habits. Like being friendly. “I worked a half shift.”
“Thought you would want to work all day, considering the cute little lady next to you,” Erin teased from her spot at the counter, stirring something in a large bowl. “Have you eaten?”
He nodded. He’d finished the sandwich on the way home. “Are you about to eat? I need advice from Zach.”
“Hey,” Erin said. “I’m the emotionally intelligent one. I should be the one giving advice.”
She had a point. She was also a human woman. He would get both of their advice, then.
“Okay,” he said, sitting down at a chair and stretching. The chairs here were bigger than at the shelter. Much more dragon sized. “I need to know about taking a human on a date.”
Zach let out a bark of a laugh. “Yeah,” he said. “I’m glad you’re asking Erin on this one, because I thought the way to ask a woman out was to tell her I was a dragon and she was fortunate to be chosen by me.”
She snorted. “It was sort of charming, in a completely wrong kind of way.” She lifted her shoulders. “Then again, now that I know you weren’t crazy, I guess it’s kind of romantic how quickly you knew.”
He swung an arm around her waist and pulled her in for a quick kiss. “Instantly, baby.”
“Ugh,” Luc said. “So human.”
They both laughed at that and went on kissing, ignoring him. He averted his eyes, waiting for them to be done so someone could answer his question.
Then again, he thought, peeking back at them. If he went out with Hallie, would he end up with something like they had? Not what he’d ever pictured wanting as a dragon, but it didn’t seem too bad now.
Kissing Hallie had definitely been something.
Zach pulled back abruptly and stared at his friend. “Ew. Stop thinking about kissing while I’m trying to make out with my wife.”
“Stop making out with your wife while I’m sitting at your kitchen table,” Luc retorted. “And get out of my mind.”
Zach snorted. “Dragon thoughts. Hard to ignore.”
Erin, however, pushed forward and sat across from Luc. “Oh my gosh, you kissed her already?”
“I did,” he said. “It was nice.”
“Whoa,” Zach said, sitting down by his mate. “Start at the beginning.”
So Luc did, telling them all about holding Bastien and the shelter and the other worker and their conversation and lunch…
“Get to the kiss,” Zach snapped.
So Luc did, telling them about the way she’d misunderstood his staring and how he’d surprised himself by going for it. And how they’d exchanged numbers.
“So you haven’t set a time or anything?” Erin said.
“I needed help knowing more about dates first,” Luc said.
“You came to the right place,” Zach said, putting his hands behind his head.
Erin smirked. “Says the guy who used ‘I’m an immortal dragon’ as a pickup line.”
“Yeah.” Zach looked thoughtful. “Did you try that?”
Luc stifled a smile. “No.”
“Thank heavens for that.” Erin chuckled.
“Hey, it worked for you,” Zach said.
“No,” Erin said. “Getting to know you worked for me. I had to try to just not think about all the crazy dragon stuff.”
Zach pouted. “Crazy dragon stuff? How about awesome dragon stuff?”
“Back to me,” Luc said. “Help.”
Erin grinned. “Right. What do you want to do together?”
“Do?” he asked. “I thought we were just being together.”
“It’s a date. You have to do something. Spend some money.”
“I don’t have access to my treasure,” he said flatly.
“You can have some of Zach’s,” Erin said, noting Zach’s scowl. “I’m kidding. Look, you can borrow anything you need from us. Money. A car. Can you drive?”
“I took a course at the oracle’s place,” he said. “I believe I’m sufficient.”
Zach and Erin looked at each other. “Well,” Zach said. “I guess it’s a good thing we have a Volvo.” They both laughed.
“What?” Luc asked.
“Nothing,” Erin said. “So does she want you to pick her up at work or wait until she gets home and has time to get ready?”
Luc blanched. “I don’t know. Do I need to call her and ask her all of this?” This was getting more complicated than he imagined.
“You could text,” Erin said.
“Text?” Luc asked.
“You know, write something and send it, and then she sends something back.”
“Like letters?” he asked. “Why would you do that when you have telephones and can hear each other’s voice?”
“Because it’s easier. Unlock your phone and I’ll show you.”
Luc sighed but pushed the phone over. Erin had been nothing but a good person to him. Despite her being human, he could trust her.
She took his phone and hit the keys rapidly and then handed it back to him. “Easy. See?”
He looked down at the screen. Next to his avatar, which the oracle had jokingly set as a fat little blue cartoon dragon, was a bubble with words inside.
Do you want me to pick you up from work or at your place? And what time is good?
He looked at Erin. “Now what?”
“Now we wait,” she said.
“See?” he said in frustration. “I told you we should have called. It would be instant—” He was cut off by a beep from his phone and a little bubble appearing beside a photo of a cat.
How about seven at my place? Then she had listed an address.
His heart thumped. That was fast. Maybe this texting thing wasn’t so bad.
“So I can send her anything this way?” he asked.
“Just don’t send anything you care about someone else seeing,” Erin said. “That is going over the internet.”
“Right, keep secrets off of it, then,” he said.
“Yeah, I wouldn’t go announcing you’re a dragon,” she said. “Unless you’re Zach.”
Luc snorted. “Thank you for being patient with me. It’s more than I deserve.”
“Hey,” Luc said. “We’re friends. And besides, you can help save the world. We’re going to need you with Emerald out there, plotting with whoever helped him escape.”
“It’s disappointing,” Luc said. “I know he was always jealous of you and that his powers kind of leaned to the darker side of things, but I didn’t expect him to completely turn like this.”
“Yeah,” Zach said.
“It hasn’t been the same since Opal,” Luc said.
“Yeah,” Zach repeated, and a somber mood fell over the room.
“What is Opal?” Erin asked, glancing between them.
Neither spoke, and Luc looked down at the phone screen. He tapped on the text part and began to type.
Seven is good. I will pick you up. In a car.
He ignored Zach and Erin, who were having an awkward moment, and waited for her response. Since he hadn’t sent a question, would she still say something?
Great. Cars are much preferable to spaceships. Or tricycles. ;)
He handed the phone to Erin. “What on earth is she talking about?”
Erin laughed. “She’s just teasing you. You didn’t need to specify you were picking her up in a car. There isn’t really any other way.”
“If I were in dragon form, I could pick her up with dragon wings.”
Erin laughed. “Okay. But you aren’t in dragon form. So just know most humans assume car.”
“Fine,” he said, suddenly thinking about how fun it would be to be partially shifted, flyi
ng with Hallie in his arms. Kissing the sky, clouds swirling around him, sheltering her in his wings so they could be truly alone up there…
“Dude,” Zach said. “With thoughts like that, she really might be your mate.”
Luc blinked. Perhaps Zach had a point. Despite him never thinking of a mate as a possibility, he had to admit that if he had ever guessed what it would feel like to have one, it would probably be something like this obsession with Hallie.
“What should I send back?” he asked, emboldened and wanting to flirt.
“Tell her you’ll leave your spaceship at home,” Erin joked.
“Tell her you can still bring the tricycle,” Zach said.
But Luc paused, wanting to come up with his own statement. “Got it,” he said, typing on his phone. He hit send and then handed it to Erin and Zach to read.
Doesn’t matter what we go in as long as I go with you.
Zach snorted. “That’s um… not really teasing. That’s more…”
“Sincere,” Erin said. “I guess now we wait and see if it works.”
Luc guessed he didn’t understand teasing, but it didn’t matter. He didn’t have time for silly games. He just needed to get closer to this intriguing human.
The phone beeped.
“I have to know what she said to that,” Zach said.
Luc looked down at the phone.
You are so sweet. I’ll see you in a few hours. PS: I like your dragon avatar. Dragons are the best, aren’t they?
He smiled, a full, genuine smile that he felt warming him from his toes to the top of his head.
What had he done to deserve meeting this human? Or more accurately, what had he been forgiven for?
He closed out the bad memories and focused on the phone.
He was here. This was a new world, a new him. A new life.
One more chance to make things right.
See you tonight.
While waiting on Hallie’s doorstep, Luc was so nervous that his palms were starting to get sweaty.
And the idea of a sweaty dragon was extremely unseemly, so he hoped she opened the door soon.
When she did, his jaw dropped. He’d never seen her wear anything like this before. It was a formfitting dress in a soft, casual material that ended just below her dimpled knees, with sleeves to her elbows. But in the front, it dipped, showing a fair amount of soft, plump cleavage, pressed together deliciously.
Good heavens, with the skin showing, soft arms, curvy legs, and that gorgeous face, he was going to have his hands full trying not to kill men who looked at her.
And then her hair. She’d taken it down and curled it in soft waves around her face, and she was wearing something on her face to enhance her eyelashes, making them darker and sultrier. She was wearing flat shoes in a shiny leather, and he was relieved to see it was easy for her to walk.
“You look amazing,” he said, putting out an arm for her as he’d seen chivalrous humans do back in his time.
She smiled, so bright it almost blinded him, and put her arm around his. Soft and warm. He nearly melted at her touch, but he led her down to the black car he’d been lent for the drive over. He opened her door as Erin had shown him and waited until she was in to go around to his side.
When he was in and the door was closed, he sat there for a second just staring at her, wondering how he was supposed to focus on anything but this gorgeous woman beside him.
“You okay?” she asked. “We don’t have to do this if you’re uncomfortable.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Uncomfortable?” His eyes roamed over her. “That’s not what I’m feeling.”
She squirmed, and he found himself mesmerized by the movement of her body.
Snap out of it, Luc. You have things to do.
“So, um, we’re going for ice cream,” he said. It had seemed the safest of the options Zach and Erin had suggested. Mud wrestling had been on this list.
“Oh,” she said, looking down at her outfit. “Am I overdressed?”
“If anything, I’d say underdressed,” he said bluntly.
Her face fell. “You don’t like it?”
He bit the inside of his cheek. “I love it.” The last thing he wanted was to hurt her. Sure, he’d have to try to keep himself from punching every man who looked at her all night, but it was worth it for her to wear whatever she wanted to. “I just know you’re going to get a lot of attention, and I want you all to myself.”
Her eyes were wide with surprise as she looked over at him. “What planet are you from?”
“This one. Why?” he said flatly.
She folded her arms over herself cautiously. “I just don’t get that kind of attention.”
“Maybe you do and you just don’t notice it,” he said.
“Maybe you are biased,” she retorted. “Maybe you’re the only one looking.”
“That would suit me just fine,” he said, glancing over to see she was blushing.
She sighed. “This is what makes me think you’re from another world sometimes. Look, guys who look like you don’t say things like that to girls like me.”
“I think you’re the one who’s coming down to my level,” he said, reaching out to tilt her chin to make her look at him. “You’re a good person. An amazing person. And you’re beautiful, too.” He let her see the heat in his gaze. “And if others don’t look at you, they are fools. And if they do look at you, I’ll try not to kill them.”
She let out a shaky breath, fanning her face as she sat back. “Whew. You’re seriously something.”
“I think you are something,” he said. “And I think you don’t give yourself enough credit.”
“I like myself,” she said. “But sometimes people just don’t understand. And they bully. And that stuff sticks with you.” She gave him a rueful smile. “But I’ll try not to think about that and just enjoy a date with the hottest guy in the world.”
He was busy thinking of all the ways to kill her bullies when he realized she had called him hot, and a huge grin spread over his face. “Hottest?”
She shifted away with a giggle. “Stop fishing for compliments.”
He did, focusing on the road as he drove to the small ice cream shop Zach and Erin had recommended.
When they arrived, he made sure to go around to her side and open the door, helping her out.
As they walked across the parking lot, he held her hand, enjoying the contrast of her closeness with the cool air of the night.
It was empty out here, save for a few cars, and he realized he could have parked closer, but he was glad since it gave him the opportunity to hold her hand a while longer.
When they came to the counter, she was swinging her hand in his while ordering, and then he felt a small wave of pain.
She stepped back slightly, and he looked over in concern. “Sorry,” she said. “I think I need to go sit down. I’ll go save a booth for us.” She took a cup from the cashier, gave him an apologetic glance, and went to sit down.
He finished their order and waited by the counter, keeping an eye on her while not openly staring. He knew her pain was a point of pride for her, something she didn’t want people poking their noses into, but he was getting to the point where he felt he needed to know more.
So he could help her in whatever way he could.
He flexed his hands, wishing he had his dragon power flowing through him.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hallie take out a small container and pop something in her mouth, which she then washed down with a gulp of water.
Medicine most likely.
Cold moved through him. Whatever was wrong with her, was it serious? Was it just an old injury, or was it something like Bastien?
He shook the thoughts from his mind. They brought back old fears, and he didn’t want that.
When their ice creams were ready, he brought them over to Hallie and set them on the table. She gave him a big smile, seeming as if she were doing better.
But Luc wondered how
much pain he’d be feeling from her if he had access to his full empathy rather than icy walls around his heart with only tiny cracks in them.
She took her ice cream from him, giving him a big smile as she dug into it. “Ah,” she said, sighing. “It’s the little things in life.”
He wanted to ask her how the little things could matter so much when something else really sucked. But he was too busy being enchanted by how happy she looked when she ate.
He wished he could learn to just live in the moment like that. Instead, the past and the future hung over his head constantly, waiting to drop like heavy, punishing weights.
She licked a drop of her ice cream slowly off her full lower lip, and he felt his heart pick up a beat.
She was so beautiful. Watching her happy, watching her enjoy anything was bliss.
“You’re staring at me again,” she said. “I told you it makes me feel awkward when you—”
He slid into the booth next to her, surprising her, and caught her lips with his own. She calmed, sinking into the kiss, and put a hand up to touch his hair.
Amazing.
When he pulled back, she was quiet and ready to listen. He brushed a loose wave of hair back from her face. “Of course I’m staring at you. I like you. I have from the moment I saw you. You intrigue me unlike anyone else ever has.”
“Why?” she asked.
There were so many reasons. He could tell her it was because she was beautiful and kind, but it was more than that. It felt… fated. Like she’d been destined to help his dragon come back to life.
But he couldn’t tell her that. “I’m still figuring that out.”
“I guess you’re honest at least,” she said, smiling as she turned her attention back to her ice cream.
Honest. The word burned at him as he pulled his ice cream over to him and swirled his spoon it in, stirring it up. He couldn’t even begin to be honest with her yet, and it was starting to bug him.
He was starting to wonder if Zach had the right idea all along in just blurting everything out, when he saw a group of men come in the door and turned his attention toward them.
He didn’t like the way one of them was looking at his date.
Sapphire Dragon (Awakened Dragons Book 2) Page 4