by Julie Wetzel
After a moment of silence, her dragon man let out another long breath and nodded again. “All right.”
He tilted his head back to the headrest. After a few more moments, he started rambling. The words came out slowly. Only fragments of stories at first, but the longer he went on, the longer his stories got.
His life sounds interesting. Most of it was either him in dragon form or centered around training of some type. “Were you in the military?” Terra asked.
The dragon man pulled himself from his thoughts and looked at her. “No.” He shook his head. “Not the military, and not the police, but something.” He raised his hand to his head as if it pained him.
Terra reached her hand over and rested it on the blanket over his leg. “At least you remember something,” she tried to comfort him.
He dropped his hand down over hers. “Yes.” Leaning his head back, he closed his eyes again. “But it’s all pictures and feelings. There is no sound to any of it.”
The soft slide of his thumb across Terra’s skin sent tingles up her arm. She hadn’t meant for him to hold her hand, but now that he had it, she didn’t want to pull it away. Giving in to her strange desires, she rolled her hand over and laced her fingers together with his. “I’ll help you get through this,” she promised. She couldn’t very well leave him as he was.
The dragon man drew in a deep breath and let it rush out from him, then squeezed her hand. “Thank you.” Rolling his head over, he stared at her. “For everything.”
There it was again. That odd wash of desire passed through her again.
Terra stole a quick glance at him. His eyes were just as beautiful now as they had been as a dragon. She would have loved to look at them longer, but she had to pay attention to the road. Later. She would find a time later to really study them. Then maybe she could figure out what to call that amazing mix of colors. Hazel just didn’t cut it.
Unsure of how to respond to him or to the feelings swirling through her, she simply drove on as he held and caressed her hand. When the silence got too intimate for her, she gave him another quick glance. The look in his eyes heated her insides more than anything her last three boyfriends had done. And that was just a look.
Clearing her throat, she broke into the silence with the first thing that popped into her head. “So… What type of clothing do you want?” Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Of all the dumb things she could have picked to break the silence with, she had to pick the one thing that reminded them both that he was naked. She glanced back over at him. A grin had slid across his face.
“At this moment, anything would be better than what I’m wearing,” he teased.
With a quick turn of the head, she shot him a dirty look. “Are you dissing my handmade quilt?” she sassed back.
“I would never dream of it.”
The fake innocent tone he took made Terra laugh.
“But seriously, jeans and a T-shirt will be fine. And I promise, as soon as I find out who I am, I will pay you back.”
Another laugh bubbled out of her. “I’m not worried about it.” She gave him another glance. “So…” She bit her lip and jumped into the question now pulling at her mind. To hell with caution and propriety. “Boxers or briefs?”
He chuckled. “I don’t remember,” he said and gave her an amused smile. “Why don’t you pick, and we’ll see how it goes.” His smile took on a naughty edge. “Of course, if I don’t like them, I could always go without.”
The blush that had been hinting at Terra’s cheeks flamed into life. Oh good Lord! Even if the man couldn’t remember anything else, he certainly remembered how to flirt.
Luckily, they didn’t have much farther to go until they reached the store. She hated to do it, but she pulled her hand from his so she could turn into the parking lot. Picking a spot away from the building, she pulled in and killed the engine. At least he would have a little bit of privacy while she went inside. Biting her lip, she turned to look at her dragon man. There were so many ways she could respond to his suggestion, but all of them were inappropriate and would likely get her into more trouble than she was already in. And she was already in trouble. Deep. But then again, an inappropriate response could make for a very entertaining evening. It was, after all, starting to get late. She chewed on the idea for a moment longer before deciding. No. She knew nothing of this man. He could have a girlfriend, or worse, a wife. It was best to keep everything on a more professional level.
“Wait here. I’ll be right back.” With that, Terra slid from the car and escaped to the safety of the store. For all she knew, he could be trouble just looking for a place to happen.
***
Alex let out a long sigh as he watched Terra head into the store. Somehow, he knew it wasn’t like him to flirt, but she made it so easy. Leaning his head back against the seat, he closed his eyes and thought about her. The softness of her skin against his. The flash of those blue eyes as she stole glances at him. And how could he forget the soft pink that colored her cheeks and stole his breath away. He could have easily spent hours just staring at her.
She wasn’t a beauty by any sense of the traditional views, but she was easy on his eyes. Her soft, brown hair looked as if it had been styled short and left to grow out. Too short to pull back, and too long for the cut. Physically, she was built as he would expect a farm girl to be. Long and lean. She was probably much stronger than she appeared. He couldn’t remember if he had a favorite type of girl, but she just became it. The dragon bit of him curled around in contentment at the idea of keeping her.
He slammed that thought down before the roots could grow any more than they already had. There were more important things to worry about right now. Like finding out who he was. For all he knew, he had a girlfriend somewhere. That thought made him pause. No, he didn’t have a girlfriend, but that didn’t mean he had time to get one now. No, he needed to concentrate on finding out who he was and remembering that important thing he was sure he’d forgotten. Later, there would be time to pursue other interests. And, oh boy, would he enjoy that pursuit.
5
Opening the door, Terra slid into the car with her bags. She glanced over at her dragon man resting in the seat. He had tilted his head back against the headrest and closed his eyes. Sound asleep. Terra smiled at him. Damn, he was good looking. And that little bit of stubble on his cheek made him that much hotter. Balling her fingers in the bags, she resisted the urge to reach out and feel the coarse hair.
She shook her head, trying to clear it. What in the hell had come over her? Sure he was hot, but she’d met a lot of good-looking guys. That didn’t mean she wanted to crawl into their laps and lick their faces. It had to be all the excitement and mystery that went with him. Yes. That was it. She was just turned on by the whole idea of what was going on. A strange man without a memory. And naked to boot! She just needed to get her hormones under control so they could solve his problem.
Reaching out, she patted his leg. “Hey.”
He drew in a deep breath as he woke up from his nap.
“Here.” She held out the bags for him to take.
It took a second for his brain to kick into gear and take the shopping bags from her.
An amused smile slid across Terra’s face as she let out a soft laugh. “Listen. I know this trip to the bar is important to finding out who you are, but it’s starting to get late and we’ve both had a really long day.” She didn’t know how it showed on her, but she could see how the day had worn on him. “What do you say we grab a pizza and find someplace to hole up for the night?” Her stomach rumbled just thinking about food.
A smile spread across his face. “Sure,” he answered. “I think food and some rest would be a great idea.” Taking the bags, he pushed one of them to the floor.
Terra nodded and started the car up as her dragon man rummaged through a bag. “So, what do you like on your pizza?”
The man looked up from his search and considered Terra’s question. “I don’t know.” Concern cros
sed his face as he tried to remember. “I guess just get whatever you like, and we’ll go from there.”
Whatever I like? Terra’s grin widened. “All right. One anchovy and jalapeno pizza coming up.”
A look of disgust crossed the dragon man’s face. “Fish? On pizza? Please, no.”
Terra laughed. “All right. How about a large deluxe with everything?”
“Now that sounds reasonable.” He nodded. “But you had better make it two.”
She glanced at her passenger curiously. “Two larges?” She could feel his eyes run over her as he evaluated her.
“Better make that two larges and a medium.”
This drew Terra’s full attention. She turned and stared at him openmouthed. “Are you planning on putting away two full pizzas by yourself?” There was no way the two of them could go through that much pizza.
He just shrugged. “What can I say? I’m a dragon.” With that, he went back to rummaging in the bag.
Okay… Terra turned her attention back to the road to hunt down a pizza joint. If he could put away two full pizzas in one sitting, she would hate to see what his food bill for a month would be.
“What’s this?”
Terra glanced over to see what her dragon man had pulled from the bag.
He held up a pack of low-rise, cotton panties.
Reaching out, Terra shoved the pack back in the bag. “That’s my bag!” She yanked the plastic from his hands and shoved it into the back seat.
He snickered. “I was wondering why you had gotten me pink underwear.”
Terra shot him a dirty look. Only one pair of the panties was pink. The other two were flowered. “Well excuse me for wanting clean underwear,” she huffed. “It’s not like I could go home and get any.”
The dragon man let out a long sigh. “I’m sorry.” Regret was heavy in his voice. “I didn’t mean for you to get caught up in my problems.” He pulled the blanket back around him tightly.
Nice going, numbskull. “Hey.” Terra reached over and dropped her hand on his leg. “I didn’t mean to snap at you. I know you didn’t mean for any of this to happen.” She patted his leg in a comforting way. “We’ll figure it out.”
A weak, ironic laugh slipped out of him. “At least you can walk away from this any time you want.” There was a depressed note in his voice that made Terra’s heart clench.
“No.” She patted his leg again. “I won’t leave you like this.” She glanced over to see him staring at her with those beautiful eyes. “I’ll help you find the answers you need.”
A spark of hope lit his face.
“But first,” she said as she pulled her hand from his leg. “Let’s see about some food.” She turned the car into the parking lot of a pizza place. “I’ll be right back.” She paused before jumping out of the car and considered him. “Will you be okay here by yourself?” There was something in his posture that made her want to hold him close and tell him everything would be fine.
A slight smile curved up the corner of his mouth. “I’ll be fine. Go.”
Terra considered him for a moment longer before getting out. It was amazing how fast he had gone from joking to depressed. If he were going to take her teasing so seriously, she would have to watch what she said around him. She was, after all, just getting to know him.
***
Alex watched Terra as she disappeared into the building. What the hell was wrong with him? He had just gone from laughing and joking to dark and depressed in a matter of seconds. The mood swing had hit him so fast it left his head spinning. If he didn’t know any better, he would have said he was pregnant, or brooding.
That thought made him stop. Brooding. He knew that word but couldn’t remember what it meant. A flash of scales provided him with the answer his human mind couldn’t come up with. It was a time in a male dragon’s life where his hormones got out of whack, usually caused by a growth spurt, a female dragon during her fertile period, or when faced with a potential mate.
Alex was sure he was finished growing, so a growth spurt was out of the question. He would’ve had to have spent a fair amount of time in the presence of a fertile female for that to bring on a brooding, and he didn’t think that was the case. So, that left a potential mate. The ads in the window of the shop hid most of the lobby, but Alex could just see Terra waiting in the short line. A feeling of contentment rolled through him.
He closed his eyes and focused on his dragon bit. “She’s human,” he protested.
His dragon laughed at him. That was a weak argument, and both of his halves knew it.
Taking a human as a mate could be problematic, but there were lots of dragons who did. Dragons tended to live much longer than the average human, but there was something in the magic of bonding and the sharing of a scale that would extend a human mate’s life. They would live as long as their dragon did. Why Alex knew this piece of trivia and not his own name irked him. He kept remembering little things, but none of the information he needed.
Turning his eyes away from the woman helping him, he pulled the bag of clothing up from the floor and opened it. While the other bag had female clothing and essentials, this one held male. He ripped open the pack of underwear and pulled out a pair. At least she had gone for the dark-colored briefs and not the plain white ones. It took him a moment, but he shimmied into them. Next came the long-sleeved T-shirt. It was amazingly soft and the same shade of blue as his dragon. Just the fact that she had chosen something in his color made his dragon happy. The pants she had gotten him were a little large in the waist. They would hang low on his hips, but he could make them work.
Now that he was mostly dressed, Alex slipped from the car to go in and help with the food. He also wanted to make sure there weren’t any weird misunderstandings between them. His random mood swing had thrown them both.
Pausing in the doorway to the shop, his eyes landed on Terra, and he sighed contently. She stood back from the counter, waiting. Something in her posture told him she was annoyed with the older woman at the counter.
“So, I can’t use this coupon?” The woman held out a crumpled piece of paper to the cashier.
He took it and looked at it. “No. This was last month’s special.” He pointed to the bottom of the ticket where the date was clearly printed on the paper.
“But that was only three days ago,” the woman complained. “You can still give it to me for that price.”
Alex smiled as he saw Terra’s back stiffen with aggravation as the woman argued on. Stepping up behind her, Alex wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back into him. God, she felt good. Not quite as good as when he hadn’t been wearing clothing, but good nonetheless.
Terra let out a squeak of surprise and turned her head so she could see who’d caught her. “You scared the daylights out of me!” she complained as he hunched over and rested his chin on her shoulder.
“Sorry,” he apologized. “I just wanted to come make sure you were okay. Things are a little weird for me at the moment, and, well—”
“I understand.” She wrapped her arms up over his and relaxed a little. “You’ve had a really hard day.” She patted his arm reassuringly. “We’ll get you through this.”
Alex let out a sigh and resisted the urge to kiss her. Even if it was just a thank you kiss on the shoulder. Standing up to his full height, he looked around the shop. Other than a picture of the large head of the shop’s mascot, there wasn’t anything that could hold his attention away from the woman in his arms. He turned back to her and drew in a deep breath. The smell of cooking pizza masked her scent, but he could just pick up a floral hint from her shampoo. Even that made his toes curl in delight.
Finally, the old woman at the counter had placed her order and stepped away, grumbling about the young clerk cheating her out of her coupons.
Alex let Terra go as she stepped forwards, pulling free of his arms.
She turned to look at him with a question in her eyes.
“I’ll be right back.” He winked
at her and turned towards the bathroom. Now that he was up and moving, he had this undeniable pressure reminding him that he’d slept most of the day.
***
Shaking her head, Terra turned back to the poor, abused clerk and gave him her order. Three large pizzas. One deluxe, one meat lover’s, and one cheese. If nothing else, they could have pizza for breakfast in the morning. After tucking her wallet back into her purse, she turned away from the counter and looked around the small shop. The old woman had settled herself on one of the benches, so Terra took a seat on the other.
“Your boyfriend really should be wearing shoes,” the woman called to Terra.
Terra turned to look at the complaining woman. “What?” she asked, shocked.
“Your boyfriend.” The woman nodded to the bathroom. “He really should be wearing shoes. There’s no telling what’s on the floor in there.”
Terra gaped at the woman. Yes. The woman had just called the dragon man her boyfriend. “He’s not my boyfriend.” The protest slipped out before Terra thought about it.
The woman huffed. “Well then, he shouldn’t be hanging all over you like that.” She pulled her large bag into her lap more and grumbled on. “Back in my day, men respected women in public. And only a child would run around without shoes on.”
Terra bit her lip before something scathing came out of her mouth. How dare this woman complain about my dragon’s bare feet? She doesn’t know what we’ve been through today.
“You will have to pardon my lack of proper attire,” the dragon man answered as he came out of the bathroom, wiping his hands on the back of his pants. “As it is, I don’t currently own a pair of shoes.” He dropped himself onto the bench next to Terra.
The old woman glared at him. “You mean to tell me that you don’t have any shoes at all?”