by Roxie Ray
By the time I got home, it was dark out. I pulled out my phone and texted Harley.
Are you okay? What are you up to? When can I see you again?
The urge to go over there was strong, but I waited until she responded.
You’re always full of questions.
Grinning, I settled in to hopefully have a long texting conversation with her.
I can’t help it that you’re interesting.
She didn’t respond for a few minutes. Sorry, making dinner for me and Nana.
Gorgeous, smart, funny, a fucking virgin, and she took care of her Nana. I knew there were problems with her grandmother’s health, but not the details. I wanted to know, but that wasn’t a conversation for texting. She sent another message before I thought of exactly how I wanted to reply.
I’m off tomorrow, but I open the salon Monday.
Perfect. So was I, and I opened the garage Monday. Can I take you to another lunch?
Her reply came in seconds. Hell, yes. She was waiting for my text. Pick me up at noon.
It’s a date. Sleep well, gorgeous.
I wanted to tell her to dream of me because it was damn certain I’d be dreaming of her, but I stopped myself. Eros would’ve had me in her bedroom that night, but if I pushed it, she’d run screaming. I still knew this was a terrible idea, letting her get attached to me.
As soon as I could, I’d tell her the whole story. As soon as I could trust her. We were forbidden from telling anyone about dragons unless we were very confident they wouldn’t use the information to hurt any of us. I didn’t want to wait too long, but I had to be sure first. Once she knew the whole story, she could decide if she was willing to take the risk. And she’d have to agree that if I had to run, she’d come with me.
Once I made her mine, I couldn’t leave her behind. Eros wouldn’t have it. Especially knowing I would be her first. It was even more important to me that if we took that step, I would not only be her first, I needed to be her last as well.
Falling asleep proved difficult, and I nearly got the lube out again, but finally, I dropped off only to wake up way too early. It gave me time to drink lots of coffee, which didn’t work as well on me as a human. I had to drink twice as much for the effect.
I took care while shaving, then put on my nicest clothes, which weren’t all that nice. A flannel shirt with no holes and a pair of jeans that were less than five years old were as good as I could do. It didn’t matter, because I didn’t plan on taking her to a nice restaurant anyway.
Not that I could have afforded to even if I wanted to.
On the drive to her house, I managed to convince myself I was going to be a disappointment. It was our first scheduled date, and I was taking her to the diner. Not even the nice restaurant with the great view just outside town. As a dragon, all I wanted was to provide my mate with the nicest things in life.
Dragons didn’t hoard treasure like most myths said. We liked nice things as much as the next guy, but what drove us was providing for our families. We needed our mates, offspring, and elders to be as comfortable as we could make them. As a result, most dragon shifters were driven to work hard and since we usually lived in packs, at the least building our nests—homes—very close to one another, we tended to accumulate wealth.
We were also pretty good at investing and over the years many clans had accumulated family wealth that got handed down.
I had none of that. No nest, no manor like the Kingstons where I could live and save my own money. My clan’s accumulated wealth had been squandered generations ago by my drunken ancestors.
When I arrived at Harley’s house, I walked to the front door and rang the bell. She answered and my heart pounded when I saw her. “You look amazing,” I said.
She blushed, the color filling in her cheeks in seconds. I loved the sight of her blush. She’d done it repeatedly the day before, to my delight.
“I wasn’t sure what to wear,” she admitted. “Is this okay?”
Her simple dress hugged her waist, inviting me to try to span her trim waist with my hands. It curved up her abdomen and hugged the bottom of her breasts, then ruffled out to make her cleavage less obvious. I was taller than her, though, and got a tantalizing shot of the cleavage she’d tried to keep tasteful.
Harley’s curvy hips flared out and the bottom of the dress ended in a flowy skirt just above her knees. I hesitated, looking at her knees. She had pale legs, to match the rest of her fair skin, but even though she was rather petite, her legs were longer than I’d expected. I wanted to draw them over my shoulders and kiss my way up the inside, settling at her—
“Would you like to meet my grandmother?” She pulled me out of the fantasy that was making my dick harden in my jeans.
“I’d love to.” I moved my gaze back to her face and tried not to think about her dainty feet and tiny toes tipped in pink polish.
“She’s in the living room, having lunch.” Harley took my hand and pulled me down the hall.
A tiny woman with white hair sat in a recliner I was fairly sure was electronic to help her in and out of it. When I walked in, she rolled her tray to the side and leaned forward. “So, you’re the young man my granddaughter has been telling me about all morning.”
It was my turn to blush as I smiled at the woman. Inhaling her scent, I was dismayed to smell death on her. She didn’t have much longer in this world. I was no healer, so I couldn’t begin to predict how long, but elderly and ill people gave off a specific smell. Death grew on most people like a hidden fungus that humans weren’t able to sense or smell.
Unless the death was sudden and unpredictable, we smelled it coming.
“It’s an honor to meet the person who raised such a wonderful woman,” I said.
She held out a hand. “Let me see you properly,” she said. I walked closer and settled down in the chair beside her recliner.
A young woman walked out of the kitchen. “Oh, hello, Stefan,” she said.
I looked up to see Claire. She was Todd’s niece and in the garage from time to time. She wore scrubs and tennis shoes. “Hey, Claire, good to see you. I didn’t realize you’d started nursing.” I thought she was still in high school.
“I graduated early and got my certificate,” she said, obviously proud. “This is my first job.”
“And a fine job she does,” Harley’s Nana said. “We love having her here.”
Claire beamed, and I made a note to tell Todd. He loved the girl.
“I never introduced myself,” Harley’s Nana continued. “My name is Juanita.”
I took her hand again and smiled. It was obvious she’d been a beauty, but time and sickness had made her pale and thin. “I’m Stefan. Nice to meet you officially.”
Claire tapped me on the shoulder. “You two get out of here,” she said. Her uncle had told me in passing that she was the bossiest person he knew, even as a small child. “Juanita needs to eat.”
I chuckled and ducked my head. “Yes, ma’am.”
Harley stood in the doorway. She’d watched the entire exchange silently but when I looked closer, I realized she had tears in her eyes. I didn’t ask then, but after we said our goodbyes and walked out to the truck, I turned to her. “Why the tears?”
“Nana likes you,” she said. “A lot.”
“And that made you cry?”
She laughed and brushed at her eyes. “I should’ve worn waterproof mascara, I guess. Nana worries about me. She’s afraid she’ll die and I’ll be all alone.”
I knew I shouldn’t press her too far, too fast, but I grabbed her hand. “You never have to be alone again, Harley. I’m here now.”
She turned her hand over and threaded her fingers through mine. “It’s a little early for never agains, but I appreciate the words anyway.”
She left it at that, so I did as well. At least my words hadn’t freaked her out.
13
Harley
Dressing for a date to an unknown location was always frustrating, but when St
efan turned up looking like a million bucks wearing a flannel shirt and jeans, I didn’t worry. He could’ve walked into a nice restaurant or corner market and fit in. It wasn’t what he wore, it was his smooth confidence.
The way he spoke to my Nana had brought tears to my eyes. Mostly me wishing I could know that this thing with Stefan would work out. After seeing how he treated my Nana, I stopped wondering if he’d be good to me. He’d been open and honest with her in a way I’d never experienced in my past half-started unfinished relationships.
Then he’d promised he’d take care of me. It had been hard not to roll my eyes at him. As if after one not-really-a-date at the deli, he knew we’d be together forever. Not even I was that idealistic.
When we got to the diner, he walked around the truck but didn’t hurry. I was able to open my door on my own, but he held out a hand as I slid out.
With a smile, I took it. As before, the simple touch of his hand was enough to warm me inside and bring a smile to my face.
We walked into the diner and the hostess took us to a table in the middle of the room. I couldn’t help but notice all the eyes in the room on us. But it was a small town, what did we expect? They all thought I was going to turn into an old maid and probably couldn’t wait to go home and gossip about me dating the new mechanic.
Ignoring the lot of them, I held my head high and settled in our booth. Stefan looked around a few times before ducking his head behind the menu. “What’s good here?”
I put my finger on top of his menu and dragged it down. “Have you not eaten here before?”
“Only once,” he said. “Not much for sitting down to eat alone.”
Did he not have people he could go to dinner with? “I thought you were close to the Kingstons?” I asked as I browsed my menu as if I didn’t know it by heart. It hadn’t changed in the twenty-eight years of my life.
“They don’t eat out all that often,” he replied from behind his menu.
After pointing out a few dishes I thought were particularly good, he settled on chicken-fried steak and we ordered. I teased him for a minute about fried foods and his delicate figure, but then he stiffened.
“What?” I whispered. “Did someone come in?” The urge to look behind me was strong, but I’d sat down with my back to the door. It made me paranoid, but he’d need to be the one to physically defend us if my father or whatever mysterious stranger that was having me investigated came in guns blazing.
Stefan snapped his attention to me again. “No, sorry. Someone looked at me and didn’t look away, so I was staring them down.” He looked disgruntled enough for me to twist in my seat and look for the person.
“Who?” I didn’t see anyone staring, though we were getting lots of glances, especially with me turned around in my seat.
“It doesn’t matter. Tell me something I don’t know about you,” he said.
I returned to sitting correctly and smiled at him. “That’s a lot of things.” Now the pressure was on me to be interesting. Shoot. “I love to read.”
He smiled. “So do I. I’ve been a bibliophile since I was a small child.”
How delightful. It was so much rarer to find a man that read anymore. “That’s great. It always seems like men today are all into video games and none of them want to read anymore.”
Laughter filled the air as Stefan threw his head back. “Oh, don’t worry. I still love video games.”
I put my hand over my heart in mock relief. “Oh, thank goodness. I was beginning to think you were too good to be true.”
“No, I love movies and gaming, too. But when I was a kid, there wasn’t a lot of money and the library was free. I developed a love for books then.” He ducked his head and took a drink of water.
“Don’t be embarrassed,” I said. “I have my fair share of not enough money stories.” My grandmother has done her best, but there were some lean times. “It took all my life for Nana to save up enough to remodel the house into something we could share now that I’m grown, rather than the small two-bedroom home she had when I was born.”
He raised his eyebrows and focused intently on my story. “But when I was very young and Mom left, Nana held a couple of jobs to make ends meet. Then she got sick when I was a teenager. She should’ve spent the house money on her care, but she went ahead with the remodel before she knew she was going to be sick long-term.”
He opened his mouth to speak, but his eyes flitted over my shoulder again. Then, he hunched in his seat. “Sorry, people keep looking at us.”
What was bothering him so much about that? “So?”
He gave me a wide-eyed look and sat up again. “Nothing. Sorry. I’m glad your Nana was able to give you a place to live now. It’s much harder starting out when you have to pay high rent.”
I nodded and started to talk about how it felt when I took over the household finances, but he distracted me by looking around again, this time looking more irritated.
“Is it the age difference?” I blurted out. “Are you worried about being seen with an older woman?” He stared at me without speaking, just blinking a couple of times. My hope and heart exploded into a million pieces and landed in my gut as disappointment. “Oh my god.” It was the age thing. “I’m so sorry you felt like you had to take me out. Please, let me pay and take me home.” I pulled my purse out from under my coat in the booth beside me and dug for my wallet.
Stefan’s body crowding mine on my right made me look up in surprise. He was trying to scoot into the booth with me. “What are you doing?” I hissed.
“Scoot over.” He didn’t give me much choice, so I did, pressing my purse and jacket against the wall.
My hands trembled, but only a little. So, hopefully, he didn’t notice as he took both of them into his. “You are beautiful. I honestly thought you were my age or younger. Your skin is as smooth as any teenager’s. But…” He lowered his voice. “That doesn’t matter to me. You could be ten or twenty years older, and I’d still want you. You’re the perfect woman for me, and the more I know you, the more sure I am. You think I’m crazy and it’s too soon for words like that.”
I tried to open my mouth to protest, but he put a finger on my lip. Thoughts of sucking the finger into my mouth flashed through my mind. I had to push them away when he continued.
“I’m not saying I’m in love with you yet. I’m saying I like you, and we’re very compatible. And the people in the room staring and giving us glances are making me super paranoid, but it’s because I’m twenty-two and a mechanic, living in a studio apartment over the garage. I have nothing but my truck and nothing to offer you. I recognize many of the people here. If anything, I’m worried they’ll judge you for dating beneath you.”
He moved his finger off my lip so I could speak, but the words wouldn’t come. Instead, I leaned forward and pressed my lips to his, tilting my head just enough to miss his nose. Puckering, I made sure our lips rubbed slightly as I pulled my head away. They stuck together as if they didn’t want to be apart from each other.
“You don’t have to offer me anything but your heart for as long as you are dating me,” I whispered. He opened his mouth to speak, but I put my finger on his lips this time. Shit. They were warm and soft. “I don’t mean love me. I mean be loyal to me. Be with me if you’re with me, even if we aren’t together.” He nodded behind my finger, and his lips rubbed against it. Damn him. “And, I don’t do casual. Not at all. If I don’t think the relationship has a future, I’ll break it off. This isn’t a game to me, and you are at an age that most men coast from woman to woman. I’m not that woman. Are you okay with that?” I moved my finger so he could respond.
He didn’t. He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to my lips. This time, my bottom lip poked through his lips, just a little. Just enough for him to run the very tip of his tongue along it.
Yowza. That was hot, and just like that, my panties were soaked again. “I don’t coast,” he said huskily against my lips. He pulled away, but only enough to press his forehea
d against mine. “And I’m loyal. And you have my heart in whatever capacity you want it. I said I’m not in love with you, but I am in that place where I see it coming. Are you okay with that?” He mimicked my last question.
One more kiss. I pressed my lips to his, positioning us intentionally so his bottom lip would slip between mine. I traced his lip with my tongue, then pulled back when I felt him going in for a deeper kiss. “I’m also not a big fan of PDA,” I whispered. “So get back on your side of the booth.”
He roared with laughter, right in my face, then grabbed my cheeks and pulled me in for another kiss, but without the sensual nature. It was a pop of appreciation and affection. And somehow just as hot as the tongue.
Squeezing my hand, he slid out and moved to the other side of the booth. The rest of the date went so well it was hard to believe. We stayed through dessert and coffee, then he let me pay, to my delight, without argument.
When we got to my place, I considered inviting him in. But while I was excited about Stefan and hopeful, I wasn’t sure. Only when I was sure would I invite him inside.
“May I kiss you again?” he asked at the door to my garage. He’d walked me to the door. That was the sort of chivalry that was hot.
“You’ve already kissed me,” I said. “Why would you ask now?” The fact that he had made my resolve not to invite him in harder to bear.
“You kissed me, initiating the other kisses. This time, I want to kiss you, but I want your consent.”
Be still my heart.
“Yes,” I said, and was about to tell him how nice it was that he asked, but he drew me into his arms, putting one hand on the small of my back and the other between my shoulder blades. He was considerably taller than me, so I looked up and watched his lips descend on mine.
Stefan then kissed me until my soul left my body and floated above to see him bent over me. My back arched like some sort of dance move while he held me up without one sign of difficulty as his lips made actual love to my own. When he pulled up and helped me to stand, my soul returned to find my knees shaking, lips swollen, and the taste of him in my mouth.