Ruby Dragon (Awakened Dragons Book 3) (8 page)

She kissed his shoulder as he lay there. “Thank you.”

He held her close, keeping all the words he wanted to say inside. She wasn’t ready to hear he was in love. That he wanted her forever.

So he merely said, “You’re welcome.” And she giggled and stayed in his arms.

As long as he got to hold her like that until morning, he’d be fine.

T
he next day
, Red stayed at Faye’s apartment after walking her to work. He was feeling extra protective, even of her space, and if she wasn’t there to protect, he would at least be there to protect her things.

The trust she’d given him the night before, the exquisitely beautiful way she’d let herself be vulnerable to him, had only made him that much more in love.

He was seriously falling for this girl, as they’d say on modern TV.

He checked the clock on the wall and grinned when he saw it was finally time to go pick Faye up. He’d hated having to let go of her in the morning, and he knew he’d be a little early this evening, but he couldn’t wait to see her.

He supposed that was just part of having a mate.

Though he still had no idea how to tell her about him.

He shrugged into his jacket, wearing a tee shirt and jeans, feeling more casual today, and walked out.

He knew the way to her place by heart now and kind of liked walking there. Too bad when he got his treasure back, he wasn’t going to let her work there at all. He knew she hated it, and he’d give her the resources to do whatever she wanted with her life.

He had an odd, prickly feeling as he walked down the last street that turned onto the street her bar was on. It was a wide alley littered with trashcans and garbage and was darker than everything around it. As he stepped back onto the main road, the sun was starting to set, though it was still bright outside, and dramatic shadows darkened every surface. The signs, the sidewalks. Plus, the glare from the sun.

He shielded his eyes as he crossed to the road to get to her bar and couldn’t shake the prickly feeling again.

Was someone watching him? Perhaps that douchebag Braden was here stalking Faye again. He looked around but didn’t see anyone.

A group of guys huddled over a magazine, dressed in dirty clothing. A few construction workers eating. A few bikers. Nothing out of the ordinary for that part of town.

He opened the door to the bar, and Faye’s boss Ron, a large, jovial man with a bright-orange beard, lifted his hand in a wave. He’d met him that morning and thought even if Faye had a tough job, at least she got to work with pretty good people for the most part. It reassured him that someone was watching out for her when he couldn’t.

After all, if he just sat in the bar staring at her and growling at anyone who came near, that wouldn’t be very good for tips.

She emerged from the kitchen, counting money and smiling at a co-worker, and then locked eyes with him as she turned forward. She looked like a ray of sunlight bursting out of the dankness.

He watched with pride as a slow, red blush worked over her pale skin, under her freckles.

Had she spent the day thinking of last night, too? The way their bodies had fit together like they were made for each other?

She untied her apron, set it behind the wooden counter, said good-bye to her boss, and walked over to Red.

Unable to resist, he pulled her in for a kiss. He was expecting her to resist, but she just sank in. What a wonderful, loving, giving woman. He couldn’t imagine how anyone could treat her as anything but the queen she was.

“Should we go?” he asked.

“You’re a little early,” she said, her mouth cocking in a smile. “But I had a feeling you would be, so I told Ron I’d need to leave early tonight.”

“For me?” he asked. “I’m flattered.”

She grinned and put an arm around his waist as they walked out of the bar. He tried not to let her pick up on the unease he felt as they stepped back onto the dirty sidewalk and he sensed a prickle of anxiety again.

Someone was definitely watching.

He looked warily at the alleyway he’d come through, wondering if he should really go through it with her beside him.

He scented the air and noticed something unfamiliar. Whatever was watching him, waiting for him, perhaps it was better he faced them somewhere where people couldn’t see him.

So that was one point for the alley. He looked over at Faye, looking innocently happy to just be holding his hand. No, he couldn’t risk anything happening with her right there.

He looked around and saw people waving their hand and getting into yellow cars. “Let’s take one of those. You have money?” he asked.

She nodded. “But—”

“Trust me,” he muttered. “I’ll pay when we get back, but we’re being followed.”

Her face paled, and she nodded, stepping forward to signal for one of the yellow cars to stop. When it did, she got in and gave them the address. Then she put her hand in his as they rode.

He flipped around to look behind them, trying to see what was following. If it was a shifter, he didn’t recognize the scent. But he definitely sensed something more than the humans that were out on the street.

Something sinister.

“Was it Braden?” she asked. “Did you see him?”

He shook his head. “I don’t know what it is. It’s just a gut feeling, and while I’m sure I can fight them, I didn’t want to get you caught in a bad situation.”

“Do you think they were waiting for me?” she asked.

“Maybe,” he said. “All the more reason I’m glad I came to pick you up. At the same time, I’ve had this same uneasy feeling since I first left.”

“Oh,” she said. “You think they could be following you?” She twisted her hands in her lap, taking hers back. “Now that I think about it, there is a lot I don’t know about you.”

“I told you,” he said. “There isn’t a lot to tell. I’m just here on a sabbatical from work, figuring out the city.”

“Right,” she said. “Then why do I feel like you’re keeping secrets?”

“We all have secrets,” he said, keeping his eye on what was happening outside the car whenever it stopped. “Sometimes secrets are just facts we haven’t found the right time to share. But you trust me, right?”

She flushed. “I would hope so. But you know it’s hard for me.”

“I know,” he said. “That’s why I don’t expect everything at once.” He took her hand and squeezed it in his reassuringly. “But I promise I’m going to keep you safe. Body and heart.”

She just looked at him, flushing again, and he fought back a grin. She was wonderful.

She made him want to be more than he’d ever been. The best version of himself.

And right now, he was hell-bent on protecting her from whatever was following them.

* * *

W
hen they arrived
at the apartment building, they paid the driver and then got out, Red looking around warily as he kept Faye behind him.

“Is it safe?” she asked.

“I don’t see anything,” he said. “Let’s just get upstairs before anything can happen.” He grabbed her hand, and they jogged toward the stairs. She nearly stumbled, making him aware he had to be careful with her much smaller stride. “When we get up there, if anything goes down, lock yourself in your apartment and don’t come out.”

She wrinkled her nose. “I’m not just going to leave you out there.” She held up her purse. “I have pepper spray.”

He grinned ruefully. “I don’t think this is the type of thing pepper spray can fix.”

She frowned. “Just what is it you know that I don’t? I saw you handle Braden. What has you so nervous?”

He wasn’t nervous for him. He was nervous for her. He had someone he really cared about now, and if something inhuman was targeting her for being involved with him, he didn’t know what he’d do.

“I just… Let’s go.” They cleared the second landing and he breathed out a sigh of relief when he saw the way was clear to her apartment.

Then he saw the fire escape door open, and a few men dressed in black spilled out, wearing masks.

“Shit,” he said, running down the corridor, yanking Faye with him. He got her to the door of her apartment, kicked it in, and then shoved her inside. “I’m sorry,” he said. Then he slammed the door behind her as the men ran toward them, almost in seemingly slow motion.

“Wait!” he heard Faye yell and yank on the doorknob as he held the door shut. “Wait, what are you doing?”

He put his hand over the doorknob and focused, hoping to access just a small part of his dragon powers, as he’d been able to do so far. The doorknob glowed. “Move your hand, Faye. Please.” His voice was authoritative, and he felt her release it. Then he focused on the knob.

One of the men strode up, getting in his space, and he threw out his free hand in a loose punch, catching him in the face and sending him reeling backward.

The knob grew white hot and began to melt, and he focused on making the hot metal into a bar that filled the lock area.

Try to get through that, fuckers.

Then he whirled to face them. The man he’d hit was rubbing his eye, and the others were standing back. One of them, a tall one who looked like their leader, pulled off his mask.

A beautiful man with blond hair and striking green eyes stared out at him, a calm smirk on his face. “How do you like the new wyverns, Ruby?”

Red raised an eyebrow. “Punchable. I like them.” He frowned. “I heard you were working for the asshole side, but I didn’t want to believe it.” He folded his arms and looked at his old friend. “I guess you weren’t the same after Opal. You gonna let one woman fuck you up like that?”

Aegis’s lip curled. “You have a woman now. You tell me.”

That struck center. If something went wrong with Faye, he didn’t know what he’d do. Still… “I wouldn’t become evil.”

“Evil is a matter of opinion,” Aegis said. “Anyway, we’re just here to see if you’ll consider joining our side. With your particular powers, we could use you.”

“You haven’t been very successful recruiting any of the rest of us. What makes you think you’d get me?”

Aegis was quiet. Thoughtful. “You know me,” he said. “And Zach threw you out, so I assumed you weren’t influenced by him.” He glared at the collar on Red’s neck. “You seriously like being chained like that? Being turned into a slave for humans?”

“You like making genetic rejects for the purpose of being punched by other dragons?” Red asked sarcastically.

Aegis drew himself to his full, towering height, looking haughty. “I guess we’ll see how punchable they are. I was just going to ask you politely to consider talking to us. But I guess you can be the test of how the new wyverns do against a collared dragon.” There was a sneer in Aegis’s voice but almost a hint of remorse in his eyes.

Did his friend regret what he had become?

“Aegis,” he said, “it’s not too late. Work things out with Zach. Come back.”

Aegis let out a bitter laugh. “You have to be joking if you think I’m teaming up with that lot.” He bit his lower lip. “You know he was awake first, and he just left us there, on ice? Could have freed us, but no, just took the collar and let himself live, knowing at some point, we’d be woken and turned into slaves, too.”

Red exhaled slowly. “I’m no one’s slave,” he said. “I trust the oracle. My life has been good since I’ve been awakened. How has yours been, with all the freedom in the world?”

Aegis went quiet at that, his green eyes cautious. “Anyway, it’s been nice seeing you, Ruby. It really has. But since this isn’t going to work out, I have other places to be.” He looked at the other guys. “Be careful with them. They’re expensive.”

And then he walked to the window at the end of the hall, opened it, and hopped out.

The next moment, Red saw a faint shadow taking off into the sky, flying into the distance.

He turned to the men, who were still masked. They rushed him as one, and he caught two with his fists and pushed the third back with his foot. All three slammed into the wall. The last two rushed him, and he head-butted one, crushing his nose with a satisfying smack, and sank his fist hard into the other’s stomach.

But despite the way they stumbled back, they looked barely affected by his use of force.

He was going to need at least some of his powers. Luckily, when a human was in danger, he could access more of them. And right now, his future mate was just behind a door.

He walked forward, feeling heat bottle inside him. “I didn’t want to do this. Damn Aegis for bringing you into this.” He let the fire build, swirling inside him, until he felt dark, black smoke forming.

He looked down the hall, glad no one else was around in this rundown building. Then he breathed out with all his force, coating the men in front of him in thick, dark smoke. It clung to them, encasing them in a sphere as they coughed and struggled, stealing their air.

He couldn’t use fire for now. It would be too obvious. Leave singe marks. But he could do this.

He heard the gasping stop and walked over to the pile of men slumped on each other, unconscious.

He hadn’t even seen their shifter forms, but they’d been incredibly strong, impervious to his hits. And Red knew he hit hard.

He leaned over them, listening for breathing and heart rate. They were still fine, as he’d surmised, but it would take time for their bodies to get over his smoke. He pulled out his phone and dialed Sapphire.

“Yeah?” Sapphire asked.

“I need a pick-up,” Red said.

“What is it?”

Red scratched his head. “You know those wyverns you were talking about? Well, Aegis showed up with some. Some kind of test.”