Sapphire Dragon (Awakened Dragons Book 2) (2 page)

“I don’t know,” Hallie said. “It’s against policy simply because we need to be able to treat him. As much as we can.”

Luc walked over to the cat, and it started purring again. He raised an eyebrow and lifted his hand to stroke along its head, and its eyes closed in relief.

Perhaps he still had a little of his power after all. He examined the lump on its leg. Perhaps with time…

“What does it mean, volunteer?” he asked, pointing at the sign.

Hallie, who’d been looking at him with an odd expression as he’d been stroking the cat in her arms, snapped back to attention. “Oh, right. It means people to come in and help out around the shelter. Help with the animals.” She bit her lip. “With no pay.”

“Interesting,” he said. Perhaps that would enable him to stay around the cat a bit longer. See if he could help him. Maybe that would fill something inside him.

The emptiness was killing him. Being able to heal again would soothe his soul.

That was if he could do it with his powers restrained.

He eyed Hallie. He needed to be careful with humans. He couldn’t let himself get involved with them at all. If he started healing again, caring again, it would all go wrong. It was best if he went back to sleep before that could happen.

But maybe he could help the cat first. Maybe even the human a little, too.

“What’s his name?” Luc asked.

“Bastien,” she said, cocking her head.

“And if I volunteer here, I can see him?”

She nodded.

Her scent wafted toward him, violets and vanilla. Soothing and soft.

Would it really be so bad to get close to just one more human? Just for a little while?

“I’ll take the job.”

H
allie blinked in shock
. Men like this didn’t come in here every day. In fact, the only one she’d seen this hot was Zach, the dark-haired guy who’d brought his friend in here.

But aside from their size and relative hottieness, the two were different as night and day.

This man’s hair was a darker blond shot through with gold and little streaks of white, and his features were classically handsome, hard jaw, defined cheekbones, full lips, and thick, arched brows.

He kept distracting her with his eyes that were every color of sapphire, from the darkest midnight on the outer edge to a bright Caribbean-blue in the center, contrasting his pupils. And they were always changing, like dye in water.

But there was something in those eyes that struck her more than the colors. Loneliness. Maybe something even worse.

He was staring at her, making Bastien purr and relax when he’d never been at ease with anyone but her, and she realized this eccentric man just asked to volunteer.

“Wait,” she said, even though the thought of working alongside a guy like this for even a few hours a week seemed like a dream come true. “I need to know your experience. I’ll need a background check.”

He frowned. “I can get them, but as you aren’t paying me, is it really necessary?”

Zach appeared from behind him and walked forward with Hallie conspiratorially. “Do you think we could just not worry about it? He’s kind of going through a rough time, just been through a big overseas move, and his stuff is everywhere.”

“Do you have any experience with animals?” she asked.

He shrugged.

“You’re going to have to be more helpful than that.” She frowned.

“I… am a quick learner,” he said quietly. “And I do like animals.”

She swallowed. It was sort of against their rules, but strangely, she had a good feeling about this guy. And they needed the extra hands. Free help with those kinds of muscles wasn’t exactly knocking on their door every day.

He’d be so useful for moving crates, heavy food, cages… and as eye candy.

She turned to put Bastien back in the cage, hiding her blush. She’d long ago stopped thinking about love, let alone with a guy that looked fit to grace a movie screen, not do manual labor around her shelter.

She could still feel the tingles in her body from when he’d been so close to her, touching Bastien and invading her space without realizing it. With the near constant pain she was in, it took a lot to distract her for even a moment.

But he had done just that. Was it only because he was so hot her body went haywire? Or had there actually been some kind of soothing presence emanating from him?

She wasn’t sure. She didn’t have a lot of experience with hot guys. Her days were all work, and at night, she was exhausted and tired of dealing with people and just wanted to be home snuggling her cats.

But one thing she was sure of was there was something odd about this guy. Something that made her want to see more of him.

Literally
, she thought, blushing again.

She looked up to see him watching her intently. He didn’t look at her as any other guys did. Often, people made comments about her weight or sneered at her or dismissed her entirely. They had no idea what her life had been like. What she had fought or overcome.

All they saw was an overweight woman they could judge.

She liked her body. Was at home in it and grateful for it, and she wouldn’t change herself for anything. All she would change was the critical look in people’s eyes that said there was something wrong with her.

Except the handsome man in front of her didn’t have that look in his eyes at all. In fact, if she hadn’t been imagining it, she could swear she saw his eyes sweep over her, checking her out, and a slightly appreciative nod of his head.

But that was stupid. She was just daydreaming, because a man straight out of a superhero movie, with the most beautiful eyes she’d ever seen, happened to be staring at her.

She took a deep breath and made up her mind. She’d hire him, damn the consequences. She doubted Patty or Jenna would have a problem with their new volunteer once they laid eyes on him.

An unwelcome pang of possessiveness passed over her at that. A need to protect him from any gaze but hers.

Which was ridiculous. No man on earth had ever looked less like he needed protecting. Yet there was something vulnerable about him. Wounded almost.

She bit her lip. “When do you want to start?”

“And I can hang out with Bastien?” he asked.

“Sure,” she said, still touched by how much he’d bonded with the little cat that no one else gave a second look.

“And if he were to get better, could I adopt him?” he asked, blue eyes hopeful.

A rock formed in her stomach. The last thing she wanted was for this man to grow attached when there was no hope. It wasn’t a matter of “if” for Bastien, just a matter of “when.”

“He’s not going to get better,” she said quietly. “But I’m sure he could use a friend.”

The tall man cocked his head thoughtfully but didn’t seem to really let it sink in.

“Injection site sarcoma is aggressive,” she said. “I’m sorry. I want you to work here, but I don’t want you to get your hopes up for nothing.”

He sighed as he straightened and stretched. “I’ve had worse hopes before.”

What did that mean?

Erin, Zach’s kind, gentle wife, smiled at Hallie. “He’s an odd one, but I think you can trust him.”

Hallie laughed. “You think?”

Erin nodded. “I mean, no one’s a sure bet.”

Hallie turned to the giant man and tapped his arm. An electric shock zinged between them, and he raised an eyebrow, pursing his perfect lips at the contact.

She pulled back. “I don’t even know your name,” she said. “And we’ll have to at least fill out an application. Well, you can take it home and bring it back with you.”

“I’m Luc,” he said flatly.

She led them back to the front office and grabbed a packet out of a drawer. When she went to hand it to him, she could swear his fingers lingered a little bit long on hers. Just a slight hesitation.

“You can start tomorrow,” she said, struggling to speak when her throat had gone dry over how hot he was. Over the realization that he was actually coming there again.

“And you’ll be here?” he asked, tucking the folded application in a pocket.

Her eyes widened. “Yes.”

“Good,” he said. And then he walked out with his friends, pausing only to look over his shoulder and give a short wink. So quick she could have missed it.

Holy hell. Was this walking blond god actually into her?

* * *

E
ven though Luc
told himself he was going back for the little hairless cat, Hallie’s gray eyes were the foremost thing in his mind as he got ready for his first day at the shelter.

Zach and Erin had been surprised by his impetuous move to apply, but they were all too eager to get him out of the house.

He touched the collar around his neck, feeling the cold iron there.

Perhaps it was good his dragon was sealed. If it wasn’t, he’d probably already be getting in trouble. Getting too involved. As it stood now, he could get to know humans and be out in the world without worrying about either side of his powers coming out.

On the one hand, he could be warm, caring, soothing. Able to heal and bring down rain. But the other side, the one that felt much closer to the surface since he’d awakened, was devastating, with icy blasts. Hard skin. Frozen projectiles. Blizzards.

Both should probably stay hidden for now. Maybe buried for the rest of time.

It was ironic that Zach was the one who’d managed to function in the human world and convince them to continue the experiment, waking up Luc.

Because Zac had never cared for humans in the time he’d been alive. Then again, he’d never killed them either.

And that was more than Luc could say.

Shame moved through him as he tied a tie over the dress shirt he’d found in Zach’s closet. He wasn’t sure of the dress code, but he wanted to look nice when seeing Hallie again, so he’d looked for the dressiest clothes.

“That’s going to be overkill,” Zach said, leaning against the door with a frown.

“I don’t care,” Luc said. “I’m going for the cat.”

“Right, the cat,” Zach said, raising an eyebrow with a cocky smile. “Sure.” He straightened and walked to his dresser and pulled out a different set of clothes, still with tags on. “Here, try these. You’ll fit in better.”

Luc reluctantly changed into the light-blue sweater and dark jeans and sighed at how casual he appeared. He would never get used to modern clothing.

“Better?” he asked.

“Yup,” Zach replied, coming into the room to look him over. “The ‘cat’ will be pleased. And anyone else you’re aiming for…” He raised a questioning eyebrow.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Luc said sharply, messing with his hair, which wanted to stick in all directions.

“It looks fine,” Zach said, shaking his head. “You’re making it worse.”

Luc stopped abruptly. “Are you here for a reason?”

“Just to make sure you don’t look or act stupid out in the human world when I’m not there to supervise you.”

“No one was around to supervise you,” Luc said flatly.

“Erin sort of was.” Zach grinned. “I got lucky there.”

“Yes, you did.” Luc agreed. “But I’m fine on my own. I’ve been on my own a long time.”

“Except you won’t really be alone at all, will you?” Zach asked, a knowing gaze in his eyes.

Luc’s stomach twisted slightly. “What are you talking about?”

“You know what I’m talking about. The little receptionist you were making eyes at.”

“Making eyes?” he asked.

Zach sighed. “Ogling. Eye fucking.”

“I beg your pardon,” Luc said, disturbed.

“You found a human you like,” Zach said, nudging him with a shoulder. “Good for you.”

“It doesn’t matter if I like her,” Luc said. “Humans are not for mating.”

Zach frowned. “What about me?”

Luc straightened his cuffs. “You seem to be making the impossible work. Which is the epitome of irony, considering the fact that you hated humans as a species not long ago.”

“The world is different now,” Zach said. “Give it a chance.”

Luc’s eyes darted to the TV, which was covering another shooting. Always another shooting or fire or fight or war. “Doesn’t seem so different to me.”

“And you’re different, too,” Zach commented. “Maybe not in a good way, but you’re definitely different.”

He gave Luc a swat on the butt, and the tall man jumped back and glared at him. “What was that for?”

“To loosen you up,” Zach said, striding out the door with his hands behind his head. “Now go get your mate.”

Luc shook the thought from his head. He was going to stay uninvolved with humans. Sure, he could admire Hallie, enjoy her company, but that was it.

Anything further spelled disaster.

Still, a little uneasy part of him wondered, if she wasn’t going to be his mate, why did he feel so obsessed with seeing her again?

He’d never felt that way about any creature. And looking at Zach, perhaps the expectation in this world was that dragons would take human mates.

Something that
never
would have been considered in his day.

He did know if he could pick one, someone like Hallie would be just his type. Hallie herself if possible.

But aside from her outward kindness, he’d seen no sign that she returned any of the attraction he felt. She’d only given him a smile and averted her eyes.

Too bad he wanted her to look right into him.