Diamond Dragon (Awakened Dragons Book 4) (5 page)

‘Think you can put up with me until then?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said. “More than that since you have to help me save my friend.”

He sighed. “You don’t have to keep reminding me of that. I’m not planning to leave you high and dry.”

“That’s right.” She confirmed. “I have your ring, so you can’t.”

“You know,” he said, leaning on his side and getting close so she could feel the warmth of his breath on her cheek as she avoided his gaze. “You could be a little more trusting.”

Her heart sped up as she tried to ignore him. “Hm.”

He reached up to touch her hair, and since it felt oddly nice, she didn’t stop him. Just stared at him with wide eyes and tried not to shudder as his long fingers threaded through the strands.

“I’ve always wondered how this felt,” he said quietly, his eyes narrowed.

“Stop that,” she said, not meaning it.

He withdrew his hand, but she still felt marked by him. If just a stroke through her hair could affect her like that, what would something like a kiss do?

His lips curled into a grin, and he pressed a kiss to her forehead. It was warm and surprising.

“What was that for?” she asked.

“I just felt like it.”

“You’re confusing,” she said.

“I’m not,” he said. “You’re the confusing one. You make me want you, make me think of you, when I’m not used to it. When the wolf touched you today, I was angry. More than angry. I was filled with rage.” He reached for her hair again but drew back, looking thoughtful. “Yes, you’re the one who is confusing.”

She felt like her tight pulse couldn’t take any more of him looking at her tonight. “I’m sorry…”

He laughed and lay back again, pulling up the covers. “Good night, princess.”

“Princess?” she asked.

“Just a nickname,” he said. “You don’t like it?”

She shook her head. “I’m not anything like a princess.”

“I don’t know,” he said. “Just the first thing that came to mind. What do you prefer?”

“Bridget,” she said firmly.

“Bridget,” he repeated, and her name sounded odd on his lips, as if he were tasting her.

He clicked off the light, plunging them into darkness. But even without seeing him, she was so aware of him. His scent. His warmth. His presence. His maleness.

She needed to stay focused. Tomorrow, they would need to run again. And until Lana was back, she couldn’t focus on anything else.

Still, the sexy dragon in bed next to her was making it very hard.

She began counting sheep in her head, and when they turned into little dragons, she had to laugh in exasperation.

But soon enough, she heard his light snores next to her. She turned over, and his pale face appeared oddly innocent in the darkness.

She reached out with a finger, wondering about his skin, and then pulled back.

They were just partners working together for related causes.

She wouldn’t let him get her confused about her goals.

“
I
s he still up there
?” Zach, the onyx dragon, asked, as they sat at the dining room table, discussing their options.

“He’s always up there,” Luc, the sapphire dragon, said, looking in the direction of Amethyst’s room.

“And still talking to himself,” Red, the ruby dragon, said cheerfully. “So glad we woke him up. So helpful.”

“He’s still adjusting to modern life,” Luc, always the empathetic one, said. “We can’t ask too much of him. I do know he’s serious about helping us find Diamond. They were friends, you know. As much as Diamond was friends with anyone.”

“Right,” Red said. “So he needs to hurry it up. I hate the idea that there’s a dragon out there, possibly being tortured, definitely exploited to make horrible creatures that are difficult to fight.”

“I don’t know,” Zach said. “Between my onyx shield, Luc’s ice, and your flames, I think we’re a pretty competent team.”

“Yeah, but after seeing them herself, my mate would really rather we didn’t have to deal with wyverns.”

Zach could understand that. Red’s mate had to come with them to rescue him on their last mission, and things had gotten a bit dicey there for a minute.

Still, it took more than a few hundred wyverns to take down an awakened dragon.

“There’s nothing we can do until Amethyst makes contact,” Zach said.

“We can’t send out people to search?” Red asked.

“We have no idea who to trust,” Luc answered. “Anyone could be on the wrong side. It’s safest to wait.”

A triumphant, muffled shout from upstairs interrupted them, and they all froze, listening to heavy footsteps as someone pounded down the main staircase.

A moment later, Dominic, the amethyst dragon, stood in the doorway, breathing heavily. His black and purple-streaked hair was pushed back, but some streamed over his face, hiding one bright-blue eye.

“I’ve seen him,” Dom said, giving them all a slightly crazed look. “I haven’t made contact fully, but I’ve seen him. A vision.”

Luc stood, placing his hands on the table excitedly. “Where?”

“I don’t know,” Dom said, walking over and slumping in a chair. He leaned forward, dropping his head in his hands, and let out a long, ragged breath.

Zach felt sorry for the guy. He went through things, saw things that no other shifter could understand, and bore it all himself.

Then again, he wasn’t the easiest to get close to either.

Since they’d brought him into the world, he’d easily begun to identify with gothic culture (which Zach only knew after his mate had explained it to him), and you could see it in the leather accents he preferred, the dark boots, and the piercings going up one ear.

But then again, Zach bet no Goth was ever as tall or buff as Dom appeared to be.

He probably made the humans he saw when he went out want to wet themselves.

And he did go out, especially super late at night when he thought no one was around.

But Zach wasn’t worried about it. Dom had always done his own thing.

In fact, when he’d been woken up, the oracle hadn’t even seen fit to put on a collar. One, they needed his powers to help find Diamond, but two, Dom was zero interested in anything to do with self-interest or the modern world.

He’d told them multiple times he wasn’t a danger because all he wanted was to go back to sleep. He would help them find Diamond, and then he wanted to be put into cryo once more.

Zach hoped he came to change his mind. He knew Dom’s powers probably wore on him, but the world could really use him right now, even once Diamond was found.

Dom sent him an odd look from beneath his dark hair and then blew it out of his face. The whites of his eyes were red and bloodshot, and his expression was drawn. “I’m going back to sleep, Zach. So stop thinking about it.”

Zach shrugged. He should have known better than to think about it with the amethyst dragon around. “Sorry. Of course, your call. So anyway, about Diamond?”

“Right, I saw Alistair escape with a woman. A human, I think. They were driving. Running from their captors. I don’t know who the human is, but she is helping him, I think.”

“Wait, so he’s lose, and he’s alone with a human?” Red asked. “Is that even safe?”

“He’s collared,” Zach said. “That means his powers are in check until he proves himself. Unless a human is in danger, that is. Then he can use his powers to defend himself and the human.”

“Diamond defend a human?” Dom scoffed. “Unlikely. All diamond cares about is his own comfort.”

“Ironic he’s been in prison, then,” Red commented.

Dom frowned. “Yeah. He doesn’t deserve that.” He ran his hand through his hair, shaking it. “Anyway, I’ll keep watching. The visions should be more frequent now that I’ve made contact. Maybe soon I’ll hear his thoughts or voice.”

“I hope so,” Zach said. “Hell, we have no idea what he knows since being awakened. He could be really confused. Or even dangerous.”

“Diamond’s only danger is his selfish apathy,” Dom said, a bitter grin twisting his lips. Any pleasure was hard to see on his face because of his constantly stressed expression. “He isn’t the type to go out of his way for anybody, but he also isn’t likely to hurt someone without reason. He just doesn’t really care for anyone but himself.” He shook his head. “So we should be safe from him figuring out the loophole with the collar.” He grinned. “Diamond protecting a human. That would be the day.”

“Hey, we’ve all learned to protect humans.” Red interrupted. “When it’s your mate and your mate helps you understand the rest, they aren’t so bad.”

Dom scoffed at that and leaned back in his chair, his impressive chest straining the leather of his jacket. “Right. Since you’ve all become pets. I forgot.”

“Mates, not pets,” Zach said.

“Right,” Dom said. “My bad.”

“My bad?” Zach said, looking at Luc. “Look who’s been hanging out with the cool kids and learning all the new slang.”

Dom’s eyes narrowed and looked over at the wall, bored. “I’m supposed to be understanding the world, aren’t I?”

“Does it matter if you’re going back to sleep?” Zach asked.

“I suppose not,” Dom said. “Still, it keeps me from being bored.”

“If I were you, I don’t think I’d ever be bored,” Luc said.

Dom was silent at that, his icy glare moving around the room from face to face. Then he stood. “I’m going back up to my room. See if anything else comes.”

“You want dinner?” Luc asked.

“I’ll call down,” Dom replied, shoving his hands in his pockets as he walked out.

He muttered something Zach couldn’t make out as he walked away, and then his heavy footsteps resounded up the stairs.

All the dragons looked at one another as they sat there, thinking on what Dom had said.

“Hopefully he hears more soon,” Red said, giving the others a hesitant smile.

Luc screwed up his brows, looking up in the direction of the ceiling. “You guys hear that?”

Red looked uncomfortable, and Zach nodded. “Yeah,” he said, fighting off a shiver.

“So weird,” Luc said. “You think we should check on him?”

“No,” Zach said. “For Dom, I think this is just business as usual.”

“Who do you think he’s talking to?” Red asked, biting his lip and leaning back in his chair, dark-red hair falling over his forehead.

Zach shrugged. “Himself?”

Luc let out a long breath. “I know this sounds crazy, but sometimes I could swear there is someone up there… with him.”

They all shared a glance and then looked away while the strange sounds upstairs abated for a moment.

“I think I’m going to go find my mate,” Luc said with a grin. “I think that’s our cue to hit the sack.”

“Me, too.” Red agreed.

Zach sat back in his chair. “See you both in the morning.”

They were all staying at his house to help train Dom, or to be ready if any tips came in.

And with all of the odd things going on, Zach was glad to have them there.

In their day, they’d been enigmatic loners. Now they were truly becoming a team.

If they could just get Diamond back, that would really be something.

* * *

A
listair and Bridget
were on the road the next morning as soon as they woke up. The faster they moved, the less likely it was that Alistair’s captors could catch up.

On the way to the next place, they discussed Alistair’s collar but weren’t able to come to any conclusions.

“All I know was for a moment, when I was so angry, I felt the bonds lifted and just… power going through me,” he said as she drove.

“But you have no idea why?” she asked.

“No,” he said. “And neither does the scientist who put it on me. They got it from where I was being held before, so he doesn’t even know the rules of it.”

“Ah,” she said. “Well, we’re here. I think this is our next stop.”

“Storm Haven,” he said, looking up at the rusty sign at the turnoff. “Apt name.”

“Yes,” she said. “I’m not sure what services they’ll have here, but we should be able to get food and some clothing, and it’s such a small place that no one should be looking for us here.”

“Do you think they are?” he asked. “You’re the one who worked for them.”

“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “They’re obsessed with secrecy, so it’s fully possible they’re lying in wait or sending others after us. Or they could just leave us alone, but that’s not likely since we know where they are.”

“That’s my thought as well,” he said. “Even if they aren’t after me for more of my blood, they’ll want to silence us. Or you at least. You’re less threatening than me.”

“Good thing I have you here to protect me,” she said sardonically.

He didn’t like how she said it. “You don’t believe I will?”

“It’s not that,” she said. “It’s just, you keep rubbing in how much stronger you are and how I have to depend on you, when really, you have to depend on me.”

“I do?” he asked.

“You have any money? Any way to get around?”

He scowled. She was right. “No.”

“So there,” she quipped.

“Well, that’s nothing to be grumpy about. We can help each other. Isn’t that right, Scrangey?” He turned back to look at the cat, who was napping in the backseat. “That guy sleeps too much.”

“He’s a cat,” she retorted.

He went back to watching the road as she drove, taking street after street into a small town with buildings and signs everywhere.

“We’ll stop here.”

They got out of the car, cracked the windows for Scrangey, and walked toward the store in front of them.

Alistair read Bridget’s mind constantly in order to hear what she called the things around her so he could learn modern terms. The last thing he wanted was to stick out any more than he did. And with his knee-length, cut-off pants and odd shirt, plus long hair, that was a lot.

She walked straight back to the clothing area, and he saw her rifling through men’s clothing. He didn’t know what to pick, so he trusted her.

When she had an arm full of choices and had looked him up and down enough to feel satisfied they were the right size, they moved to a long rack of clear plastic bags hanging up that held small articles of clothing.

Her hair was back in a clean ponytail. She’d showered this morning, and he liked the blue jacket she wore. It brought out her nice skin, which was lightly dusted with freckles. With her hair out of the way, he could see more of her face.

It was a face he was coming to really like.

She caught him looking at her, and a deep flush moved over her cheeks as she gestured to the racks, stepping back. “I think you should pick out your underwear.”

He grinned. “What if I don’t wear any?”

She flushed deeper. “You’re going to.”

“Hm,” he said, looking at the pictures on the rack. “I don’t know if these are going to fit a dragon’s… endowments.” He enjoyed the way she was trying not to react to his teasing. The squirm as she turned away, her eyes still following him. “Then again, should I wear tighter ones that support me or looser ones that aren’t as attractive should I get to show them to someone?”

“It’s unlikely you’re going to show someone while we’re on the run, isn’t it?”

He gave her what he hoped was a rakish grin. “Maybe there’s someone I’m hoping to show them to.”

“Oh, please,” she said. “Stop flirting. I’m aware of what the humans you probably go for look like, and I’m not going to be your fallback in the meantime.”

He walked in front of her, holding several bags of underwear just to be extra awkward. “Wait a second. Who do I go for?”

“Gorgeous girls probably,” she said, gesturing at him disdainfully. “Ones like you. Tall, slim. Fit.”

“You think I’m fit?” he asked.

“You’re muscled,” she grumbled.

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

“It is, because you’re clearly full of yourself. And you can get whatever underwear you want, because it doesn’t matter to me. I’m not seeing it.” She turned to glare at him. “We’re just helping each other. I’m here to help Lana. Not hook up with a dragon.”

“What if you could do both?” he asked, following her back to a section full of hats. “What if we could be good together?”