Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

N athan sat at the back of his mind while his dragon paddled across the vast lake he never knew existed. He'd heard of such underground lakes before, but never seen one. It was oddly peaceful in the near-blackness as they glided through the water.

But as the light grew dimmer, Hayley's hold tightened around his neck. The fact she was willing to do this despite being terrified of dark, confined spaces showed just how strong she was.

His dragon spoke up. Of course she's strong. And we will protect her, no matter what. She should be ours, if you only gave it a try.

Not this again.

You want to protect her, right?

Without hesitation.

You also fantasize about kissing her. So I don't understand the problem.

Before Nathan could think of a reply to distract his beast, faint lights appeared in the distance. Ones that didn't look artificial but more like rays of sunshine.

Hayley must've seen something too because she bounced a little and said, "What's that? It's more light than we've seen for about five minutes now."

They'd been wading through the water for about twenty minutes, to the point he'd considered turning back. But the bright spot ahead wasn't that much farther, and Nathan's dragon pushed on until they could see even more beams on the shore. Looking up, he noticed it came from high above them, from an opening hidden among the jagged stalactites, meaning he couldn't just fly up there and check if they could escape that way.

The water soon became shallow enough for his dragon to stand and walk onto land. He found a safe place to lie down and then plucked Hayley from his back with his tail and set her down. Circling a talon in the air, he motioned for her to turn around.

"Oh, you want to shift back. But won't you be naked?"

Part of him wanted to feel her eyes roaming his bare human form. However, Nathan had come prepared, plucked a small parcel he'd wrapped around his wing right after shifting, and shook his head.

"Oh."

Was that disappointment in her voice?

His beast spoke up. We could just remain naked. Maybe she'll even want to run her hands over our skin, lean in, and we could kiss her.

No, for so many reasons. We're stranded in a strange place, with no provisions to take care of her.

So now you want to kiss her too?

Shut it, dragon. I don't like Hayley being in the cold, so let's hurry and shift back so we can look around and go back to the bunker.

Once Hayley finally faced away from him, Nathan imagined his wings retreating into his back, his limbs shrinking to human ones, and his snout morphing into a nose. Once he was in his human form again, he quickly tossed on the trousers he'd packed.

"I'm decent again."

She spun, stopped, and her jaw fell open. Her eyes roamed his bare chest, his arms, and lingered on his dragon-shifter tattoo. It took everything he had to keep his cock from hardening at her admiring gaze, and he grunted. "Let's go check out the light source."

"Oh, of course."

She spun around and dashed toward the beams of sunshine. Once she stood in them, she closed her eyes and lifted her face. The lighter brown strands in her hair glowed as the sun glinted off her glasses and revealed a freckle on her cheek. One he'd never noticed before.

Then she sighed and spread her arms, trying to soak up more of the light.

She looked so free, so content, so happy. Right then and there, Nathan was determined to get them up to the surface as soon as possible.

His beast spoke up. Imagine her lying on the ground, the sun dancing across her naked body, and us kissing every inch of it.

The thought of his lips brushing the curve of her breast, down her belly, and finally licking between her thighs, made blood rush south.

He quickly thought about some boring code from his last project and tamed his erection. He said to his beast, Stop it. I need to concentrate.

Again, that was all you.

Not wanting to dwell on that, Nathan walked closer to Hayley and looked at the ceiling until he spotted the two small openings. Thanks to his keen eyesight, he could just make out the sky.

If only there was a way to fly up there, but unless he could clear all the jagged rocks, it would be impossible.

A cloud must've covered the sun because the light dimmed. Hayley opened her eyes and sighed. "Well, it was too good to last."

His first instinct was to wrap his arms around her and vow that she would feel the sun against her skin again.

Instead, he turned away from her and surveyed the area. There were four exits out of the enormous cavern, and two of them had signs. One read, "Compost Area," and the other said, "Non-biodegradable."

He pointed with his forefinger. "Look over there."

Hayley twirled around, pushed up her glasses, and walked closer to the openings until she could read the wooden sign. "Well, that answers my rubbish collection question." She glanced at him. "Any of these might lead to an exit, Nathan. We should check them out."

"I agree, but not until we're better prepared. I only brought the most necessary of items in the small pack around my wing joint. In fact, we should probably head back soon."

Hayley's face fell. "Do we really have to return straight away? As much as I enjoy riding on your dragon's back, I want to see if the sun comes out again."

He really should say no. But as her eyes pleaded with him, Nathan didn't think he could deny her request. Hell, he probably couldn't deny her anything.

His dragon merely laughed but said nothing else.

Nathan sighed. "We can stay for half an hour, but then we really should head back. We can always return tomorrow, if you wish."

She raced to the faint sunspots and looked up. "Yes, maybe in the afternoon, after you investigate the computer system some more. It's probably our best hope of getting out of here, more so than wandering around like explorers on this side of the lake."

He grunted. "Perhaps, but we need to look into anything that might get us out of here. I made a vow to you, Hayley, and I will see it through."

She smiled at him. "Thank you, Nathan. Without you, I'm not sure how I would've survived down here."

"Please tell me you weren't going to explore the underground areas on your own, looking for records?"

She bit her bottom lip a second before looking away. "Maybe. If you hadn't agreed to go with me, I might've done it. I need to hold up my end of the bargain with Bram." She stared up at the ceiling again, just as the sunshine blazed down once more. After smiling, she added, "I never realized how much I took the sun for granted. Oh, there's not a lot of it, even in London. But to not even have the chance of basking in it, well, it's harder than I thought it'd be."

He moved closer to her so he could also soak up some sunshine. The warmth made her scent even stronger, and he barely resisted touching her cheek.

Focusing on the openings above, he cleared his throat and said, "For me, being underground has made me appreciate the simple act of shifting. I couldn't do it for a few hours and all I could think about was wanting to change into my dragon form. I can't even imagine how tough it must be for someone whose inner dragon was silenced via drugs—like what some of the Dragon Knights did to other dragon-shifters—and possibly lose that gift forever."

Her face turned toward him, full of concern. "Most of their inner dragons have returned, though, right?"

"Most but not all. It's definitely a privilege to still have mine. I would say more, but I don't want my inner beast to get too cocky."

His dragon sniffed but didn't say anything.

Hayley laid a hand on his bare arm, and his heart jumped. Not because her hands were cold, but because his every nerve was attuned to her movements, her presence, her being.

Her fingers lightly brushed his skin, probably without realizing it, as she said, "That's something I have a hard time understanding."

"What?"

"The two personalities in one mind thing. Once your dragon starts talking to you in childhood, don't you kind of become one?"

"In a way. It's hard to explain to a human, but the personalities of the human and the dragon usually have some sort of balance. Oh, there are circumstances when that's not the case—usually for those with evil intentions—but for the most part, it's almost as if we're born to host both."

"Hmm, it's still such a foreign concept to me. And yet, I think it'd be nice to always have a friend."

"I suppose."

His dragon sniffed. You love me, you bastard.

Of course I do.

Before his beast could reply, Hayley said, "Oh, and before I forget, I liked seeing you in your dragon form. You're so tall and strong and pretty."

He frowned. "Pretty?"

"Yes. Dragons are pretty, male or female."

His inner beast stood a little taller.

Hayley pushed up her glasses. "Even so, it's nice being able to talk with you again and not have to guess at what you're saying."

He smiled. "You did surprisingly well with reading my body language. Your skills from the courtroom must transfer over well for reading dragons."

She laughed. "I guess so. Although, in general, you're easier to read than a lot of people I've met before."

"Really? My mum always says the opposite."

"Maybe with me it's different because I'm not your parent."

His dragon hummed. Yes, because I think she's our true mate.

Nathan ignored his beast to reply to Hayley, "Probably. I think most people act differently with friends compared with their parents."

She raised her brows. "So we're friends now? What happened to the whole we're-just-coworkers spiel you gave yesterday?"

"Fuck, was that only yesterday?"

"That still doesn't answer my question."

Just remembering his stern words made him feel like an arse. He sighed. "I'm sorry about being somewhat brusque and rude. I just don't…"

"Just don't what?"

He paused, debating if he'd answer her or not. Because he had a feeling that if he did, it would shift things even more between them.

His dragon spoke up. Good, good. Then maybe you'll kiss her sooner rather than later.

I'm not going to kiss her. I may like her, but I don't want a mate. Especially not a human one.

You're so bloody stubborn. She rode on our back in our dragon form, for fuck's sake. She isn't afraid of us, of any part of us.

Hayley squeezed his upper arm. "I don't mean to push you, Nathan. We need to work together to get out of here, and if that's all you want—to be exploring partners—I'll find a way to be okay with it."

"No, no, it's not you." He blew out a breath. "It's just that I had a bad experience with a human female, and it's colored my choices and behavior ever since."

She searched his gaze with her lovely brown eyes. Her expression was full of concern, pity, and even a little bit of curiosity.

Hayley asked, "What happened?"

He didn't have to tell her anything. And yet, before he could stop himself, the truth spilled from his lips. "I fell in love with a human female who was afraid of my dragon."

"Oh, no. How did it happen?"

No judgment. No disbelief that he could ever let himself feel so deeply for someone who couldn't accept all of him. No, Hayley was just curious and concerned. For him.

His dragon said softly, She is different and always will be. You should learn to trust her.

Trusting her would be too hard. However, as the human searched his gaze, he couldn't help but reply, "I met the human female online. I can't even remember how we first started talking—probably on a kind of message board-like place gamers use—and ten-minute chats turned into an hour. And then an hour morphed into several. Eventually, there were phone calls and even a few video calls. She seemed so funny and clever, and I slowly fell for her. It was only when we met in person that things started to fall apart."

Because of the hassle and restrictions on dragon-shifters riding trains, Nathan hadn't been able to greet Tracey right outside the platform. Instead, he'd met her in the pickup area outside the station. At first, they'd smiled at one another, and she said hello. They chatted like they always had for a few minutes. But once his dragon had talked to him, making his pupils change, she'd taken a few steps backward.

That had been the beginning of the end, even if he'd been too stubborn and blind to see it.

Hayley's voice brought him back to the present. "Was it your flashing dragon eyes?"

He blinked. "How did you know?"

"I'll admit that the first time I saw them, when I was a kid, it was a little unsettling to watch the pupils change shape. I was more fascinated than afraid, though. However, my sister gets scared more easily than me, and I still don't think she's comfortable with the flashing eyes. So I'm guessing this human was more like my sister?"

He nodded and looked away to study the surface of the lake. "Yes. She never got used to it. The more my pupils flashed, the less open and friendly she was. At the end of the visit, she apologized and said it was just her first time being around a dragon-shifter for so long and she'd be fine the next time we got together. And while Tracey did come to visit one more time, sometime between her first and second visits, our chats grew shorter and the phone calls were almost nonexistent. And at the train station the second time, she broke up with me because she was too afraid of my dragon." He picked up a small, flat rock and skipped it across the lake. "I tried to convince her to give us a chance and explained that being around a dragon-shifter could be unsettling at first, but she'd probably not notice it after a while. But she cut me off and said she could never sleep next to someone she thought could turn into a beast and maybe kill her. She rushed off before I could even process her words."

Hayley said, "As if some humans don't kill other humans! I'm so sorry that happened to you, Nathan. And if you want me to find her and give her a lecture on bigotry, I will."

Despite the painful memories, his lips twitched, and he turned to face Hayley. At the indignation in her gaze, he nearly blinked.

His dragon spoke up. She really is upset for us. And look, she doesn't even bat an eye when I talk with you.

It was true—Hayley's expression and body language didn't change. She acted as if she'd been around dragon-shifters her whole life.

And earlier, she'd even enjoyed riding on his back in his dragon form.

Maybe she truly was different.

His dragon said softly, There are plenty of human females on Stonefire who love and embrace all sides of their dragon mates and are happy. We could have that with Hayley.

Nathan didn't outright dismiss it, but he also didn't whole-heartedly embrace his dragon's words.

No, his head was swirling with all the possibilities, both good and bad, and how he'd have to risk his heart again if Hayley really was his true mate.

She walked up, wrapped her arms around his waist, laid her head against his chest, and squeezed. As she spoke, her hot breath danced across his skin. "You looked like you needed a hug. Maybe under normal circumstances, I wouldn't have just gone and done it without asking. But we're alone, stuck underground, and need to rely on each other to survive. So I'm going to hug you whenever I think you need it, for both your mental health and mine."

He gingerly wrapped his arms around her, hugged her back, and laid his cheek atop her hair.

The warm, soft human in his arms simply felt like she'd always belonged there.

A day ago, he would've pushed her away and ran.

But now? Now he didn't know what he would do with her. Give her a chance? Or create distance between them to protect his heart?

Regardless, he couldn't act until they returned to the surface. Because if, and it was a big if, he ever did kiss her and started a mate-claim frenzy, he wanted her to have the option of refusing him and fleeing.

Bloody hell, was he really thinking about a frenzy with Hayley?

His dragon spoke up. We can do a lot without kissing her on the mouth.

And for the first time, Nathan started to wonder if his dragon was on to something.

Hayley had only meant to give Nathan a brief hug, one of comfort, and step away.

But he'd wrapped his arms around her, laid his head atop hers, and she hadn't found the strength to pull away.

It was silly, given she'd only really spent time with him since yesterday. She didn't know him very well, and yet being stuck together in an underground bunker complex had changed everything.

Between working together to turn the power on, exploring the lake, and him revealing his past, they'd formed a kind of friendship. She should be okay with that. It should be enough.

However, as she snuggled against his firm, warm chest and soaked in his heat and scent, Hayley wanted more. Much more.

For him to lift her chin and kiss her.

For him to be her true mate and start a frenzy.

For him to be the future she'd once dreamed of but had thought would never happen.

His voice rumbled beneath her ear, snapping her out of her head. "Hug me anytime you want, Hayley. This might be the best hug of my life."

She nearly lifted her head, but didn't want to let him go just yet. "Are you trying to be charming?"

"No. I'm not very good at that and merely speak the truth. You're warm and soft and the past faded away as soon as you wrapped your arms around me."

Even though she didn't want to, Hayley lifted her head to meet his gaze. His pupils flashed from slits to round and back again and were full of heat and tenderness.

Her heart skipped a beat, and she became even more aware of her body pressed against his. She could barely manage to say, "Nathan?"

She was being ridiculous now. The usually eloquent solicitor had been reduced to merely saying a name.

He smiled, which only made her heart race faster. Then he raised a hand and lightly traced her cheek. Hayley leaned into the touch, almost humming like his dragon had done earlier.

His hot breath danced across her ear as he whispered, "I would say more, but we're trapped down here and I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable. But once we're free and back topside, we have a lot more to discuss, Hayley Beckett. Much more."

He stepped away, and she stumbled. His strong hands caught her, and once she regained her balance, he sadly released her.

Hayley studied his expression, trying to process what had just happened. "That's a rather vague statement, Nathan. What, exactly, do we need to discuss?"

"Such as why your hug felt so good." He turned away from her, picked up a rock, and skipped it across the lake. "Among other things."

She frowned. Something wasn't quite right. If he'd merely been attracted to her, he would've said so, right?

But why else would a hug feel good? Surely she couldn't be his true mate.

No. That couldn't be the case. From what she knew, male dragon-shifters would notice when they met theirs and would tell the person. Well, provided they weren't nefarious or dodgy.

And Nathan definitely wasn't those two things.

So no, it wasn't the true mate thing. It might just be that he'd opened up to her and felt comfortable. Something like that.

He skipped another rock, brushed his hands together, and then faced her. His smile and flashing eyes were gone, replaced with the more stoic version of Nathan she'd first met.

She didn't like it.

Get it together, Hayley. Survival and escape are your goals. Clearing her throat, she gestured toward the lake. "Should we head back?"

Nathan grunted. "Turn around and I'll shift."

She did, and soon she was on his back again, holding onto his dragon's neck, gliding through the water. But this time, she barely noticed the darkness or remembered that she was underground. No, she kept reliving the hug with Nathan and his words about her embrace feeling good.

Until she figured out what he'd meant, she'd never know peace. Her brain hated puzzles she couldn't solve, and Nathan Woodhouse was turning out to be one of them.