Chapter 9

9

I hate pink.

Lilis held rigidly still, boiling with barely suppressed fury in shocking pink scrubs, while a blonde male nurse built like a football player shone bright lights in her eyes and squeezed her limbs, checking for broken bones. Her entire body throbbed with pain, keeping time with the beeping monitors she and Simon were hooked up to. Cords weaved around her, tethering her to the technology. They said it was for her own good, but the cords felt like chains.

Only one thing calmed her nerves and kept her from ripping the plugs out of the wall and strangling everyone in the room with them. And it was the same thing driving her dragon wild.

Simon.

Even in her human form, he invaded her senses. She could still smell him, sandalwood and man, under an overlay of smoke. His broad shoulders hunched, and her hands tingled with the memory of holding him. Now that she’d flown with him, she had some idea of the muscles beneath his black scrubs.

And now he sat one exam table away from her, refusing to even look at her, as the short Indian nurse named Anya examined him. His features, so welcoming only a day ago, were now wiped of emotion, dulling his appearance.

“Does this hurt?” Nurse Linebacker pressed her neck and shoulders, causing spots to burst across her vision. She was dimly aware of Simon’s eyes flicking to her before he averted his gaze again.

Yes, it hurt. Every time Simon refused to look at her felt like smashing into the ground all over again . Lilis took a deep breath and clamped down on her pain. “Not even a little. I told you, I’m fine.”

“How did you say you lost your clothes again?” Nurse Linebacker paused his torture and raised one eyebrow.

“Stripping at the club wasn’t paying enough anymore. Thought I’d branch out.”

Simon gave a small laugh, and hope bloomed in Lilis’ chest.

Don’t get your hopes up. He’s just another human.

Another human who’d almost fallen to his death.

“ Caelius. ” She sucked in a breath as a memory shoved into her brain. The memory of the human man she’d loved more than her own breath, curly black hair waving in the wind as he…

And the sound. When he hit.

Because she hadn’t been fast enough.

She swallowed the bile rising in her throat and breathed evenly through her nose, trying to force the wet thud from her mind. Her dragon reared up, ready to break free and defend what was hers.

She gritted her teeth. This one’s not ours, she reminded it.

But she continued watching Simon’s handsome profile out of the corner of her eye, only looking away to avoid being caught by the other humans in the room.

Simon, for his part, pretended she didn’t exist. He ran a hand through his thick black hair, and Lilis had to hold back a second gasp as another image superimposed itself over the one before her. Simon falling, the wind fanning his hair like a dark halo around his head as the ground rose up behind him. She closed her eyes to block it out. And instead saw his soft brown eyes wide, first with panic, then terror at seeing her.

“Well, Simon.” Anya stepped back and pushed at her glasses again. “For someone who just fell out of a helicopter into a forest fire , you’re in miraculous shape. No broken bones or fractures, no burns, nothing. But you seem a bit… off. No offense. Feel like spending the night here under observation in case something changes?”

Simon smiled at her, but it was a shadow of the smiles he’d given Lilis the previous night. “Thanks, Anya, but I’m fine, really. Just a bit shaken. I’ll be better after a night in my own bed.”

“Your choice.” She nodded at Lilis, black pigtails bobbing. “What about you? This is the second time we’ve seen you in less than twenty-four hours.”

“Lucky me.” She snorted. “Pass.”

She jumped down from the table, somehow managing a smile instead of a twisted grimace from the pain that shot up her legs. Anya walked her and Simon to the door, hugging Simon before turning to Lilis. “Take care of yourself. I don’t want to see you back here anymore.”

As long as nothing happens to Simon, nothing will happen to me. “Don’t worry. You won’t.”

Outside, warm and hazy night air wrapped her in its embrace. Lilis took a deep, relieved breath and relaxed for the first time since arriving at the hospital. Beside her, Simon stared off into space, unmoving.

Walk away.

But she couldn’t. Maybe it was because he’d kept her secret. Maybe she was still picturing Caelius in Simon’s place, making her feel a bond that wasn’t there. Maybe she was just in too much fucking pain. Whatever the reason, emotions she’d given up on hundreds of years ago stirred the heart she’d thought long dead.

“Hey, are you okay?” She reached out a hand to his shoulder, but he flinched and shrank away from her touch.

The movement squeezed her floundering heart like a vice. “If I really wanted to hurt you,” she snarled, “all I had to do was nothing.”

He lifted his gaze to the overcast night sky, and Lilis took the hint. She started limping away.

“I don’t even know what’s real anymore.” He spoke quietly, whispering his feelings to the hidden stars.

Lilis decided to answer him anyway, just to be an ass. “It’s all real. Just because you didn’t know it before doesn’t make it any less so.”

She kept up her hobbling.

“Where are you going?”

“Back to my lair.”

“I’m serious.”

“So am I.” She paused and turned around. “What do you care, anyway? Ten seconds ago, you didn’t want anything to do with me.”

He spread his arms, muscles bunching, and the fabric of his shirt stretched across his chest, sending butterflies through her stomach.

Burn the wings off each and every one of those butterflies. You don’t need to fall for this man. With his gorgeous physique and caring tone.

“Cut me some slack! I just fell out of a fucking helicopter! And then got rescued by a real-life, honest-to-god, fire-breathing dragon! Who then morphed into one of my worst patients from yesterday.” He swept one arm up and down, indicating her. “What am I supposed to do with… that? ”

With those abs and chest? Whatever you want.

Damnit Lilis! Focus!

She shrugged, then grimaced. Unnecessary movements were definitely a bad idea. “Nothing. You didn’t tell anyone about me. That’s all I need.”

“ Tell anyone about you? Are you out of your mind?! Who am I going to tell that would believe me? I don’t even believe it, and I saw you!” He rubbed his forehead with both hands, and groaned.

Some of her anger fled. “I’m… I’m sorry you found out like this. You should never have known about my world. Humans and demons don’t generally interact anymore, so go ahead and pretend I don’t exist. It’ll be better for you.”

She nearly choked on the last words but stayed strong. She meant it. Walking away now was the kindest thing she could do for him.

With a last long look at the sculpted angles of his profile, she resumed her limp down the sidewalk.

“You’re really going to a lair somewhere?”

This time, Lilis didn’t stop. Don’t tell him. Don’t get any more attached than you have. But she couldn’t help herself. “I’m going back to the fire.”

“Did you start it?”

Simon’s question brought her up short. She squeezed her eyes shut, but one annoying tear broke free of her stranglehold, slipping down her cheek anyway. She laughed to cover up her wayward emotions. “Would you believe me if I said no?”

“Yes,” he answered without hesitating. His voice came from much closer behind her, ringing with calm sincerity.

Lilis took a deep breath and turned around to find him standing right in front of her. Her gaze dropped to his heart-shaped mouth that seemed designed solely for kissing. His lips were parted ever so slightly, practically begging Lilis to taste them. Her heart raced at his proximity.

Even standing outside, he seemed to take up most of the physical space around her, making it difficult for her to fucking think. His deep brown eyes, a few inches above her own, smoldered in the low light like burnt birch wood. Rings of soot still framed his handsome face, deepening the shadows and making his features seem harder than she knew them to be.

“No. I didn’t start the fire.”

Simon blew out a slow breath, startling her. Had he been scared of her answer?

“That’s it? You trust me just like that?”

“Yes.” His gaze pinned her in place. “But why go to the fire now? Won’t your team be back at the ranger station?”

“I’m not meeting up with them. My boss will almost certainly have my ass for it, though. He already didn’t trust me, and I had to leave my partner when I took off earlier.”

“Then why?—?”

“I hurt in places that don’t exist right now, Simon. My sides are scratched to hell, one of my horns is bent, and I think I dislocated a wing. Hell, even my claws hurt. I need to be somewhere I can shift into my other form. I’ll heal faster that way.”

He nodded and got out his phone. Lilis took that as her cue to leave, but Simon’s hand caught hers before she could walk away, tugging her to his side. Heat blossomed where they touched, and her breathing sped up to match her pounding heart. Gods, she wanted this man.

“Hey.” His deep voice rumbled through her as he spoke into his phone. “I need a note… yeah. Wait, hang on.” He pulled the phone away from his ear and squeezed her hand. “What’s your name?”

“Why?”

“Because she can’t put Annoying Patient Twelve on an official doctor’s note for your job.” He smiled, the first genuine one she’d seen all evening.

The heat from their touch crept to her face. “Lilis. Gerru.”

He relayed the information. “Let’s say two days to be safe… yes, I’m sure… thanks. I owe you one… fine, two.” He cut the call and returned the phone to his pocket. “She’ll text it to me in a bit. Show it to your boss, and he won’t be able to fire you.”

Lilis didn’t know what to say. She couldn’t think at all. He still hadn’t let go of her, and his scent overtook her again. The sandalwood with cinnamon made her burn for him, while a hint of vanilla soothed her. All of it wrapped around his natural musk, the smell of Simon , and she wanted the whole of it, the whole of him wrapped around her.

Nope. Too much.

She stepped away from him. “Thanks. I’ll… I can get it from you tomorrow. When I’m feeling less like I fell out of the helicopter.” She swallowed and attempted a joking tone. “Catch ya later.”

Simon smiled but didn’t let go. Neither of them moved, and Lilis savored his touch, his smile, his?—

“How about I drive you?” His words snapped her out of her trance.

“Why?”

He arched a thick black eyebrow as if her question were the stranger one of the two. “Because you’re not going to make it fifteen feet, let alone the fifteen miles to the fire. Come on.”

He led her through the parking lot, passing several rows of cars before stopping in front of something that may have once been a teal child’s toy. It looked like a cross between a doll’s accessory and the plastic box it came in. With wheels.

She let go of Simon’s hand and stepped back. “I’m not riding in that.”

“You’re a dragon, not the Big Bad Wolf. Tracy’s not going to tip over with a huff and puff. As long as we don’t hit any potholes, we’ll be fine.”

“I could blow that thing over in my human form. And you named it Tracy?”

He opened the passenger door for her. “She’s a Geo Tracker. Tracy the Tracker. Plus, that’s my sister’s name, and she’s the one who sold it to me.”

Lilis reluctantly ducked her head to fit into the cramped space, noting the dashboard grab bar. How often would she be using it if Simon had to avoid potholes in a region that was practically one giant sinkhole? “I don’t think your sister likes you very much.”

Simon started the car with a smirk. “If I can survive being carried by a dragon , I think you can survive thirty minutes in my car.”

Lilis furrowed her brow. “It’s only twenty to the Barrens.”

“Not when you ride with Tracy.”

Lilis cranked down her window and took a last whiff of free air before he set out.

The journey was a test of physical fortitude. Simon swerved enough to list his car among the Top Ten Carnival Vomit Rides, but they made it there in one piece. He followed her directions to the edge of the Barrens where no one would be working and pulled off the road.

Lilis unfolded from the car, leaning on the frame for support. She was a creature of the sky. She should be ashamed of how grateful she felt to be on solid ground. But even her dragon agreed. Simon should count himself lucky she hadn’t horked in the car. Closing her eyes, she sought the familiar crackle in the air, the heat that told her rest and comfort were nearby.

Nothing.

She sniffed the air, cocking her head to the side in confusion. “The fire’s out.”

Simon came around the car. “I don’t think this part was ever burn?—”

“No, I mean it’s totally out. The whole thing is extinguished. Across the Barrens.”

“How do you know?”

“I can feel it.”

“Well, that’s not at all creepy.” He laughed, but Lilis could hear nerves in his voice. “Maybe the firefighters finished the job?”

“Not possible.” She turned her attention back to the forest, listening to it sigh in the breeze. “Too much was still burning when we left.” And the battle with Longwei had made the fire worse.

She shoved away from the car and wobbled. Her body itched and ached, standing so close to Simon and the smoldering remains of a fire of such magnitude. She needed to shift.

Now.

“Well, thanks for the lift.” She started slowly toward the edge of the forest.

“That’s it?”

“Well, what the hell else do you want?” She rounded on him, unable to contain her impatience any longer. Oh shit. Pain almost tore her in two. Not quite ready for sudden movements, then. She sucked in a breath and added through clenched teeth, “A goodbye kiss?”

He moved in front of her, and Lilis swallowed as hunger flashed in his eyes. He leaned forward an inch, holding himself rigidly even as his inviting lips parted, as though he was trying to keep himself from giving her exactly what she’d asked for.

“There’s a lot about you that scares me, Patient Twelve.” He smiled. “Lilis.” She shivered at the sound of her name in his voice. “A lot .” He took another step closer so they were practically toe-to-toe, those sculpted lips just inches from her own. His voice deepened with his next words. “But I haven’t forgotten that you’re in pain because you saved my life tonight. I want to make sure you’re okay. Let me. Please.”

For his own safety, part of Lilis wanted to throw him back in his rust bucket and give them both a push. The other part of her wanted to throw him onto his rust bucket and explore the solid muscles under his black t-shirt and scrub pants. But she could barely move.

Simon watched her with earnest caring that shook her to her core and broke down the barriers she’d worked so hard to build. She nodded.

He laced their fingers together. “Lead the way.”

They walked through the trees, into the heart of the Barrens, moving carefully across the uneven ground. Only the thought of a hot bed of coals kept her moving forward.

Finally, through a small thicket of trees, she found what she was looking for: a patch of warm ground with some wood that was only partly charred, surrounded by blackened trees. Any fire she lit here wouldn’t spread.

She swayed with relief. Her dragon sensed why they were there, knew it was time, and fought for its release.

“Not yet.” Her words came out on a pained groan.

Worry furrowed Simon’s brow. “Can I help?”

“No. I…” Hells. Her limbs weren’t obeying her commands as she’d hoped, now too stiff with pain. “Damnit… yes.”

He didn’t hesitate. “How?”

“I need to shift,” she moaned. “But I’ll tear… I can’t be wearing anything… I’ll shred it.”

To her surprise, Simon nodded and reached for the hem of her pink scrub shirt, waiting for approval. He closed his eyes. “Say when.”

“Whatever.” Lilis blew a raspberry. “Not like you haven’t already seen me.” She tried to lift her arms. But she had no strength left. “Simon…” Gods, how she hated her weakness.

Even with his eyes closed, he seemed to be able to sense what she needed. She hated that, too.

He lifted one of her arms, then the other, bracing her hands on his broad, strong shoulders. “Say when,” he repeated.

“When,” she moaned.

His hands slid slowly up her sides, carefully lifting the offending fabric off her torso and leaving her bare.

She sagged against him, and he wrapped one arm around her waist, easily supporting her weight. His muscled chest pressed deliciously into her breasts, the cotton of his shirt teasing her, and his forearm flexed against her back. His breath tickled her ear, and when Lilis moaned again, his arm tightened, pressing her tighter to him, almost reflexively. He adjusted his grip on her to reach for the drawstring on her pants. They fell to the ground, and Lilis groaned with relief.

“Back up,” she managed to whisper as the change started. Eyes still closed, he took a step back. Stumbled. Felt his way around. “More. Open your eyes,” she growled an instant before her vocal cords morphed into instruments that would no longer produce human speech.

Their eyes met, and though she dreaded the fear she knew she’d find there, she couldn’t look away. She grew taller, or perhaps he shrank away in terror. She couldn’t tell. But he didn’t run. Instead, he watched with a combination of worry and fascination as the last of her scales shifted into place.

She inhaled, stopping short at the pain in her chest. I broke a rib? What the hell did Longwei poison me with?

Fortunately, she had enough pressure to build the heat she needed. She released a small stream of fire, igniting the downed wood and foliage enough to create a warm bed of coals.

She plopped down onto it with a contented sigh that came out as more of a growl. Simon stood a healthy distance away, unmoving.

Lilis wanted to sleep, but as her body heated and healed, her brain kicked into nervous overdrive. No human had seen her shift in centuries, and she never slept with anyone around.

Maybe he’ll go back to his car and drive away.

But he didn’t. Instead, he leaned against a nearby tree and settled down, draping one arm over his bent knees.

Before long, the sight of him there, watching over her, began to help her mind relax. Fatigue crept over her, and her eyelids drooped.

As much as she hated to admit it, she found comfort in the fact that his face was the last thing she saw before she drifted away into unconsciousness.