Chapter Eleven

Silas

"Inever did thank you," she said, pushing her chair back from the table and gathering her plate.

"For breakfast? I think you did," I said, referring to the gaping astonishment plastered upon her face after seeing all the food I'd made.

I'd had a good laugh at her expense, and it had set the tone for the day as far as I was concerned. Which was necessary because yesterday was unpleasant. Even after we'd arrived at my apartment and I'd shown Chloe her room, things had been a little terse.

She stuck out her tongue, making me chuckle some more. I liked the human woman. She had spirit and wasn't full of herself. I was a firm believer in being able to laugh at yourself was important, and Chloe had no issues doing that, it seemed.

"For yesterday," she said a bit more seriously, grabbing my plate, too, before I could protest and taking them to the sink to rinse and clean.

"My father is a dick. You didn't do anything to deserve that," I said, trying to wave it off.

She set the clean dishes on the drying rack, running a towel over her hands before coming to stand next to me. I twisted my head to the side, watching silently as she gestured with one figure for me to stand. I did.

"That still doesn't mean you had to stand up for me," she said, wrapping her arms around my chest and leaning into my side.

I jerked slightly, completely taken aback by the unexpected contact. Heat billowed as the furnaces were stoked by her skin, the pressure of her body against mine. I could feel one of her little breasts against my rib. Her head was on my shoulder, her hair falling over my arm.

"Thank you," she said. Her voice caught just a little bit, though I barely noticed through the haze of heat waves clouding my vision.

My dragon was rearing up, wings wide, getting ready to pounce. It tried to force my hand from where it rested on her lower back, driving it lower. My fingers twitched, wanting nothing more than to cup her firm ass and feel the flesh in my grip as I lifted her clear of the floor. I could imagine her legs wrapping around my waist. The gasp of her breath as I showed her just how thoroughly she could be dominated by someone with my strength.

It would be so easy. So quick. Even now, just standing there, her breathing was shallower, her pulse quickening. I could feel the beat of it, the sudden rapid increase. She felt it too. Her body wanted it. Wanted me. My cock swelled, blood rushing into it. The pull of my pants soon felt good, and I began to imagine how her hand would feel wrapped around my shaft, jerking it slowly.

I took a breath and decided to go for it.

"So," Chloe said, pulling away as if sensing my intentions.

She turned back toward the kitchen immediately but not before I caught sight of the flush of her cheeks and the outline of her nipples through her shirt. The obvious physical signs meant I wasn't imagining the tension forming between us. The unspoken desire.

But she wasn't ready to act on it. Now with some space between us, I could think clearly. It was quite understandable. We'd only met the day before. Devouring her on the kitchen counter was quite the jump. But soon. Soon, I would taste her and hear her moans fill my house.

My dragon roared its approval.

"So," I echoed, deciding to tease her a bit more. "Or is that all you have to say?"

She stuck out that lovely pink tongue of hers again, and I briefly imagined it sliding up the shaft of my cock. Oh, yes, I was going to have her. "What's the plan of attack? I want to know all about how you're going to turn me into a ‘proper dragon lady.'"

The sarcasm flooded her words like a tidal wave. Clearly, she thought she was fine the way she was.

"I'm going to attempt to work a miracle."

When her jaw dropped open, I grinned. She recovered and shot me a saucy look that nearly had me spinning her around and pushing her up against the cabinets as I tore her pants apart and thrust into her.

"There's no way I'm that difficult of a project," she said.

"That all depends on what type of dragon lady we go for," I pointed out. "If we try to appease my father, that means turning you into the meek, submissive little thing that he thinks is correct behavior."

Chloe looked at me. Really looked at me. At that moment, I was being judged. I stood there and bore it, waiting for her to come to the right conclusion.

"Good," she said, nodding sharply. "I'm glad you don't believe that."

"Of course, I don't subscribe to that," I said, gathering up some of the empty serving plates—there were no leftovers. I'd seen to that while she'd watched in what I hoped was awe, not disgust—and dumping them in the sink before grabbing soap and a sponge. "That's boring. I want a partner, not a slave."

"Agreed. So, what next?"

I shrugged. "Not sure, actually. I've never had to do this before, so I'm making it up as I go along."

She stood there and waited. I washed dishes aimlessly—she grabbed the towel and started drying without asking or being asked. I thought about telling her not to but decided against it. I liked her attitude.—all the while thinking about what to do. Eventually, my eyes settled on her, running up and down.

"You know I can see you checking me out, right?" she said dryly.

I blinked, having been lost deep in thought. "Huh?"

"You've been checking me out for the past two minutes," she said.

"I have? Oh. I was thinking," I said, shutting off the tap. "Looks are important. Appearances. We should start there."

"Meaning what?"

"New clothing, for sure. You stick out like a sore thumb. You're confident and strong-willed, which will serve you well from a distance if you have the right clothing and blend in that way. There's nothing we can do about your smell, though."

Her face scrunched up. "Excuse me? I don't stink. I showered this morning!"

I briefly pictured her soapy body, her own hands running over its lines and curves, and my mouth went dry.

"Not what I meant," I said, struggling to focus again. This is ridiculous. You are stronger than a human! Act it. "It's your scent. Humans and dragons don't smell the same. People will know immediately. But if we can limit the interest from distances, that's a start."

"Okay. New clothing. I don't mind a shopping trip," she said with a shrug. "But I'm broke."

I just looked at her.

"Thank you," she said softly.

Was that embarrassment? I wasn't sure. "You're welcome," I said, waving it off. "Clothing will be good. Scent, perhaps some perfume to help mask it, so in passing, others may not notice. Not much we can do about the strength, though."

"I put a lot of effort into working out," she pouted. "I'm not weak."

"Chloe, even the youngest dragon woman could tie your body into a pretzel without breaking a sweat. It's not an insult. Remember, we look alike, but we aren't the same. You must not grow complacent that way. I could snap a human's neck with a strong enough flick of my finger."

That might be a bit of an exaggeration, but not by a lot. Nor did she have to know. The last thing I wanted was for her to get hurt—or die—because she grew overconfident that looking alike meant being alike. Losing her would be no fun.

I glanced over her once more. "We could perhaps dye your hair as well. There's a bit too much red in it for dragons."

"I always thought it was fairly brown," she said, pulling some of her locks in front of her eyes.

"It is," I agreed, "but the auburn-ness of it isn't a dragon thing. It's probably fine, but if you keep attracting attention, we'll consider it."

"So, you want to give me a makeover, in other words," she said with a hint of defensiveness.

"You volunteered to come here," I pointed out. "You can't honestly think you would just be able to stay the exact same, could you?"

Her silence told me she had.

"You're living among dragons now. We're different, Chloe," I said, resting a hand on her shoulder, careful not to touch any skin.

"I guess," she said, nodding in agreement.

"We'll start with clothing, then everyone's favorite: tutoring."

"On what?"

"Dragon society. There's a lot you don't know."

"Like?"

"Like everything," I said with a smile. "Come on. Let's get going. We can talk on the way to the clothing store."

We went out the front door instead of the roof. My apartment was in the center of the city, and flying was unnecessary. While Chloe gawked at everything around her, including the flying dragons overhead, I educated her on my people. The sovereign and Council. The three main factions in the Council. The various minor power blocs. The old families, such as my own.

She seemed to not be listening, her attention focused on everything else, but the first time I quizzed her, she repeated everything back, proving me wrong. She finished with a smile that said she'd been waiting for just that to show me. I smiled back. On the inside, my dragon was roaring with pride and joy. It liked her. She was sharp, quick on her feet, and not afraid to give as good as she caught.

In my beast's eyes, she was the perfect catch.

"Here," I said, hurrying up the trio of stairs and grabbing the door to our first destination, pulling it open and gesturing for her to enter.

"Why, thank you," she said with a gracious nod of her head, following me up the stairs at her own pace before—

"Move it," a voice snarled from inside the store as someone came out, nearly bowling Chloe over as she moved deftly to the side to get out of the way. "Don't you know your betters when you see them?"

Chloe stammered, caught off guard by the sudden intrusion. My dragon exploded in anger as I held the door open, hidden by its opaqueness from the speaker. But that didn't mean I didn't recognize their voice.

There was a snort of surprise as my fingers tightened on the door handle.

"A human? Here? Who said you could set your filthy feet on our island, you pathetic piece of—"

"I did," I growled, stepping around the door, my dragon and I united in our fury.