Chapter 13

THIRTEEN

Samantha

I linger in the hall outside Evander’s door, knowing that at any moment he and Aydan will be out, ready to make their statements to the reporters. Well… Evander will be making statements to the reports, Aydan will just be making a statement as a dragon. I don’t know which one of them will make a bigger splash.

Evander’s door opens, and he strides out wearing a very expensive-looking suit. My heart skips a little beat at the sight of him. I’m used to him in tight t-shirts, his dragon tattoo visible, screaming very clear military vibes. Right now though? Right now he looks like the billionaire playboy that the world knows him as.

I’d read the articles about him in my room during a quiet moment. He’s described as a private man, but there were enough photos of him in suits, with pretty models hanging off his arm, for me to get a better picture of his life before me. To be honest, it’d made me more than a little jealous.

He smiles at me when our eyes meet. “What do you think?”

I twist my lips. “You’re a damn beautiful man.”

He moves to stand just in front of me. “But?”

“But nothing.”

Grabbing my chin, he tilts my chin up to look at him. “Tell me.”

“It’s nothing.”

Those dark eyes of his seem to be analyzing me. “No, there’s something.”

How can he possibly know? My prideful side doesn’t want to say a thing, but I’m pinned by his gaze and get the feeling I won’t be going anywhere until I tell him. “I did a little digging into you.”

“And?” He sounds amused.

“Did you ever go out without a girl on your arm? Or is it a requirement of this job or something? Because, I swear, some men can go out on their own.”

He chuckles and presses a gentle kiss to my lips. “Beautiful, you have no idea how lonely I was until you came into my life.”

I look at him, skeptical.

He kisses me again. “Seriously, I feel like I was waiting my whole life for you. And now that I have you, I don’t need anyone else.”

Well, that’s pretty damn sweet.

He pulls me against him and sighs, breathing me in. I press my face into his chest, doing the same. Something about these past few days has changed things between Evander and I in a way I wasn’t even aware of until this moment. I look up at him.

His eyes search mine. “What is it?”

I don’t know how to explain it. “I like you.”

He laughs. “Did you just now realize that?”

A wave of embarrassment washes over me. “No, I–”

“It’s okay, baby girl. I’m an acquired taste. I know that.”

My heart does a little flutter. “It’s not that. Things just started so differently between us. All heat and no… time to get to know each other.”

He sighs and kisses me again. “When you’re safe, I’m going to put all my energy and time into us. You’re never going to have to doubt your place in my life. You’re never going to wonder how I feel about you.”

I cling to him. “That sounds like fun.”

The door to his room opens, and Aydan comes out looking irritated, but for once it’s not because Evander is holding me. “I’m ready.”

My gaze slides over him. He’s wearing a white t-shirt and jeans. “I thought you were getting ready for the reporters.”

“I did. I tried on a bunch of Evander’s suits, but they made me feel like I was suffocating. Then I realized the reporters aren’t going to see me in human form anyway, because we’re keeping our identities secret. I might as well be comfortable.”

“Well, you look nice,” I say.

He grins and circles behind me, pulling me against him and a little away from Evander. Evander makes a little unhappy sound and steps closer, until I’m sandwiched between them. Heat moves through me, and I melt between them like butter. Aydan kisses my throat, then sucks, leaving more marks to join the old ones. Evander catches my lips and kisses me more deeply, until I can feel them both hard against me.

Evander groans and steps away. “We are not going to this news conference with boners.”

Aydan laughs. “I think the people want to see a dragon boner, so let’s give them what they want.”

I laugh too, even as Aydan kisses my neck again and pulls away.

They start down the hall, but Aydan glances back. “Evander said this might take awhile, so you be safe.”

“I will be,” I tell him.

He winks at me and turns away. Evander casts me a lingering glance before they reach the elevator. I watch them until they’re in the elevator, then press my back against the wall, feeling lost. What the hell am I supposed to do without them?

A door slides open down the hall, and Zane strides out. He’s wearing a pale blue shirt the same shade as his hair, jeans, and shoes. He looks confused and uncertain as he enters the hall, but the look changes to a happy one when he sees me.

“My Samantha, I missed you.”

I return his smile. “I missed you too. How are you liking your new room?”

He pats at his wet hair. “I took a shower.”

Reaching up, I tug one of the strands. “So you did.”

Zane leans his head down until my hand touches his cheek, and then he sighs, seemingly pleased with himself. Slowly, I draw my hand back, but my skin tingles where we touched.

“Are you adjusting to everything alright?”

He shrugs. “This place and time is very different from the last one, but I like the food, and I like the cleanliness. I think this lifetime will be a good one.”

“It will be.”

“Where are the fire dragons?” he asks, cocking his head.

“They went out to… have a big conversation with the humans, to try to convince them that not all dragons are dangerous. It’s really important, so we have to hope it goes well for them.”

“I will say a prayer to the gods,” he says, seeming quite serious.

Suddenly, my phone rings. He jumps a little, but I give him a comforting smile. “It’s just a phone. A way to communicate with people over long distances.” I pull out my phone and see Dahlia’s name. She was supposed to be on her way here by now. Hopefully everything is okay. “Hello?” I ask, as I put the phone on speaker to show him how it works.

Dahlia’s voice is filled with panic. “Sam, thank goodness!”

My heartbeat immediately picks up. “Are you okay? Where are you?”

“I made it to Oceanview, but then a fucking brown dragon started blasting fire all over, and everything went crazy. People got out of their cars and started running, so I did too, and now I’m at this restaurant… people are hiding in here, but then the dragon left, and the riots started. It’s getting scary out there, and I don’t know what to do.” She ends the last word on a sob. “I don’t know what to do, Sam.”

It’s like everything slows down. “Are you sure the dragon is gone?”

“Yeah. It looks that way. It was literally here and gone in a flash.”

Okay, good. “Where are you? What restaurant are you at?”

“I don’t know… it–it has a UFO on the top of it. It was… something, alien, UFO, planet… cafe.”

My memory swings back to the night we’d explored the town drunk. I remember seeing a restaurant with a UFO on top.

“Listen, just stay where you are. I’m coming for you. I’m going to find you and get you out of there, okay? Just stay put and stay safe.”

There’s another sob, followed by a shaky breath. “Okay. I can do that. Okay.”

There’s shouting, followed by someone screaming, and the call ends. I stare at the phone for a second. The scream wasn’t Dahlia’s, which is something, at least, but I have to get her out of there.

Turning, I run for the elevator. I’m going to need to ask the staff to borrow a company car. Maybe even see if some security officers can come with me. Then, I just need to keep an eye out for trouble and get to Dahlia, no matter what it takes.

It’s not until I enter the elevator that I see that Zane is with me. I push the correct floor, heart hammering. “I need to go help my friend.”

He nods. “I understand. I am coming with you.”

With me? “No, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

He draws himself up taller. “It is my responsibility to protect you. Not only because you are my mate, but because the fire dragons have entrusted me with your safety, whether they realized it or not. I am coming with you.”

I consider arguing, then decide the hell with it, I’ll feel safer with him at my side. “Okay, but this is an in and out kind of operation. We get my friend Dahlia, and then we get home. In the best case, before Aydan and Evander can figure out I was gone at all.”

“Understood.”

My stomach does a little twist. Leaving without my men at my side is a reckless decision, I know that, but I can’t interrupt their news conference, and even if I could, I can’t waste time when Dahlia is in trouble. I’d never heard her sound that scared before. She needs help. I just have to have some faith that a badass female dragon, with a badass ice dragon at her side, will be fine out there.

I hope.