Chapter 16

SIXTEEN

Samantha

The mob of people has only thickened, making me more and more nervous with each passing second, when we finally see the restaurant with the UFO on the top. I consider continuing to drive through the throng of people, but spot a quiet alley and turn down it instead. Zane and I will be much faster on foot from here on out, and should be fast enough to ensure the car is in one piece when we get back.

Cutting the engine, I turn to Zane. “We’re going to walk the rest of the way, but we’re going to have to be careful. People are capable of anything when they get like this.”

“You do not need to warn me. I am prepared for trouble.”

I bite my lip. Zane is so innocent to this new world. Will he really be able to handle it if we have problems out there? I know we’re stronger and faster than any human, and that we can go dragon if we have to, but that doesn’t mean we’re invincible. I mean, he doesn’t even know about guns. Times are more dangerous than when he was last awake.

“Just promise me you’ll stay by my side.”

He reaches forward and cups my cheek. “I have always made this promise to you, but I will again.” His blue eyes seem to make more promises than his words.

I shiver, closing my eyes.

“Samantha?”

Then, I pull away, knowing that if I don’t, I’ll do something I might regret. Zane is a temptation, and I need to resist him. At least until things are settled with my men.

“We should get going.”

He nods, looking regretful.

I climb out of the car. Zane doesn’t. I hear him struggling inside. Going to his door, I open it for him and explain the handle again. I even press the lock button to show him that too. If he’s going to live in this lifetime, he’s going to need to know how things work.

“Lock, unlock. Lock, unlock,” he says, clicking the button back and forth, grinning like mad.

I laugh. “That’s right. Remind me later, and I’ll show you the windows.”

He gives me a funny look. “I know what a window is.”

“Not this kind,” I say, grinning as I imagine his face when I roll the windows down.

He climbs out, and I lock up the car. Now that my focus isn’t on him, I turn back to face the main road. People are everywhere. Some of them have guns, others bats, but all of them seem to be carrying stolen goods. It’s kind of scary.

I make sure I’m at Zane’s side, whether for his sake or mine, I’m not sure, but it seems like a good idea. We start heading for the main road, knowing the restaurant we’re headed to is less than a block away.

But before we can exit the alley, I catch the gaze of a man in a group. None of them have stolen goods, and all of them look like they’re trying to cause problems. The smile he flashes me instantly chills my blood, and then he’s making a beeline for me. His cronies follow right behind, their gazes running over me in a way that makes me feel vulnerable for half a second before I remember that I’m a dragon.

These bitches are about to get roasted, and they don’t even know it.

“What do we have here,” the leader of the group calls, the tattoos on his face dancing as he speaks.

Zane leans in to me. “Trouble?”

“Yes,” I say, without taking my eyes off of them.

One of the men, a big guy with a long auburn beard answers his little friends. “It looks like this pretty little thing got lost out here.”

“Doesn’t she know that could be dangerous?” another one says, and then they’re all laughing.

I don’t back down. I don’t even blink. “Look, guys, you seem kind of stupid, so I’m going to do you a favor. I’m going to give you one minute to get out of here before we start breaking your bones.”

There’s more laughter. The leader, a man with tattooed teardrops leaking from one of his eyes, studies me. “You really think you and your boyfriend can take us?”

I smile, but I know it’s a cruel smile. “Abso-fucking-lutely.”

Zane takes a step toward them. “You stand no chance against us. We are dragons. We will leave you broken and bleeding, crying for your mothers, but they will not hear your pleas.”

The leader glances at his buddies. “What the fuck is wrong with this guy?” Then he motions for them to surround us.

My gut tightens. You’re a dragon. You’re a dragon. You’re a dragon. “Do you know how to fight as a human?”

Zane doesn’t hesitate. “Very well, although I only fight when I need to.”

“You need to now.”

“I understand.” He tenses beside me.

The leader comes straight at me, grinning, cocky. “Be nice, sweetheart, and we’ll be nice. Okay?”

Sweat rolls down my back, and I count the seconds that pass until he gets close enough. One. Two. Three. Four.

My leg shoots out and strikes him in the stomach. He goes flying back and hits the ground on his back, hard. There, he stays.

“Who's next?” My fists are curled. I’m ready.

Three men close in at Zane’s side, and he moves, almost faster than I can follow. He punches one in the face, then kicks the legs out from under him before he can even fall. The other two, he grabs the sides of their heads and smashes them together, over and over again until they crumple to the ground.

One of the men on my side approaches, I break his nose with my fist, then kick him as hard as I can in the crotch. His scream of pain dies into nothing as he falls to the ground. Around us, there’s whimpering, crying, and some oddly still men scattered around the alley.

Two others remain. They look at us, then the others, and they take a step toward me. Zane is on them like a lion, leaping on top of one, while pulling the other down. He alternates between punches one and then the other until they stop moving.

When he rises from them, he turns to me with thunderous eyes. I step back as he tears toward me, then take a few more steps back until my back hits the wall of the alley. He closes the distance between us, and then his lips are on mine.

They’re cold, like the rest of him, and yet they feel incredible. They’re so good that my entire body turns to jelly as I cling to him, and he presses himself against me, trapping me against the alley wall.

When I part my lips, he takes my invitation, and his tongue dives in, sending goosebumps rising along my arms. His tongue is long and chilly, and conjures up all kinds of thoughts about what that tongue could do to other parts of me.

I rub myself against him, feeling eager, feeling lost to the unbelievable sensation of his body pressed against mine. His cold, crisp scent washes over me, making me feel hot, even though the man himself is cold.

One of his hands moves under my shirt and slides under my bra. My nipples instantly harden from the chilly sensation, and I’m breathing hard, feeling as if I’m coming undone. Zane groans, rubbing his obvious erection between my thighs, and I feel myself growing wet with need.

One of the men on the ground whimpers and begins to loudly cry. The sound shakes me from my stupor, and I push Zane away, then adjust my bra. His eyes are full of need, but also confusion. I imagine it’s not fun for me to be so hot and cold, but he can’t imagine how hard I’m fighting my needs versus my logic.

“We can’t do this. Not until Aydan and Evander are on board.”

“But they will accept this, so why waste time?”

His words are tempting. “Because it won’t feel like a waste of time to them. Come on, we have to get Dahlia.”

To his credit, he simply nods and adjusts his enormous erection.

I swallow hard and try to avoid looking right at it. It’s like the monster in the corner, if I don’t look at it, it doesn’t exist. Instead, I focus on what I should do. I need to call Dahlia and see what’s going on. Unfortunately, when I dial her number, it just keeps ringing.

Damn it.

I put away my phone and let my thoughts start working. Moving to the mouth of the alley, I take a deep breath and formulate a plan.

“We’re going to go directly across the road, then stick to the sidewalk. We’ll avoid anyone who comes at us, and only fight if we have to.”

“Understood,” he says, then brushes the back of his hand over my arm.

I try not to react, to respond to him, but it’s impossible. A tingle moves across my skin, humming through my body. “Go.”

We rush to slip through the traffic on the sidewalk and keep going into the street, where people have taken over the road instead of cars. I try not to make eye contact with too many of the humans we pass, because I don’t want to invite any trouble our way. We make it to the other side of the street and then stay alert as we walk the rest of the way to the restaurant.

But when we pull on the door, it doesn’t open. Through the broken windows, we spot tables and chairs boarding up the windows and the door. We could break through it all, but then we’d be leaving everyone inside vulnerable after we get Dahlia.

“Let’s look for a side entrance.”

Zane follows closely behind me as I slip down the next alley. The truth is that as much as I want to find Dahlia, I’m also terrified to find her. What if she’s hurt?

No, I can’t think that way. I just need to get in the restaurant. That’s all I need to do right now.

Just focus on that.