Out here, things were different. The house was located in a remote area surrounded by thousands of acres that belonged to his family or his clan. No one thought twice about seeing a dragon overhead nor blinked when it dove down and plucked up a bit of prey from the river below or out of a field, as long as it was wild game and not any of their valuable livestock. He took to the skies and enjoyed the freedom that came from flight, leaving the busy world below behind.
The night was clear. He could see for miles around him, including the large hole in the top of his workshop, though he still wasn’t sure what had caused it. There was no sign of fallen trees or any objects that might have hit the roof. Perhaps it had merely been pulled open by the wind during a storm, but even that seemed unlikely, as there were no branches strewn about the property.
Moving away from the house, he flew along the river, taking in the lights and sounds from other members of his clan. He was flying low as he scoured the water below. He was on the edge of where he could safely fly now and preparing to turn back when a movement caught his eye as he approached a row of cabins reserved for area tourists. At first, it seemed like someone out for a midnight swim, but as his keen night vision focused, he saw that they were floundering.
Not seeing anyone else about, he swept downward for a better look. They were gone, their form barely visible beneath the dark current. Sweeping downward, he dove in and carefully lifted them with his claws, rising again into the air to place them on a nearby dock. A quick look around confirmed that there was no one about, so he shifted back into human form and began to do CPR.
At first, he thought he was too late. An irresponsible teen lost to a drunken midnight swim, another casualty of bad decisions, but then the boy started coughing, spitting up water. He pulled himself up, looking confused
“Are you okay?” Dane asked.
He nodded, still unable to find his voice it seemed. Voices grew closer from behind and Dane realized some of them were teenage girls. He was naked.
“Over here,” he yelled back at them before leaning back down to the boy and speaking quietly. “Sober up and stay out of the water. I was never here. Okay?”
The kid nodded, and Dane took off into the darkness to one side of him, moving through the woods alongside the river until he was far enough away to shift again and fly home.CHAPTER FIVEAdriana
Adriana wasn’t looking forward to her next date. Already, she was finding this whole assignment to be a pain in the ass, but she was a professional. She’d get it done. Tonight, she was meeting a guy named Tom at a little cocktail bar on top of the Metro Hotel, a popular spot with both locals and tourists. She arrived early and had a martini while she waited. If nothing else, it might make whatever fresh hell awaited her a little easier to swallow.
An hour and two more martinis later, she was still waiting. Had she been stood up? She was about to leave when her phone jingled. It was a notification from Alpha Meets Omega, so she assumed it was him, but when she opened it, she found it was someone else. The dark-haired brooding guy who had attracted her attention was sending her a message.
Would you like to meet?
She pondered it for a moment. He didn’t waste any time with banter. That could be a good sign or a bad one. Either he preferred to get to know her in person rather than spending a nauseating amount of time on messaging and phone calls or he was one of those who didn’t care to know anything about her. They were the type of guys that showed up, looked you up and down long enough to decide if you were fuckable, and then either made an excuse to leave or tried to get you into bed.
Adriana wasn’t a virgin, but she wasn’t a whore either. She was picky about who she slept with, and that sort of thing didn’t go down well with her. Of course, there was nothing wrong with a one-night stand if you both were really into one another sexually right off the bat. She just didn’t cotton to having that be the only thing on someone’s mind even before they arrived. Despite any reservations she might have, she found herself responding.
I’d love to meet. What are you doing right now?
She waited for an answer, but it didn’t take long.
Nothing at the moment. What did you have in mind?