Dragon's Claim

Chapter 8-1

Chapter 8

The next morning found them on the road again. The skies were clear, so Drake had dropped the car’s top again. They were on the way to look at a new site for the Embassy, but Layla’s mind was still with the child they’d left in the care of Drake’s dragons. The women were nice enough, but Miri had been devastated to see both Layla and Drake leave.

It nearly broke Layla’s heart. She’d caught it just in time and let her monster wrap around it, feeling her face go blank as emotion slipped away. That didn’t stop her from wondering if Miri was okay.

Drake was right, though. They’d fought earlier, nearly screaming at one another over his decision. She was the only one in the group that could fight him, using her status as an outsider to challenge his opinion until he brought up a very good point. There was no way they could bring Miri to the family he wanted to visit.

“What if I’m wrong and those dragons, the kind that still like to raid towns from time to time, are still there?” He’d leaned into her face as he spoke, anger burning around him. “What if she is their child and we get there to find a slaughter? Either way, that girl is in danger.”

Her stomach had nearly sunk through the floor. She’d never heard of dragons still raiding towns, but the States were big enough and GOE facilities were so few and far between here that it wasn’t an impossibility.

She had her work cut out for her here.

He cut a sidelong glance at her, a mischievous grin tilting his lips. “We have some time to spare if you want to have a little bit of fun.”

She sat up in her seat and gave him a hard look. There was far too much tumbling through her mind at that moment to think about having fun. She had a job she was supposed to begin and a child to worry about.

But, Drake didn’t wait for an answer. Instead, he jerked the wheel and the car darted around a corner she hadn’t seen coming. The back end of the car danced and she found laughter bubbling through her as she gripped the door. All her life, she’d flown if she needed to go anywhere.

She never realized how much fun cars could be.

Drake’s eyes sparkled when he looked at her. It was almost as if her own laughter, her own smile lit something inside of him. His foot pressed down on the gas and the wind tore through her hair. She let her head fall back and let him take control.

They wound around tight corners and wove in and out of traffic before he stuttered to a stop. Her head fell forward and her eyes snapped open. Ahead of them was not what she’d expected. Instead of a wall of traffic, there was a short railing that separated them from layers of waterfalls. Water cascaded in shades of blue and white over flat rocks and into a small pond far below.

“Before there was a highway here, I used to jump off those falls for fun,” Drake confessed.

“You used to have fun?” Layla couldn’t keep from teasing him.

“Far more fun than you seem to have,” he jabbed back playfully.

Her mouth snapped shut. She had fun. Right?

She moved around the side of the car to stand beside Drake, her body leaning into him like he was the center of the universe. She scowled and crossed her arms over her chest, but didn’t move away. The sound of water crashing into rock was enough to drown out the confusion in her head. For a moment, she could pretend that all she had to do was stand and stare at the mist in the air.

Drake checked the time on his phone before scanning the world around them. Layla perked up, wondering if he’d scented anything out of place, but he leaned further into her and closed his eyes. She fought the urge to reach up and run her fingertips through his dark hair or trace them along his jaw.

“We have a bit of time before the GOE agents are expecting us,” Drake informed her, his eyes still closed. It amazed her that a leader trusted her to protect him enough to close his eyes and let his guard down.

She would not love him.

It couldn’t happen. She wouldn’t let herself get that weak.

But, she was starting to worry that she didn’t have a chance. Her mind brought her back to the night before, she she’d let herself crumble in his arms. She didn’t fight back when he lifted her off her feet and carried her into the house. She’d barely been able to keep her eyes open, drifting in and out of consciousness. When she woke, the smell of him lulled her into comfort and she didn’t even notice the black, stuffed dragon she’d been cuddling until moments later.

Before that, seeing him sitting on the floor with Miri had moved something inside of her. The feeling had been so great that it drowned out the growls of the monster inside of her that called for the blood of whoever hurt the child.

“What are you thinking about?” Drake’s fingers brushed her skin as he pushed her hair back from her face.

She jerked back to the present, slowly, comfortably while wrapped in his scent. His eyes, lined with concern, hovered over her own, his body brushed hers while his massive hand held her hip as if she might fall. A feeling in her chest pulled her to him like she was a magnet and he was true north.

He truly was a giant man. His broad shoulders seemed to be cut from stone, immovable and dangerous. His arms were similarly cut, planes of rock shaved to mimic muscle. He would be a force to be reckoned with in a fight. Whereas she was limber and agile, he was the brute force of the earth.

Layla stepped back, out of his touch and shook her head. Raking a hand through her hair, she said, “I’m fine. Just a bit out of sorts after yesterday.”

Drake watched her, eyes bearing just a hint of hurt. What had she done to hurt him? She hadn’t said anything offensive, hadn’t hit him. Layla didn’t understand.

“Then we should get some food into you,” he suggested, turning on his heel and covering the look of pain in his eyes.

“What is it with men wanting to feed women?” Layla joked, trying her damnedest to lighten the mood between them again. They’d been having fun until she stepped away from him. “I really thought it was the other way around. Isn’t the woman supposed to be in the kitchen, making meals?”

Drake looked back, flashing a smile. The pain was gone. Moved on or carefully covered up, Layla didn’t know.

“Are you complaining about free food? Besides, since when did you want to go back to such an archaic view of the world? I would have thought that someone as independent as yourself would spit on female stereotypes.”

She didn’t say anything. Layla fell into step beside him, slightly disappointed that they weren’t taking the fast convertible wherever they were going. Drake wound in between the tightly knit buildings that were easily a hundred years old and still sporting painted advertisements from days gone by. It was nothing compared to the age of things where she came from, but it helped her put a finger on Drake’s age. If he’d swam in that pond before there was a road here, he had to be old.

For a moment, she felt like a child beside him. Then, Drake managed a very excited little dance and he looked like a child in a man’s body. The laugh that escaped Layla was true and came from deep within her. The sound must have startled Drake, because his dance faltered and he looked at her eyes wide with joyful surprise.

She thought he might call her out on it, but he just pointed at the sign over the door and reminded her she was in for a treat. Inside, the place was cramped. There were shelves lined with food products and small necessities like aspirin and such. To the far wall, there was a deli case with a broad sign over head.

“This place makes the best sandwiches I’ve ever had in my life.” He checked his phone again. “We grab a sandwich and then we can walk over to the agents. They can wait a minute.”

“So pretentious,” Layla teased.

Drake winked. She felt her heart stir again. This time she clamped a firm hand around it. They had a job to do today. Approve the new Embassy site and then look into Miri’s parents. But, Drake handed her a wrapped sandwich, laden with meats and pickles, and she couldn’t help the small smile that curved her lips.

Drake caught it, too. His face lit up. It amazed her how that small gesture could turn him on his head.

Why was Layla here? Had she been sent here only to begin the embassy? Or, had the universe only used that as an excuse to get her here in the Americas? Layla felt like this was where she had always been meant to go.

But, for what reason?

Drake walked beside her down the old streets. The roads were paved, but there were places where pot holes had grown so deep that they revealed the cobblestone street beneath. It was like the town couldn’t give up its history, even as it moved forward. Maybe, that was a lesson Layla should try to hold on to. Could she change while still holding on to the strength that she’d found in herself?

“You have to try this,” Drake’s voice broke her out of her contemplation. Layla found a half-wrapped sandwich floating before her face, the American leader looking at her expectantly from the other side.

She raised an eyebrow, but didn’t challenge him. Instead, she felt her face warm as she leaned forward. Drake’s eyes danced over the planes of her face. She felt her cheeks warm. Eating out of his hand felt oddly intimate, even here, on the open street. His eyes were so focused in on her and her alone that they felt like the only two people in the world and she was under the command of his whim.

Finally, she managed to take a bite from the sandwich in his hands. His eyes warmed and a smile touched the corners of his lips. She pulled back as quickly as she could, using the back of her hand to hide her mouth as she chewed. The layers of crisp bacon were at odds with the smooth slices of avocado and tang of the dressing.

“Oh,” she said with true surprise. “That is good.”

He laughed and took another bite of his sandwich, tearing his gaze away from her so that the rampant blush on her cheeks could begin to fade.

*