Emma (Dark Fire) (10 page)

As they passed the new gym, Tyler growled.

Emma turned to hush him, but he’d already slipped to her other side, putting his body between her and the armed guards patrolling the school grounds.

She sighed and shook her head. He was such a contradiction.

Their journey through the crowded streets of town had been uneventful, but she had learned more about him. What she learned only added to the puzzle. He acted as if he didn’t want to talk to her, yet he inevitably asked questions.

If it was any consolation, he seemed as mystified as she did. On more than one occasion, he snapped his mouth shut and just stopped talking. When he did talk, it was to question her choice of clothes. As impossible as it seemed, the people of Tuatha had never heard of shorts or miniskirts. By Tuatha standards, her outfit was indecent, extremely indecent, but she’d noticed his eyes roving down her length several times. He seemed fascinated by her belly piercing. Other Tuathans might not like her choice of clothes, but she got the distinct feeling Tyler liked them, whether he’d admit to it or not.

Other than the occasional comment, he was silent. His impassive attitude hurt. She couldn’t help her reaction. She had fallen for him in a hard way. It was obvious he wasn’t having the same problem. She could be such an idiot.

She had a dozen questions for him, but hesitated asking them. If he wasn’t bringing up the fact they were mated, she wasn’t about to bring the touchy subject up.

She slipped her fingers under the thin material of her shirt, feeling the warmth of her skin. She sensed nothing from him. The Black Hole remained firmly in place, eating her alive.

In the feed store lot, she found out the only exception was when Tyler touched her. When he touched her, it didn’t feel like the chasm was going to swallow her. At his touch, the ache disappeared. Not even a shadow of the hollow feeling remained. The total absence of the black hole was shocking.

Slowly, but surely, she was losing herself. She no longer felt whole without his presence, without his emotions filling her, and that frightened her.

Growing tired of his silent treatment she asked, “How long do you think it’ll take them to find Lydia?”

“She’s ahead of us,” he said, motioning ahead of them where hundreds of cars and people cluttered the side of the road.

“Thanks for sharing that bit of info,” she grumbled, glaring at him in annoyance. “When were you going to tell me?”

“I can smell her,” he said quietly, cautiously glancing at the short, gray haired couple walking several yards in front of them.

“Hello?” she asked in a sarcastic whisper, waving her hand in front of him. “You do remember I’m mortal?”

“Yeah, that’s impossible to forget, but I assumed you could see her,” he said a bit louder, voice laced with a heavy dose of her own sarcasm and pointed ahead of them.

Emma peered ahead of them, looking past the dozen people walking to and from cars parked along the highway. Sure enough, she saw the female dragon’s blonde head. Lydia was nearly to the jeep when she took off at a run.

“Crap, come on,” Tyler said urgently, pulling Emma into a jog.

“What happened?” Emma questioned as they passed the elderly couple.

“Don’t know,” he answered, holding her arm as a group of kids playing near the bumper of a SUV got a bit too close. “But if Lydia’s running, it isn’t good.”

They quickly approached the jeep.

Emma searched for Lydia. When she didn’t see her, she assumed the dragon must be behind the jeep in the thick growth of shrubbery.

Tyler cursed and she jerked to a stop.

“What’s wrong?”

“I smell blood. Stay here,” he ordered, briefly touching her bare shoulder.

Watching him walk away, she shook her head in disbelief. Eventually, she’d teach him not to try and order her about. She followed him, pushing through the trees. Reaching the backend of the jeep, she slid to a halt. Her eyes grew huge and a soft whimper slipped past her lips.

Behind the bumper of the jeep, her uncle’s body lay in a bloody heap.

Lydia crouched protectively over Keith. Her head snapped up, glaring at them. Every angle of her body declared her intent to protect the injured man. The depth of fury in her solid white eyes was more than enough warning.

Under the woman’s intense glare, Emma shifted uneasily.

The female dragon growled a warning at them, exposing sharpened teeth. Before their eyes, tiny black scales covered Lydia’s fair skin. Her teeth grew sharper and her growl deeper. Black horns sprouted through her blonde hair, curving above her head.

Tyler shoved Emma behind him and shifted to wér, growing taller and broader.

She reached a trembling hand toward the smooth black scales of his back and hesitated. She didn’t know how he’d react to her touch. A lot had changed since yesterday. Her hand dropped to her side. Stepping closer to him, she peeked around his body, careful not to touch him.

Lydia crouched defensively over Keith’s motionless body, glaring at Tyler.

The pieces dropped into place and Emma shook her head in dismay, wondering if it was something in the air. “Lydia, we won’t hurt your mate,” she said, trying to throw a measure of reassurance in her softly spoken words.

Lydia tilted her head back and growled at them. Even in the gloom under the trees, her fangs glistened.

“Mate?” Tyler asked, his deep voice conveying his shock.

Emma hesitated. “I think so.”

He shook his head, disbelief apparent.

If the kids playing down the road had been paying attention, they would’ve wondered at the two black horns sticking above the thick greenery. “How would you know about mates?”

“She’s reacting the same way toward Uncle Keith as you did to me yesterday.”

His body tensed, muscles rippled.

“Lydia said you got stuck in wér form, because you were young and I was threatened. It looks like she’s stuck now,” she said, finishing with a limp wave of her hand. She didn’t know what else to say.

He didn’t speak for several moments. His hands fisted against his thighs, and she realized he was trying to control his anger.

“I don’t think she really planned on telling me that I might be your mate, it just slipped out.” Lightly touching his back with the tips of her fingers, she quietly added, “I know a dragon would be a more suitable mate for you.”

“A bloody vampire would be a more suitable mate,” he snapped, pulling away from her touch.

She clenched her jaw, crushing the whimper of pain that begged to escape. Stiffening her back, she brutally shoved her disappointment away. She would not give him the satisfaction of knowing how much his words hurt her.

“Lydia, that’s enough. Change to human,” Tyler ordered; the steel of command laced his voice.

Lydia’s growl rumbled through the small stand of trees.

Emma snorted over his arrogant order. Stepping forward she knelt in the grass.

Lydia growled and her muscles tensed, ready for attack.

Tyler grabbed Emma, pulling her backward.

Turning, she glared at him. “Let me go,” she said, ice coating her words. “You might be a cold jerk, but Lydia’s not.”

Pulling her arm from his lax fingers, she gave him her back and started calmly talking to Lydia. She spoke to the wér as she would speak to a cornered animal, softly and slowly.

She kept her movement to a minimum and didn’t make eye contact with the growling wér. She wasn’t sure what constituted aggression among dragons, but she’d rather be too cautious and not turn into a tasty snack.

For five minutes, she quietly spoke to the wér-dragon, while Tyler hovered immediately behind her. His leg brushed her arm and she shivered.

She was furious with him. He had her in such a tangle of emotions, she didn’t know which way was up. One thing she knew, if he thought he’d be better off with a vampire… well, then fine! He could shove it where the sun didn’t shine.

A group of loud men passed in front of the jeep, interrupting her internal rant.

Tyler growled.

She ignored him, fiercely reminding herself that he didn’t want her. That sounded fine to her. She was tired of trying to be nice to someone who pulled away from her, who was apparently repulsed at her very touch. Yeah, she had learned her lesson. She’d stay as far away from him as possible.

The men paused, discussing whether they should head to the lake and try to see the castles or go home.

As the discussion turned into an argument, Tyler crouched closer to her.

Her chest tightened. His protective attitude made her hesitate in her resolve.

After a few minutes, the men turned around, heading back to town.

Lydia stopped growling. Emma would’ve taken that as a good sign for a dog, but she didn’t know about dragons. She was just the dumb mortal stuck between two mythical growling beasts.

She sighed, trying to reign in her temper. At least she had enough common sense to realize why she was angry. His flippant words had hurt and when she hurt, she got angry.

Tyler’s fingers slid across her bare shoulder, feathering across her smooth skin in a soft caress.

She jerked away from his touch and did a very good imitation of a growl. She turned. Glaring at him, she slowly emphasized each word. “Don’t touch me.”

As the heat in her words registered, his eyes widened in surprise.

“You want a vampire? Then I wish you good luck in finding a freaking vampire! I want absolutely nothing to do with you, Mr. Arrogant Jerk-of-a-Dragon, not ever!”

“Emma?” Keith asked weakly.

She quickly turned her attention back to her uncle, noticing Lydia was acting odd. With her head close to Keith, she sniffed and started growling.

“Don’t move, Uncle Keith,” Emma ordered softly. “Lydia’s in wér form and is hovering over you. I think she’s trying to protect you, but she’s really upset at the moment.”

“Tell her…”

“Keith, please don’t anger her,” Tyler said, quickly cutting off the older man’s sharp words. “Lydia’s dragon instinct has taken over. It just happens. It isn’t always an age thing. She could protect you or rip you to pieces. Try talking to her. Calmly, just don’t speak or move aggressively.”

Keith focused on Lydia, as if really seeing her for the first time. His hands clenched. The look on his face turned into shock. For several seconds, he sat rubbing his fingers against his palm.

When Lydia slid her fingers down his temple, he turned his face toward her, rubbing his cheek against her scaled wrist. The harsh lines of his face softened and he gently whispered. “Lydia, are you going to change to human so we can talk about this?”

At her uncle’s abrupt change of attitude, Emma felt her mouth drop open. Understanding hit an instant later. If they were mates, Keith had to be feeling what Lydia was feeling. It was the only reasonable explanation.

Moments later, Lydia shifted from wér and they spoke quietly for a few minutes. She watched the pair with longing. Lydia’s instant acceptance of Keith as her mate, and her obvious love for him, was impossible to mistake. The dragon wore her heart on her sleeve.

She sighed, if anyone deserved happiness it was her uncle. She was very happy for him, but she still felt a touch of envy. His mate wanted him, while her mate detested her. She knew Tyler would never look at her, never adore her, the way Lydia did Keith.

That simple fact hurt.

She dreaded the moment Tyler returned home, knowing he would seek out his current girlfriend. For all she knew, he might have two or three girls. The first time he went out on a date, she would feel, and maybe even hear, how much he wanted another girl.

Life sucked.

It would’ve helped if she didn’t like him so much. His words had hurt her, but like a moth to a bug zapper, she was still attracted to him. She couldn’t seem to help it. Talk about pitiful.

She briefly wondered how she would react if she felt love pouring from Tyler instead of anger? Yeah, dumb question. She’d probably be acting as love struck as her uncle.

Watching Lydia made it obvious the dragon adored her uncle. If Tyler acted that way toward her, it’d be hard not to show him how much she liked him. She snorted to herself. Right, she needed to get her head out of the clouds because that was not a weapon she’d willingly give him, not when he’d eventually turn on her.

It was clear her uncle didn’t agree with her assessment.

She couldn’t stop her grin as Lydia shifted just a bit closer to Keith. He seemed stunned over her constant attentive behavior.

“Who beat you up?” Emma asked, forcing herself to interrupt their softly spoken words.

Several moments passed before Keith pulled his eyes from Lydia’s face. Not long enough to be rude, but pointed enough that he flushed a light crimson.

“General Thackwart’s Neanderthals,” Keith answered her question. He turned too quickly and tried to hide a grimace. Glancing meaningfully toward the jeep, he touched his ear.

Taking the hint, Emma jumped up from her kneeling position.

The small, hand-held gadget was exactly where Keith hid it earlier that morning. Sweeping the bug detector around the jeep, she found three button-sized bugs. Sighing, she dropped the listening devices in her half-full pop bottle and screwed the cap tight, before flinging it into the trees.

“I thought that jerk was stationed on the east coast.”

Of all people to be in charge, Brigadier General Thackwart was the worst. Emma had nothing but respect for the U.S. military, but ‘insane loose cannon’ didn’t come close to describing Thackwart.

“He was. From what I found out before his thugs found me talking to Sergeant Lawrence, Thackwart was here for a surprise inspection of some sort. Now, his boss is too busy with a new wave of attacks in Texas and Thackwart’s using the confusion to take charge.”

“No doubt he hopes to kill a few thousand monsters and look like a hero.”

“Sounds about right,” Keith agreed, watching Lydia as she checked him for broken bones. Her gentle fingers reached his shoulder and he hissed in pain. “It feels dislocated. Can you put it back in?”

Lydia frowned. “I’m afraid I’ll do more damage.”

“It’ll hurt like fire, but just pop it back in. It’s happened before,” Keith said with resignation.