Page 20 of The Dragon's Perfect Omega
I looked at him. Better than looking out of the window—if equally dangerous. "No, it's not. This is the Bay Bridge. Most tourists visit the Golden Gate Bridge." I hoped he wasn't going to insist on crossing that one too.
"Which is scarier?"
"They're both plenty scary."
"You don't have to be scared, you know. Doesn't matter if the bridge collapses or not. I wouldn't let anything happen to you." He said it with an air of sincerity that left no room for arguments. I didn't have to be a mind reader to know he meant what he said a hundred percent. Why, though? He spoke as if I was somehow important to him when the reality was that he didn't know me at all.
And yet, I felt myself straighten in response to his words. Therewasnothing to be scared of, was there? Not as long as he was around. I didn't knowwhy, but I knew that it was true. That was enough for now.
"Look at the view," Lowen said. "It's amazing."
"Yeah, and not that many tourists get to see it." I found myself smiling. Granted, being on a packed bus wasn't the best thing ever, but talking to the dragon, I found it easy to forget about my surroundings.
Until the lady in front of me shifted, nudging me with her big shopping bag in a way that made me step back, lose my balance and nearly stumble into Lowen.
"Careful there," he said, steadying me.
My face went from pale to glowing red in minus two seconds. Seriously, I think I broke some record there in how quickly a person could change their skin color. One of Lowen's hands was on my shoulder, the other on my side. The touch seemed to burn through my clothes. Did dragons have that ability? Could they infuse you with heat through their skin? Because it certainly felt that way.
I only wished I wasn't wearing clothes.
Hell, I wished neither of us was wearing clothes.
The next moment, before I could even gather my thoughts, the bus came to a halt.
"Are we getting off?" Lowen asked.
Boy did that sound wrong to my ears. And boy did I want to say yes to the question he hadn't actually asked. Instead, I responded to his inquiry about our travel plans. "Yes, let's get off the bus."
The fresh outside air felt good in my lungs as Lowen and I stepped off the bus. I turned around to him. "Welcome to Treasure Island."
“A man-made island,” he muttered under his breath, looking around as if he couldn’t quite believe it. "And that scares you less than the bridge?" He eyed me curiously. "You're not afraid this thing could sink into the ocean at any time?"
"The thought hadn't occurred to me," I admitted. "But thank you. I will think about that possibility from now on."
He laughed, and the warm sound made me miss his hands on me. I bit my lower lip.
Stop thinking about that, you perv.
8
Lowen
The thoughtthat I was standing on a man-made island fascinated me, but not as much as the man standing next to me. Zim had clearly been scared on the way here. Obviously, he hadn't wanted to come. And yet he'd taken me. To impress me?
I knew that he was trying to suppress his feelings, but he couldn't completely eliminate them, could he? A smile tugged at my lips.
"You seem like you're in a good mood," Zim commented as he led me down the road.
I shrugged. "I enjoy being here with you."
The glow of colors that surrounded Zim seemed to shine brighter for a moment. Curious. He was so... reactive. I'd never met anyone like him and I got the feeling I could have just watched him for days without getting bored. "You're so blunt," he commented.
"Believe me, I'm not saying even half the things I'd like to say to you."
His eyes widened. God flirting with him was fun.
"You don't have to look at me like that. Most of them are innocent, I promise. Only about thirty percent of my thoughts are not safe for work. Well, maybe forty percent. I want to be honest with you. I know we're dragon shifters but most of us are really pigs."
