Page 21 of The Dragon's Perfect Omega
He shook his head as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing, and then he laughed.
"Well, what did you expect?" I asked. "I'm part beast. There's a side of me that has no impulse-control at all." A side of me that wanted him more than anything.
"But you're controlling it," Zim pointed out. And then, "Is it really that hard?"
"No, don't worry. We all learn when we're children. Or well, most of us do, anyway." Every community had its black sheep. "I get along well with my inner beast. We usually agree on what we want." Like beating the hell out of my drums, or taking long flights around the island and over the ocean... and getting to know Zim better. I couldn't stop myself from giving him a once-over as we walked. He'd put on pants that hugged his ass in all the right ways. Had that been intentional? I couldn't tell.
But I could appreciate the sight all the same.
I wondered what he looked like naked.
What sort of noises he would make if I took him in my mouth.
How bright his colors would shine when he came.
"Okay, this is the view I told you about." Zim came to a halt and snapped me out of my thoughts, gesturing at the sea in front of us. Across from us, the skyline of San-Francisco was magnificent outlined against the blue summer sky and glittering water.
"I can see why people come here." There were a couple of tourists nearby, snapping pictures.
"I guess it's nice," Zim said, but I could tell this wasn't his favorite spot. Suddenly, I wanted to know where that was. I wanted to know everything about him. All the little things that made him tick, and all the big ones that colored his aura and drew me to him like a moth to the flame. "What else have you planned for today?" I asked him.
He pulled his phone out of his pocket and glanced at it. I got the feeling he had a whole schedule for the day written up in a planner app. But he tried to appear casual. "I thought we could head back into the city. How do you feel about museums?"
Museums? Seriously? "Is that really what you want to do?"
"Some of them are really interesting!"
My lips quirked up. Something told me that my mate was a little nerd, but I didn't mind that. Nothing wrong with a thirst for knowledge. Still, I didn't want to spend my day with him in a museum. "I was hoping you could show me your favorite spot in the city."
"My favorite spot?" Uncertainty shone through in Zim's colors, tinting them a light orange.
"Where do you like to hang out when you need to recharge?" I prompted.
"Well..." Zim hesitated, but then he spoke on. "There's this park I like. Billy Goat Hill. The view is nice and... I mean, not as nice as here, but still. I don't know. It's nothing special."
"Sounds good. Let's go."
Idefinitelyneeded to see this place if it made Zim fumble for words like this.
* * *
The park wasquiet when we got there. Zim hadn't been lying when he told me it was nothing special, but still, I could tell why he liked it here. Among the skyscrapers of San-Francisco, this spot of green felt like an oasis. I had no idea how humans managed to live in apartments literally on top of each other and not feel cramped all the time. Parks like this had to be a necessity—and yet, there weren’t a lot of people around.
“Sorry, this isn’t exciting,” Zim apologized as we walked up the slope of the green hill side by side. As I looked at him, a soft summer breeze played with his hair and carried his scent to me. It was as sweet as the first flowers in spring.
“Don’t worry, I’m enjoying myself.” How could I not? The sun was high in the sky, the birds were singing… and I had my mate by my side.
“I used to come here all the time,” Zim told me, kicking a pebble on the path in front of him. “I used to take pictures or come here with a book to sit on the hill and just read for a while.”
“But you don’t do that anymore?”
“I… haven’t really had the time.” His shoulders slumped. “Feels like I’ve been doing nothing but studying lately.”
“You mean when you aren’t ogling hot dragons at concerts?”
“That was onlyonce!And I wasn’t ogling!” But he grew a little red all the same. Gods, he was adorable—and not only that. He was handsome, smart, kind enough to show a stranger around his city, bold enough to do so knowing everyone in his family would disapprove.
I wanted to take him out of that environment, away from all the people who kept him from being himself. If he would only let me…
