“I want to help, Antoine. Tell me what I can do.”
“You give her a job.”
“Nope, wife wouldn’t like a pretty little human running around. It’s on you, Antoine. I’m going to give her your number and tell her that you have an opening.”
“What if she recognizes me when she comes?”
“I don’t know, Antoine. Pay well. I’m sure she has a price. Isn’t that what you’re always telling me?”
“Not just humans, Nathan. Everyone. Everyone has a price.”
He got off the phone unhappy, and Antoine was left staring at the phone. He had no idea how he was supposed to be around her, act like nothing had happened between them. He was never good at that sort of thing. Antoine didn’t want to be around her. He would rather just give her some money, but Nathan didn’t think it was a good idea. Give her a job.Why did that feel like such a bad idea?
***
Antoine got a call later on that evening from Cassandra. He’d started to think that she wouldn’t call at all. It certainly wasn’t prompt.
He had to scramble to get an office and fill it with a few things to make it look legit. Nathan had really put him out there, and Antoine was cursing him most of the day. No more, though, than when she called him and he was left to deal with the mess. Dealing with the woman was far worse than dealing with a few hired assassins. Antoine knew what to do with assassins.
“Antoine?”
“Yes, this is.”
“Hi, um, I got this number from a mechanic in town, and he said that you might be interested in a writer part time for your website and social media?”
It was another thing that Antoine had to set up and by the end of it, he would have been better off just bribing her to shut up. It worked with all other humans. Antoine imagined that she would be no different, but he played the game like he was supposed to. He still wasn’t sure why Nathan had suggested what he had, but he was going to trust him. Nathan dealt with humans far more than he did.
“Yeah, why don’t you come down tomorrow, and we will see about finding you something to do? I am always looking for good, reliable people.”
Antoine had no idea what he was getting himself into, but he had a distinct feeling that he was about to find out, and it was going to be more than he could handle. Men intent on killing him were far less to worry about than an unknown beautiful human whose intentions were unclear.
Chapter 3
Cassandra
Cassandra didn’t understand how her life could change so much in one day. She’d started off the day going in for an interview for a job that she was looking forward to. Then, she got hit, picked up, car fixed, and she had a job to go to in the morning. If she didn’t have a raging headache and a cut on her head, it would have been a pretty good day. It was confusing and Cassandra wasn’t sure how she was supposed to feel about it all.
There was a part of her that was still thinking about the guy that hit her. She knew that he had just left, knowing that she needed help. It was illegal and a part of her wanted to call the police. She told herself that she would after she went to work the next day. They were going to have all kinds of questions, and she just wasn’t ready for all of that. Besides, she’d messed up with one job option. Cassandra knew that her savings told her she couldn’t do that too many more times before she found herself in dire straits.
Cassandra went to bed, thinking about the crash, the man, the tattoo, and how all of it felt just a little bit surreal. What was she supposed to do when reality was even more fictional? Cassandra tried to make sense of it but exhausted herself and just went to bed. The sun hadn’t even gone down, though her day had been full. Cassandra would worry about it tomorrow.
***
Her heart was pounding, and Cassandra opened her eyes to the rush of wind on her face. She was soaring ever higher, seeing all of the city below. It was tiny, like little toys, and Cassandra had the feeling that she was never going to be higher than she was at that very moment.
Her body became aware of movement underneath her, and she looked down. The scales of the blue dragon were smooth against her inner thighs, that held on tight, even as she sat up further. The wind felt good against her heated skin. Why did she feel like she belonged there?
She leaned in and rubbed her body over the hot dragon. Even though the scales were cool, just underneath was lava and it bothered her in the strangest ways to feel it against her skin. Cassandra realized even in her dream that she wanted the dragon she rode, and it alarmed her to feel the heat against the sensitive parts of her.
Whispering her needs into the air around its ear, she told it that she needed him now. The dragon seemed to understand, though Cassandra wasn’t sure about the desire she had. It came out of her mouth, like it was meant to be said, not like she’d actually said it. Cassandra was confused, but more than that, she was dying for more and moved against the bothersome seat beneath her.
“Hurry, or I will find some other way to have my needs met. You will get only a small role if that happens.”
Cassandra felt the desire to hold on all of a sudden, like it was told to her in some way, yet not in words. She had no idea where the thought came from, just that she should follow it. She leaned in all the way and wrapped her arms around the dragon’s neck. It was silvery when she got closer, not just blue. Everything about it was magnificent and she could feel her body responding. It was responding like it was a man and that possibly bothered her more than anything else.
Once they landed, the dragon started to shift into a human being, but before he could turn around, Cassandra was waking up, sweat pouring from her brow. She threw the bed covers off and fanned herself for several moments.
She was shocked by her brazen demeanor, even in a dream. Cassandra didn’t act that way, telling men she wanted them. Just the mere thought of half of it made her blush profusely. Her body was on fire, just like it had been in the dream, and she was trying to pull it together.
