“No.” The little boy shook his head and covered his ears. “Too loud.”
I was grateful for that but doubted the next child would refuse the opportunity.
As I helped him out and back to the ground, I was overcome with the smell of dragon. As soon as I had made sure the kid got back to his family, I turned around to figure out where the scent had come from. That was when I saw Ladon being dragged by his son as they rushed in my direction. They had come. A storm of sparks from my dragon coursed through my veins.
“Hey,” he huffed out, struggling to catch his breath. “Are we too late? Sorry if we are.”
“Not at all.” I held out my hand for a fist bump from his son. “We haven’t started packing up yet. But, even if we were, I would have made an exception for you.”
He glanced up at me and his eyes widened. “You. I didn’t expect to see you here. I thought…”
“Daddy.” The boy leaned back against Ladon and weaved an arm between his dad’s legs. “It’s Blaze, the firefighter we saw at day care and the grocery store.”
“Yes, Kirin, it is.” A hint of a smile played across the omega’s lips. “He suddenly wants to be a firefighter because of you. So, I thought I would bring him here to see the trucks and meet other firefighters, but it’s you again.”
My excitement at seeing him again suddenly waned. “I can get one of my colleagues, if you’d like.”
“No.” He shook his head as his cheeks reddened. “I didn’t mean it like that.” He plied his son off his legs. “I just didn’t expect—I mean, I thought I would have to talk to someone I didn’t know. I’m glad you’re here.”
“Well, it’s good to see a dragon—I mean you, again.”
I was still confused by Ladon’s response, but he didn’t appear upset at seeing me again. He seemed more nervous, if I had to guess. Switching my attention to his son, I pointedmy thumb over my shoulder. “Hey, Kirin, would you like to go inside?”
His eyes grew super wide as he clapped his hands. “Yes, yes, yes. Ple-ease.”
I was happy with his use of manners. Some of the other kids used them, too, but most had to be reminded. “Are you okay if I lift you up?”
He nodded, holding up his arms.
I turned to Ladon to make sure it was okay with him, too.
“Yes, thank you so much for this.” The omega gave me a genuine smile, and it made my heart flutter and my dragon lurch from within.
I had to control myself. I was out in public and on the job. Yet there was something about Ladon that piqued my interest. And my dragon’s.
After lifting Kirin into the cab of the truck, I climbed in to sit beside him. With room still on the bench seat, I reached down to Ladon. “Did you want to climb in, too?”
Nodding, he reached up, his cheeks flushing again. “Really, thank you.”
Every nerve ending sparked to life under my skin where he touched. I gasped at the intensity.
“Sorry.” He hung his head. “I can stay down here.”
“No.” I pulled him up and toward me, suddenly wondering if his touch would give me that feeling elsewhere on my body. “Get up here. I want you up here with us.”
Kirin pretended to drive the truck as I described what each of the buttons and switches controlled. It was all I could do to focus on the truck rather than the omega beside me, and how much my dragon longed for him, fighting to shift and meet him in my other form. The feeling was overwhelming, had only gotten stronger since our first encounter earlier that week. A reaction I’d never experienced with the omega I was onceengaged to. In fact, my dragon often ignored him and refused to interact with him in his shifted form.
Not so with the omega beside me. My dragon wanted to show off for him. While I did find Ladon quite attractive and sweet to his son, I was curious as to what else my dragon saw in him that I didn’t yet know. I needed to find a way to get to know him better.
Since no one else stood in line behind them, I let them linger in the truck, answering Kirin’s questions, and enjoying the press of Ladon’s thigh against my own. I never expected to have any attraction to an omega with a kid, but I’d met Ladon on his own first. Finding out about his son had been a shock but didn’t lessen my or my dragon’s interest in him.
Franks motioned to me from in front of the truck.
“I guess it’s time to go.” Ladon slid to the edge of the seat before climbing out. “C’mon, Kirin. The firefighters have to go back to work.”
Kirin pouted but still followed me out of the truck.
“Let me get you some stickers and a coloring book.” I wasn’t ready to let them leave just yet. I had to ensure I would see them again without having to hope for the chance of running into them again.
