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“If I ever see him again, I will tear him limb from limb.”
“Great, I’m sure that’s going to send a good message to the rest of our kind,” Mason sounded tired. “I never thought it would be like this, you know? I thought we would be able to find our place in this world and thrive. I hate admitting it, but Jade had a point. It’s not like things are changing around here, is it? We’re stagnant. And if you’re not moving forward in life then you’re going backwards, but the problem is there’s nowhere for us to go but down. I’m just finding it difficult to see the future for us.”
I remained silent, not wishing to confirm that I felt the same misgivings. There had to be a solution somewhere, so I opened my eyes again and I looked into the fire, hoping against hope that something would reveal itself to me. I sat there beside Mason, thinking about the others who had left us, thinking about the mess that Zeke had left behind, thinking about that damned traitor who had turned his back on us all. I felt my heart burn with hatred and the fire before me seemed to grow in intensity. It enveloped Zeke’s body completely. Soon enough there would be nothing left of him, nothing more than what people remembered anyway. And if the same happened to the rest of us dragons, then we would slip away from the history of the world because we were a secret known only to each other. To the rest of the world, we were just a myth, and the history of our people could be snuffed out as easily as a candle.
Somehow, I had to find a way to prevent that from happening.
Chapter Four
Buck
I lifted the mug of beer and felt the liquid trickle down the back of my throat. I wiped away the foam from my mouth, feeling the scratchy stubble under my hands. I flashed a dreamy smile towards the woman opposite me. She was short and stacked, with curled blonde hair, baby blue eyes, and lips as soft as satin. She giggled as she looked at me. She wore a tank top that revealed her midriff. The sight of her milky flesh sent me out of this world. One thing anyone should know about me is that I’m a man who likes to indulge his appetites and doesn’t like wasting time, or opportunities. The world is there for the taking and I’m going to take it all. I sauntered over to her and rested my arm on the bar.
“Hey darling, what’s a pretty thing like you doing in a place like this?” I said, trying to ignore the sticky floor and the musky smell and the heat that lingered in the air. The place was filled with rednecks and bikers and cowboys, the lowest of the low who couldn’t fit in anywhere else. It was a place for the lost and the lonely, the fugitives of the world who knew nothing other than running.
It was perfect for a guy like me.
Her lips parted and I saw a row of perfect white teeth. She leaned forward slightly. Tresses of hair fell against her cheek, and I was already imagining how she would look tumbling into bed, stripped of those damned clothes that got in the way of heaven.
“I’m just here with my boyfriend,” she said, giggling as she spoke and jerking her head towards a guy playing pool. Helooked as tough as a two-dollar steak and as mean as a pit-bull. I knew she was trouble, but sometimes trouble was worth it.
“And he left you sitting all on your lonesome? There just aren’t many gentlemen left in the world, are there?”
“I’ve never been looking for one. I’ve only ever seen bad men,” she said, the words dripping from her mouth like honey. She might have been looking for bad men, but I knew she was a bad girl hiding behind the eyes of a good girl. Oh Lord, save me. There were some things that I just couldn’t resist. I glanced back at the pool table. The boyfriend still hadn’t seen me. I pressed my lips together. My fingers danced along the bar, getting dangerously close to her exposed skin. I met eyes with her, and I knew what she wanted. She was one of those types who liked to think of herself as a prize to be fought over. She wanted a gladiator, and I guess she looked at me and knew I was the fighting kind.
My lips twitched in a smile.
“Wanna dance?” I asked.
She inclined her head. I took her hand and led her away from the bar to the square in the middle of the place. The song currently playing was a grinding, heavy tune filled with screeching guitars. I pulled her close, planting a hand on the small of her back. I might as well have been Neil Armstrong planting a flag on the moon. She was all curves and sweetness, the heat of her body seeping through every pore. She knew how to move too, so sinuous like a snake. She tossed her head back, her blond curls drifting away, her wild laughter filling the air and twining with the melody of the music. Sweat glistened at the base of her neck, a locket rested in the hollow of her throat. Her breasts swelled and she felt so good in my arms. I wanted to sink to the floor with her there and then, to fall into the abyss with her and lose myself completely.
She might have been dancing for me, but she was putting on a show for someone else. The boyfriend.
She laughed as she rose up and put her hands against my cheeks. I tasted her hazy breath, intoxicated by her as much as any of the alcohol. Then, out of the corner of my eye I saw movement. Someone had evidently told him that his girl was dancing hip to hip with another man. He grabbed her arm and pulled her away. She went spinning back towards the bar, her eyes glazed with delirium. She laughed, getting exactly what she wanted. I groaned, wishing that I had been able to enjoy a few more sweet moments with her.
The look in his eyes told me that he wasn’t the type to leave this lying. I noticed the bruises on his knuckles. He must have had to fight a lot to keep a firecracker like her tamed.
“Taking a break from the game?” I asked, cocking an eyebrow.
“Mind your own business. I don’t know you, and I don’t care to. If you have any sense about you then you’ll leave her be.”
I smirked. I had never had much sense about me. My father had told me that many times before. “Seems like you’re more interested in playing with your balls than her. Think you should let a real man handle her for a night. Maybe she could learn a thing or two.”
He was still holding the pool cue as he snarled. He came towards me. He was a few inches taller, his shoulders bristling with strength. He smelled of cigars and oil. A hush had fallen over the bar, people attracted to the spectacle of two men challenging each other like this. The girl was leaning forward, intently watching us, trying to see which man was going to win her affections tonight. For me it was no longer about her, it was about the promise of the fight.
“You’ve got some mouth on you boy, I think you’re the one who is going to learn something,” he said, and then swung at mewith his left hand. I dodged back, managing to evade the blow. He was more agile than I gave him credit for though and swung the pool cue towards me. It cracked against my flank, and I felt sobering pain blaze through me. Oh, it was sweet. He followed it up with a swift uppercut and I felt blood pooling in my mouth, swimming over my teeth. I smiled. He pummeled my back and got a hold of me before he grabbed my jacket and hauled me outside, obeying the placard in the bar I had spotted earlier, the one that said any fights had to be settled off the premises. My hands slapped against the ground as I rolled in the dirt across the parking lot. I lay on my back, staring at the stars. He was striding towards me. The patrons of the bar followed, as did the tempting angel. She stood in the front row, wanting a good view of what was to follow.
“You came to the wrong bar at the wrong time buddy, and I hope for your sake you never come back.” The boyfriend loomed over me, looking like death himself. He had his hands on his hips, but then he raised his leg. I saw the underside of his boot as it came crashing towards my face. No doubt he wanted to break my nose and crush my teeth, robbing me of my handsome looks so I would never trouble another man’s girl again.
I rolled away at the last moment. He slammed his foot into the ground, putting all his weight on it, and he seemed shocked that I had escaped. I pushed myself up quickly and took advantage of his hesitation. I swung my fist and cracked against his granite jaw. He staggered back and touched his face with surprise. He looked at the crimson drops on his hand, finding it impossible that he was bleeding. Anger rose within him. It was a personal insult that I had made him bleed. He stormed towards me like a bull in heat and tried to hit me again. I ducked one blow, then dodged another. I drove my fist into his stomach, pushing the air out of his lungs. I grabbed his head and then raised my knee into his nose. There was a hell of a crack thatrang out like a gunshot, and he fell to his knees, coughing up blood.
“You bastard. You fucking bastard,” he spat, the words riding a river of blood. I just shrugged and grinned towards the girl who had started all this. She had one finger in her mouth, alluring and sensual. She radiated heat and I knew she was getting turned on by this.
Her boyfriend was a tough son of a bitch though. He shook away the stupor and managed to push himself to his feet yet again. He dusted his hands off and stared at me, raising his fists to strike me again. I shrugged. If he wanted more then I was going to oblige him. I liked to think of myself as a generous guy. He came in for another assault, throwing another combination my way. His fists only met empty air though. This only served to get him more enraged. His strikes became wilder. If one of them hit, then they would probably have gone all the way through me, leaving a bloody hole behind, but none of them did.
Maybe I should have told him the truth about my unfair advantage, but that would have ruined the fun.
I danced with him for a while before I caught his arm and twisted it back. There was a crunching sound as the ligaments tore and I punched him in the side of the body. He looked at me through furious eyes and tried to claw at me, but I held him at bay. I threw him down to the ground and sneered at him.
