Double Dragons(3)

Then the golden one turned to her sharply, as if he could read her thoughts, and she swore she saw a sparkle of mirth in his gorgeous green eyes. Nevertheless, his gaze hit her straight in her core.

The dark-haired one kept his hands in his pockets as he walked forward. He was wearing a suit without the jacket, and the cuffs of his white shirt were rolled up, baring powerful forearms.

“Give us the cub,” he said, pinning ice-cold blue eyes on the wolfish men in front of her. “And I’ll make sure my partner makes this quick for you.”

“Ha,” the leader of the thugs said. “Mercy from a dragon? Like hell. We’ve heard of your kind. Never thought our operations would be enough to warrant your attention.”

The golden-haired man stepped forward, pushing back the sleeves of the sweater he wore. “You thought wrong. Trafficking is one of the forbidden acts. But you knew that.” A menacing rage seemed to emanate from the beautiful man, and she felt a shiver of dread course through her.

His dark-haired companion put a hand on his forearm as if to stop him, and the golden-haired man flicked his gaze to him with a hiss. “What is it, Draven?”

Draven, the dark-haired one, gestured in her direction, sending her heart pounding into her stomach. “What do you want to do with her? We can’t use fire…”

“I know,” the golden one said, rolling his shoulders and cracking his neck back and forth with little popping sounds, seemingly excited by the violence ahead. “Did you see her step in before? I think she’s perfect.”

“Oh no,” Draven said, putting a hand up to his forehead. “You’ve got to be kidding, Ran.”

“She’s a dragon-heart,” his companion said, giving her another appraising glance. “I’m sure of it.”

Draven shook his head. “You were wrong last time, Ran.”

“I’m not this time,” Ran replied.

She cocked her head. What an odd name. Ran flicked his gaze to her in annoyance, and once again, she had the extremely uncomfortable feeling he could read her mind.

But that was impossible.

The leader of the thugs let out a low, fearsome growl. “If you could shut up, we’re waiting for you here. Despite the stories about dragons, which are no doubt inflated by myth, I’m sure even two dragons can’t possibly take all Fang’s crew at once. We’ve become one of the most powerful clans. Surely you knew that when you were sent.”

Ran flashed them a wicked, feline grin that sent heat shooting down to her toes. He was too beautiful to be real, with the kind of honed body one only saw in sculptures or magazines. “Perhaps that could be true if you’d pulled a different pair. But unluckily for you, you got the black dragon called on your ass.” He shook his head. “Too bad.”

A hushed whisper went through the thugs. She could feel the tension building in the air. All eyes turned to Draven, the black-haired companion standing just behind Ran.

Was he the black dragon? He was certainly intimidating. And by dragon, did they mean some sort of rival gang? Was that his gang name, because of his intimidating height and huge frame? What was it about the black dragon that seemed to inspire such dread?

The so-called black dragon merely waited, arms folded over his chest, seemingly content to let his partner do the talking for him.

“The black dragon?” the blond thug said, rubbing his chin. “Maybe we ought to sit this one out.” He looked nervously at his leader.

“Shut up,” the taller wolf hissed. “Coward.”

Draven spoke up. “Give us the girl—”

“And the woman,” Ran cut in.

Draven sighed. “And the woman, since Ran seems stuck on it…” He sent his friend a glare that was patently ignored. “And we’ll consider handing you over to your tribunal.”

The lead wolf shook his head with a dark laugh. “I’d sooner take my chances here.”

Ran stepped forward, suddenly ice cold, his expression fierce but almost gleeful. “I was hoping you’d say that.” Then he turned to Draven, gesturing to Melissa with his head. “Take care of the human.”

Draven nodded, shoving his way into the crowd and grabbing the little wolf, then making his way to her. He slung her over his shoulder as if she weighed nothing and took her around the side of the building, out of sight.

“Stay with her,” he said. Then she felt a warm glow around her, from some inexplicable source, and Draven was gone, leaving the little wolf cub in her arms. It was trembling, either from fear or anger, and she brought her arms around it, trying to provide comfort as it shivered against her.

“It’ll be all right,” she said, still feeling dazed by the whole situation.