Logan brought his left arm up to hover over my face; I could see the tattoos more closely now. Were they different than before? "I can put you in a deep sleep until the heat is over," he said. "It will keep your dragon from shifting and leading hunters to us. Then I will train you to control your dragon."
A deep sleep? Where? What if the hunters came? I would have no way of fighting back. He must have read the anxiety in my face. "I won't let anything happen to you." His breath brushed across my face and I moaned, desperate to taste him. The thoughts I was having now- and what my body was doing-were epic levels of embarrassment. I had no control over this and it terrified me.
"Okay," I breathed. Yesterday I had wished the hunters would just kill me, so I didn't have much to lose now. Besides, if what he said was true, that he too was a dragon, then maybe he really could help me.
A deep green light emanated from his left palm and covered my face.
"Sleep," he whispered in my ear, his lips brushing against my neck, and then I was out, taken by the darkness as it snuffed out my fire.
Logan's magical sleep was not dreamless, it was filled with activity. My mind wouldn't shut off and I could feel my dragon slithering inside of me, trying to fight the sleep. I dreamed of a man with a bald head who had red tattoos on the right side of his face. He wore clothes that looked like they were from another era, and he scared that crap out of me with his piercing black eyes.
I also dreamed of Logan in all kinds of embarrassing and sexy ways. After this endless dreaming, I finally felt my dragon settling; my sleep lightened until I awakened fully. I came to and opened my eyes to look around. I was in a soft bed with grey flannel sheets that smelled freshly laundered but had a hint of an earthy male scent. Logan. Sitting up, I noticed I was wearing a small thin white camisole and tiny black soccer shorts. Oh my God, did Logan change my clothes? My cheeks burned with embarrassment as my long red hair fell over my right shoulder; that's when I realized my wounds were healed. Not a bone in my body hurt, and actually I felt amazing. The fire that had been trying to consume me before was next to nothing now.
Swinging my legs over the bed, I stepped out of the sheets and slipped my feet into a pair of grey slippers. I could see a silk robe draped over the chair next to the bed, and on the cushion was a note.
Dude,
Don't worry. Logan didn't dress you. The clothes are mine.
-Nadine (Wolf girl who saved you from hunters)
My lips quirked into a smile at the note. Well, at least I knew who had dressed me. I was relieved it was another girl. Not that it brought me too much comfort, seeing I didn't know the girl. I was about to slip into the adjoining bathroom when a small orange fluffball leapt out from under my bed and meowed.
"Hey there. How long have you been under there?" I reached down and held out my hand. The kitten, an orange tabby, looked at my hand, back raised in an arc, and then pounced, coming down on it hard.
"Oww." I laughed, shaking my hand to free it from her grasp. Had Logan sent a tiny kitten to keep me safe? I wasn't sure what to think about that.
I gave the kitty a few more strokes before I slipped into the bathroom and took a quick shower. I brushed my teeth and tied my hair into a big topknot. After searching through the drawers in the room, I was surprised to find brand new underwear, bras, jeans, t-shirts and a new pair of sneakers, just my size. Someone had gone shopping for me.
I hadn't been in my own clothes since the fall at the canyon. I'd left my car in town before going on my canyon hike, and had taken a tour bus. I didn't want to risk going back to my car until I had figured this thing with the hunters out. If they got my license plate, my identity, I knew I would never be able to hide from them. But ever since my fall, I had been running for my life one day after another. I tried not to think about it, how quickly my life had changed.
Shaking it off, I dressed swiftly in some skinny jeans and a light sweater and went to find Logan. I needed answers. I grabbed the kitten and tucked her under my arm. "Where's your owner?" I asked her, and she just mewed, licking my arm.
Exiting the room, I padded across the hardwood floors, kitty in hand, following the rapid beating sound of loud music. It led me across the hallway to a gym room; the doors were open and Logan was lying on his back, bench-pressing a million pounds. He was shirtless, chest glistening with sweat, breathing heavily with each pump of the weights. I felt that fire pulse for the slightest bit before dying down again. Down, girl. This heat business better be over with. I was going to go on some strong-ass dragon birth control to keep it from ever coming back again.
Clearing my throat loudly, I entered the room and he froze, looking up at me from his upside-down angle. His eyes worked their way slowly up my body and I tried not to purr. If I did purr, maybe I could blame it on the kitten. Or maybe he didn't put me to sleep long enough?
After setting the weights down, he reached over and turned down the music. His left arm was completely covered with black tattoos that worked all the way from his wrist to his neck. When he stood, I got the full glorious view of his toned abs and the v-shaped muscles that led to his-
"How did you sleep?"
I cleared my throat. "Not long enough apparently. I still feel … unsettled."
His serious face broke into a slight grin. "That's all you. Your dragon's not in heat anymore. I can smell it."
Smell it? Oh. My. God. My eyes widened. I wanted to die. I set the cat down and she pranced over to Logan, rubbing up against his leg.
"You met Mittens?" he asked as he petted the spot between her ears. I was grateful he had quickly changed the subject away from my ovaries. Great, he had a pet kitten that he adored. I had always liked the strong yet secretly sensitive type.
"Yes," I said, unsure how to ask the things I really wanted to ask.
Logan looked up at me again and the heat flared a little within me. "So, let's talk about how you know so much about dragons. How are you a dragon? How the hell am I a dragon?"
I was trying to think of anything but the low throb in my gut when I looked at him.
He sighed, switching gears. "Let me shower really quick and I'll meet you in the kitchen. This is going to be a long story."
The second he said kitchen, my stomach grumbled loud enough for both of us to hear. I hadn't eaten in …
"How long have I been asleep?"
"Three days. Your dragon can go a week without food or water, so she sustained your human body while you slept." He picked up a bottle of water to chug the contents.
Please put your damn shirt on, I wanted to say. The tattoos, the muscles, the freaking beard, it was all distracting me from the fact that we were both dragons and this was a serious situation.
"I'll meet you in the kitchen in five minutes," I said, leaving the room. I still couldn't believe what he'd said about my dragon not being in heat. There was something wrong with me when it came to him. I couldn't control it and it terrified me.
The moment I got to the kitchen I decided I couldn't wait five minutes. I was hungry. I opened the fridge, and on a plate was a huge meat sub sandwich with a note that said: For Sleeping Beauty. It was different handwriting than Nadine's, and I was guessing this was from Logan. I smirked at the nickname and grabbed the sandwich with two hands, quickly unwrapping the cellophane and pounding it down before he even made it back to the room.
I was just chugging my third glass of water when I sensed a stirring within me, and a heat from behind me. My dragon was slithering inside of me, pulling me, forcing me to turn around.
I shifted slowly and saw that Logan was leaning in the entryway, his eyes thin slits as he watched me. He wore dark-wash denim jeans and a vintage tight t-shirt, and I could smell his wood essence from here.
He cleared his throat. "Did you find the sandwich?"
I nodded, motioning to the empty plate in the sink as he crossed the room over to the counter I was leaning on and pulled out a barstool.
"I will answer any questions you have to the best of my abilities, but first you need to answer a few of mine."
I shrugged. "Fair enough."
He nodded. "First. What's your name?"
His question surprised me, it was so normal. I hadn't realized until now that I had never told him my name.
"Sloane. Sloane Murphy."
Something crossed his face, an emotion I couldn't read, and then it was gone. He extended his left tattooed hand. "Logan Sharp."