How to Date a Dragon

Chapter 8

Drake checked in with his firehouse and discovered that they were out on a run. His conscience kept pricking at him for taking a whole day off when he was no longer injured.

“Bliss, honey. I have to go to work.”

“But I already called and told them you were in an accident. How would it look if you showed up feeling perfectly fine? And, while we’re at it, how can you be in such good shape? I thought you broke some ribs.”

Drake patted his rib cage. “They must have just been bruised, not broken. I’m still a little sore, but not like last night. Those pills you gave me… what were they?”

Bliss looked sheepish. “Percocet. I shouldn’t have given you anything that strong without a doctor’s prescription. They really knocked you for a loop.”

Drake was aware of how he’d slurred his words when he told her he was a dragon. He was actually grateful for that. He hadn’t thought through the best way to explain his alternate form and decide how the conversation should begin. “Hey, honey. I’m a dragon,” didn’t work out so well.

He really needed to plan it better. He’d have to let her see certain things he could do. He needed her to believe him next time, hopefully without transforming in front of her and scaring her to death. Since he’d given her zero preparation, it was a blessing she simply thought he was out of his mind.

But he did tell her. Later on, he could make that claim and she couldn’t accuse him of being dishonest. Knowing Bliss, she’d think it, even if she didn’t come right out and say it. Who am I kidding? Of course she’ll say it.

She stroked his chest gently. “Are you sure you’re all right now?”

He captured her waist and drew her against his hard length, letting his erection speak for him. She glanced down between them. “Ah, I see. You really are feeling better.”

“And if I don’t leave soon, I might feel too good to leave at all.”

One side of Bliss’s mouth turned up. “Oh, well, if that’s the case, I’d better kick you out. I’ve got stuff to do today.”

He laughed. Typical Bliss. “You should make a card for that.”

“Oh, I have some. I call those the ‘don’t overstay your welcome’ cards. You, however, are welcome whenever we have a few spare minutes.”

She tipped up her face for a long, tender kiss. He cupped her head and let her silky dark hair glide over his fingers. As much as he wished he could stay there and fool around with this remarkable woman all morning, he really had to go.

“I’ll call you later in the day. We can check our schedules and hopefully plan something fun to do together.”

“That would be nice.”

One more long kiss later, he managed to force himself out the door and downstairs.

Angie strolled around the corner humming. “Is he gone?”

“Yes, he just left. Nice of you to hum a warning.”

She grinned. “I hope you’ll do the same for me. Someday.” Her smile suddenly diminished.

“Are you seeing anyone?”

Angie let out a long sigh. “Not really. Tory flirts with me, but… I don’t know.”

“Has he asked you out?”

“Not exactly. I mean, I think he would if I encouraged him, but…”

“Is it because he’s black?”

Angie looked horrified. “No! Of course not.” Then her shoulders slumped. “I mean, he’s a great guy. Little things like that don’t matter to me one way or the other, but you wouldn’t believe how prejudiced my dad and grandparents are. They’d have heart attacks and die, and then I’d feel guilty because I’d know I killed them.”

“Um, you’re being a little dramatic, don’t you think?”

“You don’t know my family.”

“True. Are you very close to them?”

“Hey, I spent twenty years with them, even my grandparents, under the same roof. You wouldn’t believe how the multigenerational influence can mix you up. Sometimes you listen to passé values, and they almost make sense.”

Bliss didn’t want to be nosy, but she wished she could help. Angie seemed like such a nice girl. She deserved happiness without worrying about what others would think. Ah ha! I see another card line needed. Hmmm… So what if he’s black? He’s got my back. Yeah, I’ll work on that later.

“…so you see,” Angie was saying, “I’d be leading him on, and I try not to do that to guys.”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. That’s not right. You don’t want to be a tease.” Jeez, I’d better get into this conversation or start working on that new card line. I wasn’t even listening to her for a moment there.

Angie scrutinized her. “You did hear the part where my family wouldn’t care about the color of his skin, right?”

“Huh? I thought you said they were prejudiced.”

“They are. Or would be if they knew he’s from New York. Bliss, he’s a Yankees fan!”

Bliss’s jaw dropped. “Is that what…” She gazed at the floor and shook her head. “Unbelievable.”

“You seem distracted. Is everything all right?”

“Yeah.” She straightened. “Everything’s fine.”

“Did Drake ever tell you who that woman was last night and why she hurt him?”

“I’d prefer not go into it.” That was something Bliss would have to try not to think about. Repeating everything to her roommate would make it that much harder.

Angie shrugged. “I get it. Well, just know if you want to talk about it, or anything else for that matter, I’m here. I’m a very good listener, and I know how to keep my mouth shut too.”

“That’s probably what makes you such a good bartender.”

“Yup. You’d be surprised how much gossip I hear.”

“And you don’t repeat any of it?”

A sly smile crossed Angie’s face. “Only the really juicy stuff.”

Drake found the firehouse deserted but waited around until the guys returned. They were covered with soot and sweat, which meant they’d had a hell of a job.

The chief eased out of the ladder truck first and strolled over to him. “I thought you were sick.”

“Injured. But I’m okay now. Just some bruised ribs.”

“Glad to hear you’re okay. We could have used you back there. It was a two bagger in a three decker in Charlestown.”

“Shit. Those things go up like kindling.”

“No kidding. The second alarm was mostly to protect the neighborhood. The building itself was a total loss.”

“Anything suspicious?”

“Talk to the other guys. I have to go fill out the paperwork.” The chief strode off toward the stairs.

Benjamin shed his turnout gear and waved Drake over as he hung up his jacket. “Drake, what’s up? We heard you’d be out a few days.”

“Nah. I’m tougher than I look.”

“I’ve always said so. What happened?”

“Stupid mugging. I thought I had a broken rib, but they taped me up, doped me up, and I was fine as soon as I sobered up.”

Benjamin laughed. “Well, you’re lucky you weren’t in on this sumbitch. It got out of control real quick.”

“Think it was a torch?” Drake knew better than to use the word “arsonist” out loud, so he went with the firefighter slang.

“Maybe. Or maybe a spark.”

Drake hated to consider that. It meant one of their own had crossed over to the dark side. Even a firefighter wannabe could be bad news if the appeal was a fascination with fire.

“The neighbors said there was a guy all dressed in black leather wearing a biker helmet, poking around outside the back door. I saw someone like that hanging around when we got there. Then he took off. When the cops talked to the residents, no one was expecting any visitors and said they didn’t know anyone matching the description.”

Crap. It couldn’t have been… nah. If Zina was taunting me, she’d wait until I was back to work. Although, if anyone knows the restorative powers of a dragon, it’s another dragon. Damn it. She may have used her fire as a way of getting to me.

Bliss had spent her day not only redesigning many of her cards, but also thinking about how to prevent herself from ever losing them again. She hadn’t liked Drake’s idea of simply backing them up on one of the Internet storage sites. He didn’t understand the cutthroat competition for this grand prize—and she wanted it as much as the other two finalists.

It was too much to simply trust his word that no one would be able to gain access to those sites. Hackers were able to do all kinds of things they shouldn’t be able to do. No, she had to think of something else.

Suddenly it came to her. A safe deposit box! She could store her designs on a disk and put the soft copy in a safe hiding place. She slapped herself up the side of the head with a loud, “Duh!”

At that moment, the phone rang. She glanced at the caller ID and noticed it said District 3. It must be Drake!

She picked up the phone and said in a breathy voice, “Hello, big, strong, handsome fireman…”

She was met with silence for a moment. At last, a voice she barely recognized answered, “Um, hello, dear lady. Is Drake there?”

Gulp. “Uh… may I ask who’s calling?”

“Chief Tate. I told him to take the rest of the day off and come back for his shift tomorrow, but we’re busier than expected and I could really use his help today.”

“Oh,” she squeaked. “I thought he went to work this morning.”

“He did, but I sent him home, stupidly thinking he could use a little more time to heal. He said he might go to your place and left your number. That’ll teach me to be a nice guy.”

From what Bliss remembered of the chief, “nice guy” wasn’t a description she would have used.

“Well, he’s not here, but if I see him, I’ll tell him to call.”

“Never mind the call, just tell him to get his ass down here.”

Yikes. “Okay.”

“Oh, and honey? Thanks for the compliment,” he added with a chuckle.

Bliss didn’t know what to say to that, so she just mumbled, “Okay. Bye,” and hung up.

She thumped her forehead on the table a few times and muttered, “Damn, damn, damn.”

As Bliss headed for the bank with her disk, she thought she’d pop into the bar and say hello to Claudia.

She didn’t expect to see Drake there having a beer with two of the regulars. He was at the back booth but spotted her immediately. He said something to his companions and rose. Tory and Kurt turned around and waved to her, then went back to their conversation. Meanwhile, Drake strolled over to her.

“Hey, Bliss. I thought this was your day off.”

“It is. I was just on my way to the bank and thought I’d stop in and see Claudia. It’s a good thing I ran into you, though. The chief called and wants you back at work.”

Drake grimaced. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea. I’ve had two beers.”

“You’re not drunk, are you?”

He chuckled. “A couple beers just take the edge off. I’m not as bad as if I were under the influence of a couple Percocet.”

She sighed. “I don’t suppose I’ll ever live that down, will I?”

“Sure you will, babe.” He clasped her around the waist in a side squeeze and kissed her temple. “I’ll never mention it again.”

“Maybe you could call the chief and ask if he’d mind that you just had a little beer. It sounds like they really need you.”

Concern crossed Drake’s face. “Christ. What did he say?”

“Something about it being really busy. What does that mean? Is there a big fire somewhere? Or a lot of little ones?”

“It could be either. Even a bunch of false alarms take the guys away from the station. You’re right. I’d better call and find out what’s going on.”

Drake reached for his belt where he kept his cell phone, but it wasn’t there. “Crap. I forgot I lost the damn thing during the… incident on the sidewalk. I’ll have to use the bar’s phone.”

“Here.” Bliss fished her cell phone from her tote bag. “Use mine. I’ll be in the office talking to Claudia.”

“Thanks.”

She threaded her way through customers and over to the closed office door to say hello to her friend and give Drake some privacy.

The door was ajar, so she knocked and peeked around it at the same time.

“Bliss,” Claudia called out with a smile. “Come in. I was just making the schedule. Can you work this weekend?”

“Uh, sure. I guess so.” Crap, I owe her so much and I don’t dare say no just because the show’s producers are coming Tuesday.

“It’s going to be busy. The Boston Marathon is Monday, and a lot of extra visitors show up early.”

“Great. More tips.”

“Yeah, you’ll make a mint. How’s the greeting card biz, by the way?”

“I’m getting almost completely back on line… well, not exactly online. More on disk. I might be able to finish my presentation by the deadline after all.” She reached in her pocket, and withdrew and waved the CD with all her latest designs on it.

“Careful,” Drake said, as he came up behind her and plucked it out of her hand. “You don’t want anyone to steal those.”

“Hey! Give that back.”

“Only if you kiss me good-bye before I go in to work.”

She gave him a quick, closed-mouth kiss, then said, “Okay. Now, hand it over.”

He chuckled and said, “Wow. Don’t mess with the lady’s work,” then did as she asked.

“I’m on my way to the bank to open a safe deposit box. I think I found a way to keep from losing my whole portfolio if anything ever happens again.”

“Still don’t trust the Internet, eh?”

“No. I really don’t.”

He smiled. “Well, I’m glad you found a way to protect your interests, even if it’s old school.”

“Whatever works. So I guess your chief needs you badly enough to take you, beer-buzzed brain and all?”

“Yeah, I just can’t drive the truck.”

“That makes sense. How would it look if a firefighter wrapped the ladder truck around a tree, then flunked the Breathalyzer test?”

He gave her a look that said, “Really?”

She kissed him again but this time used her tongue. She tasted a little beer and detected some salt, probably from the pretzels, but he didn’t reek. “You’ll pass.”

“Thanks.” He handed her back her phone. “I’ll call you when I can. It all depends on what’s going on.”

“The chief didn’t tell you why they need you?”

“Looks like there’ve been a lot of small fires and some false alarms. I have a bad feeling it’s only a matter of time before we see a big one.”

A shudder rippled through Bliss. “Be careful.”

He gave her a cocky grin. “Always.”

It didn’t help her shake the worry. How he did what he did amazed her. She still had panicky dreams of fire and choking on smoke.