Oh, is that what Dakh’s been smelling? I’m surprised at her—and a little impressed at her ingenuity. “If that’s the case, then why are you out here alone?”
Her expression goes flat. “I wasn’t always alone.” Emma ducks her head and slides out from under the clothing rack to stand next to me. She fills out her T-shirt and jeans enough to tell me that she’s been eating well, and her skin is clean, her dark hair shiny, and I’m envious of her appearance. She’s also wearing, I notice, several knives strapped to her leg, and a belt with the same. A handgun pokes out of the back waistband of her jeans.
And again, I know I should be wary at the sight of her, but I feel like Dakh has it covered. Funny how that works. My captor won’t let anything happen to me, so for the first time in what feels like forever…I’m unafraid.
It’s a weird realization.
“If you’re asking how it is I’m safe, it’s deer urine,” Emma tells me.
“What?” I’m not sure I’ve heard her correctly.
“Deer urine.” She pulls a bottle out of a pocket and sprays a puff into the air. Immediately, the same stink we’ve been smelling perfumes the air, and I take a step backward, coughing. Emma just looks pleased at my reaction. “You want to know how I’m safe? That’s how.”
“H-how the heck did you get deer urine?”
“They sell it in the sporting goods department. I knew a hunter back when the Rift first hit. Told me he used it to disguise his scent from dragons. Apparently, they’re really keen on smells. He said he used deer scent to keep himself safe. I know it stinks. You get used to it after a while.” She shrugs. “I didn’t believe him, either, until my friend Antonia got snatched and I didn’t. Only thing I can think that was different was that I had a can of deer urine that busted in my backpack way back when, and so it smelled.” She shakes her head. “After that, I’ve been keeping a steady supply of the stuff. I—” Her eyes widen, and she stares behind me.
I glance over my shoulder. Dakh is there, and he…well, he doesn’t look happy. His jaw is tight, his fists clenched, and his eyes are whirling a deep amber and moving suspiciously towards black.
“Um, Emma? I know this is your place, but you might want to leave,” I murmur to her. “It’s not safe—”
Emma pulls out her gun with shaking hands and points it at Dakh. “W-what the fuck is he?”
I gasp, freezing in place at the sight of the gun. “He’s just a guy—”
“Bullshit! Look at his eyes!” She blinks, staring. “And horns. What the fuck?”
A low growl starts in Dakh’s throat. I’m both frustrated and worried. I wanted to talk to Emma longer, but it looks like that’s not going to happen. “Put the gun down, Emma,” I say in a low voice. “You don’t want to shoot him.”
“The fuck I don’t!” Her hands are shaking, and she’s making me nervous. “What is he?”
“He’s a dragon,” I say quickly, before Emma gets trigger-happy. “But not a bad one! I promise.” I might be lying about that, but I also don’t want Dakh to get shot. “And I can explain everything.”
“But…how…” Her gaze moves from him and back to me. “How can he be a person if he’s a dragon?”
“I’ve been asking myself that a lot lately,” I tell her, giving Dakh a wary look. The rumbling in his chest is increasing, and it’s not friendly. “I think you should get out of here for now, okay? Come back when we’re gone. It’s not safe for you. He’s really possessive.”
“But…”
Dakh flicks a hand out. Faster than lightning, he knocks the gun from Emma’s grip and it goes skittering across the floor. Her face goes pale, and she takes a shaky step backward.
Oh God. I can’t let him kill her. “I’m going to distract him. Run away when I do.”
Emma’s focus darts between us again, and then she nods, trembling.
“Dakh,” I say in my sweetest voice. I put a hand on his shoulder. “Pay attention to me, all right?”
But his eyes are murderous black, and I can see the smoke starting to trickle from his nostrils, even in his human form. This isn’t good. I have to think of something or Emma’s going to die. A memory of the red dragon and its torn-out throat flashes through my mind, and I swallow hard.
Wait. Emma said scent. Dragons were attuned to scents. And Dakh’s always sniffing my hair.
Oh God. He marches forward, claws raised even as Emma slinks backward, pulling a knife out of her belt. There’s no more time to think. I hike up my dress, shove my hand into my panties and rub, and then race forward, holding my hand out. “You want scent? Here you go.”
Dakh stops mid-stride. He turns toward me, and gold begins to fleck in with the black. The rumbling in his chest takes on a different tone, and I break into an immediate sweat.
Behind us, Emma darts off, racing between racks of clothing and disappearing into the bowels of the store.
“That’s right,” I whisper, half-surprised this worked so well, and a little alarmed that it did. “You like scents, right? I guess you like mine.”
He moves forward and grabs me by the wrist. His touch is surprisingly gentle for all that he’s a menacing dragon-man on the verge of attacking a stranger. He grips me tight and holds my hand up to his nose and inhales deeply. Then he licks my fingers, the rasp of his tongue moving over my skin.
I shudder. I’m torn between being terrified at that reaction…and a little aroused. I’ve never had control in a sexual situation before, and it feels forbidden and exciting.
Dakh licks my hand with sensual, long flicks of his tongue and then does the same to my palm. When he’s finally finished, his eyes are whirling amber as he gazes down at me, and his nostrils flare as he scents the air. “Sa-cha.”
“Right here,” I whisper.
He pulls me close against him and buries his nose in my hair again, inhaling deeply. I’m full of conflicting emotions as he does—I’m a little afraid of his ferocity, but I’m also attracted to it, and that makes me wonder if there’s something wrong with my head. He’s holding me captive. I shouldn’t like him any more than I like Tate.
But I think of the way he licked my hand and shudder again, because that was the most obscene and intense and oddly sweet thing I’ve ever experienced. “Emma’s gone,” I whisper to him. “It’s just you and me, okay?”