Page 20 of Rescued By The Dragon

I took a slow bite, enjoying the cheesy goodness, and trying to calm my mind. I needed to get a shower before he showed up. I couldn’t smell like burgers and fries this time.

“I’m glad they postponed the ball,” Zella said. “I just made another thousand from my post about the ball, and I want to go get different shoes. Will you take me, Mom?”

“Sure,” she said, patting her mouth with a napkin.

I grabbed my plate and put it in the dishwasher. “I have tons of laundry to do,” I announced. “I’ll do the dishes after that.”

I raced up the stairs, tugged off my t-shirt, and kicked off my shoes. Something flickered on the other side of the room, and my window caught my attention.

Slowly, I walked over to see nails hammered into my window. I tried to open it, but it didn’t budge. The step-monster nailed it shut.

I let my T-shirt drop to the floor.

I was trapped in here. That had been my only way out at night since I was a child.

I took off the rest of my clothes, grabbed my towel, and walked toward the bathroom. I often hid my tears in the shower. They washed them away as if they never happened.

It was the one time that I didn’t have to worry about being seen as weak. I wouldn’t let them see me cry.

The house was quiet as I walked across the hallway after my shower and slipped back into my room.

The moonlight pierced through my window, and the stars were bright in the sky overlooking the houses across the street.

A breeze blew into the room, brushing my bare skin, and I halted in my tracks.

Dorran’s shadow moved from the corner of my room, and his laugh grounded me. “Your stepmother is creative, but I guess she never thought it was a dragon coming into your room. She’ll have to do better than nails to stop me.”

My fingers clung to the towel wrapped around me, my heart hammering in my chest.

Dorran stepped into the moonlight. “Don’t worry about your stepmother. I put a thought or two into my father’s head, and now he’s making an announcement. We’re safe for now.”

His eyes lowered to my towel, and he smiled. “Perfect timing, I see."

Chapter Eight

Dorran

I could have watched her squirm for hours. Maybe that made me a jackass, but I’d gladly wear the title to see her this way. Her fingers were turning white from clutching her towel so tightly.

She almost looked as if she thought I may snatch it from her grasp, which may have crossed my mind once ... or twice.

With her back against the wall, she glared at me as if she didn’t remember that I’d told her I would come to see her. “How will I get the nails back in?” she asked.

I bent down, grabbed a nail, and pressed it back into the hole. “I’ll take another window when I leave.”

“I need a moment to get dressed.”

Smiling, I covered my eyes with my palm.

“Turn around,” she demanded.

My dragon stirred at the words. For her to be so direct, it was a contrast to the girl we’d met so far. Dragons were alphas, but he seemed to want her to tell him what she wanted.

With a sly smile, I turned and faced her wall, listening to her heartbeat as she dressed quickly. When I turned back around, she was slipping a large t-shirt over her head.

It was a male’s t-shirt unless she bought clothes three sizes too big on purpose. “Whose shirt?”

She glanced down, fingering the hem of the t-shirt, she sighed. “My dad’s.”

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