Page 50 of Cruel Daddy Dragon

“Okay, Guys,” he says, “Can we stop wasting time already?!”

Shit, I was staring!

Suddenly, Rufus is the one chuckling smugly. Suddenly, he’s acting likehe’sthe one who’s won. I feel a hot flush reach my cheeks. I sneer at him.

“All right, let’s get to the car already!” I snap, “Put a shirt on! I can’t have a naked man in my police cruiser!”

Especially not him. Not after that dream I had, or I might be too tempted…

“Yes, ma’am, Sheriff,” Rufus says, still with that cocky grin on his face.

“Okay, seriously, go,” Orion says, “This place is still dangerous—if the Eclipse members didn’t tell the clan as a whole about the cave, others might be here to check why its patrol isn’t back.”

“Okay, fair. We’re going,” Rufus says.

I gesture toward him and start leading the way. As I walk, Rufus darts in my way and starts striding in front of me.

“Hey!” I bark, “You don’t even know where you’re going!”

“I can trace your scent,” Rufus answers, then gives me a smug grin over his shoulder, “And I need to be in front of you so I can protect you,right?”

“Asshole,” I grumble at him.

He starts cackling as we walk away.

Chapter 17 - Sarah

When Rufus and I get to the car, we see it parked haphazardly, the front door splayed open, the engine still running. Rufus chuckles.

“Oh,Officer,” he says mockingly, “that doesn’t look very safe.”

“Oh, shut up,” I say, “I didn’t have any time to lock up when I had to save your stupid life.”

“Are we sure that thing is even going to take us down?” Rufus says, “I mean, what if it runs out of power halfway down and leaves us stranded?”

“Just get in,” I grunt.

I get into the driver’s seat, and Rufus gets in the other one. I snap in my seatbelt and hear him do the same. He shuts up for a moment, and part of the drive is peaceful. We’re about halfway to town when Rufus suddenly snaps again.

“I just can’t believe howirresponsiblethat was!”

“What?!” I snap back, “Excuse me?!”

“I mean, you’re a human!” he continues, “And you justwalked intoa fight between dragons?! Do you know how bad that could have gone?! You were probablythree secondsfrom being burnt to death!”

“I don’t know if you noticed, but the fact that he reared back when I shot him is what gave you the chance to end it!” I snap back.

“I could have handled it!” Rufus growls.

“No, you couldn’t! I literally watched you die! Do you haveanyidea what that was like? I. WATCHED. YOU. DIE!”I slam the steering wheel with my fist in each word. “I had to watch you bleed to death in front of me! And you expected me not to do anything about it?!”

“I mean,do somethingabout it,” Rufus replies, “but don’t makemewatchyoudie!”

“Oh, yeah?” I say, “And what do you suggest I do about it, smart ass?!”

“I don’t know!” Rufus snaps, “Anything else than just blundering into the middle of a dragon fight! Shout or call someone orsomething!”

“I don’t think you understand what I mean when I say there wasnotime!” I clap back, “Last time I had a vision, I hada minuteto get there before disaster happened! I didn’t have time to call one of the other dragons and hope he gets there before you had your throat bitten out!”

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