Page 8 of Burned By Love

“It’s possible.What makes you think that?”

“Something I saw in his eyes.Sal used to do the same.”

“Oh, I get it.”

Jonathan might’ve been offended if Caleb hadn’t been one of the few who knew everything that had happened with Sal.“Obviously, I don’t want to believe that all dragon shifters are the same, but I’m not willing to risk it.I’m never going to see the man again, anyway.”

“You could find him.Christy told me she knew which station the firefighters came from.”

“I don’t want anything to do with him.I’m not planning on talking to West again, so you and Christy can let it go.”

Caleb leaned forward.“West?”

Jonathan pondered if it would be worth it to strangle his best friend.He’d miss the asshole.“He told me his name.What am I supposed to call him?Hot firefighter?”

“Well, if the shoe fits.”

“It does, but he still has a name.”

“And that name is West.He told you out of all the people who were there that day.He was clearly interested.”

“I never said he wasn’t.I also never said Iwasn’tinterested.”Because Jonathan had been until he realized that West wasn’t human.

Caleb sighed.“He’s not Sal, Jon.”

“I know, but what if they belong to the same clan?”

“I know you’re scared that things will go the same way they did with Sal, but what are you planning on doing?Spending the rest of your life alone because of that dick?Do you really want to give him that kind of power over you and your future?Besides, there are plenty of good people out there, and maybe West is one of them.I’m not saying you need to start planning your wedding, but at the very least, you should give him a chance.”

“I can’t.I’m just not ready to trust anyone else, dragon shifter or not.You know why.”Jonathan wasn’t sure he’d ever be ready.He didn’t want Sal to continue to control him, but he didn’t know how to let go.

“Fine.I won’t bring him up again.I hope you’ll be able to find happiness eventually, though.You deserve it.”

Jonathan knew that, even though Sal had attempted to convince him that he didn’t deserve anything but him.Sal was an abusive asshole, and Jonathan had been to enough therapy that he knew he couldn’t believe one word that had come out of Sal’s mouth.It helped, but it wasn’t enough for him to want to reach out to West and go on a date with him, or even ask for his number.He couldn’t risk it.

Even though every time he thought about West, he wished he could.

Chapter Three

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WEST HADN’T FORGOTTENabout Jonathan, but a few weeks after visiting the tattoo shop for that fainting call, he’d made his peace with the knowledge that he wouldn’t see him again.He wasn’t about to act like a creep and corner Jonathan at his job, especially when the man had been visibly wary of him.

It wasn’t a surprise.West was big and could be intimidating.People mostly reacted in two different ways when they saw him—either they flirted with him, or they were wary of him.He didn’t understand why because Austin was similar to him, and people weren’t usually scared of him, but he’d given up trying to explain it.It wouldn’t change anything, anyway.

Luckily, the others had stopped teasing him, including Austin.He kept glancing at West as if he was worried, and he probably was, but West had decided to ignore him.He was fine, and he didn’t need a boyfriend, no matter how nice it would be to have one.

He pushed his cart down the aisle, grabbed a pack of toilet paper, and threw it inside.He’d made a list, so he checked the toilet paper off before rounding the corner.

Someone was standing there, staring at the yogurt as if he expected one of them to jump into his basket.For a second, West didn’t recognize him, but then the man shuffled his feet and turned slightly as he reached for one of the yogurts, and West couldn’t look away.

What were the odds that Jonathan would be grocery shopping in the same store as him?

Jonathan put his yogurt into his basket and turned.He froze when he saw West standing there, which was understandable because West was being a bit of a creep.

West smiled.“Jonathan, right?”he asked, even though he knew perfectly well what Jonathan’s name was.

Jonathan quickly nodded.“Yeah, that’s me.Jonathan.Which you already knew, clearly.”

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