Page 56 of Prince of Tides
“I’m not crazy,” Rip said, interrupting my internal monologue.
“So, you’re saying what? That I have a dragon growing in my stomach?” I challenged.
“No. Shifting generally doesn’t start until the onset of puberty,” he revealed.
“Shifting?”
“I can change into a dragon,” he said.
“Now I’ve heard it all,” I said, shaking my head and falling into silence as we drove.
I shouldn’t have gotten into the car. Still, I had my cellphone stuffed in the back pocket of my pants. I could feel it sticking into my butt. If I could get free, I could call my Dad to come to get me.
“You’re thinking about jumping out of the car,” Rip said as he watched me.
I stared back, more time passing. I had no idea where we were.
“I’m not crazy,” he repeated, the car slowing, making a turn into a driveway. “And I can prove it.Butif you don’t want to know more, if you don’t want to see the truth and would rather never deal with me again, then stay in the car. Eb will take you home, and that will be that. I’ll stay out of your life,bothof your lives. Forever.”
I chewed on my lower lip. “And if I get out of the car?”
Eb pulled the vehicle to a halt out front of a large manor house that rivaled my family’s in size.
Rip unbuckled and grabbed the door handle.
“Then I’ll show you the truth,” he said, stepping out of the vehicle and leaving me to decide for myself what to do.
Did I get Eb to take me home or get out of the car and risk it all?
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Laurie
Eb looked at me through the rearview mirror as I tapped my knee indecisively.
“What’s it going to be, Miss?” he asked after a moment, prodding me into making a decision.
“I don’t know,” I said quietly, unable to turn my head to the side to look out the window at Rip.
“Going to have to decide one way or another pretty soon, or we’re going to be covered in a layer of snow.”
“Yeah.” I continued to tap my knee, willing my anxiety to go away. The night wasnotgoing how I expected it to. From being attacked by my ex to having sex with Ripagain, and now, the newest revelation? How was I supposed to think clearly?
The worst part of it was that everything about Rip, from his tone to the look in his eyes and every bit of body language, suggested he was serious about the dragon business. He legitimately believed what he was saying.
Could he actually be a dragon?I mused, trying to take in all angles of thought. Itsoundedinsane. It was. Dragons didn’t exist. They were creatures from myth and fairy tales.
Right?
So, where did the fairy tales come from? What’s their origin?
Of course, if Rip trulywereinsane, then he would sound and act like he believed what he was saying. I’d never met anyone that delusional, but I knew they existed.
I frowned at Eb through the mirror. “You’re awfully calm about all this, Eb. How didyoutake the news that Rip is a dragon?”
Eb chuckled wryly. “Well, Miss, it honestly wasn’t that hard at all.”
“So, you believed him?”
