Sapphire Dragon (Awakened Dragons Book 2) by Terry Bolryder Read Free Book Online Page A

hair.
    Amazing.
    When he pulled back, she was quiet and ready to listen. He brushed a loose wave of hair back from her face. “Of course I’m staring at you. I like you. I have from the moment I saw you. You intrigue me unlike anyone else ever has.”
    “Why?” she asked.
    There were so many reasons. He could tell her it was because she was beautiful and kind, but it was more than that. It felt… fated. Like she’d been destined to help his dragon come back to life.
    But he couldn’t tell her that. “I’m still figuring that out.”
    “I guess you’re honest at least,” she said, smiling as she turned her attention back to her ice cream.
    Honest. The word burned at him as he pulled his ice cream over to him and swirled his spoon it in, stirring it up. He couldn’t even begin to be honest with her yet, and it was starting to bug him.
    He was starting to wonder if Zach had the right idea all along in just blurting everything out, when he saw a group of men come in the door and turned his attention toward them.
    He didn’t like the way one of them was looking at his date.

6
    “ L uc ? Luc?” she asked for the third time as she tried to pull her handsome date’s focus back to her.
    She still couldn’t believe she was here with him, his attention all on her in a way that was so foreign and pleasant she was afraid to even hope it was real.
    Would she wake up tomorrow and find out it was all just a dream?
    His body looked amazing in a slim tee shirt that fit his biceps perfectly and showed off large, square pecs and rippling abs. It was light blue, enhancing his eyes, not that they needed any enhancement.
    And then there was how amazing his ass looked in his jeans. She resisted the urge to fan her face as she remembered watching him at the counter. She’d been so excited for her date that she’d forgotten to take meds again, so she’d had to take them here. Oddly, forgetting her meds seemed to be happening more and more lately.
    She wasn’t sure why. Maybe hot dudes were a natural form of painkiller.
    She giggled at the thought and looked over to see Luc still glaring at the group in the corner, so she sighed and nudged his arm again. “Luc?”
    “What?” he asked, not looking at her.
    “Are you okay?”
    His entire demeanor had changed when he’d seen the group of guys enter the parlor. They looked a little rough, but this place wasn’t in the nicest part of town. It was set up like a fifties diner and served things other than ice cream, so it wasn’t that unusual for a group of guys to be grabbing food.
    But Luc didn’t seem to get that. If he’d been a cat, he’d have had his hackles up. He looked even bigger than usual as he stared over at the group in the corner.
    “Hey,” she said, placing a hand on his arm. “What on earth is bothering you?”
    He pulled his eyes away from the group and glared at the table. “Disgusting men.” He shook his head. “Humans are disgusting.”
    “What do you mean?” she asked.
    “Their thoughts,” he said.
    There he went again, implying he could read minds or something. “How would you know what they’re thinking?”
    For a moment, he looked confused. Then he shook his head. “I’m a man, aren’t I? I know what men are thinking.” He rolled his full lips together, then took a deep breath and relaxed a little. “But I’m being rude. I’m sorry.”
    “Come on,” she said, taking his hand between hers and warming it. It felt so cold. “Don’t worry about them. Tell me more about you.”
    “Okay,” he said hesitantly, clearly trying to resist looking back at the group.
    “Why do you have a dragon as your avatar on your phone?”
    “A friend put that in for me,” he said. “I didn’t pick it.”
    “Aw,” she said. “I love dragons.”
    “Yeah, you said that. Why?”
    “I play games online sometimes. And read fantasy books. Dragons are always the best characters.”
    He laughed. “Are they? How so?”
    “Super strong,” she said.