forget I said anything, will you? It would make things so much nicer. Maybe even forget the part where I mentioned anything jokingly about a bodyguard. Cause it was a joke. You do know what those are, don’t you?”
Rakell smiled wide. Laura had to fight back some stomach gymnastics as he turned a genuine grin on her.
“Of course I do,” he said. “Why, I have a good joke for you. Do you want to hear it?”
“No,” she said glumly. “But I don’t seem to be getting my way at all, so I suspect I’m going to hear it anyway, aren’t I?”
Rakell beamed, and despite her overall feeling, she couldn’t help but crack a little smile. His attitude was infectious.
“What should you do when you’re addicted to seaweed?”
Laura stared blankly. “I don’t know, what should I do?”
“Sea Kelp!” Rakell boomed, then doubled over in laughter, slapping one knee.
“Nurse!” Laura called, shaking her head. “Nurse!”
“Oh come on, that was good!” Rakell protested, spreading his arms wide. “You have to admit, you wanted to laugh.”
Laura fought back the smile. He was right, dammit, she had wanted to smile, but Laura didn’t want to give him that satisfaction.
Cindy came bustling in a few moments later, while Rakell was still chuckling softly to himself.
“Everything okay in here? Oh hi Rakell! You’ve moved from the door I see,” Cindy said, checking the monitors next to Laura’s bed.
“I told her the Sea Kelp joke,” Rakell said. “I think she needed some cheering up.”
“Sea Kelp,” Cindy repeated to herself while also laughing as she went about her job. “Oh that’s a good one.”
“See,” Rakell said, pointing. “At least someone finds it funny.”
“Can I go home now?” Laura asked, politely ignoring Rakell for the moment.
“Actually yes,” Cindy said. “I think you can do just that. Let me get a few forms and things, and we’ll get you on your way. Everything seems just dandy.”
“Great. Perfect.” Laura looked at Rakell. Who apparently was going to follow her home.
Wonderful.
“That’s great news, isn’t it Laura?” he said, giving her an oversized thumbs-up. “I’ll pull the truck around to the front then.”
She frowned. “What?”
“Well Kristin and Blede said they dropped you off here. So I’ll give you a ride home, since you don’t have a car.”
“Oh. Right, of course.” Laura nodded slowly. “Thank you.”
Aw crap. No, this is not going down like this. I don’t want him knowing where I live! Then he’ll never leave me alone, and he’ll bring more of those terrible jokes too. Nope, can’t do it.
“I’ll be back in a minute when the truck is ready, then we can go home,” Rakell said, flashing her that same grin.
At the sight of his cheerful face, perfect rows of white teeth and undeniable happiness, Laura’s heart thumped a little faster.
Cindy glanced at one of the monitors, snickering something under her breath.
“He sure is handsome, isn’t he?” the nurse said.
“I guess,” Laura said, forced to admit that Rakell was undeniably one of the hottest men she’d ever seen.
“Good for you,” Cindy said, tossing her a wink as she unhooked some of the feeds.
Laura frowned for a moment. Good for me? What do you—Oh no! No, no no, he is not ‘going home with me’! Not like that lady!
She thought about protesting out loud, but something told her that would only make it worse.
Wonderful. What have I gotten myself into here?
More importantly. How do I get myself out?
Chapter Four
Rakell
The instant he left the urgent care, his demeanor changed. Gone was the happy-go-lucky, joke-telling Rakell.
In its place was the concerned yet focused face of a dragon shifter who knew that something was awry. He just didn’t know what yet.
He’d vowed to Laura that he would protect her, and that was something Rakell intended to do.
I’m also going to use this time to find out just how you discovered our secret. Someone is talking, and that needs to be addressed before this gets worse.
All it would take was for one wrong person to be told, and the comfortable lifestyle the dragons had made for themselves in Five Peaks would come crashing down as the world tried to get their hands on one of them. They would be regarded as science experiments, freaks of nature, or worse, weapons.
They would no longer be people, but rather objects to be fought over.
Peace would no longer be attainable. Rakell had to do whatever it took to ensure that didn’t happen, including shutting off the source of the leak by any means necessary.
Regardless of who it was.
He fired up the