Ice by Charlene Hartnady

6

Daegal

This is great.Just fucking great!

Not.

What are these two humans doing on my property?

Moreover, what are they doing standing on the place where I fell, talking about the storm that happened out of the blue last night? The one that could have ended me.

I don’t believe in coincidence.

I look over at Ryder, who shrugs. He doesn’t have any answers. One thing is for sure, the smaller of the two women is injured. She has a small scrape on her wrist. I can see how her ankle is ballooning. It looks like it’s already going blue. It’s sprained, at best. There is no way she is hiking back out of the valley. Not on that foot. It pisses me off. I need to find out what the fuck is going on. The last thing I want is to have to deal with trespassers.

“What are you doing on my land?” I growl, sounding every bit as angry as I feel. I don’t have time for this.

“Calm down, handsome,” the taller one says; she’s smiling broadly. “We’re weather fanatics. We heard about the freak storm that hit but got here too late, it would seem. We decided to go for a hike to check it out.”

“Did you see the blizzard?” the smaller one asks. She’s holding onto her calf. Her face is pinched. “We heard it was unreal. That it came out of nowhere.”

“You climbed my eight-foot fence, ignoring the private property signs,” I say.

Fuck!

I didn’t realize how close I was to that small town when I flew through here last night. I mean, it’s not that fucking close, but close enough to the edge of my land for it to be a concern.

“We didn’t think you’d mind,” the taller one says.

“When a sign says, ‘Stay out!’ and ‘Private Property,’ you should respect that. Or does ‘Stay out’ sound like an invitation to you?” I ask. “I should have you both arrested.”

“Please don’t!” the taller one says, looking worried for all of one second. “I’m Ivy.” She holds out her hand, starting to come at me, then thinks better of it and heads for Ryder instead. She grabs his hand and shakes vigorously. “You have the most amazing eyes,” she tells him, making me roll mine.

“Ryder,” he says.

“Ryder.” She giggles. “That’s some name.”

Holy fucking shit.

I hold back a growl.

“I’m Penelope. I’m very sorry we’re trespassing,” the smaller one tells me.

I turn back to her, and I notice her eyes; they’re like mine when I’m not wearing contacts. An amber color that isn’t very human at all.

They’re trespassing.

Right where the storm hit, and I was taken down.

Those eyes!

They’re similar to mine. Not fucking human, and yet these women look human. They smell human.

I don’t like it. I glance at Ryder, who widens his eyes. “Let’s give these ladies a ride back to town?” he says in a way that is questioning.

I want them off dragon land as soon as possible.

“Fine,” I push out. It’s not like we have much choice.

“If you don’t mind me asking, why the suits?” Ivy says, looking around us. “You’re not exactly dressed for…this.”

“I do mind you asking,” I say. “Because it’s none of your damned business.”

Penelope squeals again when I pick her up. “You could warn me before you do that. I think I might be able to walk…with assistance, that is. You really don’t have to carry me.”

“You can’t walk. The sooner we get to the SUV, the sooner we can get you off my land and out of my hair. The me carrying you thing is more for me than for you. It’s not me being polite or nice.”

“Got it!” Penelope says. Then she says, “Meanie,” under her breath. I don’t give a shit.

“Why is he so grumpy?” Ivy asks Ryder.

I look at Ryder, who tries to hide a smile as he picks up their bags.

Asshole!

“We really didn’t mean to trespass,” Penelope says. I note that her scent has a smokey edge. Kind of like a dragon, but not. It could just be that they barbecued for lunch. She also scents of jasmine. I’m almost tempted to dip my nose into her hair just to see if I can pick up more, but I don’t. I don’t want her to get the wrong idea.

“If I sprained my ankle, would you pick me up and carry me as well?” Ivy asks Ryder. “You look strong enough. I don’t think I’ve seen bigger biceps, except for maybe on your friend over there. Mr. Grumpy Guts.”

“Ivy, don’t,” Penelope says. She looks up at me. “I’m sorry. Ivy doesn’t have much of a filter.”

I ignore the comment.

“Maybe if you told us your name…?” Penelope suggests. “It’ll take at least an hour to get back to town. It would be easier if we knew.”

“So…” Ivy says when I don’t answer, “do you boys have a cabin somewhere here in the mountains?”

I really wish she wouldn’t talk.

“Yes,” Ryder says.

I wish he wouldn’t talk, either. I throw him a dirty look, and he shrugs, making a face. He thinks that they’re two innocent humans. He’s probably right, but we can’t be too sure. I keep getting the feeling that we need to proceed with caution.

I pick up the pace. The sooner we get them back to town, the better. I can see the SUV up ahead. I’m not sure how long it’ll take us to get to Stoney Heath. I figure it’ll be more than an hour and a half on the dirt roads. We’ll have to drive around.

Damn! There are better things I could do with my time.

“So…” Ivy says again, and I almost snarl. I think I’ve gripped the female in my arms tighter because she grunts. “Are the two of you an item?” Ivy looks from Ryder to me and back.

“An item?” Ryder says. “What does that mean?”

“No!” I growl, sounding more animal than human.

“Are the two of you together? An item? Dating? Married?”

“Ivy!” The woman in my arms sounds mortified. “You can’t just ask something like that.”

“Why not?” Ivy asks, shrugging. “It’s a reasonable question. I’m allowed to ask, and it’s perfectly okay if you are, by the way. I mean, all the seriously gorgeous, stacked, well-endowed, best-dressed, nice-smelling guys are generally gay. And I have to say, Ryder, you smell good enough to eat.”

“Thank you.” Ryder sounds like he’s smiling. I look over at him, and he is. When he sees me looking, he sobers and clears his throat. “We’re not gay. We both like women.”

“I’m a woman,” Ivy remarks.

What the fuck?

“I noticed,” Ryder says; his voice is deep. His eyes are on Ivy, who giggles.

They’re flirting. Both of them. Ryder, too. What is he doing? I thought he was made from sterner stuff.

I put Penelope down, and she groans, so I lift her back off her feet, holding her against my chest.

“You really need to tell me when you’re going to pick me up or put me down. I bumped my ankle.”

“I’m sorry.” I realize that she is flush against me… and I mean flush. I can feel her breasts plastered against me. They’re plump. So fucking plump. For a moment, the air becomes charged. I’m looking into her eyes, and she’s looking into mine.

Then Ivy giggles.

“I’m going to put you down now,” I tell her.

“Okay,” she says.

I put her down on one leg. She grabs my arm, holding on.

Her hair is striking. It’s long and thick and a little wavy. The color has to be from a bottle. It’s a bright, fiery red. It can’t be natural. Penelope is seriously fucking beautiful. I think she would be beautiful regardless of her hair color.

I force myself to stop noticing and help her into the back of the vehicle.

Ryder and Ivy are chatting about cars. Nonsense chit-chat that doesn’t interest me.

“Are you okay?” I ask Penelope.

“A bit sore, but I’ll be fine.”

“Buckle up,” I tell her. It’s going to be a bumpy ride. I’m going to drive as fast as the terrain will allow.

She nods once. “Thanks for helping us. Sorry again…”

“It’s fine,” I quickly say. Maybe I have been a little hard on them.

Ryder gets in next to me up front.

“Pee and I are sisters,” Ivy says, which shocks me. They’re nothing alike. “Pee takes after Dad. The rest of us look like our mom. Except in the height department. There, it’s the opposite.”

“Rest of you?” Ryder says, looking back. I have a feeling this is going to be a talkative trip.

“We have two other sisters.” She laughs.

“So, four of you?” Ryder asks, smiling.

“Yep.” They share a little charged moment. What is Ryder doing flirting with a human?

I turn the key in the ignition, but nothing happens. Sweet fuck all. I try again, frowning. I get the scent of an electrical burn. Of burning, in general.

“You’re shitting me,” Ryder says, frowning. “The car won’t start?” He sniffs the air, frowning. “That can’t be good.” I take it that he’s getting the same scent that I am.

I try one more time, even though I know it will be futile, and it is. There isn’t a damned thing. Not a cough or a splutter. The scent of burning gets worse, and both Ivy and Penelope start coughing. The feeling of unease grows as we pile out of the vehicle.