Angel In Yellow (3 page)

Ben winced. “Go slow. I’m not up to a fast ride.”

“When
might
you be up to a fast ride?”

Ben grinned, understanding exactly what Darren was implying. He hitched up over the back of the bike and settled behind dragon-boy.

Darren smiled, a strange enigmatic smile, but before Ben could question him further, Darren opened the throttle and the bike sped off, Ben clutching the other man around the waist. Gravel from the path surrounding the homestead flew in all directions.

In silence, for maybe an hour, they followed the creek bed, Darren easily tooling the bike over the rough ground. Ben saw that many trees had been spared the fire, scrub also was left intact—thanks to magic. Ben closed his eyes trying to get a handle on all that had happened. His world was suddenly very small and a helluva lot more complicated than it had been at the start of the day. He opened his eyes and leaned into Darren, wishing that he wasn’t wearing his thick firegear, so he could feel the guy hard against him. That elixir Morgana had given him must be working—shock and exhaustion were now peripheral to what he was thinking... But on the back of a bike—not the best place to be having those kinda thoughts, O’Reilly. Forget the dragon-boy for now.

Oh, I don’t know, I enjoy those thoughts. And I like it that you call me dragon-boy. I’ll call you human-mine.

Ben grimaced. “How long have you been tuning in, you...you...”

Dragon?

“Not what I was gonna call you, arsehole. And how can you read my thoughts? Doesn’t it work only when you’re a dragon?”

No.

“Obviously,” Ben snarled. “Why didn’t you warn me?”

“I was very careful what I tuned into, and you were broadcasting loudly. I could not help but hear. We are friends, Ben. Is it wrong to share?”

“Can I ever do that mind reading thing?”

“In time, yes. And I will teach you how to screen your thoughts, too.”

“That’d be appreciated.” To survive, there were some things a guy had to keep to himself.

Darren pulled the bike up, cut the engine. Ten metres away, Ben saw the fire truck, now bogged in mud from the deluge, the crew trying to dig it out. The horse was tethered to a tree, the other animals lying exhausted along the creek edge. Again, he realised how lucky they had all been—human and animal. Oh hell, he could no longer make a distinction between the definition of
human
and
animal,
not after today. He filed that philosophical debate away for when he was home and could think straight. Right now he had other things to worry about.

Ben climbed off the bike, watching the animals. “We’ve got to do something about them, all the other survivors. The bush’s gone, their habitat, their food. There’s only so much the RSPCA, Fauna Rescue, and SAVEM can do.” He turned worried eyes to Darren.

“My...
our
family will do what we can, as well as assist human agencies and there will be substantial anonymous donations to various charities, animal and human. We are not without sympathy for
homo sapiens.
”

Ben nodded and stepped away. He halted, turned, and walked back to Darren. “I want to see you again. Soon.”

“Do you really want to?” Darren’s dark brows raised, a smile sparking his eyes.

“You have to ask, after all your mind spying?”

Darren laughed. “I wanted to hear you ask me.” He paused. “I will find you.
Soon.
”

“How?”

“There is only one Ben O’Reilly from Sandy Scrub.”

“How the heck do you know where I’m from? Was it a magic thing you did to find out?”

“It is written on the side of your fire truck.”

Laughing, Darren tugged Ben forward and he stumbled into an embrace that squeezed the breath from his lungs. He was kissed, hard, and that kiss hinted—no,
promised
more of the same in the future. Ben kissed back, stroking with his tongue, meeting a tentative, almost shy response from Darren. They broke apart, breathing hard.

“It is true, you are an angel in yellow. I have never known a kiss like that.” Darren smiled, his gaze taking Ben in from head to heels.

“Hey, it’s just the colour of the uniform. Trust me, I’m no angel.”

“Truly? I think you are. The kitten you saved thought you were.”

“How the hell do you know?”

“She told me.”

“She...what?”

“I spoke to her before we left. She thought you were more handsome than other humans she had seen.” Darren grinned. “I tend to agree with her.” He started up the bike, and eased it over the ground, disappearing into the scrub.

Ben struggled down the creek bank, legs gone to jelly, a fire in his gut and heart. He heard Darren’s laughter. In his head. Dragon-boy was spying again.

Today he had known fire and he’d known rescue. Fire and rescue—a winning combination in any fireman’s future. Especially if one was rescued by a fire-fighting dragon.

Astrid has been writing since she was five years old, and even then her stories were of the “fantastic.” Her motto of
dare to be different
has taken her writing and personal life in many exciting, and often unexpected directions.

Astrid is an award-winning, best-selling author whose works encompass many genres, but her one passion (besides cats) is romance. Happily Ever After is the only ending for her.

She has other speculative fiction and paranormal sensual romance with Extasy Books and Devine Destinies—both short fiction, and stand alone works, as well as the popular
Monsters inK s
eries and the
Birthday Boy
series. Her author page at eXtasybooks lists all her current and forthcoming works. www.extasybooks.com

Visit Astrid’s website to link to her email and facebook addresses. She’d love to hear from you.

www.astridcooper.com