I can't tell her. Not yet. Not until she's had a chance to get to know me, see that I'm not like that other dragon. I have to be patient.
His inner dragon thought that this was a terrible idea. His dragon was much more in favor of sweeping away Virginia's objections to dragons by bringing her to peaks of ecstasy, and provided detailed mental images of exactly how this might be accomplished. Dai breathed slowly, counted wall tiles, and was deeply grateful for the triple-layered material of his fire-resistant trousers.
"Okay, I'm done," Virginia said at last, taping the final corner of bandage into place. She tapped his tense shoulder. "I'm sorry, I could tell that wasn't great for you." She sighed. "It's been too long since I last did remote fieldwork. I'm out of practice with my first aid."
Dai wished he could reassure her that his knotted muscles had nothing to do with pain, and everything to do with her proximity. "It felt good," he forced out through the raw need tightening his throat. "I mean, it feels good. Better. My shoulder. Thank you."
"Anytime." He felt her lean back a little, inspecting her handiwork. She ran her hand over the edges of the dressing, checking it was all secure. "I think this will hold for now. But you should get your doctor friend with the magic hands to look at it later." Her fingers absently continued down the line of his spine. "I like your tats, by the way."
Dai's breath froze in his chest. Even if he'd been able to speak, he could hardly have explained that the scarlet scale patterns that ran down his back were natural, not tattoos. Or that they were so exquisitely sensitive to touch, she might as well have just run her fingers directly over his cock.
He shot to his feet, bashing his head against the light fitting and nearly knocking Virginia from her perch on the edge of the bath.
"Sorry," she said, holding up her hands. Her deep brown skin hid any blush, but Dai could tell she was embarrassed. "That was, um, inappropriate of me."
"No, no," Dai managed to gasp out. He unconvincingly rubbed one leg. "Just, uh, cramp. Anyway. You should get cleaned up yourself." Virginia looked down at her charred clothes, a mortified expression crossing her face, and Dai could have kicked himself. "I mean, it's been a long, tough night. You must want to wash and get some rest."
Virginia smiled wryly. "I could say the same to you." She bit her lip. "Um, not to be inappropriate again, but I don't think you should get that bandage wet. Before I kick you out to get cleaned up myself, did you want some, uh, help in the shower?"
His dragon thought that this was an excellent idea.
"No," Dai yelped, hitting his head again on the light fitting in his haste to back out the door. "I'll just go—elsewhere. Now."
He caught a glimpse of amusement battling embarrassment on Virginia's face before the door swung closed between them. A moment later, he heard the shower running. Firmly repressing a mental image of water running over her lush curves, Dai went into the kitchen.
A couple of gallons of icy cold water later, he was at least somewhat cleaner, and in better control of himself. His dragon sulked at the back of his mind, coiled sullenly under iron chains of self-discipline once more. Dai ran his fingers through his wet hair, shaking himself like a dog. Virginia was still showering next door, and he would rather have disemboweled himself than knock on the door to ask for a towel.
What about clothes? his dragon muttered snidely.
Dai looked down at his bare chest and fire-resistant trousers, cursing himself as he belatedly remembered that he was only wearing boxers underneath—he'd been on call tonight rather than at the station, and had been asleep in bed when the alarm had gone out to summon his crew. For a moment, he debated just continuing to wear his turnout gear, but he had the feeling Virginia might not appreciate the aroma of sweat and smoke that permeated the uniform.
I'm never going to hear the end of this, he thought in resignation, as he mentally reached out. *Chase? Are you up?*
*As always,* came the cheerfully lascivious response. *Where are you, my man? We've all been shitting kittens, waiting to hear from you. Who is this mysterious lady friend you ran off with? Is it true she's taken you home? Have you fu—*
*Will you please shut up and listen for once? I need your help.*
*Did your parents not sit you down for the birds and the bees talk?* Chase inquired solicitously. *Don't worry, I'm here to hold your hand all the way through. Metaphorically speaking. Of course, if your lady friend is into that sort of thing, I'd be happy to help out non-metaphorically too—*
*CHASE!* Dai blasted him with a mental roar, cutting off the torrent. *Seriously. I need some clothes.*
There was a brief mental pause. *Sorry, could you repeat that?*
*I need some clothes. I didn't bring anything with me.*
*So sorry, terrible psychic static tonight. Maybe you're going through a tunnel. One more time?*
Dai ground his teeth. *How many times have I rescued you from drunken one-night stands gone terribly wrong?*
*About the same number of times that you've lectured me about my loose morals,* Chase responded cheerfully. *Hey, do you think you could call me and repeat this conversation? I want to record it on my phone to savor later. I might make it my ringtone.*
Dai rubbed his forehead, wondering whether to try one of the other members of his crew. Unfortunately, John was probably asleep underwater by now, and just the thought of trying to explain his predicament to Commander Ash made him wince. *Are you going to help me or not?*
*Not only am I going to help you, I am going to remind you that I helped you every single day for the next year or so. And I'm already on my way.* Dai had an impression of wind whistling past Chase's ears as he stretched into a gallop. *Go outside.*
"Virginia?" Dai called. The sound of running water had stopped, and he could hear her moving around the bedroom. "I'm just going outside. A friend is dropping off some things for me. I'll only be a moment."
Without waiting for a response, he let himself out of the apartment, leaving the door ajar behind him.