"Want a closer look, asshole?"
The guy wasn't a shifter, and whether he was trying to be creepy or just make sure that Declan actually left, Declan wasn't sure. What he did know was that he didn't appreciate strangers of any gender staring at him when he was about to shift. Shifting was a process that Declan had perfected over his many years as a dragon. Still, he liked being left to change into his dragon form without feeling like he was under a microscope.
The guy started mumbling something, but Declan ignored him. He bent down to tuck his things a little more carefully into the basket. He pressed the jacket and shirt a little more snugly around his secret passenger.
"Hang on," he whispered quietly, so only the girl could hear him. "We're going to get you out of here."
The only sign that she heard him was the hasty way her breathing changed. Her heart started racing. Yeah, this was a girl in trouble, and he was all too happy to help.
So, he shifted.
Big, strong, and wild, he changed into his dragon form almost effortlessly. The servant man watched. His jaw dropped, but Declan just shook his head. Why were people so predictable? The guy obviously wanted to ask him about it, but Declan didn't have time. He grabbed the basket with his talons and leapt into the air.
Then he was off.
He couldn't speak to the woman in his dragon form. Honestly, he wasn't even sure what he would say. He had a little while to think about it, but one thing was for certain: he wasn't saying a damn thing until they were somewhere isolated. He wasn't going to take her back to Sapphire Island just yet. His home was a beautiful place, and she would be safe there, but they wouldn't be alone.
His brothers would show up sooner or later, and as much as he loved them, he wanted this woman to feel safe. Whatever Kellen had done to her had probably scarred her. Declan hated the idea that she’d been victimized by someone like Kellen. The guy was a real piece of work. He didn’t deserve to have someone as beautiful as this female with him.
So, Declan flew away from Kellen's home and the other houses that filled the tiny island, and he soared over the ocean. The scent of salt water filled his lungs, and Declan felt at home. He loved the way the ocean sounded. He loved the way it smelled.
Hell, he loved the way it felt.
Everything about the water was perfect to him.
Sometimes, he thought it was a pity he was a dragon and not a fish.
He couldn't peer down at the basket, but it still felt heavy. She hadn't fallen out or jumped out or anything like that. Good. He liked knowing she was sitting still in the basket. He liked knowing she was safe for him.
He didn't want anything to hurt this woman.
Not on his watch.
He flew in the direction of Sapphire Island but stopped a few isles over. The Chrysolite Isles were gorgeous, and almost every single one of the hundred or so isles had something special and unique about it. This one had waterfalls: lots and lots of waterfalls. To Declan's knowledge, nobody live
d on the island because there were simply too many waterfalls. There wasn't really a place where you could build a city unless you completely tore down and rebuilt the actual island.
He landed on the beach and set the basket down. Glancing around, he could spot three different waterfalls all within walking distance of the beach. It was insane how pretty this place was. He took a few steps back from the basket but didn't shift right away. He wanted to see what she was going to do first, and he didn't want to scare her just by shifting into his nude human form.
Who knew what the woman had been through?
If she'd been hurt by Kellen, maybe seeing a naked human man would be more terrifying than seeing a huge purple-and-silver dragon. Perhaps the idea that a man had stolen her away wouldn’t be entirely comforting. Then again, maybe she was too tired and hurt to care who had rescued her. Maybe she just cared that she’d been squirreled away.
He wasn't sure.
So, he sat, and he waited. Finally, he made a little growling noise because nothing happened. Still nothing. She didn’t come out of the basket. She didn’t make any indication at all that she was there or that she had heard him.
Was she hiding in fear?
Was she cowering in the basket?
Suddenly, his desire to be noble seemed to be completely overridden by the idea that perhaps she actually had fallen out of the basket. Could that have happened? Maybe he didn't even know that she'd fallen. He'd been distracted, after all. Fear filled his heart. What if he’d saved her only to lose her over the ocean?
He shifted to his human form and hurried to the basket. He knelt beside it and pulled his shirt and pants away from the basket, followed by his jacket, but...
She was there.
She was still there.