Page 20 of Midlife Animal Rescuer Dragon

That wiped the smirk off her face. Nora’s face reddened slightly, and he could tell she was thinking about the kiss. She cleared her throat, looking like she was more than prepared to change the subject.

“So...” She took another sip of her drink. “I feel like I barely know anything about you. I mean, I know your name and that you’re a dragon shifter—and an animal rescuer—but there’s got to be more than that to the man I’m trusting with my life.”

He lifted an eyebrow, trying to hide his amusement. Shouldn’t he be the one asking the questions? “I’m an open book. Ask away.”

She said nothing for a moment, simply observing him as she took a big bite out of her shawarma. “Okay. So you’re clearly around my age. Forty-three? Forty-four? Any relatives around here?”

“None at all.” He shook his head. “My parents passed on many years ago.”

“Sorry about that. So did my mother. Never really knew my father, but he was a wolf shifter.”

“And she was a witch,” he guessed, the pieces flying into place in his head. “That’s why you’re a hybrid.” Mixed breeding among supernaturals didn’t always work that way, of course. Typically, the child took after only one of the parents. Except when oneparent happened to be human, in the case of half-witches or half-shifters. Even so, hybrids were very rare.

Nora gave a nod, staring at him over her shawarma. “How long have you been an animal rescuer?”

“Less than a decade. About seven years.”

“You say it like that’s not a lot of time.”

He shrugged. “Sometimes I wish I’d become an animal rescuer even earlier. The way I and the others at the sanctuary see it, shifters are the bridge between humans and animals. We’re best equipped to look after animals, and to protect them from humans. We’re protectors.”

“A safe space for every wild heart,” she said, reciting the sanctuary’s motto. She cracked a grin. “Guess that includes me, huh?”

He simply stared at her.

“I waskidding.” She reached across the table, playfully batting his arm, and Henry felt a tingle race through his body. “I think it’s a noble cause, being an animal rescuer. It’s also nice to see someone like you do something like this.”

“What do you mean, someone like me?”

Her golden eyes gleamed with some humor. “I mean, you’re a dragon shifter. You’re huge, muscular. You don’t look like the sort of guy who just looks after animals. You look like you could be a bodyguard, or serving in the military. It’s a nice contrast—and a nice combination. I’m sure the ladies love it.”

Henry couldn’t resist a slight grin. Truth be told, it wasn’t the first time he’d been told something along those lines by women of different ages. “Maybe.”

“So theydolove it. How come you’re single, then?” She paused then, her eyes widening slightly. “Youaresingle, right?”

“I am.” He held up a hand as though to calm her down. “I just haven’t really considered getting into a relationship in a while.”

“Oh.” Nora reached for her smoothie, her gaze locked on him as she brought the straw to her lips. “Don’t tell me you’ve got no exes at all. You don’t strike me as a forty-year-old virgin.”

Henry almost choked on his food. He chewed and swallowed, shaking his head. “No, of course not. It’s just...” He shrugged and said no more. The last thing he wanted now was to explain to the hybrid before him that he’d stayed away from dating because the last woman he fell in love with had also been a hybrid and had tried to kill him.

“Crazy ex?” It was her turn to lift an eyebrow.

“That’s definitely one way to put it.”

They continued eating without talking for a while, and Henry looked away, gazing around them. The crowd was still lively, although from the look of it, more than a few people had decided it was time to head to their homes. Pop music blared from a speaker he couldn’t see. He glanced toward the animal rescuer tent. No one seemed to be approaching it so far.

Cal and Melissa were nowhere in sight. If he had to guess, they must’ve headed back to the sanctuary by now. Either that, or they were still somewhere else in the park, out of view. Overhead, the sky had darkened a little, a few clouds dimming the sunlight. Was it going to rain? Maybe later tonight, if they were lucky. Henry’s lips twitched. He’d reached his goal for today. What better way to celebrate that than by spending a rainy night in his bedroom at the sanctuary?

A sudden image snuck into his mind: Nora lying curled up against him in bed. Immediately, he felt his body respond, his cock pulsating slightly between his thighs. Wrenching the image from his mind, he looked across the table at her and found that she was also staring at him.

Damn.

“Penny for your thoughts?” she asked. “You’ve clearly got something on your mind.”

You don’t want to know.Clenching his teeth against his arousal, he reached for his smoothie. “It’s nothing important.”

She stared at him for a few seconds longer, and Henry thought she might press further for an answer. To his relief, she simply leaned back in her chair, sweeping her gaze around a little.