Page 4 of Midlife Animal Rescuer Dragon

Five grand. One day.

“Sure, I could do it,” he muttered. “I’ll make as many sales as I can.”

He hefted another box onto the bed of the truck, then turned to pick up the last one off the ground. Before he could touch it, a shrill sound came from overhead.

“What the—?” Had that been a scream?

He glanced up, just in time to see a burst of green light fill the air for a second before dissipating into nothingness. High up, dozens of feet into the air, a figure spun as it fell, a bloodcurdling scream piercing the air as it plummeted straight toward him.

Chapter Two

Damsel in Distress

Of all the ways she could possibly die, falling out of the sky hadn’t been among Nora’s top three.

At least, until now.

The wind howled in her ears, cold biting at her skin through her clothes as she plummeted faster toward the ground. Her vision spun and her mind worked tirelessly, trying to break through the panic that gripped her and come up with a levitation spell or a new portal—anything to keep her from breaking every last bone in her body upon impact.

I’m going to die!

And to think she’d been worried about the hunter finding her. She was going to die simply because she hadn’t been careful enough to open a portal on the ground. In mere seconds, she’d be a splatter on the earth. In seconds, she would—

A large, dark shape appeared in the corner of her vision. A second later, something wrapped around her middle, plucking her out of the air before she could meet her doom.

A gasp escaped Nora’s throat. She wasn’t falling anymore. She was...hovering. The ground was barely five feet below now, the wet blades of grass seeming to beckon to her. She caught sight of a gigantic, winged shadow on the ground. A heavy swooping sound filled her ears, and for the briefest of moments she entertained the insane possibility that she’d somehow been saved from certain death by some kind of angel.

But it wasn’t arms that were wrapped around her middle. Large taloned claws secured her in place, just tightly enough that she wasn’t harmed. When she looked up, she almost couldn’t see anything, but she made out a pair of leathery wings, horns...and red scales.

Dragon scales.

The beast’s claws opened suddenly, and with a yelp she fell, hitting the ground and rolling a few feet. With a groan, Nora picked herself up, examining her body for injuries. There were none. She was completely unhurt.

With a heavy thud, the dragon landed before her, tucking its wings. It towered over her, its massive head and body almost completely blotting out the sky. The beast eyed her for a moment, as though contemplating between sparing her life and setting her ablaze, and Nora raised her hands, preparing to defend herself if the need arose. She’d never had to fight a dragon before, but it would take a little more than fire to take her out.

But the dragon didn’t attack. As she watched, heart sputtering in her chest, the creature began to shrink, the scales receding into flesh. Within seconds, the dragon was gone. In its place stood a man, naked from head to toe, a slight frown on his face.

“I’m no meteorologist,” he remarked, his deep voice surprisingly even, “but people don’t usually fall out of the sky on a random Saturday morning.”

The man was almost a foot taller than she was, with long, dark hair and even darker eyes, his jaw covered in stubble. He had broad shoulders and a thick chest, veins crisscrossing his large arms. Nora couldn’t help letting her gaze skim over the contours of his abs, all the way down to his...

With a gulp, she averted her gaze, heat rushing into her face, and found him still staring at her.

“Uh, s-sorry,” she stammered. “I mean, thank you. For saving me. You’re a dragon shifter?”

“And you’re clearly not human. What are you, a witch? A shifter? Fae? You don’t look like you’re fae.”

I’m a hybrid,Nora hesitated to say. Instead, she told him, “Yeah, I’m a witch.”

It was his turn to give her a once-over, and she couldn’t help feeling a little self-conscious as his dark gaze swept over her. Her breathing quickened, her heart thumping in her chest. And why the heck were her nipples standing at attention?

The man’s gaze lingered on her chest for a second too long, and it dawned on her that her hardened nipples must be quite visible through her wet clothes. Her face burning, she folded her arms across her chest, trying to ignore the heat that had suddenly flared up in her gut and was working its way through her body.

She looked away for a moment, taking in her new surroundings. A house and a couple of barns. The portal had brought her to some kind of ranch. Only there weren’t any cowboys in sight. A red truck sat parked a couple dozen feet away, loaded with boxes and equipment. No doubt, they belonged to this man, whoever he was.

Was he headed somewhere?

Certainly not looking like that,she thought, daring for a second to glance at his nude body again. Were all the men in this town this muscular and endowed, or was he simply an outlier? She swallowed again.