Wings of Fire (Protected by Dragons #2)

"I don't know. He is so secretive that I–" she stops talking as Drake’s car pulls in front us. I glance at her, and I am wondering what the end of that sentence was, but she shakes her head, smiling before opening her door. I do the same sliding into the back.

"Hey, Drake," I say as I get in, and Alex pulls back from kissing Drake hello.

"I thought Wyatt was coming with us?" Alex asks, noticing the empty seat by me. I smile widely, hoping he is ill or isn't coming.

"He is meeting us there," Drake says bluntly before driving off.

There goes my dream of taking off this dress and changing into my PJ’s, with a bottle of wine.

I don't say anything, growing a little more nervous the nearer we get to Drake’s apartment.

As we pull into the expensive apartment building, we can see the party has started. The music is loud, and there are cars everywhere. I mentally tell myself that going to a party at twenty years old is normal, and I should smile before getting out of the car. I walk next to Alex as Drake puts his arm around her shoulders. Just as we walk in, and the loud music fills my ears, I see a blond man leaning against the wall next to the door of Drake’s apartment. I can't help but stare a little at his muscular frame and his strong-looking face that I have to admit is a little scary. He seems to notice me staring and looks right at me. I first notice his eyes are that nearly black in colour or maybe just a dark-brown like Drake’s. I look around quickly noticing that nearly every girl nearby is watching the breath-taking guy like I am. My eyes draw back to his, noticing how powerful he looks. He can’t be more than twenty-five but looks like he owns the very street he is standing on. The guy’s eyes never leave mine as I look him over, and I shiver from the anger I feel in his eyes. How can someone look so serious and cold at our age? I continue walking with Alex until we stop in front of the guy, and I want to get to know him or hear him speak. My mind and body feel drawn to him, and I don’t like it.

"Drake, this must be my date," the man says in a dark, underwear-dropping voice, nodding at Drake before looking back at me. I feel myself blush as his gaze takes in all of me slowly. I do the same, noticing for the first time that he is wearing a black jumper with black jeans, which look like they were custom-made for him; they possibly were.

"Wyatt. It’s nice to meet you, Winter," he offers his hand. I take his cold hand, and he shocks me by bringing it up to his mouth and placing a kiss on the back. His lips feel cold on my hand, but I feel a strange shock when his lips meet my skin. It takes everything in me not to pull my hand away and run in the other direction like my body is screaming for me to do. For some reason, I don’t feel safe with him.

"Nice to meet you, too," I mutter a slight lie, pulling back my hand.

Wyatt just flashes me a knowing look before saying to Drake, "There was a problem tonight, they are getting braver," his deep voice gets stronger about whatever they are discussing. It’s almost like his voice draws you in and demands that you listen.

"Just a few newbies chasing a pup, it's being dealt with," Drake smiles with a cold look in my direction.

"Good. Now, can I get you a drink?" Wyatt asks looking back at me. It's strange to see how Wyatt spoke to Drake then. It was like a boss ordering around an employee, and worse, I had no idea what they were speaking about. What's a pup? Maybe it's a kind of business talk, I doubt they mean a puppy.

"Sure," I say taking his open arm and letting him guide me through the house. I can feel how cold he is even through his jacket. I look back to see Alex, who has disappeared with Drake. Knowing Alex, they might have already left, thinking Wyatt seems nice. While I don’t feel that he is at all; he seems too haunted to be described as nice. Seeing how he spoke to Drake just then, makes me more distrusting of him.

"Are you cold?" I ask noticing that's it's a hot summer day in May. I’m even warm, in a little dress, and he is cold in a jumper.

"Just cold-blooded," he winks at me. I can't help but blush a little, but who wouldn't when a very hot guy flirts with you. I know I need to act normal for a bit, before making an excuse and leaving. We weave through the hallways of the building and up two floors in the elevator, which is filled with couples making out. I watch as they stop and stare at Wyatt like he is a god and ignore me completely. It’s all very odd.

"So, tell me, what do you study?" he asks as we enter the kitchen. It’s a modern kitchen with many cabinets that don’t look used, and there’s even a bar on the one side next to an impressive window. There are a few people around, but it's quiet enough in here to not have to talk too loudly. Wherever the loud music is coming from, it’s not nearby.

"I'm studying to become a vet. What about you?" I look over the view of the nearby forest and mountains as he hands me an opened beer. I don't like beer, but I'm not telling him that, so I pretend to drink it.

"The family business," he says still looking at me. He moves closer, so I have to lift my head up to look at him.

Being so short can be really an annoying at times, I think to myself. This guy has at least a foot on me, and I feel small around him. Now that he is closer, I can see that his eyes are definitely black with little silver sparks in them. I’ve never seen eyes like his, and they are really stunning. I clear my throat before asking, "Have you known Drake long?"

"Yes, it feels like I've known Drake forever, sometimes," he grins at me like I'm missing a joke.

"I feel like that with Alex, sometimes," I say, looking away because his eyes are so stunning that they draw you in. The other door in the room opens as a drunken man stumbles in, he quickly leaves again when he sees Wyatt but leaves the door open. I can see the living room, well it’s more a dance room. The dancing bodies are pushed so closely together that you can’t see their faces. The music is beating hard and fast compared to the slow-moving young people swaying around. I turn back to see Wyatt watching me closely.

"Dance with me? You seem like you need to relax,” he asks. I lift my head to stare into his eyes, and I feel the need to dance with him, to do anything he wants. I stare at his eyes as he smirks, moving closer to me. I could have sworn his eyes had silver sparks, nothing like the empty, black pits I’m staring into now.

I shake my head, stepping back. "No thanks, I don't dance," I say to Wyatt’s cold gaze. This time, his face converts into confusion, and he steps closer to me than before. We are almost touching with how close he is.

"Dance with me, Winter," he says looking into my eyes again, his eyes glowing far brighter than they should. I yelp when he grabs my arm roughly. I take a step away. His grip is strong, but I realise he isn’t trying to hurt me. I don’t dare look away from him as the black, glowing eyes stare into me, like he is looking into my soul.

"No, let go, Wyatt," I say firmly, challenging his grip by struggling away. I don’t know what changes, but he lets me go with an utterly confused and shocked look marking his handsome face.

"How is that possible?" he mutters to himself, running his hands through his hair, and stepping away from me. I take the chance he gives me to run out the door, not caring who is looking. I have a feeling challenging a scary man like that is not a good idea. I don’t think running from him is a good idea either, but, hey, it’s all I have right now. I couldn’t have seen glowing eyes, right? I mean that doesn’t even make sense to me, it must have been a trick of the light or something. I eventually make my way outside. I can’t believe my luck when I spot the guy from class, Harris, opening his car door for a young girl to get in. I’m glad I remembered his name now.

"Wait, Harris!" I shout from the door, and he turns to me, looking a little shocked, but more worried than anything else.

"Are you alright?" he asks none too gently as he grabs my shoulders, pulling me closer, and looking me up and down.