Prince of Ice, page 2
Someone else who was up late at night, trying to solve mysteries.
Even if he could never tell her about the mysteries he was trying to solve. The thought made him sad, but he knew in the modern world, shifters were a strict secret. Unlike his world where small villages had recognized their dragon rulers. But thanks to shifter historians, his time was now reduced to only myths.
It was probably better that way.
He had no idea how Iris, smart, capable Iris, would ever be able to comprehend the existence of someone like him in her world. Everything had to make sense somehow, and dragons who could make snow and breathe ice projectiles were a little bit out of the range of what science could explain.
He sighed in relief that no one was in the living room and that the apartment was quiet and dark. He didn’t know if Iris would want Chelle knowing about what had happened, so he was glad there was no one to ask where he went.
Sure, it was a little lonely with Alek and Dmitri both mated, but Luka was fine on his own. Sometimes he preferred it. It was easier to think that way.
Easier to think about how good Iris’s small hand had felt in his, the beautiful contrast of her smooth, dark skin to his paleness. The way her eyes crinkled when she laughed and relaxed whenever she saw him.
He tightened his hands into fists and then relaxed them as he walked down the hallway and into his room.
He shut the door and sat down at his desk, opening the window and tabs he’d had open before Iris had told him what had happened.
He kept his email open, too, just in case she wanted to contact him, but the little dot by her name was gray, indicating she was offline.
Hopefully, she was at home and sleeping, recovering from what had happened. The dragon in him still wanted to hunt down and kill whoever had put the fear in her eyes, but he’d not been able to detect any scent. So either the robber was scentless, or he’d been in the lab before and his scent mingled with the countless others there.
Luka wasn’t worried about Iris being safe in her apartment. Whoever had been after her hadn’t been interested in her, merely the lab. Otherwise, something else could have happened.
His heart tightened at that thought, and he had to rub his chest for a minute to relieve the tension.
Iris meant a lot to him, even after only a few days. But why? Was it just because she was like him, and he’d never met another person like him in his time? Back then, an interest in knowledge was as good as witchcraft.
Being able to sit at a computer and just chat with her about different topics while accessing the amazing modern web of information on the internet was, in Luka’s estimation, pretty close to heaven.
But being in her lab, still able to play on the computer while being able to see her and know she was safe and hear about her research, that seemed almost impossibly good.
Luka turned off his computer and sat back with a sigh of satisfaction.
Perhaps he would go to bed tonight earlier than usual, since he had something to look forward to when he got up.
Plus, he needed to be well-rested and able to think straight, because as much as he wanted to spend time with and protect Iris, he couldn’t afford even the slightest slip-up that might reveal who he was.
* * *
Iris had worried that having Luka in the lab would be a distraction or make it hard to continue her research, but in fact, he turned out to be a pleasant, if quiet, presence that she barely knew was there.
When they’d first entered the lab, he’d asked if anyone was going to have a problem with him being there, but she’d reassured him that since she didn’t have any undergrads working with her, no one would know.
And if someone did come in, it wouldn’t be a problem because she could just say he was part of a study or there to give a blood sample.
He was working quietly on her spare computer, researching something he didn’t want her to see, based on how he blocked her view of the computer whenever he looked over.
She understood wanting privacy when doing research. After all, it was the reason she didn’t have undergrads helping her when most professors did. Maybe it was her stubbornness, her insistence on doing everything herself if she was going to take credit for it. More likely, it was her lack of trust.
Tenure was so close she could taste it. Security, for the first time in her life. She’d been the first one in her family to go to college, and growing up, she’d constantly known hunger and insecurity, as her dad had been bounced from one job to another. Sometimes she’d been alone at night, when her mother had to work as well, and her father had been at the bar.
She’d done her best to take care of her younger siblings, and each of them seemed to be doing fine in the world after they left their parents’ house.
Her younger sister was married, with two cute little children. Her brother was in the military and had a wife. Her parents seemed to have settled down in retirement, after a rich uncle had left them some money.
And Iris was here, making sure that when she had a family, they would have a better life. A life where they didn’t worry about layoffs or where the next meal was coming from. A life where she didn’t have to watch her back, because the university would want her to work there until she retired.
She hummed happily to herself as she entered the results from her recent samples, forgetting for a moment that someone had broken into her lab.
But then Luka cleared his throat, shifting on his chair, and reminded her of his presence.
He was there because she might not be safe. She couldn’t afford to relax until after the symposium in a couple weeks. Until then, she had to keep her guard up and her research safe.
She glanced over at Luka, enjoying the sight of him. His wide back in the white lab coat she’d offered him so he could blend in better. His long hands as they maneuvered the mouse or stroked the keyboard. The little furrow in his brow when he would look over at her in concern, as if needing to constantly reassure himself she was okay.
All of it was oddly… adorable.
When it was lunchtime, she led him over to the cafeteria after carefully securing her samples and logging out of her computer so no one would see what she’d written.
At least the campus computer system should be secure.
As Luka munched on one of three sandwiches, she couldn’t help smiling at his huge lunch in comparison to the soup and crackers she’d gotten.
“Big guy, huh?”
Luka nodded, ignoring the attention he was getting from nearly everyone in the cafeteria, with his big body and his big lunch and his way of looking separate from everything. “I have more mass. It stands to reason that I need more energy to sustain it.”
Iris laughed, relaxing as she sat back in her chair. “I suppose. If I take you out, you’re going to eat me out of my paycheck.”
He quirked a brow at her. “I will?”
“On our date, I mean,” she said awkwardly. “I assume I would pay.”
He shook his head. “Absolutely not. I believe it is the custom for the male to do so.”
To be a little taller, she tucked a leg under her on the bench. “I mean, if you want to. But since I’m taking you out as a thank-you for helping me in the lab, I should really pay.”
“I’ll leave it up to you, then,” Luka said with a smile. “Though, I would hate to eat all of your paycheck.”
She laughed. “I didn’t mean that. I’m just surprised you can put all of that away.”
Luka peered at her with those icy eyes. “What about your past dates? Did they not eat as much?” He smirked slightly. “Perhaps they were smaller, inferior men.”
She frowned. “I mean, not really. But I haven’t… I mean, I’ve been to clubs. I’ve gone to lunch with colleagues. But I haven’t… dated a lot.”
Luka straightened, looking oddly intrigued. “You haven’t? But you’re everything. Beautiful, smart. I would have thought some human would snap you up.”
“Some human?” She furrowed her brow. “Odd way to say it, but no. I’ve just been focused on my work. I have fun, I go out sometimes, but commitments just aren’t for me. They… hold you back.”
Luka stared at her intently, and she felt suddenly uncomfortable, as if for the first time in her life, she was really being seen. “I get it.”
She nodded, stirring her already cold soup. “So what about you? Have you dated a lot?”
He shook his head. “Too busy with work. I’ve always had to focus on… one person. My boss, I guess. I didn’t really put a lot of thought into what I wanted for my life. My future.”
“Really? That’s sad,” she said. “What were you, some kind of personal assistant?”
He thought for a second, then nodded. “I suppose so.”
“Well, you can always switch gears. Hey, when you’re done with what you’re working on, you can always be my research assistant.”
He laughed, making something odd tighten in her chest. She wanted to hear that sound over and over. “No. I don’t think I could ever be on your level. Besides, we have very different subjects we like to research.”
“What do you like to research?”
He shook his head. “I can’t talk about it.”
“Secret?”
His lashes lowered, and he stared at the table. “Yes, sorry.”
She sat back, wondering what on earth he wouldn’t be able to tell her. He wasn’t into something shady, was he? But no, Luka was her friend and a good person. She’d let him have his secrets if he wanted. “Well, if you ever do want to share, I’m game.”
His eyes met hers. Damn, how did that color exist? “Thank you for understanding.”
“Oh, sure,” she said. “I mean, you came when I was in trouble, and you’re helping me work in my lab. Speaking of which, where did you want to go for our date? And when?”
“I was thinking tonight,” Luka said quietly.
“What? You aren’t already sick of me?”
His brows furrowed. “Of course not. I don’t think I could be.”
Staring at him, she realized with a sense of wonder that she felt the same about him as well. “That’s… good.”
Luka finished his last sandwich and got up to take the tray away. She hurried up with her soup so they could get back to the lab.
Once he’d opened the door to the hallway and they were walking out together, he exhaled decisively.
“I think we should do that,” he said, pointing to an old poster for a bowling league hosted by the chem department.
“Bowling? You want to go bowling?”
He nodded, looking resolute.
“All right, then,” she said, leading the way back to the lab. “You got it, big guy.”
Chapter 3
Luka hadn’t known what he was requesting when he pointed at the odd poster on the wall, but the words had promised great fun for all who attended, so Luka figured he couldn’t go wrong.
He’d been told by Dmitri and Alek on occasion that fun wasn’t really his forte, so he needed all the help he could get.
Now that he was at the bowling alley near campus with Iris, he was beginning to wonder if he had made a mistake.
Iris seemed to know what she was doing here, taking him to the counter, getting them shoes, which were tight since they didn’t really have Luka’s size, and then taking him over to a “lane,” where at least they were somewhat separate from the other crowds of people.
The place wasn’t too crowded, but there were groups of friends and a few families on other lanes.
Iris seemed to sense his discomfort and had chosen a lane for them with no one on either side.
While she walked to a rack of brightly colored balls, Luka pulled at the laces on his shoes, forcing them open until they were a bearable tightness. If he and Iris started making this a habit, he would probably have to buy a pair of these shoes to bring with him.
With a sigh, he headed over to the rack and saw her pick up a pink ball with the number eight on it.
“Ha, I use a super small one,” she said with a smile, inserting her fingers into the holes.
Luka cringed slightly as he imagined himself doing so. Now that he understood modern sanitation, he wasn’t sure he would ever feel safe touching unfamiliar holes.
“Just pick any one,” she said. “Heavier is better, but not if you can’t throw it well.”
His brows lowered. He was to throw it? He glanced back at the long wooden runway that led to a set of white “pins.” If he threw a ball of this size at those pins, he’d break the entire place.
Then he saw someone release the ball to roll down the lane, and he let out a sigh of relief. That, he could manage.
Still, he picked out the heaviest ball he could find, which said sixteen on top of it, and brought it over to sit by Iris.
“So how does this work again?” He turned the ball over in his hands, grimacing at the holes.
She laughed. “You a germaphobe?”
“Maybe.” He pressed his lips together. “You aren’t? Since you’re a scientist, I would have thought—”
“Nope,” Iris said. “Stuff is out there, but if we spend all our time worrying about it, we can’t do fun things. On the other hand, I know it’s not easy to turn that switch off when you do worry about things, so just let me reassure you. You’re going to be fine sticking your fingers in those holes.”
He blushed slightly, the words “fingers” and “holes” feeling oddly sexual. He stood, ball in hand, and put his fingers in the holes as Iris had demonstrated. “I will go first.”
The pins were standing proudly as he started walking, aiming his ball. Two lanes down, an elderly woman had just knocked down an entire set of pins and was celebrating.
Surely, as a dragon, he would be able to impress his mate.
Wait. Mate?
At that harrowing thought, he released his ball awkwardly, but one finger was caught. The ball arced straight up in the air, almost hit the ceiling, and then started its trip back down.
If it hit the floor in here…
Luka moved quickly, catching the ball before it could land and damage the wood. It felt light as a snowball to him, so it was no problem. But when he saw everyone gaping at him, including Iris, he realized it shouldn’t be so easy.
“Oh. Oooof,” he said unconvincingly, sinking belatedly beneath the weight of the ball. “That was way hard to catch.”
As everyone slowly went back to what they were doing, Luka could feel Iris’s eyes on him.
“Was it really?” She walked forward, folding her arms. “Hand me that ball.”
He reluctantly did, and she grunted as she hefted it.
“Damn, you’re strong. I couldn’t throw it like that, let alone catch it.” She handed the ball back to him and went to get her own.
“I was caught off guard. My hand got stuck.”
“Well, you were going to do it all wrong,” she said, clicking her tongue.
She looked cute tonight, wearing a blue sweater dress that was belted around the middle, her short curls held back from her face with a headband, her lips plump and glossy pink.
“Here, let me show you.” She walked forward, swung her arm back, and then smoothly released her ball down the lane.
It rolled slightly to one side, then back toward the center, and hit the pins with a tremendous crash, sending them all flying into the darkness behind them.
“Wow,” Luka said, watching her do a cute celebratory dance that made certain parts of her wiggle. “I’m not sure I can ever live up to that.”
“Of course you can,” Iris said. “Well, it might take some time. I mean, I participated in a few of the department’s bowling leagues, and I guess I got super competitive. But it’s fine. You can go at your own pace.” They walked back to sit on the bench, and Luka looked up at the scoreboard while Iris explained the point system.
“Hey, look, I got a strike,” he said with a smirk. “Thanks for that.”
She swatted his arm, and he just liked that she had touched him. “Come on. Let’s see if we can get your form right so we can play a real game after this one.”
Luka sighed. “All right.”
By the time the first game was over, Luka had started to figure things out. Mainly, he’d realized that his strength was a huge asset and that, for some reason, hitting the balls harder, even if he wasn’t perfectly straight, resulted in pretty good points.
He was still holding back because he didn’t want to creep out Iris, but he was pretty sure he could do even better than he had so far.
A competitive little thought took hold, and he couldn’t resist. “So you think you’re going to win the next game?”
Iris looked at him in amusement. “Um, yeah, I do.” She rolled up her sleeves slightly. “I mean, the teacher doesn’t become the student that easily.”
“I’m a quick learner,” Luka said. “Besides, I’m stronger than you. It’s easier for me, even with worse technique.”
“That’s true,” Iris said thoughtfully. “Tell you what. We’ll make it more interesting. If you win, you get whatever you want. If I win, you get us nachos.”
“I would already get you nachos,” Luka said, puzzled. “Don’t you want something else?”
She looked at him, biting her lower lip, and Luka sensed that there was something she wanted. But he also knew she wasn’t up for commitment or anything that could distract from her work.
Still… there had to be some kind of fun bet they could make.
He definitely had something he wanted. Something he’d wanted ever since he first saw her perfect, full lips.
“If I win, I get to kiss you.”
She sat up in surprise, holding the sides of her chair. “Wait, what? You would want to?”
“Of course,” Luka said. “You’re a beautiful woman. Plus, I need to do research.”
“Research?” She raised a brow. “On what?”
“On what it’s like to kiss a beautiful woman.”
“Nerd,” she said. But she fanned her face, looking somewhat pleased.
“Come on, it’s nothing serious. Besides, you said there was no way I would win.”
