“Make it two,” Terra called to the waitress.
The young woman nodded and left.
“Come on.” Terra tried to pull Alex over and put him into one of the bench seats, but he shook his head.
Wrapping his arm around the woman helping him, Alex ushered her into the bench seat ahead of him. “Please sit.”
Terra paused for a moment before sliding into the seat. She scooted over against the wall as he slid into the seat next to her.
Dropping his head to the table, Alex cushioned it on his hands to sort through the images flashing through his head. They raced around so fast that he couldn’t make heads or tails of them. The only thing he could understand was a sense of loss and urgency, but there was no context as to what he had lost or what was so urgent. Alex opened his eyes for a moment as he felt Terra’s fingers start to rub the tension from the back of his neck and shoulders. Closing them again, he relaxed as she worked.
“Are you all right?” she asked softly.
Alex drew in a long breath. The feel of her fingers working into his tight muscles calmed the swirling memories, but not enough for him to recognize any of them. He let the air out slowly before opening his eyes and sitting up. “Not really,” he answered honesty. “But it’s getting better.”
Terra slid her arm over and around his back. She leaned into his side, holding him to her. “We’ll figure it out.”
A soft chuckle slipped out of Alex. Yes, they would figure it out. He finally knew who he was again. Alex. That name fit him much better than the ‘Lex’ the waitress had called him. But even Lex fit him better than Cookie. And if he were lucky, the young woman bringing the drinks would be able to fill in some other missing information.
“Alex!” a deep, male voice called to him.
Alex turned to look at the stout man carrying two mugs in one hand and a leather jacket in the other.
“Michele said you were here.” The man set the two mugs on the table and hooked a chair from another table nearby. He swung it around and plopped down into it backwards. The chair creaked under the man’s weight.
The smell of dragon musk hit Alex, driving a rumble from his chest. Something about the man was very familiar, but the instinct to protect his mate from the new suitor drove him to lean forwards, blocking the man’s view of Terra.
Alex’s protective move raised the man’s eyebrows in surprise.
Pulling back her arm, Terra smacked Alex in the shoulder, grabbing his attention. “Stop being rude,” she scolded him.
Alex twisted to stare at Terra, surprised by her actions. Didn’t she know that he was protecting her? He studied the cross look on her face before closing his eyes to concentrate. No, she didn’t realize he was protecting her. All she saw was him hiding her away from someone new. He had to get himself under control. Struggling with his instincts, Alex leaned back in the booth so the new man could see Terra.
“Sorry about that,” Terra said. “We’ve had a long day.”
Alex listened closely to the warm note in her voice while trying to hold back his instinct to hide her away from the unknown person.
The man laughed. “Don’t worry about it, love. Brooding dragons have a tendency to be a little overprotective. Although, I’m surprised to see this one brooding over anyone.”
Alex cracked his eyes and watched as the man held his hand out to Terra.
“I’m Alister Stewert, but the men call me Brigs.”
“Terra Watson.” Terra reached out and took his hand.
A soft growl rumbled up from Alex’s chest.
Pulling her hand back, Terra shot Alex an offended look.
Alex shook his head slightly and forced the sound to stop. Yes, his dragon was trying to claim her, but he needed to get it under control. She still wasn’t his mate, and this man, whomever he was, wasn’t out to steal her away from him. Humans didn’t understand instincts the same way dragons did, and if he didn’t cool it, he could easily drive a wedge between them.
To settle the irritation riding him, Alex reached over and pulled one of the cups towards him. It was hot, and the soft aroma of flowers drifted up with the steam. Blowing on the frothy top, he sipped at the pale liquid inside. Sweetened milk flavored with tea rolled across his tongue and soothed his frayed nerves. He remembered this drink. It was relaxing and helped to slow his thoughts so he could process them.
Taking the hot mug with him, he leaned back in the booth and rested the cup against his chest, where he could breathe in the pleasant aroma. Alex listened to Terra and Brigs chat as he let things process through his mind. This had been exactly what he needed to get his memory back. This and a little time.
10
Terra stared at Alex for a moment. She vaguely remembered him mentioning that dragons were protective over their mates, but did that mean they were possessive of them, too? She shook the thought away and turned her attention back to the new man. Smiling at Brigs, she ignored Alex as he pulled his cup over to himself. Maybe his drink would chill him out.
“How did you get a name like Brigs from Alister?”
Brigs dropped the leather jacket on the table and folded his arms over the back of the chair. “It comes from the time I spent in the army.”
“You were in the army?” Terra glanced over the man. He was a touch on the stout side with neatly trimmed, brown hair and a thin mustache. His voice held a hint of an accent to it, but Terra couldn’t place it.
“Aye. But that’s a long story.” Brigs grinned at her and changed the subject. “So how did you end up with a curmudgeon like Alex here?”
“Curmudgeon?” Terra said as she looked at the man in the booth next to her. He had relaxed back on the bench so he was almost lying down. His cup was cradled on his chest and his eyes were closed. If she didn’t know better, she would have sworn he’d fallen asleep. She considered him for a moment. He didn’t seem like a surly person.
Brigs shrugged a bit. “Well, maybe not a complete curmudgeon, but he does tend to be a bit antisocial. It’s been a while since I’ve seen him show up anywhere with a lovely lady by his side, let alone brooding. So how’d you manage to catch his attention?”
She glanced between Brigs and Alex, not sure how to take this news. He didn’t seem very antisocial to her. In fact, he had been great company. Well, for the hours that he’d been awake, at least. She studied him for a moment, trying to see him as Brigs had suggested, but she couldn’t.
“That’s also a long story.” Terra kept her answer vague, unsure how much information she should give Brigs. They had, after all, been chased out of her home at gunpoint.
“I crashed in her backyard,” Alex answered.
Terra stared at him, surprised. “You remember?”
“Bits.” Alex sighed and sipped at his drink. “It’s coming back.”
“Remember?” Brigs asked. His voice held a note of concern.
“He hit his head,” Terra said, feeling a little guilty. “He’s been having some problems with his memory.”
Alex made an irritated noise but didn’t say anything else.
“Ah.” Brigs shifted in his seat. “And a brooding on top of that certainly wouldn’t make things easy.”
Alex made another soft noise and sipped at his drink.
“But the tea should help.” Brigs chuckled. “It always helps.”
“Tea?” Terra asked glancing at the mug Alex clutched to his chest. What was in his tea? Reaching out, she pulled her matching cup over and looked into it. White foam covered the top, preventing her from seeing the actual liquid, but there was a thin chain attached to the side of the cup. Picking it up, she sipped at the drink and found it rather pleasant.