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Noah picked up the roast and chops.

“And don’t get too close. Don’t get eaten.”

“I’m not planning on it.”

“I know what you kids are like, always trying to take selfies while doing dumb shit.”

Noah grinned. “You did dumb shit when you were my age. You just don’t have photographic evidence.”

“And thank God for that.” Nan picked up her phone and shooed him out of the kitchen.

Noah propped open the back door. He hadn’t even stepped outside when the dragon lifted its head and clicked something at him. He assumed it was something like ‘snacks for me?’ as the dragon’s butt gave an excited little wiggle like he was an oversized cat.

“I have a nice piece of roast beef for you.” He glanced at the roast, then back at the dragon. “Which is going to be like eating a chicken nugget, given the size of you. And also some chops which will have a bit of crunch. I assume that you can eat bones… Who am I kidding? You can probably eat entire cows.”

And cows were much bigger than him. If the dragon wanted to eat him, he’d be gone in a bite.

For several seconds, he considered unwrapping the large chunk of raw beef and throwing it at the dragon, but that seemed rather rude.

The dragon chirped at him, claws flexing against the asphalt.

“I’m going to take the plastic wrap off and put the meat down a bit closer to you. But I’d really like it if you stayed where you are.” He was nervous talking now. “And you probably can’t understand me. I doubt anybody has taught you to sit and stay either…and if they tried it, you’d probably eat them.”

Should he stick the meat on the end of a broom handle and offer it to the dragon that way? Or was this one of those situations where it was best to not show any fear and pretend that he was cool with feeding lumps of meat to a large predator who was far too excited to see him, or at least the meat he was holding? He kept his gaze on the dragon as he unwrapped the meat, acknowledging that if the dragon were a lion, he would not be standing this close while holding raw meat.

This was kind of fucked up.

Yet exhilarating.

He was about to feed a fucking dragon. And despite what Nan had said, he was going to take a selfie.

Although recording it might be better.

He walked down the two steps, moving slowly and faking confidence while his heart raced fast enough that it had to be reaching unsafe levels and about to explode. When he was a meter away from the steps, he placed the roast on the ground and stepped back. He didn’t turn his back on the dragon, just walked backward until his heels hit the step.

The dragon didn’t move until he stood in the doorway.

It wriggled forward on its belly and gave the meat a sniff and then a lick, the whole time cooing and clicking. Noah wiped the blood off his hands on the dishcloth hanging out of his jeans and pulled his phone out of his pocket.

He hit record, videoing the dragon. Then he turned around so he was in the frame, and the dragon was behind him. On the screen, he watched as the dragon’s tongue curled around the meat and it swallowed the three-kilogram roast without taking a single bite.

The dragon didn’t move backwards, and this time, when it made noises, Noah was sure the dragon had asked him a question. Maybe it could smell the chops. He put his phone away and faced the dragon. “I’ll give you the chops in a moment. How about a drink first?”

He filled the bucket, but because the dragon hadn’t moved back, he had no choice but to put the bucket at the bottom of the stairs, which meant if the dragon came closer again, they’d have to leave via the front door, and the chances of getting the car were slim.

“Can you back up a bit?” Noah made a shooing motion with his free hand.

The dragon’s front feet pattered against the asphalt, but it didn’t move.

Shit.

Once again, he slowly went down the steps and placed the bucket of water on the ground. As predicted, the dragon moved closer.

It sniffed the water and started lapping it up as if it hadn’t drank in far too long. How long had it been sitting in the car park? A ten-liter bucket of water was probably not enough.

In the doorway, he unwrapped the chops, which got the dragon’s attention. There was no way he was putting the chops on the step.

He held one up, and the dragon stared at it.