the jewelry. Now, all he had to do was ask her to marry him.
Should he change into something less formal before asking her to join him? Or would his uniform make him seem more dashing and appealing? He wasn't sure he wanted to deal with all of the buttons if things progressed in the direction he hoped. Nor did he want to lose his jacket over the side of an arch, since it would tumble hundreds of feet into the river that flowed through Crazy Canyon. Despite all the advice he had received on the topic of sedate proposals, he couldn't bring himself to take Sardelle out to dinner and bend a knee next to a candlelit table. His proposal should be epic. Exciting. Breathtaking.
I believe you're too late, Jaxi spoke into his mind as he reached for the doorknob.
Ridge froze. His heart might have frozen too.
Too late? he responded, trying to keep the panic out of his mental voice. He had been trying not to think about his proposal plans around Sardelle, since Jaxi was usually at her side and poked into his thoughts more frequently than she did, but that didn't mean he had succeeded in keeping it secret.
You won't need your flier tonight, Jaxi said. You might as well have come on a horse.
Ridge tightened his grip on the doorknob. Are you saying that... Sardelle wouldn't like to go for a ride tonight?
Not in your flier. She has other plans.
Other plans? She said she would be home this afternoon. Ridge had specifically asked her if she could take a break from teaching Tylie and the two new students she had taken on so that they might have time together. Of course, he hadn't told her why he wanted that time together, just that he planned to come home early to be with her. She had agreed. She'd seemed excited at the idea. Why would she have other plans now?
She got tired of waiting for you, genius.
Tired of waiting? Ridge knew he should turn the doorknob and stop standing there in stupefied silence, but he couldn't quite parse what Jaxi was saying. She couldn't mean that Sardelle had gone looking for... someone else. Could she? Yes, they had both been busy lately, but they had been doing the work they loved, each of them, and when they had found time to come together, it had been passionate and exciting. He'd done his best to make it so. The absences had only made them value their time together more, or so he had believed.
Yes, yes, she's still enjoying your randy bits and your passion, Jaxi said. That's why she's waiting for you in the duck blind.
Oh? Ridge let go of the doorknob and looked toward the pond next to the house. He imagined the comfortable plush chairs inside his duck blind, then pictured Sardelle lounging naked in one, her bare leg draped over one side as she perused one of his model flier magazines...
The model flier magazines are what get you in the mood, not her. And yes, that is odd.
Sardelle called it charming.
She's more tactful than I am.
Well, she can peruse anything she likes to get in the mood. Is she, ah, in the mood now? Ridge left the walkway and headed for the path leading to the duck blind, notions of proposals being stampeded out of his mind by more libidinous thoughts.
Not exactly. Better go see her.
Worried about those dubious words, Ridge hurried down the path. Squawks came from the reeds, and he glimpsed ducks paddling toward the muddy bank. Maybe if he tossed the entire tin of crackers out the window, they would be quiet, so he could sweep Sardelle off her feet and into the duck blind, where they could... discuss their magazine preferences.
You're not editing your thoughts for my sake, are you? Jaxi asked.
I thought I would keep them tame since you're swimming through my mind faster than those ducks can paddle around the pond.
I'm fully aware that men have lurid fantasies about Sardelle. I've even encountered men who have lurid fantasies about me.
Er, you as a sword? Or you before you became a sword?
Trust me, you don't want to know.
You're right. He was far more interested in being lurid with Sardelle. With that image planted firmly in mind, he rounded the bend and strode toward the duck blind door. At least, that was his intention. He froze when he spotted the very large golden-scaled dragon perched atop the stone structure. No wonder the ducks were squawking.
"Are there enemies about?" Ridge asked, slowing to a stop. Bhrava Saruth was always in his human form, or sometimes his ferret incarnation, when around the house. Ridge glanced around, hoping none of the neighbors across the pond could see this.
The dragon lowered his massive golden head, his familiar green eyes gazing intently into Ridge's soul. Neither Cofah invaders nor pirates are nearby, Bhrava Saruth informed him. The ducks, however, are having unpleasant thoughts about me.
"Perhaps if you threw them some crackers." Ridge glanced at the dragon's wingtips and also at his short arms and long claws. Could dragons throw?
Do you think they will worship me if I feed them?
Perhaps in their own fowl way. Ridge smirked at his pun.
Bhrava Saruth merely scratched the back of his neck with a wingtip and looked thoughtfully toward the ducks.
The door opened, and Sardelle walked out, an inviting smile on her face. That looked promising, dragons looming on the rooftop of the duck blind or not. Ridge smiled back.
"I wasn't expecting to find you here," he said, spreading his arms for a hug.
Sardelle wasn't naked, as in the image his mind had conjured, but she wore a lovely white dress with a broad belt that accented her waist and snugged the fabric up nicely to her bosom. Instead of the sandals she had been wearing around the house since summer had fully blossomed, leather riding boots adorned her feet. Probably wise for the muddy path leading to the duck blind.
And for riding dragons, Jaxi said.
Riding dragons? Ridge's gaze lifted toward Bhrava Saruth. One of the large golden eyelids shivered in an approximation of a wink.
Before Ridge could contemplate that further, Sardelle slid into his arms, accepting his hug and returning it with pleasing enthusiasm. The ducks that had been maneuvering through the reeds floated closer, but they did not waddle out of the water, as they sometimes did in their eagerness to receive crackers. Perhaps the presence of the dragon kept them at bay.
Sardelle leaned back enough to look at his face, her blue eyes as warm and appealing as ever. They crinkled around the corners, and she said, "Your bulge is poking me."
"Sorry, I got excited imagining you in there, reading my magazines."
Her brows rose, and she tapped the square lump in his breast pocket, the jewelry box.
"Oh. That bulge." Ridge bit his lip. He couldn't give it to her now. He had to propose first, and he didn't want to do that on a muddy path with ducks quacking from the reeds. "That one is for later."
She leaned against his chest. "Should I look forward to seeing it?"
"I certainly hope so." Ridge looked up at Bhrava Saruth. "Are you... uhm, I was going to ask you to fly somewhere with me."
"Odd. I planned to ask you to fly somewhere with me."
Jaxi's comments about riding dragons returned to his mind. He waffled, disappointed that she'd made other plans for their evening when he had hoped to finally enact his grand plan. He thought of the picnic basket in his flier and dinner packed inside, delicious fried chicken, bacon-wrapped and honey-glazed corn on the cob, and chocolate-dipped dragon horn cookies, all specialties of the pretentious but fabulous Brownstone Plaza Delicatessen. Well, perhaps they could share the contents for breakfast.
"I'll go anywhere with you," Ridge said.
I can arrange for that dinner to float along after you, Jaxi said.
Ridge imagined riding a dragon across the countryside with a picnic basket flying after them. He wasn't sure which would alarm the local farmers more.
"Excellent." Sardelle stepped back, sliding her hands down his arms, then holding up a finger as she leaned into the duck blind to grab her sword belt off the closest chair. Jaxi lay nestled inside of the scabbard. Ridge wondered where Sardelle meant to take him that they might nee
d a soulblade.
I am always needed, Jaxi informed him. I am a necessity. Surely, you must know this by now.
Of course. Foolish me.
Sardelle looked toward the dragon. "Bhrava Saruth, are you ready?"
One moment, high priestess.
Something was floating out the door. The cracker tin that Ridge kept in the duck blind. The lid popped open, seemingly of its own accord, and several crackers drifted out. They floated over to the water, snapped into small pieces in the air, then descended to the surface. The ducks forgot their alarm over the dragon and zipped out of the reeds to snap at the crackers, devouring the pieces whole.
"We could take my flier instead of your dragon," Ridge murmured, "and not have to worry about him getting distracted."
Then he could pilot. He always preferred piloting to being a passenger.
I am not distracted, Bhrava Saruth announced. As the now-empty cracker tin floated back into the duck blind, he lowered his long neck and head. Climb on.
The ducks hurried away, wings flapping with alarm, as that head came close to the ground--and the water. Squawks sounded as they disappeared into the reeds.
Foolish creatures. Did they not realize that I, their god Bhrava Saruth, was responsible for their meal?
"Do you truly want ducks as worshippers?" Sardelle asked as she pulled herself onto the back of the dragon's neck, then scooted down it until she reached his shoulders and could sit astride him. "They wouldn't be able to rub your belly."
That is true. Also, their brains are tiny and incapable of acknowledging my godliness.
Ridge kept a snarky response to himself. After all, he was climbing onto the dragon and putting his fate in Bhrava Saruth's hands--claws.
One wonders what he thinks of our brains, Sardelle said telepathically, giving Ridge a wink.
Since he made you his high priestess, he must think yours is special, Ridge replied, settling in behind her. He slipped his arms around Sardelle's waist. Even though he had ridden the dragon a couple of times before, and knew that Bhrava Saruth's magic would keep them from falling off, a man should never neglect an opportunity to wrap his arms around his lady.
I'm not going to bring your picnic basket if you make me gag, Jaxi said.
We need to find you your own romance so you'll be too busy to comment on ours. I believe Wreltad is the right... species.
Taddy is pompous, smug, and he used to work for the enemy. Also, he hasn't asked me on a date.
Ridge couldn't imagine how two swords could go on a date, but all he said was, I can speak to him about that, if you wish.
You can make him less pompous and less Cofah?
I could suggest that he be charming enough that you forget about his flaws.
Has that been your strategy with Sardelle?
That and keeping her delighted in the bedroom.
Can you hear that? The sound of a sword gagging?
Then again, Ridge said, I may look for a nicer soulblade lady for Wreltad. He's from another time. Probably not used to ladies with such noisy throats.
The next thing he experienced in his mind was the vision of a sword scowling. Fiercely.
Ridge rested his chin on Sardelle's shoulder. "Where are we going?"
"It's a surprise. Hang on tight."
"Gladly."
Bhrava Saruth sprang into the air, the reeds and nearby leaves swaying as his powerful wingbeats created wind. Ridge was tempted to wheedle their destination out of Jaxi, but he kept his mind silent as they soared above the trees at the end of the pond and banked to fly over the city. A few startled shouts sounded from the streets below, but Bhrava Saruth soon took them high enough that they would appear to be nothing more than a bird far overhead.
The air grew chillier as they gained altitude, flying north along the coast, and Sardelle leaned back in Ridge's arms. He thought about looking over his shoulder to see if a picnic basket was soaring along behind them, but he wasn't sure he wanted to see his corn and chicken being treated to such an
The Fowl Proposal Bonus Scenes Page 6