by Sadie Sears
And although his home was quiet and tranquil now that Draven was still in bed, it had felt a little that way when we returned to his house, anyway. Like a frenetic part of him had found peace.
“Morning.” He entered the kitchen behind me, but his quite voice didn’t startle me.
Instead, a rush of affection warmed me at the deep sound, and I turned around to greet him.
But he was right behind me, closer than I expected, and he briefly took my chin between his thumb and forefinger before lowering his head to mine.
His kiss was soft and sweet, and there was an element of longing in it that I didn’t quite understand. As he drew away, I fought to keep myself from leaning closer into him, following those lips, keeping them against mine.
I flattened my palm against his chest, and his heart raced under my touch.
“Morning,” I replied, then giggled over my breathlessness. “Coffee?”
He rubbed his temples and pain flitted through his eyes, but he nodded before lifting my cup from my hand and taking a long draw.
“Perfect.” His eyes sparkled, and I stuck my tongue out at him and reclaimed my mug as he tugged his shirt sleeve back down into place and smoothed his palm over it a couple of times.
Every one of his movements fascinated and intrigued me.
“I would’ve made you your own.” But sharing with him made me slightly dizzy.
And it was proof I hadn’t imagined our connection on the beach. This man accepted me just as I was.
He winced and clutched his head—a stark reminder that his acceptance of me physically hurt him.
I was hurting him by staying here. Pain squeezed my chest at that realization.
And the longer I stayed, the more I missed Grandma. I trudged back to the cupboard where Draven kept the mugs to get him one.
“No, you take a seat. I’ll make some breakfast. Pancakes?”
Mm… Pancakes to go with his slow molasses voice—I could live with that. I shivered as I remembered the long, slow lick of Draven’s tongue on my skin. His face reddened as if he’d caught a hint of my thought.
I took my place on one of the barstools and watched him as he pulled out the ingredients for making pancakes. “From scratch?” I couldn’t keep the curiosity out of my voice. “Almost everyone but my grandma seems to get them from a box these days.”
He met my gaze, and I almost had to look away from the heat in his eyes as he dipped his gaze to my lips and back. “Only the best for you, Mae.”
But as the familiar scents and sounds of pancakes cooking surrounded me, I lost myself to daydreams of my grandma.
“What are you thinking about? You look sad.” Draven’s words brought me back to his kitchen.
“Oh.” I summoned a smile. “Just my grandma. I miss her. I want to see her, but I don’t know when I can.”
His face creased and sympathy lit in his eyes as he reached across the counter to fleetingly curl his finger with mine. “Try not to worry about it. We just need to deal with things here before you can go back home.”
I sighed. “Yeah. I don’t want to put her in any danger.” Anxiety prickled at my skin at the thought of Saul finding her or taking an interest in her in any way.
Draven nodded. “We will get control of this.” He winced then smiled. “Tell me what she’s like.”
I smiled as I thought of her again. “She’s pretty much my only family. Mom and Dad were in a wreck when I was a child.”
“I’m sorry.” He huffed in a breath after he spoke. “I’m sorry you lost them so young.”
“It was a long time ago.” I half shrugged. The pain had gradually eroded away over the years, and it was only ever a dull ache now. “But Grandma put up with all the shit I took from bullies through school, she reminded me looks aren’t everything, she dealt with tears and wishes, and she raised me.”
He touched my hand again. “You have beauty and so much more.”
I fought the urge to laugh at him being so sweet, but I brushed off his words before I could start to believe them. “Well, anyway, Grandma raised me.”
“Well, you know what?” Batter sizzled as Draven poured some into a pan. Then he pushed a fresh coffee toward me.
I stared into it for a moment, but he didn’t move away, so I looked up, meeting his gaze. “What?”
“You have transport to anywhere you like.” He indicated himself. “Let me take you to see your grandma. I don’t think anyone could track you to her place, right?”
“But Saul—” I started to protest against Draven’s suggestion, but he held out his hand even as pain bent him forward.
“Leave Saul to me,” he wheezed. “Although maybe if you do disappear for a few days, he’ll think you’re dead or long gone.” He shrugged, and I couldn’t tell if he believed those words or not. “He probably has other shit to move on to. Hopefully, he’ll just start his next venture or something. And maybe this way I don’t need to do anything else as elaborate as fake video footage—that would just draw more attention to you.” He paused. “I’m sorry that footage is no good after the way it ended.”
“It’s okay,” I whispered as a sliver of hope crept into me at his other words.
Maybe I could escape Port Lair unharmed. No one else was looking for me, anyway. Not with Kailen and Jessica busy overseas, and I usually only called Grandma with whatever news I’d amassed in my working week. So really, the only person hot on my tail was Saul. I could work from anywhere, too. I’d need to cultivate new contacts if I couldn’t cover local news, but that was a small hardship compared to being dead.
Draven set the maple syrup in front of me, beside a plate, and handed me cutlery. Again, he seemed in tune with my thoughts on some level when he spoke.
“I can’t go anywhere permanently. I need to come back here because we’re safest in my home until I know Saul really has really turned his attention elsewhere.”
I nodded. That meant Grandma was probably safer, too.
“Plus, I need to check in with him every couple of days with an update. I don’t want any reason he might come looking for me. To keep him away, I need to go there.”
I was endangering Draven in two ways. All the pain he felt was my fault. But he was also protecting me from Saul, and I’d seen just how dangerous that guy was.
As Draven turned away to monitor the pancakes, I spoke. “Wouldn’t…” I hesitated, the sacrifice on the tip of my tongue already painful to consider. “Wouldn’t it be better if I just moved away, or traveled? That way neither of you would be in danger.”
He stiffened, his shoulders tensing, and when he spoke, his words were strangely wooden. “Staying with me protects you. My scent disguises yours.”
I nodded as if he could see me and like his sentence even made sense. And I hesitated again, my thoughts flip-flopping between self-preservation, the desire to keep others away from my mess, and the bone-deep desire to see my grandma and hug her. Just to be held by her, to hear her tell me everything was okay. I wanted that. It had been a while since I’d needed it.
Draven hadn’t moved, and he was still tense like my reply really mattered.
“Okay.”
He released a deep sigh and relaxed like someone had drained him of air.
I’d never had anyone hang on my every word before. “Okay,” I said again. “We’ll go see Grandma and then we’ll come back. But at least I can introduce her to the friend I’m staying with.”
He tensed again as I said friend, but I pretended not to notice. The feelings whirling in my mind were too unfamiliar to try to acknowledge or unpick right now.
We finished breakfast in almost silence before Draven stood. “I’m going to pack a few things in a bag for our trip.” Then he chuckled. “That’s almost a luxury. I never usually have anyone to hold my bags. I’ve lost a few dangling from my claws or teeth.”
“So that’s it, huh?” I grinned. “I’m your glorified butler?”
“Never.” He walked around the counter and wrapped
an arm around me, pulling me close as he pressed a kiss to my temple.
Perhaps he assumed I missed the intake of breath as he pulled away, but each of his pain responses was seared onto my heart. I didn’t know how long I could do this to him.
“I’ll get some things to put in the bag, too.” I slid from my stool and headed toward the stairs.
It was late afternoon when we both finally stood on the grass near the cliff step, our bag a few feet away.
“Right then.” Draven tugged at the hem of his long-sleeved tee and slid it over his abs. My mouth all but watered at the sight of the planes of muscle, each ridge between them visible. I clenched my fist to my side to prevent myself from reaching out to touch him, and I pressed my lips closed so I couldn’t lick him to claim ownership.
I had to avoid groping or socially unacceptable touching with my tongue…
Mate. The voice was familiar now as it echoed around my head, and it always relaxed me, but it didn’t seem to be Draven because he carried on casually undressing like I wasn’t debating the merits of grabbing him and proclaiming him mine.
Touch. The word was spoken almost on a sigh, and I lifted my hand like I’d been compelled, trailing my fingers to the waistband of Draven’s jeans, where he was about to flick the button unfastened.
He stopped moving, even seemed to hold his breath, and allowed me to smooth my palm over him then dip my fingers lower beneath the denim. I focused intently on where my hand was and the heat from his body as he waited with his arms behind him.
He sucked in a breath and stayed completely still as I leaned forward and kissed his chest.
“You’re making it kinda hard to shift,” he murmured.
“Just kinda hard?” I distracted myself by swirling wide circles over his pecs with my fingers.
“Very hard. I’m very h—” He shook his head. “I mean, it’s difficult to concentrate when you touch me.”
“Good.” I nodded, still fascinated with the texture and warmth of his skin.
“Besides, before we can go to your grandma’s, you need to try out your ride.” His voice was strained.
I stopped stroking his body and looked up, meeting his gaze as he watched me. “I thought I tried out my ride last night?”
He barked out a small laugh before he stepped away. “We really do need to hurry with this, though. You don’t want to arrive late and scare your grandma.”
I let my hand drop with reluctance, but he was right. I glanced at the sky. “Are you sure it’s overcast enough now, though?”
He arched an eyebrow, and I held up my hand.
“Don’t say anything. Only one of us is a dragon, I get it.”
He grinned. “But yes, it is gray enough right now.” He cupped my cheek. “And you can ask me any questions you like, any time you want.” Then he stepped back, and before I could even blink, a huge dragon stood in front of me.
The creature bowed his head, and for some reason, I lowered mine in return.
Such formality. The familiar voice rumbled a chuckle.
“Draven?” It didn’t sound at all like Draven.
But the dragon shook his head. Draven is in here, but I’m Aro. We aren’t one yet, so I’m in charge now. He chuckled again. Mostly, anyway.
He lowered himself to his knees and extended a wing. His giant eyes focused on me. Ridden a dragon before?
And I swear he closed one eye in a slow wink.
Then he looked at me, and I looked at his huge body, kneeling in front of me like I was some sort of queen. Someone important, anyway.
But you are.
I hadn’t even spoken, but he’d read my mind and supplied an answer.
You’ll learn to shield from the mindreading, don’t worry.
Good to know. I pressed my lips together and tried to think of nothing at all as he watched me expectantly before nodding toward the backpack of clothes. I picked it up and slipped it on, although if forgetting the clothing meant naked Draven, I wouldn’t complain.
Aro’s chuckle echoed through my head, and my face heated.
You ready?
I nodded and approached him, stretching my arm out to touch his scales. They were smooth and cold, and he shuddered as I touched him, smoke coming in small puffs from his nostrils.
I found purchase between his body and wing and stepped onto him like I was riding an escalator but then he lifted his wing and I was riding an elevator instead, except I was curled on my knees, hanging on for dear life.
He chuckled again. Don’t worry, I won’t let you fall.
The certainty in his voice relaxed me, and I scooted into a comfortable position, nestled against his neck and protected by his wings.
Are you comfortable?
I nodded then realized he couldn’t see me.
Good.
Of course. He didn’t need to see me. I glanced around, taking in the plumage of deep green feathers on the top of his head. As he turned his head from side to side, they sparkled gold in the dying light.
Do you like my feathers?
I didn’t know if dragons could hold their breath, but it felt like my answer might be important enough that he might be. He huffed a cough, and I picked up embarrassment in the sound. It was my turn to chuckle.
“They’re beautiful.” I touched the soft tip of one, and a shiver rippled through the powerful muscles beneath me.
Ready?
That was the only warning he gave me before he stood and began his run to the edge of the cliff. A scream froze in my throat as I watched the edge grow closer and closer… Then nothing.
We flew over the sea, skimming the surface of the vast empty space briefly before Aro swooped in a wide arc, taking us back above Draven’s house.
My favorite cliffs for perching, he noted, like the biggest tour-guide I’d ever met. And the whales around here taste pretty good, too.
I laughed, part in response to the feeling of my stomach dropping away from my body and my hair flying around my face, and part from the idea Aro thought I might be interested in what the local whales tasted like.
He huffed a little again, and I quieted my thoughts, focusing on the sheer exhilaration of the air rushing past me. I gripped the scales on his strong neck and settled down.
But all too soon, Aro plunged low again before coming to land in the wood between Draven’s and Saul’s houses. He sank to his knees, and confusion bubbled in the pit of my stomach as he extended his wing like a slide for me to reach the ground.
Once I was watching him again, the briefest thoughts of longing flickered through my mind but he didn’t say anything before Draven stood before me, his hands positioned in front of him as I swung the backpack to my feet. I opened it, ready to pull his clothes out.
“No need. We’ve only landed so I can check in on you, make sure you’re comfortable before a longer flight.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Sure. Aro has it all under control.”
“Aro…?” But whatever Draven might have followed up with was lost behind his cry of pain as ugly-looking black-green skin appeared on his upper arm.
They were nothing like Aro’s beautiful gold-tipped ones, and they had strands of something slimy gathered between them.
I stepped closer to inspect them, my hand already raised, but Draven stepped back. “No, you mustn’t touch them. It’s…it’s nothing. I’ve got it under control.” But his face was pale and sweat beaded on his forehead.
After a moment, he recovered himself and stood easier, even moving his hands from in front of his body briefly as he seemed to forget he was standing stark naked in local woods. I soaked up the view, though. It was a far better memory than my previous ones here.
I shuddered at the memory of being chased and refocused on the very naked guy in front of me, my skin heating as I remembered what we’d done.
“Mae?”
“Hm?” I snapped my eyes back to his face.
His tone suggested it wasn’t the first time he’d spoken to me, and my skin prick
led with the warmth of being discovered mid-ogle. “What? I mean, yes, I’m listening.”
He chuckled, a sound I loved, and it had the same notes as Aro’s, but this was all Draven, like they really were separate entities. “Remind me exactly where we’re going, again?”
“She lives in Ranget.” I reeled off her address and hoped it was useful to him. “I usually get there in a straight shot up the highway, but…”
He grinned. “Yeah. We might take a slightly more scenic route. Maybe even coastal. Do some whale spotting. Should still get there in about an hour, though. Good enough?”
I nodded, but before I’d even replied, Aro was back in front of me. I looked at the time. It was about 8:00 p.m. and growing nicely dark.
“Hello again.” Already, it was like talking to an old friend, and I pulled the backpack across my shoulders and approached Aro with none of the hesitation of the first time.
All aboard.
I giggled at him as I settled myself in the same space created by his wings, trusting him completely, and he seemed to preen a little as his feathers rose into a stunning crest, creating an impressive display.
His muscles rippled beneath me and we rose into the air, but I was no longer thinking of Aro. My thoughts were entirely with Draven and his muscular body. I scooted closer against Aro, almost wishing Draven could sit up here with me, to hold me in his arms and kiss me beneath the stars. So, we couldn’t exactly join the mile-high club, but I wouldn’t have been averse to trying.
Aro rocked slightly in his flight. Sorry. Air pocket.
“Hmm… Maybe stay out of my head, too? At least until I’ve learned that shielding thing.” I patted his neck again before pressing an affectionate kiss to one of the scales because I wasn’t really angry or even irritated.
Understood. He managed to sound a mixture of both chastened and pleased, and I leaned back a little to enjoy the view and watch the rapid approach of Ranget.
As we grew closer, I pressed closer to Aro’s neck, as close to his ear as I dared while we were moving so high and fast. “There are some woods behind her house if you want extra cover.”
He tilted his head a little.
“Or if Draven does, I guess.” After all, dragons and naked men didn’t usually fall from the sky.