“You are so beautiful, Layla Price.” Rake eased his hips away. Lifting a hand, he stroked Layla’s curls back from her face as he gave her another sweet kiss, though this one had none of his magics in it. “How do you feel?”
“Like someone filled me up with sunlight,” Layla breathed, not ever wanting to lose this luminous feeling. Her lips curled in pleasure, and she realized it was her Dragon smiling deep inside her, inundated with bliss.
“Good.” Rake stroked her curls again, and the soothing sensation plus the warm light still washing through Layla made her sleepy. She closed her eyes with a smile and Rake chuckled as he kissed her forehead, then Layla felt him nod to Sylvania. They slid gently out of bed and pulled the covers up around Layla’s chin, swaddling her in golden sunlight and warmth. Layla heard them dress, but stayed where she was; cozy and blissful.
Sylvania pressed her lips to Layla’s brow as Rake left one more gentle kiss upon her lips. And then the duo eased from the room, the door-latch clicking softly behind them.
CHAPTER 11 – FRIENDS
It was much later when Layla finally woke. Feeling ridiculously well, but her bladder also ridiculously full, she glanced around the room and found she was alone, then slipped from bed and padded to the bathroom. Peeing with the door open, she heaved a sigh as she relieved herself, her eyes tearing from sweet relief. She was pulling toilet paper and wiping when the door to her apartment was suddenly slung open – Dusk bustling in dressed in one of his usual impeccable Italian suits with a black laptop tucked under his arm.
Layla was hasty with the toilet paper, but Dusk’s glance was faster, seeing she was not in bed and flicking quickly to the wide-open bathroom door. Their gazes connected and Layla froze like a rabbit on the toilet, one arm covering her breasts but all too obvious what she was up to – entirely naked. Dusk blinked, and then an enormous grin split his lovely lips and he laughed, full and merry. Setting the laptop upon her bed, he gathered up Layla’s royal blue silk robe from where Sylvania had draped it over the headboard, then strode to the bathroom, offering it to Layla as he grinned at her with merry summer-blue eyes.
“Nothing I haven’t already seen.” He chuckled genially, his eyes twinkling with mischief as Layla snatched her robe from his hand, turning to flush the toilet and slinging the silk on quickly.
“You could try knocking when you bust into a woman’s room.” Layla grumped sourly as she tied the sash. Though it was rather funny now as Dusk grinned at her like a lecherous old man.
“Glad to see you’re up and about.” He chuckled, still grinning and playful. “Sylvania told me about her and Rake’s little visit. I see it helped.”
“None of your business.” Layla’s cheeks burned; she couldn’t control the blush that rolled through her in a hot wave. But she could tell her Dragon was feeling better as it raised hackles high to either fight with Dusk or fuck him – clearly her passions were back online.
“You’re not the only person those two have healed, Layla.” Dusk smiled at her, lifting one dark eyebrow.
“You?” Layla blinked at him.
“Many times.” Dusk nodded genially, but offered no explanation as he made a welcoming gesture to Layla’s breakfast table. She saw a steaming dinner of chicken soup and steak with a chimichurri sauce plus a side of asparagus already set upon the table, and wondered that she’d not heard the Catering staff when they’d set it all up. She must have been sleeping deeply, and though Layla knew something had woken her, she frowned, not able to place what it had been.
Perhaps the Catering staff on their way out the door.
Layla sat and began to eat; famished. Her Dragon seemed to be making up for lost days as she piled her plate high and ladled an enormous bowl of soup, tucking in with her belly roaring.
“Did you bring all this?” Layla eyeballed Dusk as he sat in the chair at corners to hers – it was becoming a thing with them, sharing a meal. But he only cut a piece of steak for his plate, shaking his head as he poured a bottle of cabernet.
“No, Catering brought all this, though I was specific about what to bring. Chicken soup to replenish electrolytes from your fever, steak to fortify your blood, and asparagus to clean out your kidneys from your near-change.”
“And the wine?” Layla grinned as she reached out to collect her wineglass and have a sip. It was full and mellow, a lovely bold cabernet that complemented the steak perfectly.
“Well, who doesn’t like a little wine with dinner?” Dusk grinned with delight, then had a sip of wine also. Setting it aside, he reached for the laptop, lifting it and placing it beside Layla’s plate with a knowing quirk of one dark eyebrow.
“What’s this?” Layla asked, glancing at the laptop.
“This,” Dusk spoke with a little smile, “is something the Madame approved for you.”
“Your doing?” Layla raised an eyebrow, wondering what this new scheme of his was.
“Maybe.” Dusk gave her a pleased smile, a flash of iridescence moving through his hair. “Open it.”
“Okay.” Taking another gulp of wine, Layla set her glass a reasonable distance away from the laptop, then opened it. It turned on instantly, already open to what she realized was some sort of odd Skype session. There were no apps open, though a series of strange symbols flowed along the bottom of the view, like if Arabic and old Norse runes had a bastard language-child. Blinking at the view, Layla saw the kitchen of her old house on Capitol Hill in Seattle through an arched craftsman-style room ingress. She saw the scarred wood of their well-used dining table, and chairs waiting at the table. On the other side of the connection, Layla heard an odd series of chimes, similar to the gongs the Hotel used to announce formal dinners.
And then she heard yelling in the background, her housemate and best friend Arron Jacobs’ strong tenor voice yelling out, “Off your asses, kids! She’s online!”
“Layloo!!”
A chorus of happy voices squealed her name and Layla’s eyes filled with tears as her housemates in Seattle suddenly poured into view, eagerly thumping down into the stout dining chairs with bright eyes and smiles.
Layla couldn’t see. Her eyes were filled with tears as she laughed, feeling a joy stronger even than Sylvania and Rake’s blissful healing. There they were, her human friends. The people she loved; the ones she’d left behind to protect from her Dragon’s catastrophic magic. They’d spoken on the phone these past weeks, but she’d not seen their faces. And now she laughed, wiping away tears even as they spilled, her heart flooding with warmth – her Dragon exploding sunlight through Layla’s veins as she roared with joy.
“Ohmigod, Layloo!!” Celia Carron laughed brightly, a smiling pout on her cute Hispanic lips as she pushed her chunky horn-rimmed glasses up her button nose. Wearing an artsy smock, her long dark hair was bundled up into a messy bun atop her head with crimson chopsticks. “Are you crying?! You’re gonna make me cry!! Ohmigod! Don’t do that!”
