“Plan,”Sasha’s dragon whispered.“I love to explore unfamiliar places.”
“Aren’t you worried about not flying as often and not seeing your parents?” Max asked, his curiosity rising. Sasha was such a complex woman with her dual personalities. He’d have thought she and her dragon would be more similar, but her dragon half seemed more impulsive and quick to temper. Yet her quips and smart-arse comments amused the heck out of him.
“Sasha and I both miss our parents,”the dragon said.“But we’re happy with our adventure too. They protected us and forbade anything fun.”
“It’s a parents’ job to protect their children. I worry about Noel,” Max said.
“They need to learn balance and stop trying to marry us off to Bruceous,”the dragon snapped.“Who is that?”
Max pivoted in the direction Sasha gestured. “It looks like a child and two women.”
“What do you want to do?” Sasha asked. “I can investigate the barrier once night falls again.”
“They’ve seen us. The kid is waving. If we turn around now, it’s going to seem strange. They’re more likely to remember our rudeness,” Max said.
“Okay, so we continue our meander along the beach, exchange pleasantries, and go on our way,” Sasha said. “Noel, look at the shells over there. Let’s see if they’re different from the ones we collected at home.”
Max drifted after Sasha, dividing his attention between Noel and Sasha and the two women. One had bright red hair while the other had brown.
Although they watched the child closely, they constantly chattered, their laughter floating through the air. Perhaps they’d pass each other without them getting a close look at Noel.
At that moment, Noel spotted the other child and beelined toward them. Well, there went that faint possibility. Let’s hope the child wasn’t an obnoxious twat who’d comment on Noel’s differences. Max took long strides to catch up with Sasha and Noel. By the time he reached them, the two children were busy discussing the shells Noel had collected.
“Max,”Sasha spoke through their mind link.“I can smell dragon on the child, but they’re humans.”
“Hello,” a friendly voice said. “I see you’ve met my daughter.”
“I’m a boy today,” the girl shouted.
The brown-haired woman rolled her eyes. “Joanna, it’s rude to shout in front of strangers.”
“But this is Noel,” Joanna said. “He told me, so he’s not a stranger.”
The redhead chuckled. “You can’t fault the logic. Are you here for a holiday? We’re staying in a cottage not far from here.”
“Yes,” Max said. “Work has been stressful lately, and we wanted to take a break from the bustle on the mainland.”
“I get that,” the brown-haired woman said. “We’ll let you get on with your walk. Maybe we’ll see you around again.”
Max forced a smile. “Noel loves to walk on the beach.”
“Joanna does too. I figure if she races around and uses up her excess energy, she’ll sleep better. Nice to meet you.” She shepherded her daughter along and continued walking with her friend while he and Sasha stared after them.
Their first helpful clue.
13 – Mysterious Humans and a Reunion
Sasha swallowed her shout of glee as she glanced over her shoulder at the retreating women and child. The women had smelled strongly of dragons, even though both were human. Sudden tightness in her chest had her pressing her hand to her breastbone and counteracting her initial excitement. Friend or foe?
“Max,” she murmured. “The women bore the scent of dragons too.” She hesitated then decided keeping the details from Max was silly after the intimacy between them. “My guess is they’ve had sex with a dragon. Different dragons,” she added when Max’s eyebrows rose. “Each of them has a dragon lover.”
Max reached for her and drew her closer.“What do you want to do?”
“I should be able to follow their tracks later and trail them back to where the women are staying. If I observe in secret, I might learn more or at least spot another dragon.”
“You’re not going alone,” Max said.
“I’ll be perfectly safe.”
