A fierce look of triumph and happiness flared in Bas’s eyes, and Bridget didn’t know if she was more in danger of him than any dream monster.
12
Bridget had been thinking of kissing him, and it took every ounce of Bas’s strength not to take advantage of that. It certainly didn’t stophimthinking about it as he drove her home through the tight Dublin streets and across the river. Bridget was chewing on her lips, her eyes unfocused and not saying anything.
“You okay?” Bas asked when they got stuck at traffic lights.
“Yeah, it’s going to sound silly, but I’m trying to remember how dirty my apartment is before I let you up there?” she replied.
Bas laughed. “That’s not going to bother me, and it shouldn’t bother you either. Magicians are all chaotic, and cleaning really isn’t high on their priorities list.”
“But your house is perfect…”
“And cleaned by magic. You really see Valentine running about with a feather duster anytime soon?”
Bridget stopped chewing her lips as laughter bubbled through them. “I don’t know about Valentine, but I think you’d look cute in a maid’s outfit.”
Bas pulled a face. “Don’t have the legs for it. Cleaning spells are easier. Honestly, I don’t know which relative set up the spells, but they have remained strong. The Greatdrakes have lived in that house for centuries.”
“Explains all the books,” Bridget said with a small sigh. “You might struggle to get me out of that library.”
“You can stay as long as you want,” Bas replied.
How about forever?his dragon echoed. It was not going back to sleep. Maybe he needed to have a talk with Taranis. Was it really his dragon, or was it a side of his personality that he just referred to as his dragon?
Bas pulled into a park down the street from the store’s entrance way. “Marge first or your apartment?”
“Marge. She’s going to ask questions and probably flirt with you and think that we are...that… you know...” Bridget struggled.
“That we are dating?”
Bridget coughed. “That’s the sanitized version of what she would be thinking. Trust me, I have seen her reading preferences, and let’s just say they are adventurous.”
“Then let’s play that up. I don’t want her panicking that there’s some monster loose in Dublin because she talks to everyone,” Bas replied. A thought occurred to him, and he paused with his hand on the door. “Unless it would make you uncomfortable at the thought of dating me?”
“I’ll keep that a secret, like you know, the dragon shit you haven’t told me about,” Bridget replied with a wicked gleam in her eyes.
“Oh, like that, is it,” Bas said, opening the door for her.
“Yup.”
Marge was pouring herself some tea from a Royal Albert pot covered in roses, and she beamed at them as they approached the counter.
“Well, well, if it isn’t Basset Greatdrakes. You are making a habit of this, my boy,” she said and then tapped her cheek.
Bas dutifully kissed it. “Marge, would you be terribly upset if I whisked your Bridget away for a few days? I have a place in the north I would love to show her. It’s by the sea. Terrible weather is due, but it would be a good excuse to stay inside. By the fire.”
Bridget made a choking sound, but Marge threw her head back and cackled wildly.
“Praise the goddess! She’s finally going to get out for a few days. I’ve heard of the mystical powers that the Greatdrakes have, but this is truly a miracle.”
“Thanks, Marge. Just tell him I never date, why don’t you,” Bridget muttered, her ears going a dusky pink.
Marge’s grin turned even dirtier. “Don’t worry about that. I’m sure a clever lad will see you’ve just been selective. He can blow the cobwebs out for you.”
“She did say I’d look good wielding a feather duster,” Bas replied, making Marge howl.
“I’m going to pack my bag, and if you keep teasing me, I’m going to change my mind and stay home,” Bridget declared.
