Are dream monsters real? I need data. I need to check my books.
Bas grinned, seeing his opportunity. “We can eat these, and then, if you like, I can show you the library.”
“Library? You guys have a library too?” Bridget asked, her whole face lighting up.
“We are an ancient family of magicians, Bridget. Of course, there is a library. A big one.”
Bridget grinned. “Okay, but cookies first.”
The dragon inside Bas that had been prowling and irritable relaxed as she took her first bite. It wanted to feed and coddle her, which was ridiculous. Bridget’s eyes went wide as she chewed, and Bas smirked.
He couldn’t resist asking, “What do you think of my cookie?”
Bridget’s brown cheeks flushed a dusky rose as she licked the chocolate off her thumb. God, he really didn’t need that visual, but fuck, his whole body was now yearning to grab her hand and lick her fingers.
“I’m going to need more time to decide,” Bridget said, reaching for another. “But I’m very interested in eating more.”
11
Bridget’s mind was racing. Bas was right about her needing sugar. She was going to need to eat the whole batch of chocolate chip deliciousness just to keep her brain working.
She was fixated on the idea of a creature waking up and hunting dreamers. She could feel the threads of obsession wrapping around her. And it wasn’t just about the monsters.
Watching Bas bake for her had unlocked a kink she didn’t know she had. She had run her mouth about cookies and didn’t know if she had been flirting or not. If she had been, he had flirted back, so she guessed it was reciprocated.
If she had thought he was hot before—and she had—then it was nothing compared to the slow heat that was starting to burn through her now.
She wanted to blame it on how good he smelled and how he enticed her with baked treats and magic. They contributed, but it was more than that. For the first time, she felt like maybe another person would understand half the crazy shit that went through her mind on a daily basis.
The house was ridiculously huge, so when Bas offered her a guest suite, she knew it would be an actual suite.
She was also trying really hard not to show how freaked out she was about the idea of some mythical creature hunting her. Bas was right that she didn’t know how to deal with that. She hated it, but she would be foolish to pass up his offer of help. Bridget wasn’t foolish. She just didn’t want to say yes right away.
“You want to tell me about the dragon thing now?” Bridget asked as she followed Bas up a staircase. Really, his ass was a work of art.
“Nope. I need to have some mystery to convince you to come and stay here,” he replied, sending a smile over his shoulder that had her missing a step.
“I’m not going to drop it.”
“I know you won’t. It’s why I’m not telling you yet,” Bas teased. He pushed open a set of double doors, and all thoughts of sexy little grins and dragons went clean out of her head.
“Books,” she squeaked and stared up. The library wasn’t just a large room. It was a godsdamned tower that spiraled up and up. She couldn’t remember seeing towers on the house when she had been outside, but holy shit, there was a tower of books.
“Is it catalogued?” she asked, a little breathless at the sight.
“It is. Most of it is magical knowledge,” Bas said slyly, his voice dropping to a seductive whisper. “Somany secrets. The real history of the human and magical world. You could spend a lifetime in here, reading, and never get through them all. What would you choose to learn first, I wonder.”
Oh, dear god. She really didn’t need his already deep voice going down another octave. “Are you...talking dirty to me, Greatdrakes?”
“Why? Is it working?” he asked, then bit his lip and wagged his brows at her.
“Wanker,” she said with a laugh.
“That’s not a no.”
Bridget stared up into his laughing eyes. “Yeah, it’s working.”
“Then my plan is working too,” he said. He gestured around him. “I can’t go through all this hunting rare dream creatures on my own. Help me. Marge won’t mind, especially when we tell her that you’re in danger. If she puts up a fight, I’ll get Dad to call her. I’ll pimp him out if I have to.”
