Bridget made a disgruntled sound. “It wasn’t up to you to begin with.”
“I know. Please don’t blame my dad or brothers for it. I took it on because I’m...the soft one. I always have been.”
“Being kind and nurturing doesn’t make you soft. It makes you strong. You could have let it harden and twist you. Instead, you chose the hardest path by keeping your heart gentle. I wasn’t anywhere near strong,” Bridget replied and reached for him.
Bas went to her because his heart was hurting in a way it hadn’t in years. Bridget wrapped an arm around his waist, and they kept eating in silence.
“I don’t think I’m ever going to be able to stop being the one to feed and fuss, by the way, especially over you. It’s a dragon thinganda me thing. Is that going to be a problem?” he asked. She was so independent that he knew he would stifle and frustrate her if he didn’t rein himself in.
“Bas, I’ve never had anyone to feed or fuss over me, as you put it. I think it’s just your love language, and it’s not anything to be ashamed about.” Bridget tugged on his shirt to make himlower his head. “Besides, if I ever complain about a hot magician who cooks, I’ve clearly gone crazy, and you have my permission to lock me up.”
Bas was about to kiss her when Valentine walked in. He took one look at them and walked out again without a word. Smart man.
Bas pulled Bridget close and enjoyed the taste of her mouth just as much as he did the cake.
“We are both too tired to get up into any real mischief tonight,” she said when they finally came up for air. “But I was wondering if I could sleep with you? You really fucking scared me today, Bas, and I don’t think my nervous system is going to settle without having you close.”
Bas kissed her forehead. “I would like that too. That fucking creature still wants you and boasted as much. Until it’s dead, I’m going to want to be as close to you as possible.”
“It said that? You talked to it?” she pressed.
Bas told her what had happened inside of Lily Beauchamp’s head while he covered the remains of the cake and took her upstairs.
“You were out of it for nearly an hour, and it only sounds like it was minutes for you,” Bridget said as she crawled into the middle of his bed.
Bas stared at her, his brain and heart and dick all fighting for blood at once. Gods, how was he going to sleep at all? He lay down beside her and tried to think unsexy thoughts as she burrowed down into him.
“You know, I’ve always hated being touched for too long, but you always feel so good,” she murmured sleepily.
“It’s because you know I’m going to keep you safe from dream monsters and everything else.” Bas turned off the lamp and buried his nose in her hair. The dragon inside of him settled, content to hold her close.Mine.
“You better, Greatdrakes. At least until I can learn enough magic to do it myself,” Bridget said and sighed. “I really want to learn magic, Bas.”
“Sleep now, we can worry about magic in the morning,” he replied, putting his arm around her and letting exhaustion pull him under.
21
Bridget couldn’t remember ever sleeping so well. She felt a thousand kilos lighter now that Bas knew her history and astonishingly, he still wanted her. She didn’t know what she had done to get so lucky. She wasn’t even concerned that a dream monster had fixated on her because she had woken weirdly happy.
Bridget had really wanted to stay in bed with Bas’s big, sexy body wrapped around her all day, but she knew that would have to wait. She couldn’t stay safe in bed when no one else in Dublin would be.
They needed to find the damn dream monster, so Bridget and Bas were in the library where they had been all morning.
For once, the library hadn’t had as much allure as the bed. Bridget was trying hard not to think about waking up next to so much hot, sleepy magician. It had been a test of self-control not to slip her hands down and take advantage of the morning wood that had been pressing into her lower back.
Bridget’s libido was usually a fickle thing that came and went. It wasn’t going anywhere now, and her need to climb all over Bas was getting out of control. The emotions of the daybefore, the irrational fear that she could lose him, had made the ache even worse.
Sitting across from her in a comfortable armchair, Bas covered his face with the book he was reading and groaned. “Bridget, if you don’t stop thinking about sex, I’m not going to be held responsible for my actions.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said innocently, her lips twitching. The book came off his face and he glared at her, eyes shining. “Ohh, scary. I’ve woken the dragon, have I?”
Bas’s expression shifted, and the air between them heated and charged. His voice was low enough to be a threat when he growled, “You remember when I said I was very good with my mind? You would do well to heed the warning, my little hawk.”
Bridget didn’t see him move, but suddenly, she felt hands sliding up her calves under her jeans. What the?
Tell me if you want me to stop,Bas said, his blue eyes now burning with magic as well as lust.
No one had ever looked at her like that before. She had never been the sole focus of anyone’s universe, and to have a dragon’s attention was a test to see if your monkey brain made you run.
