I pull a coat from the hall closet and wrap it around her, then tug a hat over her shiny auburn hair. I notice the engagement ring on her hand just before I cover it with a mitten. Better that thing stays hidden. I want to drop it into the nearest volcano. “Where are we that I need to get so bundled up this late in March?”
“Someplace cold,” I say, intentionally vague.
“I hate the cold.”
I flash a wolfish smile. “Stay close to me. I’ll keep you warm.”
“Give me a break,” she mumbles.
I step closer to her and wrap a hand around the side of her head. Our eyes lock and she leans toward me, her lips parting. I don’t even think she knows she’s doing it. “My core temperature is 105 degrees,” I say, my voice all grit. “I run hot, baby. Your own personal furnace.”
She seems to catch herself and knocks my hand away. “Let’s get on with it.”
I open the door and lead her out into the early-spring sunshine. We start walking toward the path that leads into the woods. Wyoming is stunning this time of year, and the air feels crisp and clean in my lungs, the scent of pine trees frosted in light snowfall a lingering perfume in the air.
“You’re not wearing a coat,” she says, seeming to notice my T-shirt for the first time.
“No.” I watch her out of the corner of my eye.
“Don’t you ever get cold?”
I slant a cockeyed grin in her direction. “Never.”
“Never?”
“I run hot, remember?” I waggle an eyebrow at her.
She scowls.
“Dragons are impervious to extreme temperatures. I sometimes feel the heat or the cold, but it doesn’t bother me. I can’t burn in fire or freeze to death.”
“Oh.” She stares at me like she might ask me something more but doesn’t.
“How did you meet Roman?” My voice is abnormally low. I hate saying the bastard’s name, but I tell myself Ineed to know how close she is to the Saint’s Order. Deep down though, my curiosity serves another purpose. If I can figure out what made her fall in love with him, maybe I can make her fall in love with me.
“At a bookstore. Why? Are you looking for tips to pick up women?”
I snort. “No. I’m trying to figure out how a woman like you ends up with a guy like him, then ends up almost marrying him without knowing a thing about him.”
She shoves her hands into her pockets. “Just lucky I guess.”
I growl.
“Do you have to make that noise? You sound like a bear.”
I laugh. “You should be thanking me. Might keep away the real bears.”
“There are bears here?” Her gaze sweeps over the woods.
“Occasionally.” I fan a wing out to surround her shoulders. “I promise I’ll protect you.”
“I’ll never get used to that,” she mutters with a glance toward my wing. “How does that work, anyway, I mean with your T-shirt?”
“The magic in our wings rearranges the molecules in the cloth. Basically, our clothing parts to accommodate them.”
She stares at my wing for a beat and down our bond I sense her urge to reach out and touch it, but she quickly turns her attention back to the trail and doesn’t.
I frown and tuck the wing away. “So you met Romanat a bookstore. And then what? Love at first sight?” I can’t keep the irritation from my voice.
