I startled as Lexen reached out and took my hand. I expected a quick squeeze, but he held it, silently supporting me. His thumb was even doing this slow glide up and down, unhurried and smooth. It was so ver…
I didn’t recallone moment of my sleep for the rest of the night. No more nightmares, no tossing and turning in restless slumber. I simply passed out and did not wake until the dragon fire in the mountain was burning brightly. A cool breeze brushed across my face and I struggled to get my eyes open. When I finally did, I was amazed to see that there was a panel of doors along the back wall of Lexen’s room. All of them had been pushed back to leave an entire wall open, showcasing the city and the stunning stone that made up this mountain.
I lay there for many moments, snuggled and warm under the thick covers, just breathing it all in. It was so peaceful. I knew Lexen wasn’t in the bed any longer. He emitted so much heat that it was immediately obvious when he was close. I was just wondering where he’d gotten to when another whoosh of cold air hit me. I bolted upright as a dragon appeared in that open wall. Qenita’s huge white head wiggled inside and a gust of breath left her, sending icy particles through the room to slap me in the face.
“Um, hi,” I squeaked, holding the covers up to my chest as I wiped the icicles off my face. “Lexen is not here, sorry. Please don’t eat me, I’ll probably taste terrible. I’ve literally been living on Fruit Loops for months.”
Who was I kidding? Fruit Loops were delicious. She was going to love chomping down on me.
We silently stared at each other from across the room, and I wondered if she understood English. I also wondered where the freak Lexen was. It was his job to stop Qenita from eating me. As if she’d heard that thought, the dragon let out another snort of air. This time I ducked before more ice could hit me. A soft thud had me flinging my head up again in time to see Lexen walk across her back and drop down into the room.
He looked wild and forbidden in that moment, his hair tousled, eyes lit up with so much white light it was almost eclipsing the dark. My mouth suddenly went dry as a desert, my body doing that thing again where it ached for him.Traitor. My body was a freaking traitor.
“She’s not going to eat you, and what the hell is a Fruit Loop?”
His words returned some of my clarity, and I focused on how amazing it must be to fly on a dragon. Sure, I’d gone on the magic carpet thing, but that wasn’t the same. To ride on the back of such a powerful beast as it ducked and dived between the mountains … I couldn’t even imagine.
Lexen ran a hand through his sexy disarray of hair, pushing the longer side over, leaving the symbols standing out starkly. Despite the chill in the air, and the chill from his dragon, he wore only a black fitted shirt and black pants with heavy boots. As I stared, he tilted his head to the side, observing me much closer than usual.
“Would you like to meet her?” he asked, holding his hand out to me again.
Without a thought of hesitation, I placed my palm in his, already moving before he could help me.
“Slow down,” he warned me. “Qenita might seem domesticated, but I assure you she’s anything but. The draygones are wild, magnificent beasts. I’m honored to call her a friend.” He started leading me closer to where Qenita had her head resting. Most of her massive body was out of the room, her wings slowly flapping to keep her from dropping lower.
Lexen stopped near her right eye. “This is Emma,” he said, placing his free hand onto her snout. “She’s my friend.”
He eyed me and I chuckled, low, so as not to startle Qenita and get eaten by accident. “Bet you never thought you’d say that about a human,” I murmured, leaning in close to him.
Before he could voice whatever smartass reply was coming, Qenita sent out a ring of icy moisture; it swirled in the air, crashing against my chest. The sudden blast of cold filled my veins and I gasped a few times.
Lexen laughed. “She likes you.”
I rubbed my hand across my collarbone, trying to bring some warmth back. “Hate to see what she does if she doesn’t like someone,” I grumbled.
“Usually she smashes them with her tail,” was his prompt reply.
I almost took a step back, but I didn’t want either of them to realize how much of a scaredy human I was right now. Being this close to a dragon, it was the way I felt when I went to the zoo and stared into the eyes of the lions and tigers. There was something so predatory in their gazes; the lazy way they watched told me they knew exactly what I was doing, cataloguing every one of my movements, waiting for the right moment to attack. Yep, it was that feeling, just times a thousand.
With Lexen at my back, Qenita didn’t feel like a threat, but I also wasn’t going to be comfortable in her presence anytime soon. I was relieved and disappointed when Lexen released my hand, pressing both of his palms into her long snout and leaning in close to whisper to her. As the breezes picked up around us, we backed away and she flapped harder, wiggling out of the room. Lexen and I watched as her huge body gracefully soared away.
Everything in my body was thrumming. I felt alive in a way I could never remember feeling.
A real dragon.
I opened and closed my mouth, blurting out, “Most human guys have a dog, maybe two. A snake if they are particularly daredevil. You have a dragon as a … a friend.” I could never call Qenita a pet. She was about as far from a pet as any being could be.
“I’m not human, Emma Walters. Do you need a demonstration?”
Before I could tell him I definitely didn’t need a demonstration, twin balls of fire rose from his hands. The heat was immediate and intense and I took a step back, ending up on the small balcony area. A balcony without a railing, because it was clearly used as landing pad for a dragon.
The fire winked out in an instant and Lexen reached out for me before I could fall to my death. He hauled me inside and left me to stand there like a clumsy idiot while he shut those sliding doors.
“Guess I know why you like your showers so hot,” I said. “You’re like fire … and Qenita is ice?”
He nodded just as there was a hard knock on the door, followed by another almost immediately. The door was then slammed open and a harried-looking Jero rushed inside. “Emma is not in her roo—”
His words died off when he caught sight of me standing there shivering in the cool air. I shook off some of my chill, narrowing my eyes on him. “Good job on the name.”
