“I’m not stalking you, honest. I just don’t know where I’m going,” I called.
He swung round, his expression discouraging. “The stones are all around us.”
“Is it safe to shift just anywhere?”
His breath in was very controlled, as if he were fighting back temper, then he jerked his head. “I’ll show you where I usually leave my things. They’ve never yet been disturbed.”
“Thanks.” I scrambled after him, only realising as I felt a squelch underfoot that this field had once upon a time contained cows. Well, great. I’d need to clean my shoe before I got back in Archer’s car.
The moon disappeared behind a rare cloud as we reached where Archer had been heading for, a huge tree with spreading branches. The night was pitch black under its canopy, and he swiped his phone to flashlight so he could see to place his clothes in a neat pile as he swiftly stripped.
Every single part of me was longing to watch him take his clothes off and drink in the amazing body that he so obviously had, but this was the head of a family, and I was alone in a dark field with him in the middle of the night. If I upset him, I would have more to worry about than just losing my lift home.
I concentrated on damping down my lustful thoughts before I shifted—once in dragon form, my telepathic ability tosend thoughts would kick in. Dragons’ thoughts could only be heard if they were directly aimed and intended to be heard, but I never trusted that mine wouldn’t somehow leak out around the edges.
After undressing, I reluctantly removed the silver cuff from my wrist. The rest of my treasure was kept safely hidden away in my bedroom at home, but I loved having this piece with me wherever I went. My brothers told me I was stupid to run the risk of losing it, but silver was soft enough to close the cuff tightly each time I put it on, so they were wrong—there was no risk. Just as well, since dragons who lost their treasure either died of a broken heart or lost their minds.
I pressed a kiss to the cuff before hiding it amongst my clothes. Stepping out from the shelter of the tree, I shifted as quickly as I could, before the temptation to look at Archer got the better of me. My dragon scented the air, and I’d unfurled my wings, about to fly, when the moon emerged once more.
The breath left my lungs in a rush. Only feet away from me was a twelve-foot-high ancient stone, and something about it… Whether it was the moonlight or whether it was this place, I wasn’t sure, but it felt imbued with something otherworldly.
I stood staring at it for what felt like forever. The only thing that brought me back to myself was the sound of wings in the night sky. Once heard, never forgotten. I looked up and he was there, an enormous dragon, black in the moonlight and so beautiful that my heart ached with it.
I launched myself upwards. As always, the first few strokes of my wings were brutally hard, fighting gravity to drag my bulk into the sky from a standing start, but it became easier. When I reached a comfortable height, I was able to snap my wings to create speed and glide in a large circle, swinging out over the stones of Avebury, seeing the pattern the creators of this place had intended, even though some of the stones were missing.
The shadows of the stones cast by moonlight made it look almost as if there were a second henge within the first. They were beautiful, mysterious, and pulled at something deep inside me. I flew around the entire circle and along the lines of stones leading to and away from it. This place had been designed to be seen from above, and I was sure that dragons had made it. I felt it in every beat of my wings, every breath of frigid air. Ibelongedhere.
Lost in beauty and mystery, I’d briefly forgottenhim.I saw something big moving over the field beneath me and swerved to get a better look. Too late, I realised it was Archer’s shadow I’d seen—I almost crashed into him. He rolled swiftly out of my way, a small blast of fire lighting the sky. He wasnotamused.
I should have instantly thought an apology to him, but I panicked and headed away, hoping desperately that he’d calm down and would still give me a lift back to the hotel. And that he wouldn’t tell Mr Shaw that I’d almost cannoned into the head of a family.
Once I’d got over my near-miss, I looked around as I flew. The countryside was ghostly beneath me, the shades of grey of my dragon’s monochromatic sight adding to the moonlight’s effect.
Without warning, a huge, grass-covered mound reared up in front of my nose. Standing on one wingtip and flinging myself sideways in an awkward somersault, I somehow avoided smashing into it.
A few inelegant lurches and much beating of wings later, I had my balance back and flew around the hill a few times, intrigued. It was a strange thing—more than a hundred feet tall, with a flat top, standing in a level field.
I looked back towards Avebury. I could see the gigantic dark dragon still flying there, long, graceful sweeps of his wings keeping height with apparent ease. I wanted to explore thecountryside further but didn’t dare. I didn’t know enough about this part of the country. The last thing I needed was to suddenly find myself over a town where any number of people might look up and see me.
I headed back to the tiny village of Avebury, built among the stones, determined to keep out of Archer’s way. Hopefully, by the time sunrise came, he’d have forgotten all about my little accident.
Chapter Seven
ARCHER
Somewhat to my surprise, Ollie Shaw was waiting by my car at seven o’clock. His fair hair was tinted pink by the rising sun, and his eyes glowed with joy.
And all the time, my dragon was murmuring to me in a thrumming voice. One word, over and over again.Mine. Because when Ollie shifted, he was an exquisitely beautiful copper dragon with iridescent scales that shone in the light from my phone.
The problem with that? Copper was my treasure. I knew Ollie wasn’treallycopper, but my dragon didn’t seem to care. He wanted to take, to hoard, tokeep.
I told my dragon to shut the fuck up. Grumbling, he subsided.
“Get in,” I said shortly.
“That wasincredible,”Ollie said, as I did up my seatbelt. The wonder on his face—he looked the way this place made me feel, as if I remembered it on a level I wasn’t aware of.
“The stones feel almostsentient,” Ollie continued.“I mean, not sentient exactly, but there’s something there, as if they know what their purpose is and we’re just too stupid to understand.”
