The cabin is as small as I expected, with just enough room for a small kitchen, a single bed against the wall, and an empty spot on the floor where he’s drawn a chalk circle, I’m assuming for some kind of ritual. Once I manage to clear the rancid scent from my nose, I can smell smoke and charred wood. I march over to the stove and put my hand on it.
“Still warm. He can’t have left more than a few hours ago,” I announce. “Do you think Alenor warned him?”
Drax shakes his head. “Even with the time it took to circle in the air and spot the cabin, it hasn’t been long enough for Rune to have gotten out of here without us knowing about it.”
“Right. So let’s toss this place and see what we can find.”
He grunts in agreement, and we get to work digging through Rune’s pitiful belongings. He callsthisa hoard? My dragon scoffs at the idea. There isn’t much to find except dried herbs and animal bones. I reach under his bed and my fingers brushsomething that feels like it might be a book. I slide it out and grip the cover to open it, but it doesn’t budge.
“That’s weird,” I mutter, tugging on it a little harder, working my nails into the small gap between the cover and the pages. An electric zap bites at my fingers, making me yelp and drop the book.
“What’s wrong?” Drax hurries over to me, eyeing the book suspiciously.
“That book just zapped me.” I nudge it with my foot and glare at it.
He grips my wrist and brings my hand to his face, his nostrils flaring as he sniffs my fingers. His eyes darken immediately, and a growl vibrates between his teeth.
“It had a curse on it. Don’t worry, it’s only a small one.”
“Asmallcurse?” I try to tug my hand away, but Drax tightens his grip. “What the hell is a small curse? Am I going to shrivel up like Belinda? Is my dick going to fall off?”
“No, only your fingers,” he says calmly.
“My fingers?” I yelp again.
For supposedly being my mate, Drax seems offensively cavalier about the idea of my fingers falling off.
“I said ‘don’t worry,’ pretty dragon. I can fix it.”
“How are you gooooo…” My demand turns into a moan, and I stumble forward, bracing my free hand against his sturdy chest while he wraps that insanely skilled tongue of his around my tingling fingers.
My cock swells. I try to claw back the pulse of lust before it can reach the bond, but it’s impossible, like trying to stop the wind. Drax rumbles a pleased sound around my fingers, and the numb tingling feeling vanishes. I at least manage to swallow the whimper that tightens in my throat as he uncurls his tongue from around my fingers.
He strides over to the open door and opens his mouth, letting out a puff of noxious green smoke that rises into the air and quickly disappears into the dark sky.
“All better,” he announces.
I flex my damp fingers a few times just to check that they’re working, and then I nod.
“Thank you.” I clear my throat and look at the book on the floor. “It’s pretty much the only thing that has the potential to be valuable in this whole place. So, I guess we should take it with us?” I bend down to pick it up, and Drax’s strong arms wrap around my waist, hauling me back.
“Do you have a death wish, dragon?”
“It only cursed me when I tried to open it,” I argue, and he rolls his eyes.
“I’d rather not risk it.” He grabs the pillow off the bed and shakes it out of the flannel pillowcase, then he uses the case to pick up the book so he doesn’t have to touch it directly. “Why don’t we take this back to the compound, then go see if we can track Rune down in Japan tomorrow?”
I nod in agreement, and reach for Drax’s free hand without thinking, twining my fingers through his so he can take us home.
DRAX
I can feelthe faint buzz of magic even through the fabric of the pillowcase. It vibrates harder when we reach the underworld, but nothing concerning. If Rune went to the trouble of cursing it, there might be something valuable inside. I’ll give it to Atlas in the morning so he can try his luck with it. Gargoyles are immune to mage magic, so even if he can’t manage to open it, it won’t curse him if he tries.
Mac feels jittery through our bond, but he puts on a show of yawning and steps towards his bedroom.
“I’m pretty beat, so I think I’m just going to…” He points over his shoulder to his door but doesn’t dart inside immediately. He lingers for several seconds, his eyes boring into mine, something needy and intoxicating hanging between us and warming its way through our mating bond.
My cock hardens as the scent of his lust reaches my nose, and I take a step forward.
