“Yes, I am hungry,” she said.
“Good.” He nodded. “I’ll make you dinner.”
Her mouth almost dropped open. “You can cook?”
“Don’t act so surprised,” he replied, and she shook her head.
“No, it’s just that my brothers are useless in the kitchen, so I’m always surprised when men can cook,” she explained. “Though I shouldn’t be, since Aiden is great at it.”
“Hopefully, you’ll think I’m great at it, too,” he said, “or dinner will be special in an entirely different way...”
She laughed. “I’m sure I will.” Then, she called Torch, who appeared a few moments later. He pulled out his whistle to call Sharptooth when Emmeline seemed to get an idea. “Do you want to ride with me?”
“Oh.” Torch looked at him curiously, and he looked between the dragon and Emmeline. “I’ve never been on a dragon before, but you know, I’ve always secretly wanted to,” he admitted. She seemed pleased by that.
“Come on,” she said, mounting. He looked up at her on Torch. Dragons were much bigger than chimeras, which was why they could carry more weight.
He climbed on, settling in behind Emmeline. She leaned back into him, and he wrapped his arms around her, both of them aligned perfectly.
“Ready?” she asked, and he nodded over her shoulder.
They took off, and his heart lurched. Dragons were fasterthan chimeras, and his grip on Emmeline tightened. He heard the sound of her laugh, then it was lost in the wind as they zipped through the air.
Cold wind blew against his face, sharp as ice, but Torch was a furnace underneath them, keeping them warm. It took a moment for him to get used to it, but once he did, he grinned, feeling euphoric.
“This is incredible!” he told her, and she squeezed his hand on her waist.
They made it to his place, dismounting. He went and touched Torch’s face. “Thank you,” he told the dragon. Torch nudged against his hand, pleased. Emmeline beamed, then told Torch to go home, and the dragon took off.
Luke led Emmeline to the front door, unlocking it and taking her inside, where he turned on the lights. The house was quiet.
Emmeline looked around. “Is your mom asleep?” she asked. “I wanted to say hi.”
“She’s not home, actually,” he said. “My parents went away for the weekend.”
She nodded. “It’s sweet you stayed home to take care of her,” she said. “I know it’s probably not the easiest thing in the world not to have your own place.”
“Sometimes,” he agreed. “But I’m just glad to spend as much time with her as I can.”
They took off their shoes and he hung up their coats. Underneath, she was wearing an off-the-shoulder sweater dress that fitted down to her waist, then flared out. With her hair tossed behind her shoulders, every inch of her throat and collar were exposed, tantalizingly kissable.
He wanted to press his lips everywhere, to taste her skin. Desire burned through him at the thought, and he cleared his throat, heading for the kitchen.
She followed behind him, then went directly to the fridge. Before he could ask what she was doing, she opened the door, inspecting the contents.
“So what are we making?” she asked, searching for ingredients.
He gave her a funny look. “Weare not making anything,” he said, taking her hands off the fridge door. He led her to one of the island chairs. “Sit.”
“I can help,” she protested, still standing.
“I know you can, but I saidIwould be makingyoudinner,” he replied.
She frowned. “But I can help.”
He put his hands on her shoulders, reveling in the soft feel of her skin. He tried to get her to sit, but she didn’t budge.
He narrowed his eyes. “Emmeline,” he said, tone warning.
