“Oh yeah? What were you thinking?”
His grin grows impossibly wider and there’s a twinkle in his eye as he says, “Oh, so many things, my mate.”
Somehow, he makes it sound sexy as hell, and I shiver.
“Is there any reason for your visit, or did you come just to brighten my day?” he asks.
“I was feeling bad. I’ve spent so much time with Soren and Brogan this past week and I don’t want to neglect you.”
He presses a kiss to my temple, shaking his head as if in wonder. “You are a marvel, my mate. You are doing important work, don’t worry about me. We have all the time in the world together.”
“It’s not going well.” I sigh heavily, feeling the weight of our failure dragging my shoulders down. “I don't think we're the best people to look for her.” She’s been missing for nearly two weeks and it feels like time is slipping out of our grasp, along with the hope of finding her.
He steps right up close to me so that I can feel his hard chest pressing against my own. Finn then gently takes my hand and puts it on his pec, right above his heart.
“I disagree. You being here is a miracle. Fated. I have faith that you will find her. If you don’t, it will be because it is an impossible task. I have total faith in you.”
My throat is a little scratchy as I squeak out, “You do?”
He nods seriously. “I do.”
I feel buoyed up by his belief in me. Maybe all I needed for a confidence boost was a pep talk from a gorgeous dragon.
“I need to finish polishing the gate or she will be smeared and unimpressive-looking,” he says. “But once I’m done, I will feed you and we can spend the evening together, if that sounds agreeable?”
“Yes, yes, very agreeable, sure.”
“As much as I’d like to abandon my cleaning to be with you immediately, I never leave a job half-done.” His voice lowers to a rasp again and I find my cheeks flushing. I’mprettysure he’s not just talking about domestic chores.
“C-can I help you with your cleaning?”
He cocks his head to one side like he never considered I might want to help. “Would you like to?”
“Sure.” Anything to spend time together. And what better way to get to know each other better than by doing something the other enjoys?
“A true treasure.” His massive form towers over me, eyes flicking between mine and then darting down to my lips before he closes the gap between us, pressing a hot, hard kiss to my lips.
He then runs his tongue over his lips, letting out a guttural groan. “Delicious.”
I snort and shove at his chest so that he takes a step back because he’s a little ridiculous. Then, gathering as much of my hair behind my head as I can, I tie it away from my face, ignoring the wayward curls that immediately tumble over my shoulders again. I then grab a clean rag and set to work.
Together, we polish the gate until she’s gleaming, with Finn dancing around, stopping me every so often to spin me or kiss me, making me laugh with his antics.
Who would have thought this tall, dark, and menacing-looking dude would have such a sweet, goofy side?
Once we’re done, he goes to clean up, returning still shirtless but with no apron and I get momentarily dazzled by the sheer perfection of his chest. My fingers burn to touch it, to just run my hands over his skin and see if it feels as good as I imagine it would. I pull my head out of the gutter for long enough to wash my hands and sort my hair while he sets about cooking us a meal.
He makes us steak and potatoes and salad and we share some red wine by candlelight at his table. It feels like one of the best dates I’ve ever been on—not that I’ve been on many, but still.
When we’re done eating, the week is clearly catching up with me, and after my third jaw-cracking yawn in as many minutes, my sweet dragon waves me off to get some sleep. Not before he’s made sure that I get back to Wren’s hut safely where he then kisses me thoroughly, his hands cradling my face and his mouth soft, yet demanding on mine,
Once I’m flushed and can barely stand up straight, I stagger off to the bedroom to sleep while he just watches me go with a little satisfied grin on his face. Despite the tough week, I couldn’t think of a better end to my day.
???
I’m woken a few hours later by my phone ringing. My eyes don’t quite work right and I flap my hand around until I can find the source of the noise.
“Hello?” I croak.
