“I didn’t know,” he muttered.
“Doesn’t matter.”
He shuffled, turning to face me in the dark. “I’m sorry,” he said, firmly.
I crossed my arms as if they could shield me from his scrutiny. “I’m not getting on a dragon with you.”
He snorted faintly. “Right. But if Shep were the one offering to ride double, you’d do it.”
“Shep has manners, at least.” I hoped he couldn’t tell how fast my heart was beating.
He cracked a partial grin. “Manners. Not really my thing.”
“Everyone in Treston knows that about you. I don’t think it’s something to be proud of.”
His grin turned mischievous, and he angled his body flush with mine. “Protest all you want, but we need to go to where Myth is. And I didn’t think you wanted to risk getting spotted on the train again.”
“Fine,” I said, following him toward Azeron’s den. He was already saddled, waiting. The saddle was large, much longer than a normal saddle. A double. My stomach pinched at the thought of riding behind Rush. We weren’t friends. Or even allies. Enemies with a shared problem to solve, perhaps. That was all. Rush Covington would flirt with a zebra at the zoo. His behavior was nothing other than predictable, and I couldn’t let him think his charm was working on me.
“All right, you know how to do this?” He turned toward me. “Oh, saints. Don’t tell me you’ve never ridden double.”
I shook my head.
The faint outline of a wicked smile crested on his lips. “Then this will be interesting. Okay, this is how it works.” He indicated the leather loops hanging from the saddle.
“I know how it works,” I snapped.
“Okay, come on up, then.” He leaped, grabbed the leather straps, and scaled his way into the saddle like a lizard on a brick wall. Instead of offering me a hand, he waited to see what I would do.
I looked down at my uniform skirt. “I'm not exactly dressed to ride.” I’d pictured the train, or perhaps a car. Warmth.
He shrugged. “That’s not my fault. Do you want to go or not?”
“Fine.” Grabbing the hanging leather straps, which wiggled with the shaking of my hands, I lifted one foot to the lowest loop that dangled beneath the saddle. I’d finally mastered this after three months, but never with another person already in the saddle. My foot wobbled in the strap more than I’d expected it to, and I nearly slumped back to the ground.
Rush chuckled from the saddle.
“Shut up,” I said, heaving myself upright, holding most of my weight in my arms as I wiggled my toes around to find the second loop. This time I was ready for the way my foot would shake as I transferred my weight to the second leather strap. My face was hovering close to his waist as I hoisted myself up to the double saddle. He cackled as I awkwardly climbed, until my body was slumped against his in the saddle, my skirt bunched up between us. I had nowhere to put my arm but around his waist. The angle of Azeron’s back would send me careening to the ground if I let go.
“This is priceless,” he said.
“I hate you,” I said over his shoulder.
“That’s what makes it even better. Now tuck yourself in and hang on.”
I growled a little as I circled my arms around his waist.
“That’s it. Get cozy. You’re going to want to hang on tight. And you’re going to need these.” Holding one of the handles that straddled Azeron’s neck, he reached around, fluffing up the edge of my skirt with his other hand.
“What are you doing!”
He grabbed a wide leather strap and cinched it around my calf muscle, pulling until my leg was firmly pressed against the dragon’s side. He spun around. “Now the other one.”
“I can do it,” I protested, but he didn’t stop.
Every place his fingers brushed my leg, lightning danced across my nerves.
He pulled on the strap. “Is that too tight?”
