“I got you. Meet you on the rooftop.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
Roman
Ilanded on the tower’s rooftop landing pad before Oakley did. I had to admit, I’d been a tiny bit worried that Garrick had somehow taken me out of the wards so I would’ve crashed into an invisible barrier and hurt myself.
But either he’d come to his senses, at least a little, or Tan hadn’t let him go that far.
I dropped two duffel bags from my claws and quickly shifted back to my bipedal form, shaking myself out as I got used to not having wings again. It was always a strange sensation, and sometimes I wished I could do a partial shift of just my wings. I probably could, but my wings were so big that they’d look ridiculous on my human-looking body, and they’d probably make me lose my balance.
As I slipped my shirt over my head, I heard—and felt through our growing bond—Oakley’s approach. They landed beside me, and I watched them lower themself so Terrell could climb off.
The gargoyle headed in my direction. “All was quiet on the way over.”
“Thank you, Terrell. I appreciate your help.”
“Anytime, Rome.”
I offered a grin. “I’ve got it from here.”
He nodded and headed for the door that led inside with a little finger salute at me.
Oakley hadn’t shifted yet—probably wanting to wait until Terrell was gone—and they moved their head closer to me. I couldn’t help but brush my hand over the scales of their snout.
“You’re so beautiful,” I whispered in awe as they nuzzled me. I wanted to hug them and shift back so we could fly together and cuddle up in my nest the way we had the other night.
In response to my compliment, Oakley stuck their tongue out and licked a huge stripe up my arm to my neck and along my face.
“What the hell?” I spluttered with a laugh, trying to move away.
Oakley laughed in that dragon way, and I heard in my head,“Tastes as good as I thought he would.”
Well… I supposed I couldn’t complain about that. “You done licking me?”
“Never.”
That made me laugh, and I walked closer, petting their snout again. “You can lick me anytime you want in any form.”
They made a noise that sounded like purring, and we stood there for a few breaths. I wished we could stay this way forever, but there were things we needed to do.
They gave me another nuzzle before pulling away. Their body seemed to shimmer, almost like I was looking at them through a lens, and it went blurry for a moment. And then their body shrank, changed shape and color, so quickly, it was like one moment a dragon was standing there, and in the blink of an eye, it was Oakley.
Without looking down, even though I really fucking wanted to, I walked closer and handed them their duffel. “Clothes and things are in there.”
“Thanks.” They sent me a soft smile, then went about getting dressed.
Since I didn’t want to be a creeper, and Oak hadn’t invited me to watch them, I turned around, closed my eyes, and tried to push the image of all of that gorgeous skin out of my head.
“I’m decent,” they said quietly, and I turned around to find them with pants on and a shirt in their hands. They sent me another soft smile as they pulled on their button-down and started on the buttons.
I almost offered to help, but my mouth was dry, and I was too tongue-tied to get any words out before they finished.
They slipped their socks and shoes on, then walked over to me, and I couldn’t help it. I had to touch them.
As soon as they were close enough, I gently, giving them enough time to pull away, guided them into my arms. To my surprise and delight, they melted into a hug without hesitation.
After a few seconds, they murmured so quietly I almost didn’t catch it, “I missed you.”
