I smiled. "I’m not most guys."
She snorted. "You’re definitely not."
We bought hot cider and wandered the pumpkin patch, the air getting colder and the sky darkening to a deep indigo. I wanted to ask if she’d let me meet Bryce sometime, but I knew better than to rush things. Instead, I listened as she talked about his latest obsession with dinosaurs, and the way he categorized them by carnivore or herbivore, never by color or size.
"Do you want kids?" she asked suddenly.
I thought about it. "Honestly? I never thought I’d have any because of the curse. But since Ashton has found and bonded with his mate, the rest of the clan will find theirs as well. Completing the mating bond breaks the curse. So, yeah, with the right person, I’d love a house full of kids. It's kind of a new sensation for me, the thought of being able to be a family man. I really like the idea."
She blushed, and I wanted to grab her and kiss her, right there in the middle of the pumpkin patch. But I waited.
We made our way back to the stage area. The bluegrass band switched to slower songs, couples drifting onto the makeshift dance floor.
I turned to her, my heart hammering. "Would you like to dance?"
She hesitated, then nodded. "Okay."
I led her to the edge of the crowd. The song was slow, something about mountains and lost love. At first, she kept a careful distance with her hands on my shoulders. But as the song wore on, she relaxed into me, her body fitting against mine in a way that felt inevitable.
I tried to keep my breathing steady, but my heart hammered against my ribs. My dragon thrashed, hungry and giddy, desperate to claim her but held back by the thin leash of my human restraint. Every time she brushed against me, it set off a cascade of sparks under my skin.
"You’re a good dancer," she said, looking up at me with a crooked smile.
"Comes with age," I said, grinning back.
"Don’t you mean practice?"
"Both," I admitted.
She laughed, her breath fanning my neck. I wanted to pull her closer, but I waited. She needed to feel safe, not cornered.
The song ended, but neither of us let go. Another slow tune started up, and I took the chance to draw her in a little. She didn’t pull away.
As the song ended, she pulled back enough to look up at me. The gold flecks in her eyes caught the light. I couldn’t help myself, I reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, my fingers lingering at her jaw.
"Can I kiss you?" I whispered.
She nodded, her lips already parted.
I leaned in and kissed her, gently at first, then with more hunger than I meant to show. She met me halfway, her hands curling into my shirt. The world spun out, and for a second, there was nothing but the heat of her mouth and the sharp, sweet taste of her breath.
My dragon went quiet, content for the first time in years. Decades.
When we broke apart, she looked dazed. "Wow," she said.
"Yeah," I agreed, just as stunned.
We stood there, caught in the aftermath. I didn’t want the night to end, but I didn’t want to push her either.
She smiled. "I should go. Bryce will be calling me before bedtime. Nathan took him camping with the other kids in the pack."
"Can I walk you to your car?"
She nodded, and we wandered back through the thinning crowd. Neither of us spoke, but it was a comfortable silence.
At her car, I opened the door for her. She got in, then rolled down the window. "I’ll see you Sunday?"
"I’ll be there," I promised. "You’re working the day shift, right?"
