My brain conjured up images of all the possibilities. The hoard. The sky. Her face tipped up toward the stars from the back of my dragon.
Me: How about I kiss you somewhere no man has ever kissed you?
Liz: Umm…
I reread what I’d sent. My stomach dropped.
Me: Not like that!
Me: Well, of course like that too.
My thumb hovered over the screen, heat crawling up my neck.
Me: I mean flying somewhere.
Me: Then I will kiss you however you want for as long as you want.
The silence that followed lasted long enough for me to consider throwing my phone into the lake. I sat up on the couch, ran both hands through my hair, and watched the screen with the intensity of a man tracking a hostile aircraft.
Liz: You really buried the lead there, dragon boy.
The tension in my chest cracked open, and I exhaled hard.
Liz: Yes. To the flying.
Liz: And yes to the rest of it.
My dragon roared through my chest so hard my vision flickered. I blinked it away and typed with hands that had a slight tremor.
Me: I’ll pick you up at 8:30. Wear something warm.
Liz: Bossy.
Me: You have no idea.
Liz: Goodnight, Lucan.
Me: Goodnight, Liz.
I set the phone on my chest and stared at the ceiling. My dragon settled slightly, satisfied for now.
Chapter 21
Liz
Igot through most of my shift by setting plates down in front of people and going through the motions while my brain was somewhere else entirely.
Beck asked me twice if I was okay. I told him I was great, and from the look on his face, he didn't believe me at all.
I wasn’t...notokay. I was just occupied.
The kiss had replayed itself on a loop since last night. The way Lucan had asked first, his voice careful, like he already knew what my answer would be but wanted to give me the choice. The way his thumb had rested against the skin behind my ear. The way my fingers had curled into his shirt on their own, with no input from the part of my brain that usually vetoed that kind of thing.
And then the texts.
How about I kiss you somewhere no man has ever kissed you?
I stared at my phone screen in my trailer with my hand pressed over my mouth and then laughed until my eyes watered. He walked it back so fast. The correction had been almost as good as the original message.
