“Fine.” He’d get it out of me eventually, but I was interested to see how far he’d go.
“Oh, really?” Now he looked at me and gave me a lopsided smile.
“Yeah.” I took a mouthful of fish and rice as Weston nudged his mate.
“See, that’s not what I heard.” He let that sink in before continuing. “Seems you’ve been seen about town with a dashing young stranger.”
“Maybe.” I was determined to make my friend work for the information.
“Oh, stop it, you two.” Weston had apparently had enough of us dancing around one another. “What my mate is trying to say is are you sleeping with the guy and is he sticking around?”
“We’re not mated, if that’s what you’re asking.” I kept eating and waited for the next barrage of questions.
“But are you fated?” Both of them said together.
“Maybe.”
Asher dropped his fork onto the plate. “Why are you being so weird?” He tilted his head toward Weston. “Would you prefer it was just us?”
Weston locked eyes with me, as if he was asking permission to stay.
“No, it's fine. You’re both my friends. Yes, we’re fated but not marked.”
Weston nudged his mate. “Sounds familiar.”
“Honey, we’re talking about Zack’s relationship, not ours.” He kissed Weston’s brow.
I pushed my plate away and sat back. Before I could discuss what had gone wrong, I had to explain why or the why that Ford gave.
“He’s not a polar bear but pretty much the exact opposite.”
“Huh? Like a mouse or something? That would be difficult living here with so many predators.” Asher drummed his fingers on the table.
“No, size-wise he’s bigger than us, and he’s not an elephant.”
They both looked at one another, and I could almost see their minds churning with possibilities.
“His wingspan is magnificent.” I let them sit with that for a moment. “I didn’t know these beasts existed.”
Asher and his mate leaned forward. “Tell us,” Weston whispered.
“A fire-breathing dragon.”
“What?” Weston squealed and slapped a hand over his mouth. He put a finger to his lips because their daughterwas napping.
“Yeah, he’s really cool.”
“I’d say a fire-breather is the opposite of cool,” Asher noted.
They pestered me with questions, some of which I couldn’t answer. Why? When? How?
“Whoa. I’m not him, but dragons have some odd rules about mating and so no mark.” I tugged my shirt to reveal how Ford hadn’t marked me.
Weston wondered how dragons performed the marking ceremony. He thought Ford might be worried he’d incinerate me. I didn’t think it was that simple. We could come up with a workaround to avoid blistering my skin and melting me.
Asher tapped his chin. “What was that advice you gave me before Weston and I marked one another?” He smirked. “I’m trying to remember, it’s coming to me.”
I rolled my eyes. “You’re not funny.” I got up from the table, ready to continue working. “I told you to talk to Weston.”
