Page 42 of Desired By the Dragon

“That’s Ana.” She said it as if I should know the name. Her smile faded. “Max isn’t her type.”

I snorted. “Max is everybody’s type.” Why did she think I’d struggled so badly to resist him? It wasn’t just the killer eyes and cheekbones, or the tattoos and his wicked sense of humor, it was him. Something about Max just kept on pulling me in, like a magnet helpless to refuse the call.

“Okay, well, Max has a bit too much penis for Ana. Plus, she’s happily married.” Taz paused, glancing at me meaningfully. “To a woman.” Huh. That did make me feel better. “There’s nobody at that party that missed the way that man looks at you.”

What did that mean? “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, please. You looked like you were going to climb him right there on the dance floor. Your mom looked positively smug.” Taz laughed when I blushed. “I know you’ve had a rough go of it, and yeah, you haven’t always made the best choices. But I think if you turn your back on Max now, that will be the wrong choice here.”

“You really think so?” I whispered and she nodded, squeezing my hand before letting go.

“Yeah. Don’t run from this one, Kier. I think you’d regret it.”

I sat up slowly and nodded, hesitantly at first and then more confidently as it felt like a weight was lifted from my chest. “I should go and talk to him. Apologize for running.” My legs swung off the bed and I jumped up, wincing at the crunch that followed as another Cheeto was crushed. “Shower first though, right?”

“Right,” Taz said, lips twitching. “Go get clean. Your prince in shining scales can wait a little longer.”

* * *

Once I was clean and Cheeto-free, Taz and I left the apartment. She was meeting someone at the Crow’s Nest, so I detoured there for coffee before I traveled onward to Max’s. Chances were good that he was either in his office or in the faculty housing, so I figured that heading in the direction of the college was a good move regardless.

The air was cold and crisp, the buzz of excitement in the air for the upcoming Halloween festival was contagious, and I found myself walking at a fast, bouncy pace through Lakeside Park.

Dew soaked my leather boots as I walked through the grass. Had it really only been a few weeks since the first time I’d seen Max right here for the start of mating season?

The trees were a riot of brown and orange and, for a second, I thought someone was stood under the great boughs, much like that day a few weeks back. But when I looked twice, the space was empty, just a crow bouncing among the leaves and the branches swaying in the breeze.

I wasn’t too far from the college when someone called my name.

“Kiernan! I thought that was you.” Max’s mom smiled at me, her cheeks stained pink from the cool air as she huddled around a to -go cup that brought me the faint scent of hot chocolate. “How are you?”

Impatience made me feel like ants were crawling over me, but I refrained from tapping my foot. “Oh! Hi. Yeah, I’m good thanks. Just actually on my way to see Max. How are you?”

“Lovely, so am I. We can walk together.”

Fuck. This wasn’t part of the plan. If things went badly with Max, I didn’t need his mom there to see me cry. And if things went well… I wouldn’t particularly want her there for that, either.

“S-sure,” I managed and wanted to kick myself. “Crow’s Nest?” I nodded to her cup. I’d already managed to gulp back my latte in the few blocks between the cafe and the park.

“Actually, no. Crescent Coffee, near the shore. They do an incredible praline hot chocolate—” Leah chattered on and I tried to pay attention to what she was saying, even as my mind whirled a hundred miles an hour as I tried to figure out how to politely ask her to not come to Max’s. I scratched at the back of my neck, an annoying prickle rising over the skin there. “—seem like you were getting on well,” Leah finished, glancing at me.

“Oh, well, yes. I suppose. Things have just moved so quickly,” I confessed and her smile was as gentle as her eyes, and so much like Max’s that it made me ache.

“Well, that’s to be expected, given the bond you both share. Rare, of course. I think I only know one or two others who have experienced it.” She grinned, big and bright. “What a gift, for you two as well as the community.”

I cleared my throat, trying to hide my confusion. Crap, I must have missed something when she’d been chatting and I’d been spiraling. “Um, yeah. Definitely.” I rubbed the back of my neck again.

“Of course, you always hope for these things for your child, but to see it play out… It’s a blessing, truly. I couldn’t have picked a better match myself.” Leah pulled me to a stop and cupped my cheek in her hand, still warm from the hot chocolate. “I’ve always liked your mother, having you as part of the family is going to be so much fun.”

Part of the family? “Leah⁠—”

“Have you thought about when you want to make the announcement? It could be nice to do it at the end of the mating season, there will be a party, of course, but these things have to be celebrated! It’s not every day a fated couple finds each other. There will be a lot of attention on you both, I’m sure.” She chuckled, not noticing the way I’d stopped in my tracks until she glanced to her left and found me frozen on the path. “Kiernan? Oh, I’m sorry, you’ve gone all pale. We can keep things low-key, if that’s what you’d prefer. I guess I’m getting ahead of myself.”

I licked my lips, my tongue feeling like sandpaper as a wave of dizziness had me blinking frantically. “F-fated couple?”

Leah’s eyes flew wide and she cursed. It sounded strange in her delicate voice. “You didn’t know. I thought you’d both realized at the party… The way you looked at each other — Oh, Kiernan, I’m so sorry.”

“Me and Max?” I managed to squeak out through trembling lips. I’d only just started to come to terms with the fact that I was in love with him, that he was in love with me, and now we were… “Fated,” I breathed and Leah gave me a tiny smile as she rubbed her hands up and down my arms, like she was worried I was going into shock. Maybe I was. Could dragons go into shock? “I think I need to go home,” I murmured, my own heartbeat thudding loudly in my ears until I felt sick.