“We’ll keep yours, too,” Aiden reminded her.
She caught a glimpse of longing in his gaze and took a deep breath, considering. She’d abandoned her crusade to debunk magic the moment she’d recognized her powers, maybe even the moment she caught sight of Aiden in his dragon form. And as far as guilt and remorse, she didn’t just owe Amy and her aunts apologies.
She’d caged Aiden and subjected him to a painful and frightening interrogation. Could she really blame his adopted father and the townspeople for wanting a guarantee that she wouldn’t do such a thing again? That she wouldn’t do anything like that to Aiden again?
She reached tentatively for the quill. It landed gently in her hand and allowed her to dip its tip into the bottle of ink. She signed the parchment, which then rolled itself up and flew back into Rocky’s briefcase. The quill executed some kind of midair bow and landed back in the inkpot. Rocky grinned broadly and asked Flo to bring a round of margaritas to the table.
“That’s it?” Gillian didn’t know what she’d expected aside from something…more. A magical brand holding her to her promise, a blood vow, an initiation ritual. Nothing as simple as a signature.
As usual, her thoughts must have shown on her face.
“Well, I didn’t mention the insurance clause, but I suppose I can now. The quill isn’t an ordinary feather.”
“I gathered that,” she said acerbically. “Ordinary feathers don’t fly on their own. What’s special about it?”
“It’s from Ma’at,” he said. When she raised a brow in inquiry, he continued. “In Egyptian lore, before a soul can enter Duat, the underworld, the god Anubis weighs the heart of the deceased against Ma’at’s feather, which represents truth. Should the heart be light, the soul may enter the bliss of the afterlife, but should it prove heavier than the feather, it is devoured by the soul-eater Ammit.”
A shiver ran down Gillian’s spine as she stared at the feather with wariness and wonder. “So the feather was weighing my heart?”
“In a matter of speaking,” Rocky said. “More like weighing your intentions. Had you attempted to sign the contract under false pretenses, the quill would have known. As your intentions were true, and your heart light, it allowed you to sign.”
Gillian took a long swallow of her margarita. Part of her wondered what would have happened had her intentions proven false, but she thought better of asking. She’d satisfied the requirements for remaining in town and her family was in no danger because of her misadventures. That was what mattered most. Aiden had apparently satisfied his massive appetite, too, since he’d ceased inhaling baskets of chips and sopapillas. He smiled at her as she felt his hand land on hers, his long fingers tracing patterns on her palms and doing terrible things to her libido.
“Well,” Aiden said, waving to Flo for the bill. “Now that we’re done with business, I thought I’d give Gillian an official tour of the town. Maybe explore the surrounding area.”
Perhaps the “surrounding area” would include someplace remote and private where they’d be free to explore one another and the attraction between them. She squeezed his hand and gave him a look that she hoped would convey her wishes. Naturally another one of the bar patrons picked that moment to yell Aiden’s name from across the room, prompting him to mutter a grumpy apology before joining a table of large men.
“So,” Rocky said, distracting her from a growing case of sexual frustration. “I’d ask you what your intentions are toward my son, but I don’t think I need to. It’s written all over your faces.”
Heat crept up her cheeks, a reaction she was growing annoyed with, especially given its frequency since arriving in Magic. Rocky chuckled. Aiden had mentioned his Earth dad was a ladies man. He probably hadn’t been exaggerating given the female attention Rocky had garnered from Flo and many of the other lunch patrons.
Then again, she supposed she owed him an answer. “I like Aiden—a lot. As far as intentions, I intend to make up for capturing him by designing some enchanted tech for him. I’d like to see if I can help him tap into his own magic.”
He’d been so utterly delighted and grateful for his first glimpse through her glasses. She’d love to be able to do that for him on a larger scale, especially if he rewarded her with more hot, passionate kisses.
Rocky leaned back and nodded. “He could use some protection since he insists on going back and forth between Earth and his dimension. Tarakona’s a dangerous place for him. He’s not a battle dragon, so he doesn’t have natural protection from his scales in dragon form.”
Gillian’s mind jumped into engineering mode, visualizing what kind of protective armor she could create. She could definitely repurpose the latticework from the trap she’d used on him, and she could electrify the outside to deter potential enemies and give him an edge in hand to hand—or claw to claw—combat. But in dragon form, she’d need a lot more than she’d used for the trap.
“Wait,” she said. “You say he’s not a battle dragon. What kind of dragon is he? Are all dragons specialized? How many kinds are there?”
“There are plenty of specialized dragons from what Aiden’s told me. There are red and black battle dragons, gold dragons for energy, like living batteries, green dragons for healing, the list goes on and on. Aiden and his sister are an especially rare and valuable kind. They’re silvers.”
“What can silver dragons do?” she asked.
“In the hands of a wizard, they allow the wizard to see into the future. Plenty of wizards from Tarakona would kill to have that kind of power. That’s why it took so long for Aiden to rescue his sister. Apparently she was owned by some big-shot government type.”
Her mind raced with the implications. No wonder Aiden seemed on edge when he’d emerged from the portal. Traveling to his home dimension had to be hellish for someone like him. That had taken courage, as had standing up to a crazed witch who’d confronted and caged him the minute he’d returned. He’d been vulnerable to attack—too vulnerable. She could fix that.
She would fix that.
“As for the rest,” she said, staring after Aiden as he chatted with the other men. “My intentions are honorable, I assure you.” He’d been stiff and formal when he’d first approached the men, ever on guard. She was glad to see that some of the tension had melted from his shoulders. It was the first time she’d seen him at ease.
God, how lonely he must’ve been since his escape. She knew something of loneliness, too. Being estranged from her family and throwing herself into her work had left little time for friendships, let alone romantic entanglements. Pangs of longing had sometimes hit during long stints in the lab, on walks to and from campus where she’d spot smiling couples walking hand-in-hand, or during holidays when most people gathered with friends and family to celebrate.
She always figured she’d find a relationship later, at some vague, unspecified date in the future after she’d made her mark as a scientist and engineer. Now it seemed that fate, something she’d never believed in before, had thrown her a curve ball. But it had also brought her Aiden. She’d be a fool to waste the opportunity.
Aiden glanced in her direction and smiled apologetically while still infusing enough heat in his gaze to set her heart racing even as he melted it.
She leaned down and placed a kiss on Rocky’s cheek, earning a warm smile from him, and said, “Don’t worry. I’ll take good care of him. I promise.”
Chapter Seven
“This is amazing!” Gillian yelled. “Can we go faster?”
The corners of his fanged mouth curled into what passed for a grin in dragon form. Of course he could go faster, and he would. Fates, at this point, he’d be willing to do just about anything for the captivating witch who’d fearlessly jumped on his back for an evening ride over the desert. She hadn’t even flinched when he shifted in front of her. She’d simply stepped forward to run her fingers over his flexible scales, her touch gentle and firm by turns.
He hoped she’d someday do the same when he traded
scales for human flesh.
The aerial view of southern New Mexico never failed to captivate him with its beauty, especially near Magic. From the stark rocky outcrops flanking Carlsbad Caverns to the red-rocked majesty of the Guadeloupe Mountains, flying over his adopted homeland had always brought him a measure of peace.
Viewed through Gillian’s enchanted lenses, a design modified from the prototype to fit his broad dragon skull, it took his breath away.
The town’s magical shield glowed like a brilliant glass dome. His heightened senses in dragon form coupled with the lenses gave him glimpses of the townsfolk in their glorious, natural forms—some for the first time. It also showed him the aura of magic in the surrounding area. It was incredible.
Almost as incredible as the woman who’d made it all possible. The amazing woman who was riding on his back now and having the time of her life if the “oohs” and “aahs” and shrieks of joy were any indication.
He’d only ever allowed Rocky to ride on his back in dragon form and rarely flew with any of the other winged shifters from Magic, though that would be changing thanks to the invitation they’d extended to him back at the bar. Hell, he’d never allowed the townsfolk to get a glimpse at his magical tracery before today. He could barely wrap his mind around all of the sudden changes. In less than twenty-four hours, Gillian Hohenwald had managed to turn his life completely upside down.
He’d never be able to thank her enough, but he would no doubt thoroughly enjoy trying.
She was an enigma wrapped in a mystery. Having transformed from lost and frightened woman to fearless explorer, she seemed determined to learn all she could about her newly discovered powers and the magical creatures who inhabited her world. She could do it, too. It had taken less than an hour for her to fabricate a set of enchanted lenses to fit his dragon face, and she’d busied herself with other experimental designs for much of the afternoon after encouraging him to spend some time in town socializing while she worked.
It had surprised and stung a bit when she’d shooed him out of his own workshop, but she’d rewarded him with a hot and heavy make-out session before sending him off with a promise of more to come.
Socializing proved awkward and more than a little difficult at first, but the townsfolk sensed his discomfort and allowed him to approach at his own pace and on his own terms. Naturally they were curious about him, but they didn’t pry. Most just seemed pleased to know more about him and reciprocated by sharing their unique abilities. He’d invited a few folks out to his studio to talk about custom furniture and carving orders, and he’d been invited to dinner with some of the other shifter families.
He hadn’t realized how much he’d missed the sense of community he’d lost when he lost his childhood—until today.
And now here he was flying with the woman of his dreams. He’d gone from loner to friend and possibly more in the space of a day. Who’d have thought?
He dove down to give Gillian a peek at the entrance to Carlsbad Caverns before taking her to a special scrap of land he’d discovered during his first explorations of Earth. It held its own distinct magic that probably stemmed from the aura surrounding the town but had remained hidden and secluded from ordinary humans and residents of Magic since his arrival. He’d always thought of it as his sanctuary, his place of peace, and he’d never taken another living soul to the spot, not even Rocky.
He hoped Gillian would like it.
He landed gently on a slope above his special place and allowed Gillian to slide off his back. She surprised him by throwing her arms around his long dragon neck and planting a soft kiss on his chest. He lowered his head and allowed her to remove the lenses, which she stowed away in her backpack. The she looked up at him, hands on hips and head cocked to the side as if waiting for him to do something.
“Well,” she said. “Are you going to let me see you shift back into a human?”
He should, but all of a sudden a strange shyness overcame him, which was ridiculous. He’d shifted into a dragon in her presence twice already, and she’d seen his tracery. Perhaps it was because he’d brought her to his refuge, the equivalent of exposing his soft underbelly. It left him ill at ease. Did she actually want him as a man, or was he simply another new creature to study?
She trusted you with her life. The least you could do is trust her with your true self.
He wanted to. Even though they had known one another for such a short time, he’d never experienced such a connection, a place where physical and emotional threads wove silken strands between souls. He sensed she felt it, too. So why was this so hard?
As if sensing his dilemma, she smiled and placed the backpack on the ground. With a deep breath and a deepening of the red in her rosy cheeks, she slowly lifted her shirt to reveal beautiful, tanned skin. Her full breasts remained covered by scraps of thin fabric, nipples straining against silk and lace as if begging for his touch. After kicking off her shoes, she unbuttoned and unzipped her cargo pants and slid them down mile-long legs. Oh, Fates, those curves, that skin, the sweet, secret place hidden by lovely silk panties—she was breathtaking.
She folded her clothes neatly, set them on top of her backpack, and stood to face him as she unleashed her dark locks from the ponytail, her hazel eyes as deep and mysterious as the desert surrounding them. He wanted more, wanted this woman to the marrow of his bones, but he didn’t want to rush even though she appeared to be making the first move. They barely knew one another, and he didn’t want her to get the idea that he was only after a quick tumble in the sand.
He wanted a quick tumble, and a slow one, and everything in between, but more than that, he wanted to see where the connection between them could lead.
He wanted a chance.
With a deep breath for courage, Aiden willed bone, muscle, and sinew to transform, trading scales for human flesh—bare human flesh. She’d done her best to level the playing field. It was the least he could do.
He hoped against hope that she’d like what she saw.
“Oh, my,” she whispered, taking him in from head to toe. Feeling a bit foolish and more than a little aroused, he lifted his arms and spun in a slow circle, allowing her to examine his body at her leisure. He couldn’t hide the tracery that marked him as “other” anymore than he could hide his obvious excitement, but fair was fair.
He turned back around to face her and followed her gaze to the evidence of his excitement. “I can’t exactly control that reaction when I’m near you, especially when you’re almost undressed,” he said with a nervous chuckle. “But I can control myself. There’s no pressure here. Whatever happens or doesn’t happen between us doesn’t change how I feel about you.”
She smiled and met his gaze through lowered lashes. “Oh? And how do you feel about me?”
“I like you. A lot. I don’t let too many people get close, Gillian, but I want to let you in. If you want me.” He whispered the last words, his heart in her hands.
Her smile widened, bathing him in a warm glow of acceptance and affection. “Of course I want you,” she said, her tone laced with exasperation and desire. “And I like you, too. A lot.”
She took a step closer and slid the straps of her bra off her shoulders before removing the garment. Rosy, delicate peaks rose from tanned breasts. She must sunbathe topless. His fingers itched to caress those beautiful breasts and his tongue ran over his lips in anticipation of tasting them.
She whispered softly as he struggled to focus on her voice instead of the delectable body she’d revealed. Taking another step closer, she said, “I’m not usually this forward. It’s the three date rule or more for me, but I’m thinking you might still respect me in the morning?”
“Come here,” he said, his voice rough with desire and emotion. She stepped into his embrace, skin to skin, his erection rubbing against her belly and making thought and speech more difficult. “Of course I’ll respect you in the morning, no matter how far we go—or don’t go—now.”
His body screamed otherwise
, but he clamped down on his carnal desires. This was her choice. He’d happily spend the evening pleasuring her without asking for reciprocity. He’d love doing that.
“Well,” she said, running her hands over his chest and pausing to tease his masculine nipples. “If we count last night and this afternoon, this is technically our third date.”
He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. What came out was a shaky breath and something akin to a wheeze. “Last night? You put me in an electric cage last night.”
She lowered her clever hands to grasp his hard cock. “Consider it foreplay.”
He laughed. It was just what he needed to lighten the mood. The little minx would no doubt keep him on his toes, and he’d love every minute of it.
“Kinky,” he said. “I like it. Now kiss me.”
Chapter Eight
Great God, she’d never seen anything as beautiful as Aiden. His body could’ve been carved by Michelangelo, all long, lean lines and powerful muscle beneath golden skin. And the tracery that danced along broad shoulders, arms, and down a sculpted chest lightly dusted with dusky blond hair? She couldn’t wait to chase those lines with fingers and tongue, to explore every inch of his body.
Below his chest and gorgeous abdominal muscles rested her one of her favorite parts of a man’s body, particularly defined on her dragon man. The iliac furrow, better known as a Aphrodite's Saddle, Hercules' Girdles, the Adonis Belt, and the sinfully delicious bit of male anatomy with the power to make smart girls stupid with lust certainly had a magnetic effect on her.
Beyond all that, not to mention the very impressive landscape between his legs, her gaze kept traveling to his face. Framed with dark blond hair that fell over his shoulders and a light stubble of beard growth, he had the face of an angel—a reclusive, wounded angel who’d had the courage to come out of the shadows of his self-imposed exile and into the light where he belonged.
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