Lorna sighed. “I know. It’s just hard to accept the loss of our freedom. Unlike in England, we’ve had the freedom to fly most anywhere in Scotland for centuries. I don’t revel in the fact I have to look over my shoulder, especially given how long it’s been since I flew such a great distance.”
Ross cupped her cheek and searched her eyes. “I can ask Iris to carry me if it’ll help.”
Her dragon spoke up. Ross won’t be a burden. We’re stronger than you think.
And you’re cocky. It will take half an hour to get there. The longest flight we’ve had in years was fifteen minutes.
And who’s fault was that?
Ross’s voice interrupted her conversation. “You have nothing to prove to me, Lorna MacKenzie. What was it you always told me throughout my cancer treatments and subsequent recovery?”
“A true hero knows when to ask for help,” she murmured.
“Aye, so be a true hero. Should I ride with Iris?”
Lorna’s pride wanted to reject the idea. “You’re too clever for your own good, human.”
Ross grinned. “I’m surprised you haven’t admitted that before now.”
Lightly slapping his arm, Lorna answered, “Your ego is going to be the death of you.” Ross chuckled. Lorna smiled before glancing over at Iris standing naked on the far side of the clearing. Lorna turned Ross’s back to the young dragonwoman as she said, “Stay like this while I talk to Iris.”
“Is she naked then?”
“Yes, but I warn you—turn around and you’ll be sleeping alone tonight.”
Ross shook his head. “My jealous dragonwoman.”
“Hmph,” Lorna answered before striding toward Iris.
Her beast spoke up again. I like Ross. I can’t wait to play with him some more in my dragon form.
Then you’d better behave until we reach the cottage on Skye.
As if you could stop me.
Rather than waste time arguing, Lorna focused on Iris. The dragonwoman raised her brows and asked, “What is it, Lorna?”
Lorna hesitated a second, but quickly brushed it aside. “Would you mind carrying Ross to Skye? I’m not sure I can manage it.”
Surprise flashed in Iris’s brown eyes, but it was quickly replaced by approval. “Of course.” Iris looked to Ross’s back and then back to Lorna. Amusement tinged her voice as she added, “Send him my way once I shift. I’ll also hold off shifting back until after you safely take Ross away. That way he won’t see me naked.”
“Thanks, Iris.”
“Anything for you, Lorna. You welcomed my parents with open arms when they came from India seeking shelter from the dragon wars going on there, back before I was born. It still means a lot to them.”
Lorna waved a hand. “It wasn’t anything special. I did what anyone would do.”
Iris smiled. “If you say so.” Lorna opened her mouth, but Iris cut her off. “I’ll shift now. The sooner we leave, the sooner you can have your romantic holiday with your new male.”
Running a few feet away, Iris stopped, and her body glowed a light purple. As Iris’s arms grew into forearms and hind legs, Lorna turned back toward Ross. As soon as she was close enough, she said, “You can turn around now.
Ross pivoted around and finished with a dramatic flourish of his arms. “I didn’t even peek once. I should be rewarded for that.”
Rolling her eyes, Lorna pointed toward the large basket with giant iron rings in the middle of the landing area. “Just go. Iris is going to take you.”
Leaning close, Ross kissed Lorna before murmuring, “There’s my lass.”
“Hurry up, human. The longer you linger, the longer it takes to get to Skye.”
As Ross headed toward the basket not far from Iris’s purple dragon, Lorna smiled to herself. She had a feeling Ross would always look out for her. Just knowing that felt…nice.
Her dragon spoke up. Of course it does. We should hurry up and mate him so he can’t run away.
I highly doubt Ross would run anywhere.
You know what I mean. He makes us feel beautiful, looks out for us, and helps with the children. What more could you want?
Lorna wanted love, but it was too soon to hope Ross felt that way, no matter what she might feel.
Ross had been stealing her heart for months, although Lorna had been too stubborn to realize it until the past few days. Not that she was going to admit it to her dragon.
Rather than continue the conversation with her beast, Lorna merely stated, Let’s shift.
Finally.
After quickly taking off her clothes and storing them in the large bag she would carry in the grip of a forearm, Lorna closed her eyes. She imagined her fingers extending into talons, wings growing from her back, and her body stretching to her dragon’s full height. A second later, she beat her green wings once for good measure.
Ross’s booming voice caught her attention. “It’s a race, love. Whoever gets there first can claim a fantasy for tonight.”
Before she could do more than blink, Iris hovered in place and clutched the metal rings with her back talons. Then the purple dragon beat her wings upward and disappeared into the distance.
Crouching down, Lorna picked up her bag with her forearm and leapt into the sky. Using every bit of strength she possessed, Lorna pushed herself upward. Under normal circumstances, Lorna had no chance of beating Iris. But with the Protector carrying the basket, Ross, and most of their luggage, Lorna might have a shot. The trick would be in not getting lost. It had been many years since she’d flown to western Scotland.
Her dragon huffed. I never get lost.
Let’s hope so, dragon. Let’s hope so.
Lorna was so determined to win that her fear of something happening to her in flight, like how Jamie had died in a lightning storm, never reared its ugly head.
Chapter Ten
Not long after Lorna reached the edge of Skye, a twinge started in her left shoulder. Each beat of her wings intensified the pain shooting through her body.
Lorna said to her beast, We need to land. If we keep going, we may not be able to fly for over a week.
Her dragon huffed. We’re nearly there. A bit longer won’t hurt.
Since calling her beast stupid would be counterproductive, Lorna took another approach. Do you want to take Ross up into the air in the next few days?
Of course.
Another pain jarred her body. Keep this up, and we won’t be able to play with our human. A ten-minute rest will do us good. I promise not to shift back or contain you. I know how much you miss being in this form.
Her dragon paused a few seconds before replying, Just a few minutes. I see a good place to land ahead.
As they descended, Lorna spotted the relatively flat piece of land nestled among hills, a stream, and lots of rocks.
After gliding down slowly, Lorna’s hind legs touched the ground. No sooner had she closed her wings against her back, a human’s head covered in an old, worn fedora popped up from behind a hill.
She froze. As far as she knew, there weren’t any dragon hunters on Skye. But until she knew for certain who the male was, Lorna watched his every move.
The male climbed up and over the small hill in the ground. Mud covered his feet, knees, and hands. He was young, maybe her sons’ age, but that was all she could tell with the hat obscuring a proper view.
He finally spoke with a southern English accent. “Hello, dragon. Fancy meeting you here.”
Lorna frowned as much as a dragon could and wished she could ask him a question. But there was no way she was going to shift into her human form in front of the stranger, especially since she had sharp talons and impressive strength as long as she stayed a dragon.
The human put his hands out to his sides, palms up. “I won’t hurt you. I’m more interested in what’s buried over there than killing a dragon.” She huffed, and the human placed his hands on his hips. “My name’s Max. Excuse my muddy appearance, but that tends to happen when digging a trench.”<
br />
Trench was an odd word to use for a hole. Not that Lorna cared about his word choices. Listening carefully, Lorna didn’t hear anything other than the wind. The tall, lean male was here alone.
Her dragon spoke up again. I say just scoop him up, and we can drop him in one of the sea lochs along the way to the cottage.
We already were having trouble flying, and now you want to add extra weight? Just hush and let me think.
Her beast grunted but didn’t say anything else.
Lorna’s options were few. She might be able to fly long enough to get away from the human, but then she ran the risk of him telling others that there were dragons on Skye. The locals were loyal to Lochguard, but the human was English, and she didn’t trust him.
The other possibility would be knocking the human unconscious and keeping him gripped in her talons until someone came to find her. Lorna was always on time so Iris would suspect something straight away when Lorna didn’t show.
Max took a step toward her and Lorna tensed in case she needed to pounce. The male clicked his tongue. “Look at that. You think I’m a threat, don’t you?” He chuckled as he adjusted his hat. “I’m the furthest thing from a threat, dragon. To be honest, I’m digging without permission and don’t fancy being caught myself. So, if you fly away, I won’t tell anyone about you and you don’t tell anyone about me. Deal?”
In order to give her some time to think of what to do, Lorna bared her teeth. That should scare the human.
However, a look of wonderment filled his eyes, and he took a step forward. “So that’s what they look like in a living a dragon. I’ve only ever seen them buried in the ground.”
Growling, Lorna assessed him again. Why would he be digging up dragon teeth? Was he some sort of eccentric bone collector?
Max retreated a few steps and put up his hands again. “No need to growl at me. I’m an archaeologist and digging things up is my passion.” She growled again, and he added, “My interest is dragon-shifters up through the Roman conquest of Britain. However, no one will give me a grant, let alone pay me, for that. So I pretend to look for human Iron Age and Roman settlements. They usually bring me to the right place for the dragons of that time period, too. As long as I find enough human evidence to convince people I’m doing my job properly, I can keep up this charade. Maybe you can help me convince dragon-shifters to help, too? That would be brilliant if we could set up an alliance to preserve British dragon archaeology.”
Lorna blinked. What was he nattering about?
From the corner of her eye, she noticed a purple dragon approaching. It was Iris.
Wanting to keep the human from noticing her approach, she plodded closer to him and pointed to the hole in the ground.
Excitement filled Max’s eyes. “That trench there should tell me if the old dragon-shifters of Skye had their base here. The references are spotty at best in historical documents, but I think I’ve finally figured it out.”
Max’s tone was so engaging that Lorna almost wanted to hear more.
Then she remembered he could be a threat for all she knew.
Thankfully, she didn’t have to distract him any longer since Iris swooped down and gripped his middle in her talons. Max shouted as Iris hovered with him in place.
As Max’s hat hit the ground, he glared up at Iris. “That’s my favorite hat.”
Confusion flashed in Iris’s eyes but quickly dissipated. She met Lorna’s gaze and tilted her head. She was asking if Lorna could fly away or not.
Testing out her wing, Lorna nodded to Iris. She could manage a short distance.
Jumping into the air, Lorna flapped her wings until she could glide on the wind currents. She had no idea what Iris would do with Max, but she could find that out later. Right now, Ross would be worried, and Lorna yearned to see his smiling face again.
~~~
Ross stood next to Shay, one of Lochguard’s youngest Protectors, and tried not to let worry thread his voice as he asked, “Are you sure Iris can find her? Maybe we should contact Lochguard.”
Shay shook his head. “We’ll wait to call anyone until Iris comes back. Otherwise, Finn will never allow his aunt off Lochguard’s land again.”
“I bet the bloody stubborn woman pushed herself too far too quickly. She hasn’t flown much in years,” Ross muttered.
Shay remained quiet for a few seconds before he replied, “She probably did it to impress you.”
Looking to Shay, Ross raised his brows. “What?”
“I’ve known Lorna my whole life, as has much of the clan. She was never unhappy, but in the last week, she’s glowed. I wasn’t sure of you at first, human, but after your help in the post-attack clean-up, you showed that you’re dedicated and care about Lochguard. You might just be worthy enough of Lorna MacKenzie yet.” Shay grunted. “But tell anyone I said that, and I will call you a liar.”
Ross tried not to smile. “One day you’ll learn that having a tough image means you can care, too, lad.”
Shay remained silent, and Ross went back to scanning the skies. While he was doing a good job of hiding it from the young dragonman at his side, Ross worried that Lorna’s delay was his fault. What if she’d broken her wing? Or, worse, crashed and a dragon hunter had found her?
The blasted woman didn’t need to try to impress him. He already wanted her more than any woman since his late wife. He’d just have to make sure to convince Lorna of that once she returned. Because, damn it, she would return. He hadn’t just been given his life back to have it taken from him again. He couldn’t imagine living without Lorna.
He wanted her to be his mate.
The fingers tapping against his thigh stilled. The realization had come on quite suddenly, but it was the truth. He wanted Lorna by his side for the rest of his days.
She just needed to arrive safe and sound before he could do anything.
Tapping his fingers against his thigh again, Ross squinted. There was a tiny speck in the sky. After what seemed like an eternity, he could tell the dragon was green. Since Iris was purple, it had to be Lorna.
He didn’t like the way the rhythm of her wings would falter every few beats. She definitely was pushing herself too hard.
Lorna finally glided down and landed. Ross motioned to Shay. “Go inside for now. I’ll shout if we need you.”
To his credit, the young dragonman disappeared without a word. None too soon, either, as Lorna glowed a faint green before shrinking back into her naked human form.
Ross shrugged out of his coat as he rushed forward. “About time you showed up, love.”
He placed the coat around Lorna’s shoulders as she answered, “It’s your fault I’m late, so don’t blame me. Pushing me to race like that. My old wings couldn’t take the stress.”
Brushing Lorna’s cheek, Ross murmured, “I’m sorry. I wasn’t really thinking. I sometimes forget I’m not a lad of twenty again, out to challenge anyone who dared.” He raised his voice to normal levels. “But to make it up to you, I’m going to take care of you. I saw you struggling in the sky. What hurts? Should we call a doctor?”
Lorna smiled as she patted Ross’s chest. “I don’t need a doctor. Although some tea and warm clothes would do.”
He turned until he could loop his arm around Lorna’s shoulders. “Tell me what happened. And don’t gloss over the details.”
His dragonwoman snorted. “And now you’re ordering me about like a mate.”
Ross growled. Stopping, he turned to face her. “You will be my mate if I have anything to say about it, Lorna MacKenzie.”
She blinked. “Pardon?”
“You heard me the first time with your supersensitive hearing, woman. I thought something had happened to you, and it felt as if someone punched a hole in my heart. I don’t want to ever feel that way again. It just means I need to take care of you and make sure you don’t push yourself too hard again.”
“Ross,” she answered breathlessly.
“That had better be a good ‘Ross’ and
not a warning.”
Rolling her eyes, Lorna smacked his side. “Tone it down a bit, human.”
“No.” He caressed her cheek with his thumb. “You are my future, Lorna, and I will fight for it. The only question is, do you want the same future as me?”
~~~
After Ross’s question, Lorna leaned into his caresses. Each strum of his fingers relaxed her body and eased the sore muscles of her back.
She could get used to having her human around.
Her dragon spoke up. No need to get used to it. We will keep him.
She wanted to agree without hesitation, but a small part of her was afraid Ross might tire of her eventually. Lorna’s personality tended to wear on those who weren’t strong enough to stand up to it.
Her beast grunted. Why do you doubt him? Ross has lived with us for nearly six months. Every morning we had breakfast, and every evening we watched telly together. The only thing keeping us from being a couple was sex. But he’s good at that too. I want to keep him.
Ross’s voice prevented her from replying. “Tell me your doubts, Lorna, so I can erase them.”
The way he said it, with such confidence, only made Lorna lean a little closer to him. It was still sometimes hard to believe Ross was human and not a dragon-shifter.
Lorna didn’t break Ross’s gaze. “How are you so certain you want to spend the rest of your life with me, Ross? Tell me that first.”
He nodded. “Aye, I will. But I won’t let you back out from answering afterward.”
“I won’t try, so don’t worry, human.”
Placing his free hand on her hip, he pulled her gently against him. At the little thrill racing through her body at the contact, she had to focus to listen to his words. “Before I came to Lochguard and stayed with you, I was struggling to find out what to do with my life. My daughter was grown, cancer was killing me, and my wife was dead. When Holly was able to get me to Lochguard, I wondered how I would fit in. Dragons were completely different from humans, or so I thought originally.”
The Dragon's Heart (Lochguard Highland Dragons #3) Page 8
