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She’s excited. Leave her alone, Wink chastised me gently.
Ready, Freddy? Mace asked, touching down at my side.
I patted his neck and waved to my sister.
“Promise to call me if you need me,” I ordered her.
The wide, excited eyes that met mine were freakin’ beautiful.
“Holy shit,” she breathed, getting her first good look at Mace.
I looked at him, too, and wondered for the first time if he realized just how gorgeous he was.
Mace was over sixteen feet in length and as wide as a train car. He was stocky and short, but he made up for that shortcoming (in his eyes, not mine) with his beautiful coloring.
Midnight blue with streaks of neon blue that ran all over his chest and back.
He had spikes midway down his back all the way to the tip of his tail, and bright blue eyes the color of lightening.
He had bright, white sparkly teeth—all the better to eat you with.
I know, I’m beautiful.
I rolled my eyes and mounted his back, climbing up until my knees were resting on either side of his neck.
“Call me the minute you know anything,” I asked Jean Luc.
He nodded his head and whistled.
His dragon landed at his feet within twenty seconds of his call.
“Oh, holy shit,” Mattie whispered.
Wink giggled and waved, blew me a kiss, and then disappeared back into the house.
I waited until my sister mounted Jean Luc’s dragon, Tele, before taking off for my usual scheduled patrol.
My brother with you?
I looked over to find Keifer circling the grounds of my house, and I shook my head.
He’s asleep.
Keifer’s gaze darkened.
Why? he asked.
A grin split my face.
He tried to hold Jean Luc still while he had a discussion with me.
Keifer cursed and had his dragon circle around until he landed by his still-knocked-out brother.
Jean Luc waved at Keifer as he too took off, and I urged Mace to take a hard right.
Let’s do our normal route, only backwards this time.
Mace pumped his wings, and suddenly we were high above the trees, and I felt like I could breathe easier. The feeling of riding on my paired dragon was exhilarating. Words couldn’t explain how right it felt to be up high above the ground where the air temperature was cooler. Where people and buildings seemed insignificant. Where I could ride, and feel the wind in my hair, and not have to worry about someone hitting me with their car. It was quiet…so freakin’ quiet.
It was an entirely freeing experience, and one that would only be better if Wink was up there with me.
I love you, but this bed is heavenly.
I sent a mental kiss to Wink, and then shut the door on our link. Not completely, though. I did it just enough that I knew what was going on with her, but she wasn’t privy to my every thought and feeling.
The same went both ways, though.
This would be a time for Wink to reflect on her day without me sitting front and center in her brain, listening to every damn thing that went through her thoughts.
We flew for what felt like minutes, watching, calculating, and learning.
We passed markers in the land, examined property lines, as well as the shield boundaries that kept out any unwanted guests.
We checked on The Heart, felt the exhilaration at being so near, and then zipped through the night like we were one with the wind.Chapter 15I rode a dragon and I liked it.
-Wink’s secret thoughts
Wink
Ten hours later
I rolled over in bed, my eyes going to the light shining through the window.
“Ian?” I called, rolling over to look at the bed beside me.
He appeared almost as if he’d sensed me waking, and I smiled at him.
“What time is it?” I asked him.
“Twenty minutes until one,” he said, coming around to my side of the bed.
My eyes closed, and then snapped back open.
“Ian!” I yelled, scrambling out of bed. “You were supposed to wake me up two hours ago! I have a session in the park!”
His brows furrowed. “I thought you said that was tomorrow.”
“It is,” I grumbled. “Or was. I told you yesterday that it was tomorrow.”
He shrugged. “I’ve been checking on my sister and the shop.”
“What shop?” I questioned him as I searched for pants. “And how is she doing?”
“Her house is gone,” he said. “As for my shop, it’s my woodworking shop.”
“You make wood?” I teased, looking over my shoulder at him as I pulled my pants up and over my hips.
His eyes were on my ass, though, and not on the question.
“I do,” he confirmed. “I harvest my own trees and mill them into boards, logs, and beams.”
My mouth dropped open.
“How did I not know that yet?” I asked. “We’ve been together for weeks now, and this is the first I’ve heard of it.”
He shrugged.
“Been doing it since I was sixteen and working for an old man who used to own a mill,” he explained. “I bought it from him about two years ago.”
