I’m going to find you both.
I hope so.
* * *
When we finally got out of the water, we ate and then called it a night. I hated to unlink from Yosef; it felt like I was that much closer to getting out of there with our connection. But we both needed our rest. Plus, my body wouldn’t stop buzzing. Luca was confident it would normalize as we got used to the bond.
I awoke the next morning–well, I didn’t really know if it was morning or not in that dark cave–with the feeling of something large surrounding me.
I didn’t feel Luca, whose chest I had been lying on while sleeping. Instead, I was laying semi-upright against something smooth and warm. I touched the surface. What felt like scales scraped lightly under my fingers.
No way.
I shot up. The fire was barely still going, but my eyes adjusted to the dimness. I could clearly see what was now propping me up.
A freaking dragon.
Luca?
He was massive. He had to be about one hundred feet in length.
He was also beautiful. His scales were an iridescent purplish red, almost like individual jewels. I expected his dragon form to be rough, but it was almost like a snake’s skin. His leathery wings, framed in a thin boning, were tucked into his sides, and his head held two short, black horns. He opened his eyes, and I saw the same sea green color, except his pupils were slits like a lizard’s.
“Why are you in your dragon form?” I asked.
He opened his giant maw, but it did not move like a human’s. It just hung open for sound to come out like a speaker. “Because it’s comfortable. It’s like stretching. I don’t normally get to do so. Plus, my hearing is better in this form. I can tell if anyone is outside the cave.”
“Well, you look pretty.”
He huffed out a cloud of smoke through his massive nostrils. It wasn’t much, but enough to blur my vision. I coughed and waved my hand in front of my face.
“Sorry,” he said. “I have never heard that before.”
I shrugged. “Well, it’s true.”
He let out a laugh, and I smiled, despite myself. Did I mention that old Puff the Magic Dragon was starting to make me fall for him?
A chill ran through me, and I wrapped my arms around myself.
“Cold?” Luca asked.
I shouldn’t have been. The cave was humid and warm. “It was just a random chill.”
“It’s the bond. Your body is still getting used to it.”
Luca’s body shifted around me until he was once again human. He walked to me, fully naked. “Let me wrap myself around you.”
I snorted. If he wrapped around me like that, I would easily warm up because we’d be having sex. He was only semi flaccid, but that could change easily.
He grabbed a pair of trousers tossed on a log and put them on, to my disappointment. Seeing my pouting face, he smirked before walking behind me and sitting down, trapping me between his legs.
Instantly the cold buzzing in my body stopped. “How’d you do that? I feel better.”
He tapped his chin on the top of my head. “Same. It’s our physical connection. We like touch.”
“So, what are the rules to being dragon mates?” Honestly, I was still freaked out by it all. The fact that I could bond Luca was mind-blowing. A part of me wondered if he was lying about me being able to bond him to me, but deep down, I knew it was true. Sadly, my powers didn’t return, but I actually enjoyed the connection. It was different when I was willing, and I felt more equality since he was bonded to me as well.
“I don’t actually know much. I’ve never had a mate. It’s been years since I’ve been around other dragons. I know we can connect mentally, like most magic-based bonds. We can heal each other. Dragons are immortal, but half-dragons aren’t. However, since you’re my mate, you will be.”
