Although maybe I wouldn’t be so horny if?—
No.
Oh no.
There would be none of that until after the meeting with Nessie because I had no interest in dealing with a clingy woman with moonstruck eyes and expectations that came from being intimate.
I lay on the bed, atop the covers, making sure I wouldn’t accidentally brush her skin, but I couldn’t ignore the soft noise of her breathing, the rapid pace of her pulse, the scent of her—that I swore got stronger—the mere fact of her presence, the?—
“Can’t sleep either, hunh?”She rolled to her side and pillowed her cheek as she looked at me.The faint light from a streetlamp kept the room from being pitch-black.
“I wouldn’t be a very good guard if I did.”
“You’ll be tired if you don’t get some rest.I’m sure if someone enters the room, you’ll wake up.”
“I would.”
“Then what’s the real reason you can’t sleep?Are you nervous, like me, about meeting Nessie tomorrow?”
“A little.”And then so she wouldn’t think me a coward… “While I would prevail in a fight, I cannot be certain you’ll be safe.”
“You’re worried about me.”She smiled with pleasure.
Too late I realized what I’d said.“Am not.”
“It’s okay.I’m worried about you, too.I wouldn’t want you to come to harm because you’re accompanying me.”
“I’m not easy to hurt.”
“Maybe not physically, but you’re still suffering from the wound Tiamat left.”
“What did Oliver say?”I growled.
“Just that she used her mind tricks on you.I’m assuming she made you think you cared for her.”
“More like she made me ignore the negative aspects of her personality and only focus on the positive.You see, I might paint Tiamat as a monster, but in reality, she could be charming, was considered attractive, and her aura of power and wealth only added to her seductive attributes.”
“You loved her.”
“Dragons don’t love, not like humans do.We form alliances.We have respect.”
“No affection?”
“Affection is for humans.”Something I used to say with a sneer in my younger years, only to find myself envying those who felt it.
“Love, and other emotions, aren’t just for humans.There are many living things capable of caring.And I will add, you’re only half dragon.If that.Since we’ve met, you’ve been more man than beast.”
“Even in this shape, I am still a dragon.”
“Not entirely.You don’t hunt animals to eat raw meat while a man.You cook.You have hobbies.You sleep in a bed.Watch television.Use tools.Have sex.I’ll bet you pee in a toilet, too.”
“And this proves what?”
“Proves you have a human side.”
I said nothing, mostly because I’d be lying if I didn’t admit she had a point.“You talk too much.”
“So I’ve been told.I’m sorry.I’m probably keeping you awake.”
