Page 69 of Dragon’s Rebel

He played with one of her curls, running his finger down her cheek and then kissing the place he touched.

“This—us—makes me feel like I’m suddenly alive when I was half-dead all my life. Even with my dragon gone, sometimes I still feel happy. Like when I see you smile.”

She gave a little snort and turned her head away. Gently, he turned it back so he could look in her eyes.

“I’m not saying I’ll be a good mate. I’ll probably suck at it. But now I understand what Zane is talking about, the things he feels about Blaze.”

He leaned his forehead against hers. “You feel like a part of me now,” he said. “I can’t imagine losing you.”

He gathered her in his arms and held her close, and he felt tears on her face. “Don’t cry,” he whispered. “I don’t want to make you cry.”

“You make me feel things too, Lizard,” she said. “It scares the hell out of me.”

“Why?”

“Because it never lasts. The people always go away.”

They did. They died, and then the hole in your heart just got bigger.

“I know. It scares me too.” He paused. “But maybe that’s how we know it’s real.”

“Maybe,” she said. “Maybe, after all this is over, we should try to find out?”

He gathered her to him. “I’d like that,” he said.

The next morning they woke up and made love again—several times. Thorne loved being able to make Rebel lose control, just let go and let him pleasure her. They were lying together, too relaxed to move, when there was a knock at the door.

Tyr called out, “Thorne! Open up!”

“No,” he answered. “Go away.” Rebel giggled faintly.

“You need to stop fucking right now,” Tyr said. “And you need to get your dragon back, so I can call you shit the normal way instead of trekking all the way up here from the Batcave. It’s a long way.”

“There’s an elevator,” Thorne said unsympathetically.

Rebel added, “Why didn’t you text him?”

“I did! No answer.”

Oh. His phone had been in the pocket of his pants when he conjured them away. It would reappear in whatever he chose to wear next, but that didn’t help.

“Sorry. What the fuck do you want?”

“Oh, nothing much,” Tyr said. “Only that we got a ping on our search. You know, saving the world? But don’t disturb yourselves. I’m sure it will wait.”

Rebel sighed. “Why is it always you who interrupts our special moments with work?” she yelled to Tyr.

“I volunteer. Because Thorne is cute when he’s grumpy.”

“He is, isn’t he?” She kissed his shoulder.

“Shut up, both of you.” Thorne was already throwing back the covers and conjuring clean clothes. He slapped his pockets to make sure his phone was in the new pair.

Yep. There it was. If only he could figure out how to charge it while it was in the mysterious netherworld where dragon clothes came from.

Rebel was pulling on her sequined bowling shirt, that being all she had here in his room. Thorne walked over, put his hands on her shoulders, kissed her, and she was dressed in a black t-shirt and her favorite faded jeans.

“How do you do that?” she muttered.

He kissed her again. “Magic. Now let’s go see what our search has turned up.”

Rebel opened the bedroom door and yelled to Tyr, who was jogging down the hall. “There better be coffee in the Batcave!”

He waved, and disappeared into the elevator.