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He eyed his daughter suspiciously as she whistled. She was most definitely up to something.
His dragon laughed.When isn’t she? But she seems genuinely interested in helping Percy, so I doubt she’ll run off.
Great, it’s come to me being happy she won’t try to sneak onto a train to visit a human city.
Violet waved at him. “Percy will be out soon, Dad. Try to be nice to her, okay?”
His daughter’s words pricked his pride. “Of course I’ll be nice to her.”
She studied him a second, nodded to herself, and said, “I’ll come back out when it’s time to make dinner.”
And then she was gone.
He said to his beast,She acts more and more like an adult every day. I’m both proud and terrified.
Don’t worry, she’ll probably have a rebellious phase like our brother Brooklyn and then settle down.
He snorted.Only because he found Letitia. That female is a saint.
Bronx’s sister-in-law, Letitia, was one of the few who could tame Brooklyn when needed.
Percy’s voice prevented his dragon from replying. “What were you laughing at?”
He looked up and blinked. She’d showered. Her hair now fell in soft waves about her shoulders, and she wore jeans and a T-shirt that revealed both how small she was for a dragon-shifter but also how soft she was in all the right places.
What the fuck?No, just no.This female had been traumatized, abused, and mistreated, and she’d lived through hell. He wouldn’t be the bastard who stared at her body, no matter how much he might want to.
And no, he really didn’t want to. He was never taking a mate again, after all.
His dragon said softly,You don’t have to want a mate to woo a female.
Ignoring his dragon, he cleared his throat and remembered her question. “Just my dragon. He’s an arsehole sometimes and likes to tease me.”
Since it was true and they teased each other, his dragon merely gave a toothy grin inside his mind.
Percy placed the empty plate in the sink, set down some books on the counter, and leaned forward. He trained his eyes only on her face as she said, “I-I kind of remember that. I never laughed before my dragon, and…” Her voice trailed off as she stared at the counter, tracing a design with her fingers.
She looked so fucking young and lost.
“Well, I guarantee if you spend much more time with Violet, she’ll make you laugh. She’s good at that.”
Percy gave a barely there smile, and it made his heart skip a beat. She replied, “I like your daughter. She’s, er, nice.”
He laughed. “That’s a very diplomatic answer. But Violet is my world. I love her more than anything, and she has a light about her, one that glows without her even trying.”
Percy nodded but didn’t say anything else.
Bronx stood, keeping distance between them. Even though Violet wasn’t far away, he didn’t know how Percy would react to him being near. He gestured toward the books. “I take it those mean you’re ready for some lessons?”
She traced the edge of one of the books. “Yes.”
He resisted frowning. Percy from earlier had been bold, unafraid to say what she wanted, and would’ve told him to sod off if she felt like it.
Something had changed, although he didn’t know what.
Regardless, he was determined to bring back some of her fire. “You don’t have to be so polite with me, Percy. Just honest. I don’t know what the hell they did to you, and you don’t have to talk about any of it until you’re ready—if you ever are—but I vow not to hurt you intentionally. I’m not perfect—no one is—so I may get grumpy or blurt something I shouldn’t. But all I want to do is help you learn and to work with your dragon, and to help you reach any goal you set.”
She met his gaze again. And as her pupils remained round, he vowed he would do whatever it took so she could talk with her dragon, provided she wasn’t rogue. That was one thing he couldn’t control.
