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“I’m just in the family business.” It wasn’t really a lie.
“What business?”
Crap.
Feeling put under a microscope, I thought maybe I shouldn’t lie. If I was going to rule a kingdom with her, I needed to be honest from the get-go.
“We govern a small population,” I admitted.
“What, like acting town leaders?”
I frowned, wishing I could figure out a better approach.
“Do you trust me?”
She looked surprised, and then relaxed and laughed as she stopped walking. “We’ve hardly spoken for more than an hour, and all you did was stare at me while I worked yesterday. It’s a little early to be talking about trust,” she teased.
My face felt hot with embarrassment, but I pushed past it.
“Can you come with me? I asked. “I’ll keep my hands to myself if you’re worried.” If I could just be patient with her for a little while longer, long enough for us to really connect, I knew I’d never want to be more than a few inches from her. It wasn’t logical, but the foot of space between us felt charged with electricity.
She looked me over, thinking carefully, and then glanced back to the car and driver that dropped me off, parked a few cars behind hers.
“Okay, but I’m texting a friend where I’m going and a picture of your face,” she countered.
It was my turn to laugh in surprise.
“Fine, sure.”
After a humiliatingly simple picture and a fifteen-minute walk out to the woods at the edge of town, it was time to be honest with her. Our hands brushed against each other as we made our way through the thick trees, and my stomach tightened with nerves. That had never happened before.
Sure, she was gorgeous, but that was not the cause. Everything with Mara felt so incrediblydifferent.
“You can’t tell anyone,” I explained. She stopped in a small clearing with me and waited patiently. “I’m part of an ancient kingdom of dragon shifters from the edge of town, and I’d like to invite you to explore the kingdom and paint in it.”
“Oh, sure,” she said with a laugh and a roll of her eyes.
Not caring about ripping my clothes, I shifted into my dragon form—muscle and sinew stretching and reforming into a more powerful creature. Her mouth popped open in surprise.
