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I probably would have fought anyone who tried to convince me to take her to the wedding. Heck! I can barely convince myself that yesterday was anything but a mistake. I’d been guarded for so long, I’m not about to drop my guard now.
Working off the steam as I soar in a circle around the island does me some good. I know I was wrong, having dropped my guard for a split second when I was touched by the very small, very human gesture she made.
The rugby ball pendant, carved from the stone of hard dragon bone… That’s the only reason why I’d asked if she would leave.
Grunting to release another cloud of smoke, I scoff at the possibility that I actually might have felt sad that she would eventually leave. I can’t afford those feelings. Luckily, this flight numbs me enough to glide down and shift back to human form.
It’s not like I can avoid her forever.
Using the back entrance of the castle, I head inside while taking deep breaths to compose myself. Once outside the lab, I steel my spine and prepare myself mentally before entering.
It seems that someone did take the bait and take food for her. There’s a plate on the desk, but no sign of Yazmine. I make my way inside. The fire has burned out, and the blanket is back on the couch.
It’s like the evidence of yesterday is gone. All except for one piece of the reminder—that comes when Yazmine walks through the door.
“Oh… Aragon…” she gulps, standing tersely behind the door when she spots me.
I take a deep breath, anticipating the earful I expect to hear. No woman would want to wake up to find herself alone after sharing her body so intimately the night before. I know I’m a cruel bastard, but I’m surprised when she turns her face away instead. She heads to her laptop and goes on as if the air isn’t tense.
She must have gone back to my quarters to freshen up. Her hair is wound in a tight bun, and her shoulders are straight as she types away.
Is she going to address the elephant in the room?
“Yazmine…”
“I’ve run tests on your sample,” she informs me flatly.
I guess we’re not addressing it…
“I have reason to believe that the dragon bone isn’t one of yours.”
I frown as I take cautious steps forward, treading on thin ice—that much I know. “It’s not?”
She shakes her head, pointing at the screen. “The sample shows traces of human DNA, hence your ability to shift into human form. I used the same DNA on the bone, but it didn’t change the construct of the material in the bone. If anything—”
“That’s because we’re immortal, isn’t it?” I offer. Deep down, I’m thankful she’s choosing to ignore what happened between us. It’s easier this way, even if it’s unsettling to me. The dense air around us is palpable.
Then again, I wouldn’t know what to say to her. I spent all my restless hours trying to come up with something and falling short. There’s just no excuse for succumbing to baser instincts.
“Still, your ability to shift changes the construct of your bones,” she shakes her head, standing back and intently staring at the screen with a finger on her chin. “It’s something I’ll have to deconstruct to check if it matches the bone.” She turns to the table where the bone lies. “I need to extract even the slightest amount of DNA from the fossil.”
I follow her gaze when I notice how intently she stares at the bone, wondering if her mind is going where mine is. That’s the very same table we’d—
“That’s gonna be a tough one,” I relent, clearing my throat as I mentally push away the images of her bent over the table. “The only way a dragon shifter can die is from another dragon's fire. It consumes flesh and blood of the dragon shifter, leaving the bones in an everlasting shape as this one.”
Yazmine nods slowly. “It makes sense, then. Which means, I’ll have to take a bone marrow sample and get to the core of this one.”
“You can take mine,” I offer. The silence that follows is deafening until Yazmine finally turns to face me.
I recognize the look of condemnation in her eyes. It’s the first time this morning that she’s looking at me, and it sends a chill down my spine. There’s a million thoughts flashing in her eyes, a million questions. But all she does is offer me a smile when she says, “Sure. I’ll appreciate that,” before turning back to the desk.
My heart is pounding at this point, almost like I just narrowly escaped death.
“If you don’t mind…” she begins, clearing her throat. “... I’d like to learn more about the dragon shifter.” She sighs, her shoulders drooping. “I realize I have a lot to learn.”
I open my mouth to refute her keen interest but stop myself when I remember what happened yesterday.
There’s no excuse for what I did. Yet, Yazmine seems more interested in learning about my kind, when she should be furious. I’m confused.
