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I stared — and stared, and stared — while inside, my dragon practically started tap-dancing.
I told you we were meant for each other.
“Dragon shifter?” I echoed stupidly.
Erin nodded, then motioned in the air. “I doubt that matters, though.”
My mouth hung open. Hell, yes. It mattered. To me, anyway.
Dragon shifter!my inner beast cheered.Just like me!
“Maybe it’s the warlock side that makes me feel the vortex when you can’t,” Erin continued. “And that’s the scary thing — if I can feel it, what about Harlon?”
My throat went dry. Not a good scenario, and we both knew it.
“Maybe you can feel the vortex because it’s connected to your family,” I said.
She shook her head. “Those petroglyphs were carved centuries ago by the Sinagua, long before outsiders settled in this area. Before they were pushed out, I should say — maybe even by my own ancestors.” She shook her head sadly. “So, they’re not connected to my family.”
“I don’t know. Magic is magic,” I murmured.
Erin didn’t look convinced.
By then, we’d reached the stairs to her porch, and each creaked under our feet. She paused, turning to gaze at the cliffs on the far side of the ranch. I read a dozen unspoken questions on her lips.
She glanced over expectantly, so I let her down gently. “They didn’t cover that at the agency.” Then I tried to lighten things a little. “But maybe when this is all over, you could teach a whole new unit.”
That, at least, got a little laugh out of her. “You and I, you mean. I wouldn’t know where to begin.”
You and I.I smiled at her, and she smiled back. Long enough that my chest warmed — and not just because the cabin blocked the chilly breeze.
Erin turned to the door abruptly. “Anyway…”
I swallowed hard. Right. We had to focus on Harlon and Angelina, not on any, er…feelings that might be developing between us.
Inside, Erin set me up for the night the way she prepared for a balloon flight — all cool, quick, and efficient. It was ridiculously early, but so was starting time for work the next day. Erin was in and out of the bathroom in three minutes flat. Afterward, she climbed a steep ladder to the open loft and turned off the lights. A few seconds later, I heard her toss something light to the floor — her clothes?
My throat went dry, and my dragon’s ears perked.
“Fair warning — I set an alarm for three forty-five,” she called, out of sight but still all too close. “Should I wake you up then?”
Ha. Like I was going to get any sleep.
“Fine with me.” I stripped to my boxers and lay down on the couch, tucking myself in under a worn quilt.
A moment later, she called out in a forced,this is all perfectly normaltone, “Goodnight.”
“Goodnight,” I echoed in a much scratchier voice.
The next few seconds ticked by in artificial silence. But, hey. That was preferable to the awkward silence of a morning-after full of regret.
Who says we would regret it?my dragon hummed, sending dirty images into my mind.
I turned to my side, ordering myself to sleep.
Closing my eyes was easy, but that didn’t work with ears, and my dragon tuned in to the faintest sound from the loft. The rustle of sheets…that had to be Erin stretching those long, toned legs. The soft, even pace of her breath, too faint for human ears, but not for me.
She’s not sleeping,the beast rumbled, not at all helpfully.
