Page 26 of Dragon Me Through Space

“It’s a place with lots of plants like these and a ton of wildlife,” he explained. “We have them on our planet.”

“It’s peaceful,” I whispered. “And beautiful.”

“You are beautiful,” he whispered back from very close to me.

I opened my eyes and smiled at him. He stood just a few feet away from the table, staring at me.

“Thank you. You’re very attractive, too.”

He shrugged. “Attractiveness is based on symmetry and I have a very symmetrical face.”

I laughed so hard I had to clutch my stomach.

“Why are you laughing?” he asked.

“You don’t take compliments very well, do you?”

He shook his head. “No. I’m not sure how to deal with them.”

“Obviously,” I said and wiped my eyes. “So, do you come here often?”

He nodded. “I like to nap in here.”

“Is this table where you sleep?” I asked. It was just a wooden table, so I couldn’t imagine it was comfortable to nap on.

He frowned. “What? No. That’s just a table we use for tools and supplies when we’re tending the plants.”

“Where do you sleep then?” I asked.

He pointed up.

I tilted my head back and my mouth dropped open. There were hammocks suspended from the ceiling. “Oh.”

They were so high, though. Could they really jump that high?

“Want to try it out?” he asked.

Lowering my head to look back at him, I nodded. “Yes. Yes, I would.”

He scooped me up off the table with a single arm beneath my butt, his wings popped out of his back, and he flew up to the ceiling and on one of the hammocks. It swayed gently, but he kept his hold on me as he sat in it.

“Um, are we going to share one?” I asked.

He chuckled. “Sorry, didn’t really think about it.” Carefully, he turned and set me in the hammock he’d sat in, flapping his wings to keep aloft, and then flew to the hammock across from mine.

We laid down and I immediately closed my eyes. I could definitely get used to this.

“I could build you a hammock that hangs lower,” he commented after several silent moments.

“I don’t want to trouble you,” I said and rolled my head to the side to look at him.

He shrugged. “We’ll be flying for another two weeks before we reach Exostalon. I’ve got time to kill.”

“I’d love a hammock in here,” I said, my body fully relaxed. “That would be nice.”

“If you’re going to stay in here when I’m here, you’ll have to follow some rules, though,” he said softly.

“Rules?” I asked.