they could from lost ships and bargaining with the other shifting
races for expanded territory. But Emerly had been different. Not once had she
ever asked for gold. She’d asked for Lucy’s friendship and trust. She’d asked
Lucy and Tristan not to reveal her whereabouts to their Draco clan.
As they made his way up the stairs leading to the tower, Lucy
hoped Emerly remembered her. And she prayed the mermaid wouldn’t be too
irritated that she’d just revealed the cave to a dragon on a mission.
By the time Caleb reached the tower, Lucy was hot on his heels.
The storm had passed over them and headed east, leaving the coast covered by a
star-studded sky. A humid breeze swept across the tower, dragging hints of salty
sea breeze to Lucy’s nose. They weren’t far from the Drakein Cliffs; it’d take
Caleb ten minutes to fly there. Twenty, tops.
“Mount up, beautiful,” Caleb said, dragging Lucy’s attention
away from the horizon.
Heavens above , he was glorious.
Golden moonlight shone off Caleb’s bare skin, making him seem
more like a bronze statue than a Draco. His muscles twitched and flexed,
preparing for the shift. The breadth of his back was wide, tan, and glistening
gold. Was it wrong that she wanted to skim her hands over the hard, sculpted
ridges of his body?
“My clothes are in the bag.”
Jarred into action, Lucy slung the bag over her shoulder and
waited with bated breath against the archway.
The archway.
Her hands mindlessly skated over the stone, remembering how
their bodies had come together there. How their bodies had exploded with
passion, reverberating deep tremors of love into their hearts. When would Caleb
say that he loved her directly, without attaching things that made his statement
safe?
It might not matter anyway , she chastised herself. If they didn’t find
Tristan, she was set to claim someone else. The thought crushed her, and
threatened to turn her heart to stone.
Thwap !
Caleb’s thick shaft of a tail smacked against the wall. He’d
shifted while she stood there, dazed, too anxious to get going to wait for her
to finish her thoughts.
“I’m coming, I’m coming,” Lucy said, unable to tear her gaze
away from the gold-plated dragon stomping impatiently in front of her.
Stroking his sleek armor of buttery scales, Lucy got the
strangest feeling. As though he was hers, and she was his. Without a claiming
ceremony to deem it so. Things had never felt more right. As if she’d been born
for this moment.
With a giant leap she straddled his middle, slid forward into
place and coiled her arms around his neck. Caleb turned and looked back at her.
His snout was long and softly rounded, and his thick, black lashes fluttered
like fans. Caleb was gorgeous...but from a single, pounding huff and another
stomp of his front leg, he asserted his dominance. He may’ve been easy on the
eyes, but he was commanding. Rough and dangerous. Plucked straight from Lucy’s
deepest fantasies.
As Caleb bent low, flattening out, Lucy held her breath. She’d
flown at night during training, but she’d never gotten over the sheer beauty of
it. Soaring beneath the stars was magical. Breathtaking. Nothing like flying
beneath the hard glare of the sun.
With a jolt that jump-started Lucy’s heart, Caleb lunged from
the tower and took flight, drumming his heavy wings through the midnight air. He
soared, higher and higher, until Lucy thought she could touch the stars. As
Caleb leveled out, Lucy clenched her thighs around his middle and reached up. It
felt as if the moon was within grasp. The stars were bright marbles of light she
could hold in her hand. And Caleb was there to experience the majesty with her,
every inch of the way.
When the sea peeked over the westernmost mountain ridge,
Caleb’s entire body flexed with excitement, from the stiff girth of his neck to
the fierce whip of his tail.
“Yeah, we’re close,” she said, pointing to a set of cliffs that
had always reminded her of pictures of
races for expanded territory. But Emerly had been different. Not once had she
ever asked for gold. She’d asked for Lucy’s friendship and trust. She’d asked
Lucy and Tristan not to reveal her whereabouts to their Draco clan.
As they made his way up the stairs leading to the tower, Lucy
hoped Emerly remembered her. And she prayed the mermaid wouldn’t be too
irritated that she’d just revealed the cave to a dragon on a mission.
By the time Caleb reached the tower, Lucy was hot on his heels.
The storm had passed over them and headed east, leaving the coast covered by a
star-studded sky. A humid breeze swept across the tower, dragging hints of salty
sea breeze to Lucy’s nose. They weren’t far from the Drakein Cliffs; it’d take
Caleb ten minutes to fly there. Twenty, tops.
“Mount up, beautiful,” Caleb said, dragging Lucy’s attention
away from the horizon.
Heavens above , he was glorious.
Golden moonlight shone off Caleb’s bare skin, making him seem
more like a bronze statue than a Draco. His muscles twitched and flexed,
preparing for the shift. The breadth of his back was wide, tan, and glistening
gold. Was it wrong that she wanted to skim her hands over the hard, sculpted
ridges of his body?
“My clothes are in the bag.”
Jarred into action, Lucy slung the bag over her shoulder and
waited with bated breath against the archway.
The archway.
Her hands mindlessly skated over the stone, remembering how
their bodies had come together there. How their bodies had exploded with
passion, reverberating deep tremors of love into their hearts. When would Caleb
say that he loved her directly, without attaching things that made his statement
safe?
It might not matter anyway , she chastised herself. If they didn’t find
Tristan, she was set to claim someone else. The thought crushed her, and
threatened to turn her heart to stone.
Thwap !
Caleb’s thick shaft of a tail smacked against the wall. He’d
shifted while she stood there, dazed, too anxious to get going to wait for her
to finish her thoughts.
“I’m coming, I’m coming,” Lucy said, unable to tear her gaze
away from the gold-plated dragon stomping impatiently in front of her.
Stroking his sleek armor of buttery scales, Lucy got the
strangest feeling. As though he was hers, and she was his. Without a claiming
ceremony to deem it so. Things had never felt more right. As if she’d been born
for this moment.
With a giant leap she straddled his middle, slid forward into
place and coiled her arms around his neck. Caleb turned and looked back at her.
His snout was long and softly rounded, and his thick, black lashes fluttered
like fans. Caleb was gorgeous...but from a single, pounding huff and another
stomp of his front leg, he asserted his dominance. He may’ve been easy on the
eyes, but he was commanding. Rough and dangerous. Plucked straight from Lucy’s
deepest fantasies.
As Caleb bent low, flattening out, Lucy held her breath. She’d
flown at night during training, but she’d never gotten over the sheer beauty of
it. Soaring beneath the stars was magical. Breathtaking. Nothing like flying
beneath the hard glare of the sun.
With a jolt that jump-started Lucy’s heart, Caleb lunged from
the tower and took flight, drumming his heavy wings through the midnight air. He
soared, higher and higher, until Lucy thought she could touch the stars. As
Caleb leveled out, Lucy clenched her thighs around his middle and reached up. It
felt as if the moon was within grasp. The stars were bright marbles of light she
could hold in her hand. And Caleb was there to experience the majesty with her,
every inch of the way.
When the sea peeked over the westernmost mountain ridge,
Caleb’s entire body flexed with excitement, from the stiff girth of his neck to
the fierce whip of his tail.
“Yeah, we’re close,” she said, pointing to a set of cliffs that
had always reminded her of pictures of
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