pouch pinched
him in rather uncomfortable places. Still, all things considered,
he wanted her to be happy more than anything else.
And if this William of Whatever could do the
trick - then Theo would bow out of the picture, do his best to
sever the mind link and let her live the life she was entitled
to.
He might just throw himself off the
battlements to celebrate his joy at the occasion.
Morosely he trundled to the edge of the
ramparts and rested his chin on the stones, staring at nothing in
particular. He could hear the noise from the main hall even at this
distance, which wasn’t really surprising since the sound of about a
gazillion women all talking at once ranked right up there with
earthquakes, violent explosions and Dandelion’s farts on the
decibel scale.
There’d be a party going on right about now,
food and drink would flow freely and be followed by dancing. Most
couples would then pair off for the night, since they were formally
affianced and could fuck their empty brains out without fear of
recrimination.
This day was, in fact, a helluva lot more
fun than the actual weddings that would come not long after. (Close
enough that any accidental royals-in-the-making would have
legitimacy.)
But Theo, naturally, wasn’t invited. Nobody
invited dragons to parties since they tended to knock things over
with their tails and scorch the curtains when they belched. Plus
they really sucked at charades.
A flurry of noise behind him distracted Theo
from his depressed musings and he raised an ear, recognizing
Georgie’s light step.
He didn’t move. “What’re you doing here?
Shouldn’t you be waiting for your fiancé?”
She groaned and came to stand beside him,
resting an arm on his neck and staring along with him at the
countryside. “He couldn’t even be bothered to show up, Theo. That’s
how unimportant I am in the overall scheme of things.”
Theo huffed sympathetically.
“I’m thinking of becoming a nun.”
This time the huff was more of a chortle.
“You’re kidding, right? You’re gonna hide those fabulous breasts
under a black robe for the rest of your natural days?” He finally
turned and raised an eyebrow. “I soooo don’t think so.”
“Better that than spend my life in bed with
an asshole.”
“Why should you be any different than a good
percentage of the women in the world?”
She pinched a scale. “Shit, Theo. That’s
pretty harsh.”
“I’m feeling harsh. You’re gonna marry
somebody. I’ll be all alone.” He turned back to his former slumping
position and slumped even more.
There was a ping from the chime behind them.
“ Princess Georgiana - to your room please. Princess Georgiana -
to your room please .”
Theo turned, hissed out a snort of disgust
and accurately fried the intercom with a quick blast from his left
nostril. “There. Perhaps now I’ll get some peace and quiet for a
bit.”
“Theo...” Georgie leaned over and dropped a
kiss on his ear. “I’ll never love anybody as much as I love you.
Please believe me.”
Theo wanted to. Oh how he wanted to.
But she knew him as a dragon, not the bewitched man who yearned for
her. “You’d better go, sweetheart. Your prince has come.”
“Will you - like hover outside or something?
Just don’t go all moody on me and leave me alone with him?” She
sounded worried, genuinely worried, which was unusual for his brave
Georgie, who could gut enemies without a blink.
He sighed, helpless to refuse her anything.
“Okay, if that’s what you want. I’ll keep an eye on your room. But
all you have to do is give me a signal and I’m out of there,
okay?”
She kissed his ear once more. “Bless you,
babe. I’ll feel a lot better knowing there’s help around if I need
it.” She paused. “If I say ‘light the fire’ then you can consider
your job done. But only that, nothing else. If I scream
‘ fry his ass’ then just do it, okay?”
Theo nodded. It wouldn’t be easy, but he
would - as always - be there for
him in rather uncomfortable places. Still, all things considered,
he wanted her to be happy more than anything else.
And if this William of Whatever could do the
trick - then Theo would bow out of the picture, do his best to
sever the mind link and let her live the life she was entitled
to.
He might just throw himself off the
battlements to celebrate his joy at the occasion.
Morosely he trundled to the edge of the
ramparts and rested his chin on the stones, staring at nothing in
particular. He could hear the noise from the main hall even at this
distance, which wasn’t really surprising since the sound of about a
gazillion women all talking at once ranked right up there with
earthquakes, violent explosions and Dandelion’s farts on the
decibel scale.
There’d be a party going on right about now,
food and drink would flow freely and be followed by dancing. Most
couples would then pair off for the night, since they were formally
affianced and could fuck their empty brains out without fear of
recrimination.
This day was, in fact, a helluva lot more
fun than the actual weddings that would come not long after. (Close
enough that any accidental royals-in-the-making would have
legitimacy.)
But Theo, naturally, wasn’t invited. Nobody
invited dragons to parties since they tended to knock things over
with their tails and scorch the curtains when they belched. Plus
they really sucked at charades.
A flurry of noise behind him distracted Theo
from his depressed musings and he raised an ear, recognizing
Georgie’s light step.
He didn’t move. “What’re you doing here?
Shouldn’t you be waiting for your fiancé?”
She groaned and came to stand beside him,
resting an arm on his neck and staring along with him at the
countryside. “He couldn’t even be bothered to show up, Theo. That’s
how unimportant I am in the overall scheme of things.”
Theo huffed sympathetically.
“I’m thinking of becoming a nun.”
This time the huff was more of a chortle.
“You’re kidding, right? You’re gonna hide those fabulous breasts
under a black robe for the rest of your natural days?” He finally
turned and raised an eyebrow. “I soooo don’t think so.”
“Better that than spend my life in bed with
an asshole.”
“Why should you be any different than a good
percentage of the women in the world?”
She pinched a scale. “Shit, Theo. That’s
pretty harsh.”
“I’m feeling harsh. You’re gonna marry
somebody. I’ll be all alone.” He turned back to his former slumping
position and slumped even more.
There was a ping from the chime behind them.
“ Princess Georgiana - to your room please. Princess Georgiana -
to your room please .”
Theo turned, hissed out a snort of disgust
and accurately fried the intercom with a quick blast from his left
nostril. “There. Perhaps now I’ll get some peace and quiet for a
bit.”
“Theo...” Georgie leaned over and dropped a
kiss on his ear. “I’ll never love anybody as much as I love you.
Please believe me.”
Theo wanted to. Oh how he wanted to.
But she knew him as a dragon, not the bewitched man who yearned for
her. “You’d better go, sweetheart. Your prince has come.”
“Will you - like hover outside or something?
Just don’t go all moody on me and leave me alone with him?” She
sounded worried, genuinely worried, which was unusual for his brave
Georgie, who could gut enemies without a blink.
He sighed, helpless to refuse her anything.
“Okay, if that’s what you want. I’ll keep an eye on your room. But
all you have to do is give me a signal and I’m out of there,
okay?”
She kissed his ear once more. “Bless you,
babe. I’ll feel a lot better knowing there’s help around if I need
it.” She paused. “If I say ‘light the fire’ then you can consider
your job done. But only that, nothing else. If I scream
‘ fry his ass’ then just do it, okay?”
Theo nodded. It wouldn’t be easy, but he
would - as always - be there for
Similar Books
