Hidden Dragons by Bianca D'Arc Page B

her
with small gifts that would make her life better, even if she chose
finally not to take them up on their offer of marriage and a home
in the Lair.
    Truth to tell, even if she rejected them, the
offer of a home in any dragon Lair would stand. If Robert and Bear
couldn’t convince her she was the one for them, perhaps another
pair of knights would be luckier. Or she could work with the
dragons for the rest of her life. Her pure heart and the ability to
speak to dragonkind, paired with her lack of fear of them
guaranteed her acceptance among them, even if she didn’t want to
mate a pair of knights.
    It might just break Robert’s heart to see her
go to someone else, though. He already had deep feelings for the
girl, and he suspected she was the one meant to complete their
family—no one else’s.
    When Bear finally let go of Isabelle, by slow
degrees, gentling the kiss that had raged for long minutes, her
eyes were deliciously dazed. There was no doubt she had enjoyed
Bear’s kiss. It was only when reality returned that she panicked,
and a flush of becoming pink graced her cheeks.
    “ Oh, dear,” she breathed, stepping
back from Bear. He let her go, dropping his arms, but watching her
carefully. As did they all.
    “ I am sorry if I moved too fast,”
Bear said quietly. “But I do want you to know I admire you a great
deal. I would like to court you when our mission is done, with an
eye toward seeing if you could perhaps live with Tilly,
Growloranth, Robert and me. We have all talked about it, and we
suspect you may be the one who might complete our
family.”
    “ Too fast, Bear,” Robert warned silently. “You’re overwhelming the lass.”
    “ No, look at her face.” Tildeth cut in on the mental conversation that
included only the two dragons and two knights. “She is thinking about it. Under the panic, she is
tempted.”
    Robert noted the way Isabelle looked at each
one of them, first the dragons, one by one, then meeting Robert’s
gaze with only a hint of wide-eyed disbelief. Tilly was right.
Under the fear was…interest.
    “ Hot damn,” Robert observed to his friends. “I
think you’re right. Good work, Bear. Although I’m still jealous as
hell that you got to kiss her first. Tell me, is she as sweet as I
imagine?”
    “ Even sweeter,” Bear confirmed. “And far hotter than
I ever dreamed. She will set us both aflame should we ever convince
her to be our mate.”
    “ I pray the Mother of All will give
us the chance,” Robert replied, sending
the prayer heavenward even as he smiled encouragingly at
Isabelle.
    “ And you, Sir Robert?” Isabelle
said softly, a slight tremor in her voice. “Do you also believe
this?”
    Robert stepped forward and took her hand in
his, looking deep into her eyes. “I do.” He dipped to place a
chaste kiss on her brow, unwilling to scare her off. Her world had
just been rocked, judging by the look in her eyes. He didn’t want
to add even more chaos. “I think you are a courageous, clever,
lovely woman with much to offer our family. You could complete us.
All we ask is that you think about it.” He let go of her hands and
moved slightly away. “As Bear said, we have a mission to complete,
but after we’re done with that, we would like you to think about
visiting the Lair with us to see how we live, and what it’s like
being among so many dragons and knights. It is our hope that you’ll
like what you see and perhaps it will help convince you that we
have only the best intentions where you are concerned.”
    She was silent a long moment, until she finally
answered. “I would like to see it someday. For now, you’ve given me
a great deal to think about.” She looked at the cages holding the
quietly clucking hens. “And a flock of chickens to
feed.”
    She smiled and Robert breathed a sigh of
relief. They were past the biggest hurdle. She hadn’t turned them
down outright. She was just being cautious—and who could blame her?
She hadn’t survived this