Defender Dragon (Protection, Inc 2)

“Six inches. All since I was eighteen.”

“I’d have loved to have that happen that when I was that age,” Journey said. “I really wanted to be slim and elegant.”

“I hope you don’t still.” Lucas looked her up and down with open appreciation. “Your body is beautiful. Slim wouldn’t suit you. And it’s not pleasant to grow so quickly. It makes your bones hurt.”

“It’s all right. Now I like the body I have. And I love that you appreciate it!”

“Oh, I do.” He ran his hand along the curves of her body, from shoulder to side to belly to ass, conveying his appreciation with his touch. Then, with visible reluctance, he pulled it away. “Let’s get breakfast. Then I’ll show you around.”

He led her through more lavish corridors, decorated with gold and marble, then into a distinctly less fancy kitchen. The refrigerator was empty, but there was a well-stocked freezer, pantry, and wine cellar.

“Do you cook?” Lucas asked.

“A little. What about you?”

“A little.” He didn’t sound very confident in his abilities. “I only learned when I left Brandusa. We have cooks in the palace, of course.”

“Of course,” Journey said, smiling. She couldn’t imagine such a life. “I had a mom who cooked. She did try to teach me, but it never quite took.”

“Perhaps we should not attempt anything difficult,” Lucas said. “No soufflés, for instance.”

“No strudel.” Mrs. Florescu had demonstrated the art of strudel-making to Journey, culminating with a demonstration that perfectly rolled dough was thin enough to be pulled through a wedding ring.

Luckily, there was plenty of ready made and easy-to-cook food in the pantry and freezer. An American freezer would have been full of supermarket food, but the castle freezer was full of hand-wrapped packages with hand-written labels. Between the freezer and the pantry, they created a breakfast of pan-fried ham, toast with butter and plum jam, and coffee sweetened with wildflower honey. Lucas burned the toast, but Journey scraped off the black parts.

Lucas started to carry it all into the dining room, but both he and Journey hesitated at the enormous and intimidating table, with portraits of royal ancestors scowling down from the walls.

“We could eat in the bedroom,” he suggested.

“What about outside?”

“Excellent idea.” Lucas headed toward the doors. He had his hands full, so Journey went ahead, opening them for him, until they came to a garden.

The castle walls rose high around them, giving a sense of peace and privacy. They stood among a mock-wild abundance of trees and flowers. Bees buzzed around the roses and birds sang in the trees. A flock of pink and blue wild parakeets took flight when the door opened, chirping loudly.

Journey pointed to a tree with feathery leaves and sweet-smelling white flowers, shading a bed of thick green grass. “That looks like a good picnic spot.”

“I expect it is,” Lucas said. “But I know of a better one. Will you follow me into a labyrinth?”

A labyrinth! Journey thought delightedly.

“I’d follow you anywhere,” she replied.

“Come, then.” Lucas led her along the castle wall until they came to a wall of roses.

Journey shaded her eyes, looking up at it. She’d never seen such a tall hedge of rose bushes. It rose up ten feet tall or more, completely concealing whatever lay beyond it. It looked ancient, the twigs gnarled and heavy with dagger-like thorns. But it was lush with roses in every color: red, yellow, peach, pink, white, lavender, and a deep purple that was almost blue. The scent was intoxicating.

“It’s like the briar roses guarding Sleeping Beauty’s castle,” she said. “Will we have to pick it apart twig by twig to get to the labyrinth?”

“It is the labyrinth.”

Lucas led her further along the hedge as it curved around, until he came to an archway in it. Journey stepped through and found herself in a maze of rose hedges. The ground was thick with grass, and paths went in every direction.

“I hope I remember the way,” he muttered. “It’s been five years.”

“If we get lost, at least we have provisions,” said Journey.

He led her through the twisting paths, pausing now and then with a frown of concentration before he made his selection. Journey couldn’t believe that she was being led through a labyrinth of roses by a dragon prince. It was like every dream she’d ever had, all come impossibly true at once.