Oh, My Dragon (I Like Big Dragons 3)

She picked her hand up and walked to the chair in the corner, following the same process I’d just showed her.

I followed her lead and started touching random objects as well, but ended up with the same results each and every time.

“Damn,” Wink said. “I was really hoping you’d get something.”

I nodded my head and walked to the door, opening it for her.

“I have to go on patrol within an hour,” I informed her. “I need to get you home.”

“Patrol?” she asked. “Do you do that every night?”

I nodded my head and switched the light off as I walked outside, closing the door behind us as we left.

“I do,” I confirmed. “Usually it’s more equally split within the ranks of the dragon riders, but Alaric, Ford, and Dorian have been sent to separate areas to protect them from a possible threat, and haven’t been back to share the burden.”

“Ouch,” she said. “Why do they need to protect the other places?”

“There are six hearts spread out over the United States; each heart contains the life force that the dragons need to stay alive. Each dragon has to stay within two hundred square miles of each heart, or they’ll start to age like any mortal being,” I explained. “We have to protect these places, otherwise our dragons could die off, and in turn, so could we.”

“What exactly do you mean by ‘heart?’” she asked, reaching for the hand I offered her.

Hand in hand, we both walked to where Mace was eating apples off a nearby tree.

“The heart is what I would call an ‘energy field’,” I explained. “It gives the dragons the fuel they need to fly and perform their special abilities. We also found out, not too long ago, that the heart could also heal. It healed Nikolai when he was hurt and Brooklyn took him there. It also healed Blythe when she lost too much blood after having the twins.”

“Oh,” she said. “Brooklyn and Blythe explained a little about what happened today while I was up in their room. Just before…you know.” She pointed to her eye.

My teeth ground together.

“What?” I asked, running my fingers over the raised tattoo.

“I found something out this afternoon, and I’ve been trying to work up the courage to ask you about it,” she blurted.

I blinked. “Okay.”

“It’s about this,” she said, fingering her own neck now. “The ladies told me a few things about the tattoos, and they said ours were different than theirs.”

She licked her lips with nervousness.

She said, “What I gathered from Blythe was that the book says that if we’re truly mated, then your powers should’ve disappeared for three days. The powers that were allotted to me will remain, but we’ll both share the ones you got from Mace.” She shrugged. “You’ll be able to hear mind speak with me, as well as Mace, and when we first mate, then our life forces will become one, and a tattoo will appear somewhere on our bodies.” She brought her hand up to her neck.

“We haven’t,” she cleared her throat. “We haven’t done it, so why do I have this?”

I smiled at her use of ‘done it’ and tried to keep the smile from overtaking my face.

“By ‘done it’ you mean have sex?” I teased.

She glared at me.

Grinning, I explained my theory. “My theory is just that, a theory, okay?” At her nod, I continued, “I think that, since we spent so much time together, that when you were in danger, our mating was changed. For Blythe and Keifer, they had to mate to solidify their bond.”

She nodded, and then moved her hand in a continuous motion.

“For Nikolai and Brooklyn, their bond was forged by danger. If whatever bond we have with each other senses danger, then I believe that fate takes the reins in its hands and forces us together to keep each other safe. In your case, when I was around you and you encountered the dead chick, whatever bond we had solidified and forced our hand, so to speak,” I expounded.

She licked her lips, then nodded. “And the tattoos?”

I grinned at that.

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “The others are all tribal in design. Ours is…not.”

She snorted. “That, I can tell. Do you know how many people will look at you like you’re an abusive asshole?”

I shrugged. “I’m sure they’ll get over it.”

She rolled her eyes.

“Let’s go,” she growled. “I’m hungry, and you have dragon work to do.”

Twenty minutes later, when we arrived at the house, Wink turned to me and stared at me oddly, her eyes fixated on my neck.

“What?” I asked.

“I’m kind of glad,” she whispered.

“Glad about what?”

“Glad that ours are different than theirs.”

With that she left to run up the stairs, leaving me in a state of arousal that I wasn’t sure Mace would much appreciate having pressed against his back.