The arrogance of her tone was refined from long practice, but Theo thought he could detect something nervous underneath it. Was Isabelle afraid of humans? Some dragons were, as loath as they were to admit it.
“Think about it this way,” Jillian said. “I’m well-positioned to talk your cousin into remembering how many of your birthdays he’s missed. He must owe you so many presents.”
“I won’t be bribed any more than I will be rushed,” Isabelle said haughtily. “I will make up my mind about you in my own time.” Then a sunny, youthful smile took the superiority out of her face. “And now I have. Cousin, I like her very much.”
She leaned down to the examination table and kissed him on the cheek. Unlike Dr. Mendoza, unlike Theo himself, she didn’t drop into Old Draconian to honor the occasion. Theo thought he could see the generation line being drawn between them. But he was flattered by the affection implied by the kiss—he had always liked little Izzie, and yet he’d made almost
no effort to stay in touch with her after he left. He would do better. Jillian would help him.
Isabelle left in a sashay of purple silk.
“She was worried about you, I think,” Jillian said, watching her go. “She was on the street when I brought you into town. She seems like a good kid.”
“She would be appalled by that assessment,” Dr. Mendoza said dryly.
“They always are, aren’t they? Don’t worry, I won’t embarrass her by approving of her to her face.” She nudged Theo. “I can see she inherited your rebellious streak—the two of you have the same tattoos.”
“Tattoos?”
He hadn’t noticed any on Isabelle and he certainly hadn’t noticed any on himself, unless some youthful drinking bout had left him with one on his buttocks that only Jillian now knew about. Then he looked down at his chest.
“These? All dragons have them somewhere. They’re like birthmarks.”
She shook her head. “I should have guessed. You didn’t really seem like the type.” She threaded her fingers through his hair and stroked it back. “I’m glad Isabelle wasn’t here for that. You’ll have to teach me everything about dragons so I don’t go around making teenagers laugh at me.”
“He’ll have time,” Dr. Mendoza said. “I doubt he’ll be healed enough to shift until at least a week from now. The two of you have a holiday ahead of you.”
12
Theo
“Take all the time you need,” Martin said. The signal in Riell was notably patchy, making Martin sound like he was speaking through a thick layer of cotton, and it didn’t help that Theo was distracted by watching Jillian.
They were at the hot springs at the edge of Riell. Dragons congregated to hot springs—these were why Theo’s ancestors had settled in the valley at all. Where there was steam, soon enough, there was dragonfire.
And today the springs were deserted except for the two of them.
Theo was still firmly prohibited from taking a soak, even though he could close his eyes and feel exactly what it would be like to sink down until he was sitting on the slate ledge. He’d rarely been in a shower that was much cooler than scalding, and he couldn’t keep himself from longingly eyeing the billowing white clouds coming up off the pools. Unfair, he decided, for him to finally be back home and yet not be able to enjoy one of Riell’s signature pleasures.
Except now he had a vantage point on them he had never had before. He had the sight of his mate, with her auburn hair down around her shoulders and wet to the point that it was almost black, curling at the ends from the steam. His mate, with drops of water beading on her round hips and her full, bare breasts. Her nipples were flushed a little darker than usual—closer to rose than carnation-pink. It wasn’t a sight he could easily see while on the phone with his boss.
He was starting to feel that his own sense of duty was distinctly wobbly when desire intervened. He was also starting to think he was fine with that. Did that qualify as a new epiphany?
Still, he brought his mind back to the task at hand. Martin and the job deserved better from him than a wandering mind. “Is Gretchen still staying with Tiffani?”
“She is. Evidently she gave Gretchen a new haircut, but I haven’t seen it yet. Theo—how is Jillian?”
Naked.
“I can’t imagine it’s much fun to be the only human in a valley full of dragons,” Theo said, watching as Jillian sank back into the water and almost fully submerged herself, letting her hair float and spread on the surface like seaweed. “But she’s handling it. She’s already won over my doctor and my little cousin Isabelle.”
He had been trying not to say anything he wouldn’t want her to hear, but he surrendered to worry for a moment and lowered his voice, double-checking to make sure her ears still seemed to be underwater.
“She’s been quiet since we got here. I think the explosion shook her up and she doesn’t feel like she can talk about it since I’m the one who got hurt.”
There was a thoughtful silence at the other end of the line. Then Martin’s slightly gravelly voice broke it. “There may be another reason for her to be clamming up a little.”
A reflexive alarm went off inside him, his dragon bristling at the possibility of something hurting his mate. “What?”