The Dragon Guardian (Lochguard Highland Dragons 2)
It was foolish to dream, but as Fergus wiggled his hips and did a ridiculous dance, Gina laughed and wished it to be true with all her heart.
~~~
Fergus threaded his fingers through Gina’s as they walked away from the old Sinclair place.
Both man and beast were content. Between taking care of their female and the upcoming surprise, Gina should start opening up to them.
His dragon grunted. Which means we need to tell her the truth soon.
He didn’t give his beast an answer. Fergus knew what needed to be done, but not until after his surprise. He only hoped she liked it.
As he strummed his thumb against Gina’s skin, she looked over at him and smiled. “So that’s why you didn’t want me to wear gloves.”
He grinned. “Maybe a wee part of the reason. Dragon-shifters males tend to radiate heat and I didn’t want your hands getting sweaty inside a glove.”
“Right, I’m sure that’s the reason.” She swung their hands a few times and asked, “Where are we going?”
He motioned toward the right. “Over there.”
“You know, you could give a little more detail.”
He winked. “And ruin the surprise? I think not. I like watching the wheels in your head turn as you try to guess what it is.”
“Considering you told me to wear my warmest coat, it has to be outside. Unless you have secret dragon caves full of treasure somewhere.”
He snorted. “And here I thought you were one of the more informed humans when it came to dragon-shifters.”
She placed a hand on her hip. “Hey, most legends have a grain of truth to them. Considering all of the small mountains you have in Scotland, I’m sure you could easily hide things in some of them.”
He quirked a brow. “Small mountains? The tallest mountain in the entire United Kingdom is right here in Scotland. If you want to get a Scot on your side, either human or dragon, you don’t want to go around insulting our beautiful landscape.”
“Oh, it’s pretty. I won’t deny it. My grandma always talked about how I should see the mountains on a clear day with the heather in bloom. But the Blue Ridge Mountains are in Virginia, and the rest of the Appalachian Mountains aren’t that far away. Both are somewhat more impressive than the mountains here, I think.” She met his eye again. “Have you ever been to America? You could see them and compare.”
“I went once for a few weeks. I met with some other dragon-shifter intelligence analysts from friendly clans for training in Virginia. I’ve seen the mountains you’re talking about, but while beautiful, it’s not Scotland.”
She tilted her head. “Now who’s insulting someone’s beautiful landscape?”
He stopped and tugged her close. “You’re too clever for your own good.”
“But would you really want it any other way?”
He murmured, “No,” and lowered his head to kiss Gina when someone whistled. A familiar voice shouted, “I knew you had it in you, Fergus.”
“Fraser,” Fergus growled and looked over his shoulder. “Shouldn’t you be at work?”
Fraser approached them and Fergus put an arm around Gina’s waist. His brother noted the gesture and grinned. “Considering you should be working yourself, you’re not one to talk.”
He grunted. “Finn gave me a few days to see Gina settled in. You, on the other hand, should be finishing up the new warehouses.”
Fraser shrugged. “It’s lunchtime.”
“And you just happened to be crossing through this part of the clan’s land, which is directly opposite of your construction site.”
Fraser winked. “I may have heard you were spotted this way. But I wanted to make sure the lass is all right.” Fraser looked to Gina. “How’re you, lass? If you need a little break from my brother, I’d be happy to oblige.”
Fergus growled. “You have a mate.”
Fraser put a hand on his heart. “Is that what you think of me? Holly and I want to show her around together.”