She searched his gaze. "Have you been teaching again since being let out?"
He looked away. His beast murmured, Coward.
Ignoring his dragon, Asher whispered, "A little."
Her hand found his and squeezed. Rationally, he should jerk his hand away and keep a distance between them. Sex was one thing, but sharing more of him could only lead to trouble later on.
And yet, he squeezed her fingers back. With her warm hand in his, the usual dread that came when talking about his past seemed to stay at bay.
His dragon grunted. Talk to her.
Why? She's not ours, and never will be.
She could be.
Not allowing himself to think of Honoria in his bed every night, pulled close against him, Asher focused on Skyhunter. Any good clan leader would do the same. "Teaching was great, but leading the clan back into the light and earning the trust of Stonefire and the other clans will be even more rewarding." He did meet her lovely blue eyes again. "I've spent the last six months dedicating myself to taming my demons."
"And did you succeed?"
He should scream yes and be done with it. However, the words spilled from his lips, "Mostly. Enough to be declared sane and stable by the counselor, at any rate."
He paused, debating whether to say more. Then Honoria gripped his hand tighter, and he couldn't resist the comforting gesture. When it came to the female next to him, Asher had a definite weakness. He added, "But unlike most other leaders, I plan to have a better structure in place surrounding the clan leader, to ensure nothing like Marcus's reign of terror happens ever again. I would be in charge, yes. But I'd also have others working with me on various tasks and specialties to better distribute the workload."
Honoria's eyes widened and her lips parted. "That just sparked an idea."
"Which is?"
She bit her bottom lip, and Asher somehow resisted moving over and kissing her again. He instead focused on her response as she said, "You aren't going to like it."
He raised an eyebrow. "And you think saying that is going to make me shrug and drop it?"
Smiling, amusement danced in her eyes. Honoria had such beautiful blue eyes. Ones he could easily lose himself in if Asher weren't careful.
His dragon huffed. Stop being poetic and just fuck her again.
Honoria spoke before he could reply to his dragon. "Well, the UK and Ireland have been pushing boundaries and trying new things in their clans over the last few years, right?" He nodded, and she continued, "What would you say to pushing a boundary even further?'
He frowned. "You're being cryptic. Just spit it out, Ria."
Releasing his hand, she sat up and motioned for him to do the same. Once he was upright, it was harder to keep his eyes on her face. But somehow he managed it as she spoke again, "What if Skyhunter had two clan leaders, working together? Sort of like co-leaders, you could say. After all, you know Skyhunter better than anyone, and I have knowledge gained from my time in America concerning some of the most modern practices between dragons and human oversight. If we combine those things, as well as our other numerous strengths, we could make Skyhunter respected once again, and this time not out of fear."
He blinked. "Two clan leaders? Has that ever been done before?"
She shrugged one shoulder. "I have no idea, but does it matter? I know it's going to be hard to convince not only the DDA of how it could work, but also the other four dragon clan leaders in the UK. However, I think we could do so much together, Ash. More than either of us could on our own."
He stared at Honoria. The idea wasn't bad, but it also raised other important issues.
His beast spoke up. So you're open to it?
She has a point.
And it has nothing to do with seeing her sparkling eyes every day?
Asher mentally grunted. It would be a bonus, but it's not the main reason.
However, as he searched Honoria's gaze, he wondered if he truly knew what she was proposing. "It's a good idea." She opened her mouth, but he raised a hand to stay her and continued, "But I haven't agreed to anything. Everyone will talk, Ria. They'll think we're together, and many of them will still think the male of the pair is ultimately in charge. Could you handle that?"
She sat up taller. "They may assume that in the beginning, but with time, they'll learn that certain areas are my jurisdiction, and others are yours."