What…what if he went back? Why does that fill me with a gnawing sort of dismay?
Do not worry. I would not go back now, Kael tells me. You are here. I will stay in this place with my mate.
I didn’t know I was thinking so ‘loudly.’ “But you hate it here,” I remind him as we circle back to the sandy shore and begin to descend. “You said it smells awful and it makes your mind crazy.”
My mind is no longer wild now that I have you. And my nostrils are filled with your sweet scent. My mate is here. I have all that I need.
That’s…sweet. I can’t help but feel flattered and pleased to hear it. But what if I’m not always here? What if something happens to me?
Kael’s claws tighten around me.
I squeak in alarm as his thoughts grow fierce, and flashes of madness seep through into my mind. Nothing will happen to my mate. You are mine, Claudia!
“Okay, okay. It was just a rhetorical question.” I stroke a hand over his scales to calm him. “Don’t squeeze me to death.”
His thoughts calm, but mine remain troubled. What will he do if something does happen to me? I’m going to retrieve Amy—it’s not an ‘if,’ it’s a ‘when’—and I worry as to how he’ll react when I do. I can’t stay with a dragon forever…can I? Do I even want to? I’m full of questions and conflicting feelings.
We land gently on the banks of the lake, and there’s a sandy ‘beach’ area that is overgrown and has a few small boats stuck in the reeds a short distance away. I don’t know what lake this is or even what part of Old Dallas we’re in, but it looks inviting enough. Kael sets me down gently and leans in to nuzzle me. I will not let harm come to you. Do not worry, my Claudia.
I pat his large nose. “I know, big guy.” But he can’t control everything, and I can’t, either. And I don’t know what the future will bring.
His claws uncurl from my waist, and then I’m free. A moment later, he flashes into human form, all gorgeous rippling hair and long golden limbs taut with muscle. He stretches, oblivious to his nakedness, and gives the shore a pleased look.
I blink at all the flesh that long stretch reveals to me and feel a little flushed at the sight. “We might want to talk about some pants for you,” I tell him primly. “I don’t know that you should be running around naked all the time.”
Pants?
I toss my backpack down on the weed-filled sand and slip off my boots. “Yes, pants. Like these.” I give my ragged jeans a pat. “They keep you, um, safe.”
He gives my clothing a scornful look. So I should cloak my limbs in material? What good does that serve?
“It protects your skin.”
My skin is hard. Nothing will hurt me. Kael strides to my side, cupping my cheek and nuzzling my neck again, as if he can’t get enough of my scent. You, however, are small and fragile. You should keep wearing these ‘pants’ if it will shield you from wounds, though I find the materials you choose flimsy.
“It’s not just for wounds,” I tell him, amused. “It protects your modesty.”
Modesty? I do not understand this term.
“Obviously,” I say in a dry voice. “Humans do not run around naked, though. It’s a little alarming to other humans.”
Then it is good I am not human, isn’t it? With that, he tugs at my shirt. I do wish to see my mate without these pants, though. I do not like them.
“That’s a shirt,” I correct him, then sigh. “Never mind.” I pull my shirt over my head, only to squeak in surprise when his big hands immediately clasp my bra.
More pants?
I squirm as his fingers tease my breasts, his claws dragging against the worn, lacy fabric of my old bra. “Not pants! That’s a bra. It stops my breasts from bouncing.”
But I like it when they bounce. He looks fascinated as he rubs the small mounds of my breasts with his big hands. That is very attractive in my mate.
I’m having a hard time thinking at the moment, especially with the way his fingertip claws keep grazing over my nipples. “It’s to stop my breasts from bouncing. Apparently men find that distracting on women.”
Ah. This I approve of, then. You are mine, Claudia. He peels a strap from my shoulder. Though I do not want you wearing these pants while we are together. I like to see my mate’s breasts quiver when I touch her. And I like to see these harden. His fingertips brush over one nipple through the fabric.
I suck in a breath and bat his hand away. “You’re in a flirty mood, aren’t you?” Flirting leads to sex, and I’m not sure I’m ready to jump toward sex again, despite his promise not to bite. But at his lascivious grin, I can’t help but smile back. “Your mate wants a bath and dinner before she flirts back, sorry.”
I will allow you to get clean, he agrees. Then I will put my mouth all over you like you did to me, and make you cry out again.
I’m blushing hard at his frank words, and I avoid making eye contact as I finish undressing. Despite his flirtiness and the sexual tension in the air between us, the call of the water is too strong to resist. Baths are rare luxuries in the After, and I plan on enjoying this one. I grab the soap and washcloth and a bottle of shampoo, and head to the water’s edge and dip a toe in. Cool but not cold. Yummy.
I head in to my waist and hear the sound of nearby splashing. I’m surprised to see Kael wading in next to me. “You going to bathe, too?”
I wish to be clean to please my mate. You enjoy cleanliness.
“I do,” I admit. I sink deeper into the water, juggling my bottles. “A lake’s not the epitome of cleanliness, but it’ll do until we figure out how to get a bathtub up into our tower.”
What is a bathtub?
I send him a mental image, complete with bubbles, of me sitting in the tub and washing my hair.
And you wish to have this? He studies me with intense golden eyes.
“Heck yes,” I tell him, then dunk myself in the lake, clutching my soaps. My dirty hair streams into my eyes and I juggle my soaps a moment longer before tossing the soap bars and the washcloth back onto the shore for now. I squeeze out a handful of shampoo and toss the bottle, too. The moment I begin to lather my hair, I can’t help but moan at how good it feels. Even in Fort Dallas, it’s a challenge to stay clean. There’s a public bathhouse, but they charge a fortune for a quick dip, and you have to re-use someone else’s water. And shampoo’s far too expensive for me.