“You care for Kaya. Why don’t you try for her hand?” the cat says.
I drop a square of dark chocolate and pick it back up. “I’m no good for her. You know what happened at the ruins.”
“So? She won’t go back if you don’t.”
“I’m going back. But I don’t want her to know. I have to find out who I am, Sio. I can’t live with that mystery. Kaya will be so much better off keeping me as just a friend. She needs a steady partner, not one who is about to fly off on a dangerous adventure. I also stay up too late for her lifestyle. I like to drink and gamble. I’m a mess. She deserves someone who has their act together.”
“She deserves to make that choice.”
“I disagree. She’s too kind and inexperienced. She only thinks she is developing feelings for me because I’m good-looking and charming.”
“Humble as well.”
I glare at the talking cat. “Look, I know who and what I am in that regard. I’m no good for her. She would think we could work things out. But I’m not right for her. In many, many ways.”
“Keep telling yourself that, dragon. It’s easier that way, isn’t it?” Sio jumps off the stool and sashays into the front room.
That cat doesn’t know anything.
I light the rest of the gaslamps hanging from the rough-hewn beams, and then finish up the last of the croissants.
Kaya walks in, flanked by Laini and Tully.
Kaya is a vision in emerald green. Her hair gathers in soft curls at her shoulders, and her eyes sparkle. Her lips are painted a light pink. Kaya didn’t come from money, and she doesn’t charge enough for her goods, so she doesn’t have expensive jewelry to show off, but she doesn’t need it. She looks like a treasure, exactly as she is.
“You are the most beautiful creature in any realm, sweetness,” I say before I can school my thoughts. I should have gone with a less enthusiastic tone to keep her from knowing how I feel, but the words spilled out like wine from a tipped goblet.
Her cheeks flush, and she looks at the cooling croissants. “Thank you so much for all the help,” she says to Laini and Tully. “I’ll meet you outside in a minute, all right?”
The weaver and the witch eye her and then me, then they give in. They leave the bakery, the door jingling lightly behind them.
Kaya approaches as I wash my hands. Her scent blends with the butter and chocolate of the kitchen. She smells like springtime, gently floral and sweet like her spirit. When I don’t face her—I can’t because I would give myself away—she places her good hand on my bicep. Her touch is so feather-light, but it infuses my blood with energy. I’m like a stag in season, more than ready for rutting. I swallow the fire licking up the back of my throat.
One thing I do know about dragon shifters is that my kind uses fire in their mating rituals. Every time I’m aroused by Kaya, my fire lifts inside me, longing to do something. What, I don’tknow. And I’ll never find out because no one will ever stir the desire to permanently mate like she does.
She runs her hand up and down my arm, and it’s all I can do not to grab her and kiss her.
“Cyrus, thank you so much for all you’ve done for me. Do you want to come with me to deliver the order tomorrow?”
Of course, I want to, but I need to distance myself. “I wish I could, but I have to give Trustan and Halvard the day off. They’ve put in some seriously long hours.”
Her face falls, but she keeps her hand on me. Her forefinger shifts and catches the edge of my bare skin where my sleeve is slightly rolled up. A feeling like sparks dances up my flesh. If she can do this to me with one finger…
That’s when I notice she has rewrapped her splinted thumb. That injury is on me. I force my mind to behave and be friends with this lovely creature instead of lusting over her like a madman.
“Ah, right,” she says. “Yes, tell Trustan and Halvard I appreciate them covering for my best baking assistant lately, will you?”
I smile at her. “I’ll do that. Would you like me to ask Halvard if he wants to go with you? He has a cousin in Kingstown. Orcish company gilds the hand, as the saying goes.”
The saying means that orcs help you keep your coin by scaring off thieves. Rustion says it on occasion.
“That would be great!”
Suddenly, she is on her tiptoes and kissing my cheek chastely. I freeze, my heart hammering in my chest, smoke rising from my nostrils, and my cock growing in time with my wing talons. I pray to any god or goddess that will listen that she won’t notice.
Her mouth is softer than I could have imagined. Like the petals of a crocus.
She breaks away and pats my arm. I finally make eye contact because not to would be too awkward. I attempt nonchalance as I tuck my wings in tightly and keep my hips turned toward the countertop.
