Page 52 of Taught By the Dragon
Her only memories had been of her dragon inside her mind, and she’d been small. They’d never seen a full-grown dragon at the orphanage—most of the teachers and staff were afraid of them—and she most definitely had never seen one in the flesh inside the facility.
More than how tall, or muscled, he was, she noticed the elegant lines of his snout, the points of his ears, the small horns right next to them, and even how his eyes reminded her a lot of Bronx’s. In both forms, they were patient, steady, and calm.
Pretty much the opposite of her, most of the time.
Violet said, “Percy? Could you help me?”
She tore her gaze from the blue dragon and helped the female take out the large dragon foot. It was crude, only made of some kind of metal and fake-leather-looking materials. But even without lifting it, Percy guessed the thing was too heavy for Violet to carry by herself. “It looks heavy. Are you sure your dad can jump off the ground with this?”
“Dragon-shifters are fairly strong in their dragon forms. Dad had to carry all kinds of gear—including baskets to carry those he rescued, with the people inside them—so this shouldn’t be too bad.”
They approached Bronx, now sitting on his rear with his wings still helping him to stay upright, and she could see the slightly lighter color of his belly.Are dragons ticklish?
She must’ve said it out loud, because Violet chuckled and said, “Some are. But you have to find the right spot. Although I’ll give you one tip—if you scratch the small, exposed patch of skin right behind the ear, a dragon will hum and love you forever.”
Smiling, she eyed Bronx and tried to imagine him purring and turning to mush like the mouser cat back in the orphanage. She hadn’t seen the cat often, but whenever she had, it’d walked right up to her and let her pet it.
They reached Bronx and put the foot down.
Violet said, “Okay, we need your leg, Dad.”
For a second, the dragonman hesitated. But then he raised the damaged one, and she could see where his leg had been cut off right below the knee. Looking back at his gaze, she saw uncertainty, almost like he was worried she’d find it disgusting and say something cruel.
Before she could think too much on it, she stepped forward and lightly ran her hand over his damaged leg, over the bottom, up to the knee, and back again. She said, “Your scales are so smooth.”
Bronx nudged her shoulder lightly with his snout, and she met his gaze. For a second, everything melted away but the two of them, almost like they were having a conversation without words.
Gratitude, relief, and even warmth radiated from his gaze.
She whispered, “This just shows you were strong and willing to risk your life to save others. It’s nothing to be embarrassed about.” She stroked his leg again. “You survived.”
And for a few beats, as they stared at one another, Percy sensed that he was trying to tell her she’d done the same.
Not only that, but he would gladly go to such lengths to lose another leg to help her, if it came to it, which was fucking ridiculous. He barely knew her, and she’d experienced firsthand how people were selfish at the core.
Bronx may have helped a few people before, but it’d been his job, and he’d been paid for it. If he had to rescue her, it’d only be because it was his job, nothing else.
She needed to remember that.
Dropping her hands, Percy took a few steps back, putting distance between them. Violet looked at her then at her dad and back at her.
Needing to change the subject and be distracted by anything else, Percy cleared her throat and asked, “How do we put it on?”
Violet said nothing for a beat, but then she shrugged and replied, “I’ll put it in place, and you just need to fasten the straps. The long ones will have to be secured at the top of his leg. It’ll be tricky, but I think we can manage it.”
And so they went to work fastening the fake foot to Bronx’s dragon form. If she happened to caress his scales or leaned against them occasionally to absorb some of his warmth, it was all by accident.
Yes, by accident. Not because she liked touching him, not at all.
* * *
As soon asPercy touched his leg and then told him he’d survived, Bronx had wanted to shift back into his human form, pull her close, and kiss her.
She’d said the words without thinking, probably, and didn’t know how much they meant to him. So he’d resisted and merely let her know with his eyes that he would keep protecting her, no matter what, and she would be safe with him.
Even if it meant protecting her from himself.
Then she’d backed away, and he’d nearly motioned for her to come back. But he didn’t. Instead, he’d let Violet distract her, although he didn’t like the looks his daughter kept throwing at him, as if she were plotting.
