The tail wrapped around his middle and lifted before turning him upside down. Gaby's beast brought him close to one of her big, brown eyes—the same color as when she was human, except the pupils were permanently slitted. The surface reflected both him and the building behind.
Maybe someone would think the large, slitted eye was scary, but he'd seen her dragon enough during the frenzy that it would be strange not to see slitted pupils ever again with his woman. "If you're trying to glare, it's not going to scare me, Gaby."
A female voice behind him said, "Maybe not with her, but with anyone else, it sure as hell should."
Gaby set him down on his feet and he turned, spotting Cris. Before he could ask what she was talking about, the head Protector continued, "And stay in your dragon form, Gaby. Today's all about training your human to defend himself as best as he can with a dragon-shifter in their dragon form."
Ryan frowned. "Is that even possible?"
Cris crossed her arms over her chest. "Yes, and we're going to keep at a few key things until they become second nature."
He glanced at Gaby's golden dragon form. "I'm not going to hurt Gaby, no matter what you say."
Cris grunted. "No one's going to get hurt, but I suppose this means I'm going to need another dragon for you to practice with, then. Should I go bother Wes?"
Gaby bumped his back lightly, and he glanced at her again. She shook her head and tapped her chest.
His woman wanted him to practice with her.
He touched her snout. "Are you sure?" She nodded. "All right, but you better not use it against me later to win an argument."
The dragon did its best shrug and he snorted. Nothing would be off-limits, it seemed.
Still, if he wanted to fight for his future wife and child, he needed to seriously up his game. Defending against a dragon-shifter was just the first step.
He turned back toward Cris. "Okay, I'll do it."
"Good. You won't get everything down in one session, but you'll have lessons with me or Wes every day until we think you're ready. Only when you get the green light from me will you be able to mate Gaby, provided Wes and ADDA can work that out."
Talk about the most important form of motivation. While not a guarantee, it was still the best offer he'd received so far.
Keeping a hand on Gaby's snout, he asked, "So, what's first?"
As Cris put him in position and began his lessons, it didn't take long for Ryan to end up on his ass. Repeatedly.
But as he improved a little each time, his confidence grew. He'd learn this as best he could, for both himself and the woman he loved.
Chapter Nine
Two weeks later, Ryan stood next to Gaby inside PineRock's main landing area. He brushed a few strands of hair off her face. "I wish you didn't have to go back to work. Not because of your job, but because I'll miss you."
She smiled at him. "It did take some convincing for you to accept I won't rush into a fire at the first opportunity, just to prove I'm capable of doing things while pregnant."
He grunted. "I don't have to like something to still support you. Besides, your brother already contacted your bosses to extract a few promises."
She shook her head. "Don't remind me. If you
had done it, we may not be talking right now."
He chuckled. "I wouldn't go that far. Although I'd be lying if I didn't say it brought me some peace of mind."
Gaby sighed. "Males—it doesn't matter if you're human or dragon-shifter, you act the same around your females."
Pulling her against his body, he cupped her cheek and leaned closer to her face. "Just come back to me safe and sound, Gaby. That's all I ask."
She placed a hand on his chest. "I will do everything in my power to. But you have to promise to watch your back. Just because it's been uneventful the last two weeks doesn't mean there still isn't a threat."
They both had figured that if someone wanted to harm Ryan, the perfect time to do it would be when Gaby went back to work.