Not to silence her, but to reward her. It had been far too long since anyone unrelated to him had tried to tease him.
And Brad missed it.
He cleared his throat and put out a hand. “When I’m about to shift into a dragon, yes. Let me show you my dragon form, Tasha. I want to be your first here on StoneRiver.”
He half expected her to tease him again, but she stood and slowly placed her hand in his.
As he curled his fingers around hers, electricity raced up his body as their gazes locked again.
Just how in the hell had he ignored and resisted her for all those months?
His dragon huffed. Good question.
She murmured, “I’d like that. Although hopefully I can do more than watch. I have no idea what dragon scales feel like, and that’s probably a good thing to know about if I’m to live here.”
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“I’m not sure the texture of dragon scales will come up at the dinner table, but ear scratching might. So I’ll have to teach you about that today.”
She snorted. “Ear scratching? Like people do with dogs?”
His beast growled. We are a million times better than a dog.
He smiled. “Don’t compare my dragon to a dog. That’s a good first tip, I think.”
“Oh, did I insult him? I didn’t mean to. I think I still forget there’s a second personality listening in to this conversation.”
His dragon grunted. Just wait until I can talk to her. Then she’ll meet the better half out of the two.
Brad replied to Tasha, “Don’t worry, he can handle it. And with time, you’ll more than remember he’s there. Dragon halves can take control sometimes, even when we’re in our human forms.”
She squeezed his hand. “Then explain it to me as we walk. I’m impatient to see my first ever dragon up close.”
His dragon settled down and stood taller inside his mind. Yes, I want her to see me. So stop wasting time.
As he walked hand in hand with Tasha out of his house and toward the rear landing area—it was the quieter of the two inside StoneRiver—he did his best to give a basic explanation about inner dragons.
And despite the fact several clan members gave worried looks at Tasha, she never faltered or looked away from anyone who met her gaze.
She was fucking fantastic for so many reasons. And Brad was tired of making up excuses.
From here on out, he would try a little harder at winning his true mate. Maybe, just maybe, things would go better this time around with the right female.
Tasha had no problem listening if the speaker had something interesting to say. And for the entire walk to what Brad called the landing area, the dragonman went into detail about his inner dragon.
Oh, she didn’t fully understand the part about his dragon “hiding” inside his mind for the first six or so years of his life. But it was fascinating to learn how the dragon half had its own personality, its own opinions, and could even take control of Brad’s human form.
She really had barely scratched the surface during her dragon lessons from ADDA, right before she’d opened her bar to the dragon-shifters.
And before she knew it, Brad stopped them inside a giant area surrounded by a tall wall made of carefully stacked rocks. Definitely something built a long time ago, judging by the worn surfaces and various marks on them.
Brad released her hand, and Tasha almost grabbed it again, afraid the spell of normalcy they’d shared during their walk would fade without constant contact. After all, listening to Brad talk about his inner dragon with a mixture of annoyance and fondness had made her more interested in the dragonman by the minute.
However, she was a grown-ass adult and could resist one man. Instead of reaching for him, she tapped her hand against her leg and asked, “So how does this whole shifting thing work? I haven’t gotten that lesson yet.”
“It’s easier if I show you. Of course, to change forms I need to be naked. You can turn around if you want, but then you’ll miss the free show.”
She blinked. Had Brad just…teased her?