Even in the faint light of the moon, he could see her wry look. “Just don’t play tricks and ‘drop me’ so you can catch me again. I’m not a fan of roller coasters, and I may be sick all over your dragonhide.” She frowned. “What color dragon are you, by the way? I’m supposed to mate you, yet I have no idea.”
His inner beast poked out. Let me take over and show her. Words are not enough. I will protect her.
With a growl, he forced his dragon back again and squeezed Evie’s soft sides. Even through her cloak, he could feel the warmth radiating from her body. The touch helped him to focus. “Blue. I reckon you could call it a cerulean blue, which is the best kind.”
Evie’s voice was light. “I don’t know about that. I always fancied the purple ones myself.”
Blue is better. Let me show her.
Stop it. We’re nearly to the takeoff area. Let me explain more to our female so she isn’t afraid of us.
Quickly. There is danger everywhere while we remain here. You may think you can protect her, but a dragon can do it better. I am stronger. This is a fact.
Shut it. “Evie, under normal circumstances, I love when you tease me. But right now, love, I’m close to losing control. Every time you mention how another dragon is better, it drives mine a bit crazier. Until you’re safe, we need to feed his ego. Can you do that?”
She leaned against him and his inner beast’s attempts to break free lessened just a tad. “Then make sure he knows that while it’s a bit selfish of me, I’m glad you’re the one taking me to safety. I know it’s odd considering I only met you the other day, but whenever you’re near, I feel safe.”
The words warmed his heart. “I feel the same way, lass, and once all of this is over, I plan to mate you in front of the entire clan so I never have to let go of you.”
“Bram.”
Squeezing her tightly against his side as they walked, he picked up his pace. It was going to be hard enough to leave her in the morning. He’d best treasure what time he had. After all, he would do whatever it took to rescue wee Murray from the dragon hunters, even if it meant leading a team himself on a raid. There was always a possibility he could die.
Not that he’d mention that to Evie, at least until his dragon was under better control. He needed her to not only tame his dragon, but also to pick apart her brain. If he told her about his plans to rescue Murray, she would argue and be unwilling to do what needed to be done so he could focus.
Luckily, she remained silent during the las
t few minutes of their walk. They approached the takeoff area and headed for the covered space next to Sid’s surgery-slash-cottage. Once Sid’s staff finished preparing the basket for his female, he’d have to hand over control to his dragon. He only hoped Evie could handle him in dragon form. His beast was in no mood to be polite or restrained.
~~~
Evie watched as the two teenage dragon-shifters finished preparing the large basket for her use. While a bit larger than the type of baskets used for hot air balloons, the rectangular shape was similar. Well, except for the large, metal upright handles attached to the two longest sides of the contraption.
Since Bram hadn’t released her since they’d left Mel and Tristan’s cottage, she snuggled against him. “Are you sure they’ll hold? Your talons are sharp and could rip the basket to pieces with one wrong move.”
Much as his voice had been since leaving the cottage, it was tight with restraint. She wondered how much longer he could control his dragon. “I would never hurt you. Barring a high tech laser cutting through the material, it’ll hold.”
“If you say so.” She looked at her dragonman, the moonlight highlighting the planes of his face. “Tell me what will happen if you lose control of your inner dragon on the way to this location. I need to be prepared.”
He clenched his jaw. “A dragon protecting his or her mate is unpredictable. He will do whatever he bloody well feels like. I’ll see everything happening, yet I have little control over his actions until I manage to take control again. However,” he brushed her cheek with his free hand, “he’ll never hurt you, love. Never.”
It was the second time he’d called her love, but since this was the North of England, she forced herself to not read too much into it. Everyone from bus drivers to shop clerks called a woman “love”.
She nodded just as the two young dragon-shifters approached them. The teenage boy with red hair spoke up. “It’s all ready, Bram.”
“Right, Miles, then off you go. I know you two have a tendency to sneak off, but until this dragon hunter situation is cleared, stay where you belong. I can’t waste the resources to go looking for you if you get lost.”
“Yes, sir. I understand.”
The teenagers walked away and Bram slowly released his arm around her waist. Cupping her cheeks, he kissed her gently and pulled away. “Right, lass, I’m going to shift now. Remember, if the chance arises, feed my dragon’s ego or I’ll have the devil of a time shifting back once we reach our destination. Even then, if I do shift back, he may try to claim you once before he hands the reins back over to me. I hope you allow it.”
Even in the mostly darkness, she could see the worry in his eyes. “Don’t worry, Bram, I’ve worked with dragon-shifters for a long time. It’s going to take a lot to scare me away, and I doubt you’ll ever do so. I agreed to be your mate, which means accepting both sides of you. If your dragon needs sex to clear his head, then I’ll do it.”
“Don’t be too enthused about it. You tired of me already, lass?”
She smiled. “I want to say something, but I can’t. This feeding your dragon’s ego thing is one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do.”
Bram chuckled. She loved the deep, throaty sound. “It won’t be for much longer, and then you can do your worst.” He kissed her nose. “And I look forward to it.”