His mother called out his name, and Asher strode toward the kitchen. Entering, he noticed Honoria sitting with her back to him. Her hair was pulled up in a ponytail, exposing the back of her neck. Once upon a time, she'd been ticklish there. He wondered if she still would be. All he had to do was close the distance between them and dance his fingers against her soft skin.
Brushing the thought aside, he went to stand next to his mother at the cooker. "Let me do this, Mum. Sit and chat with Ria."
"Join us, too, Asher, once the biscuits are ready."
"I will."
His mother gave him a skeptical look, but he did his best to look earnest. If the biscuits ended up taking an extraordinarily long time to cool, it would be an odd coincidence.
Coward, his dragon muttered.
His mother sat down and asked, "What have you been up too, Ria? I heard from your aunt how you were in charge of some fancy project back in the States."
From the corner of his eye, he watched the pair. Honoria shrugged. "I merely improved the communication systems between the American Department of Dragon Affairs and several clans on the west coast. I'm not sure why they were so slow to embrace technology in the first place—especially given the tech centers dotting the west coast—but the trial with Clan WildCanyon went well enough. So much so that the same system was rolled out to the entire Western Region."
Since Asher hadn't known Honoria would be one of the clan leader candidates, he hadn't researched her public information and only knew the bits and pieces of gossip floating around the clan. Before he could stop himself, he said, "That's quite impressive."
Honoria met his gaze, but he couldn't gauge her expression. That was a good point in her favor for the leadership trials. "It's one of the many things I hope to try in the UK. I learned a lot from my time in California. When humans stop fearing us so much, I think we should try exchanges between the clans. As it stands now, the dragon clans are too isolated, even with the ever-growing alliance between Stonefire and Lochguard."
Asher noticed her use of "when" and not "if" the humans stopped fearing dragon-shifters. She was more optimistic than he was. Especially given how more than a dozen dead bodies had been buried on Skyhunter's land not that long ago.
Of course, maybe things were different in northern California and her wish wasn't too extreme for clans without Skyhunter's dodgy past.
He raised an eyebrow. "I'm surprised you're telling me about your plans and ideas, given how we're rivals."
She never broke her gaze. "I think you're an honorable male and won't steal them."
As they stared at one another across the expanse of the kitchen, Asher suddenly wanted to know more about Honoria. She'd always been clever and adventurous, but he sensed she'd turned those traits into a useful set of skills as an adult.
Then he remembered his secrets and his living hell at the hands of the former leader. Asher may want to know more about Honoria, but she certainly wouldn't want to know everything about him. "I'm not the same dragonman you knew before you left, Ria. You'd best remember that."
He quickly turned to take out the biscuit tray, place it down as he turned off the oven, and strode out of the kitchen.
His dragon didn't waste time speaking up. That was the most suspicious way to leave the room. Now Mum will pester us to no end.
I don't care. Ria needs to remember a lot has changed over the years. If I allow her to believe I'm the same easygoing male from over a decade ago, it will only mislead her. Even if she's a rival, I don't want to do that with her.
His beast was silent a few beats before responding, Then if you're not going to try to woo her into bed, can we do flight drills now?
At the mention of flying, some of Asher's stress faded. His dragon had gone too many years without the freedom of the skies. Of course.
As they made their way toward the main landing area, Asher focused on making his dragon happy. Strengthening their bond would only help the both of them.
It was also the perfect distraction. Because images of Honoria's clear blue eyes and golden blonde hair kept filling his head.
And he could never let on to his inner dragon about how he thought the female had only become more beautiful with age. Because if his beast found out, Asher might eventually give in to his dragon's demands to sleep with her.
While he could withstand torture bringing him to the brink of death, it was harder to deny his dragon in certain areas. The top of the list was sex. Denying his beast sex put a strain on them both, and Asher hadn't been with a female since before his imprisonment.
Which meant if he wanted a fighting chance at the leadership trials, he needed to find a willing partner to tame his dragon's need. Only then could he focus harder on Asher's ultimate goal of winning. However, there was only one rule—the female needed to be anyone but Honoria Wakeham
Chapter Three
Even though Honoria had enjoyed sitting with Asher's mother and chatting over a good cuppa, her visit had brought more questions than answers.
Namely, she wondered who Asher King had become over the years.
Her dragon, now free again, spoke up. I think we should talk to him one-on-one if you want to know the truth. Because of course he's going to be close-lipped around his mother when it comes to his recent past. Gossip says his sister was hurt, too, and who knows how badly. Talking of his experience would only increase his mum's sadness.