br /> Bluster can only get you so far, and I'm sure the other leaders will see through it. At least Bram and Finn will.
Speaking of which, we should thank Asher for getting Shane off our arses. Maybe a few times. And then we can focus on training him up.
She ignored her beast and touched Asher's bicep. "I'm grateful for your help, but I hope you understand that I'm not going to always sit back and let you protect me."
Uncrossing his arms, Asher faced her. "Of course not. But Shane thinks females are only good for fucking and bearing babies, and nothing else. He might have risked being tossed out of the trials if it meant you were out, too. I couldn't risk it. I promise, the next arsehole we come across, he's all yours."
She snorted. "You're so confident that it'll be a male."
"Well, dragon-shifters skew more male than female, so statistically, it's likely."
"Okay, mister smarty-pants, are you done?"
He raised an eyebrow. "America has definitely rubbed off on you, Ria."
She shrugged and put on a mock accent. "I could be, like, totally cool, and like, talk like this all day to totes annoy you."
Asher chuckled. "You'd probably tire of it before me."
Her dragon laughed. He's right.
Not wanting to acknowledge the point to either her dragon or Asher, she motioned toward the path. "Let me tell you more about Bram and Stonefire, and then you can teach me a few flight drills."
"If I show you my secret moves, will you cook me something special, too?"
"Maybe I don't cook anymore." He raised his brows and she smiled. "Okay, I do. Although it's mostly Chinese, Japanese, or Korean. All of those are popular and quite tasty in San Francisco." Honoria should leave it at that, but something inside of her added, "But only if you help me prepare everything. That way you can learn at the same time, and then you'll cook for me later."
Once the words left her lips, she had no idea how Asher would respond. He'd gone on about being careful and keeping distance between them.
And yet, the longer she was around him, the more Honoria wanted to get to know him better. No, he wasn't her true mate, but that didn't mean they wouldn't fit together. After all, the female leader in Ireland had mated a dragonman who wasn't her true mate, and all sorts of reports floated around of them being in love and perfect for each other.
Maybe she'd come back to Skyhunter for more than helping the clan. Maybe she'd known her future mate since she'd been a child.
Not wanting to think about it, she prompted Asher, "Well, what's your answer to my deal? Or, are you afraid of a little work and touching some seafood?"
"I'm not afraid." He put out his hand. "Come on. I want to get as much done as possible before someone else bothers us."
Slipping her hand into his, a sizzle of heat shot up her arm at the contact. Even though she'd had Asher five times the day before, she burned to tear off his clothes and make it a sixth and seventh time, too.
Her dragon spoke up. Then do it.
We can't, until maybe later.
So you are thinking about him naked again. Good, because I want to ride him hard. Maybe even tie his arms up once.
Whoa, slow down. We can't forget about the trials and preparing for them. Let's wait until after dinner.
While now would be better, I suppose I can wait until then.
Her beast fell silent, and Honoria tried not to think about how she'd just agreed to wanting more sex with Asher. So much for her one-time-only resolve.
Chapter Five
Asher lazily flapped his wings to maintain his altitude and watched as Honoria dove toward the earth.
It was her second attempt. The first one had resulted in her almost smacking into the ground and doing serious damage.
His dragon spoke up. I still can't believe you wanted to tell her to stop. Then she would've tried it on her own, whether we were nearby or not.