She cut him off. “Look, placing my trust in someone too early is what got me into this mess in the first place. I’m not about to be fooled twice, Fergus. Not even a growly dragonman with kind eyes will change my mind.”
“What if I shift into a dragon?”
Gina didn’t so much as blink. “Try it and see.”
His dragon laughed. She will never obey meekly. I like it.
Aye, well, you’re not the one who has to protect her without knowing all the facts.
Use your heart and gut to guide you.
Fergus grunted. He lived on acquiring information and forming a plan. Winging it wasn’t exactly his style.
Gina poked his arm, but before she could do more than open her mouth, an all-too-familiar voice filled the air. It was his younger sister, Faye. “Fergus Roger MacKenzie, stop dawdling and get a move on. Mum won’t serve her latest batch of scones until after you’ve brought home the human.”
He sighed. “How does she even know about Gina?”
Faye ran up to them. “Finn told her.” His sister looked between Gina and Fergus. “Well? Aren’t you going to introduce me?”
Motioning between Gina and Faye, he made the introductions. “Gina, this is my annoying sister, Faye. Faye, this is Gina.”
>
Ignoring him, Faye smiled at Gina. “Has my stuffy brother bored you to death yet?”
A faint flush filled Gina’s cheeks. The sight pumped up his ego a notch. Maybe, just maybe, she was thinking of their kiss earlier, which had been the farthest thing from stuffy.
Gina put out a hand to shake and Faye took it. “Nice to meet you. And to answer your question”—Gina glanced at him and then lowered her voice—“Fergus is too much of a contradiction to be stuffy.”
His dragon perked up at that. Faye opened her mouth, but Fergus beat her to it. “What do you mean I’m a contradiction?”
Amusement danced in Gina’s eyes. “Do you really want to have this conversation in front of your sister?”
Faye’s eyes widened. “Oh, this just became interesting. Tell me, Gina. What happened? Ever since Fraser mated Holly, it’s been quite boring around here. I could use a good story.”
Fergus stepped between Gina and Faye. He growled out, “Go home, Faye Cleopatra. We’ll be along shortly.”
Faye crossed her arms over her chest. “You’re not the boss of me. I’m staying.”
He hated to make a deal with his sister, but he wanted to find out more about Gina’s comment. Both man and beast burned to find out the truth. “Leave now and you can have all of my scones for the next two weeks.”
His sister loved food almost as much as flying. Since an accident last year had made flying difficult for her, Faye relied more on food to keep her happy. Only because of her dragon-shifter genes was she still thin.
Faye finally nodded. “Deal. But don’t stay away too long or Mum will have your head.”
Fergus grunted. “Fine, fine. Just go.”
Faye craned her head around Fergus’s body. “Nice to meet you Gina. Don’t let Fergus keep you away too long. The MacKenzie household is a riot, you’ll see. And once you’re settled, you can tell me all about America. I’ve dreamed about going there since I was a little girl.”
“Faye,” Fergus growled in warning.
His sister rolled her eyes. “Fine, fine. I’ll go. No need to try and use dominance on me.”
Gina waved and Faye jogged away. He was finally alone with his human again.
His dragon hummed. Find out why we’re a contradiction. And more importantly, why our human blushed.
Taking a deep breath, Fergus turned toward Gina. He stood only a few inches away, which was too bloody close. But he wasn’t going to allow the proximity to distract him. “Explain yourself, lass.” Gina raised an eyebrow and he added, “Gina. Explain yourself, Gina.”