grimacing.
She saw Greg’s reflection in the window shrug.
“You say medieval; I say traditional. It’s a
matter of perspective. Cora, you have choices. You can choose one
of the dragons and alleviate their inclination to destroy one
another, or you can refuse to make a choice and let them do what
they will. I can’t speak for the other Dragonlord, but if you
choose mine, I’ll promise you the courtship time as well as the
education before pressing you into contact with myself or the
dragon.”
Greg rose from the floor and she turned
around to face him. “I’m not interested in a mate-for-life kind of
deal,” she told him. “I’m not even interested in a
mate-for-temporary surrogate mother thing. I’m interested in my life, and making choices about who I want to spend any of
my time with, let alone all of my time.”
“I expect that from any normal woman. You’re
not normal, though.”
She narrowed her eyes. “What’s that supposed
to mean?”
He gestured toward her wrists and flapped the
red scarf in her direction. “You have a connection with dragons,
and it doesn’t have anything to do with bedtime stories. I think
you know what the connection is, or at least have some idea, if
only because you haven’t yet rejected this for lunacy.”
Cora heard a shuffle of footsteps outside her
door, a reminder that she and Greg weren’t alone. More, it was a
reminder that she had another resource besides this veritable
stranger. He was right. She did have a connection, if the family
old wives’ tales could be believed. She had to investigate those
tales before she proceeded any further. It would be too easy to
reject Greg, the dragons, the entire affair, out of hand, but a
small part of her, the part of her that hadn’t been stripped of the
ability to dream, was reluctant to decry all involvement. So, while
her mother and sister might be certifiable in their own rights,
Cora decided to consult with them before she made any
decisions.
To Greg, she said simply, “I need to think
about this. About everything. I’ll keep both the dragons with me
for now.” She held her hand out.
He moved closer and re-knotted the scarf
around her wrist. With the return of the scarf, she felt a surge of
warmth.
When he finished, he turned to look out the
window. Cora half-turned to keep an eye on his profile and another
eye on the street. Part of her didn’t want Greg to take her
decision to remain undecided as a cue to leave. Even though they
hadn’t been sitting quietly, shut away with Greg was the most quiet
she’d had all morning. She finally had enough space to think.
The first thing she had to address, right
after every other “first thing” that needed addressing, was the
issue of the hostile dragon. She wanted to ask Greg about it, but
didn’t know how to proceed.
“You have a question,” Greg said abruptly.
Cora blinked, looked up to find him watching her. He was leaning
against the windowsill, his arms folded across his chest in a
casual pose. She didn’t remember him turning around at all.
“I do,” she hedged, trying to decide which
question she wanted to ask. Instinct told her to play her cards
close, so she went with, “When they first came, I was able to talk
with them. Now I don’t have that same level of communication.”
Something flashed in Greg’s eyes. He, she
surmised, was playing his cards close as well.
“What’d they say?” he asked.
“It. Only one of them talked.”
“And?”
“It wanted me to release it.” She canted her
head, watching him. Except for the brief glimmer of darkening in
his eyes moments ago, he was the picture of neutral. He hadn’t been
five minutes earlier, though, when they were sitting on the floor.
That first stiffening of his cock had marked him as interested in
more than an academic sense, and she took it as proof that he had
more invested in his dragon and her involvement with both dragons,
than he was letting on.
“What if I had released it?
She saw Greg’s reflection in the window shrug.
“You say medieval; I say traditional. It’s a
matter of perspective. Cora, you have choices. You can choose one
of the dragons and alleviate their inclination to destroy one
another, or you can refuse to make a choice and let them do what
they will. I can’t speak for the other Dragonlord, but if you
choose mine, I’ll promise you the courtship time as well as the
education before pressing you into contact with myself or the
dragon.”
Greg rose from the floor and she turned
around to face him. “I’m not interested in a mate-for-life kind of
deal,” she told him. “I’m not even interested in a
mate-for-temporary surrogate mother thing. I’m interested in my life, and making choices about who I want to spend any of
my time with, let alone all of my time.”
“I expect that from any normal woman. You’re
not normal, though.”
She narrowed her eyes. “What’s that supposed
to mean?”
He gestured toward her wrists and flapped the
red scarf in her direction. “You have a connection with dragons,
and it doesn’t have anything to do with bedtime stories. I think
you know what the connection is, or at least have some idea, if
only because you haven’t yet rejected this for lunacy.”
Cora heard a shuffle of footsteps outside her
door, a reminder that she and Greg weren’t alone. More, it was a
reminder that she had another resource besides this veritable
stranger. He was right. She did have a connection, if the family
old wives’ tales could be believed. She had to investigate those
tales before she proceeded any further. It would be too easy to
reject Greg, the dragons, the entire affair, out of hand, but a
small part of her, the part of her that hadn’t been stripped of the
ability to dream, was reluctant to decry all involvement. So, while
her mother and sister might be certifiable in their own rights,
Cora decided to consult with them before she made any
decisions.
To Greg, she said simply, “I need to think
about this. About everything. I’ll keep both the dragons with me
for now.” She held her hand out.
He moved closer and re-knotted the scarf
around her wrist. With the return of the scarf, she felt a surge of
warmth.
When he finished, he turned to look out the
window. Cora half-turned to keep an eye on his profile and another
eye on the street. Part of her didn’t want Greg to take her
decision to remain undecided as a cue to leave. Even though they
hadn’t been sitting quietly, shut away with Greg was the most quiet
she’d had all morning. She finally had enough space to think.
The first thing she had to address, right
after every other “first thing” that needed addressing, was the
issue of the hostile dragon. She wanted to ask Greg about it, but
didn’t know how to proceed.
“You have a question,” Greg said abruptly.
Cora blinked, looked up to find him watching her. He was leaning
against the windowsill, his arms folded across his chest in a
casual pose. She didn’t remember him turning around at all.
“I do,” she hedged, trying to decide which
question she wanted to ask. Instinct told her to play her cards
close, so she went with, “When they first came, I was able to talk
with them. Now I don’t have that same level of communication.”
Something flashed in Greg’s eyes. He, she
surmised, was playing his cards close as well.
“What’d they say?” he asked.
“It. Only one of them talked.”
“And?”
“It wanted me to release it.” She canted her
head, watching him. Except for the brief glimmer of darkening in
his eyes moments ago, he was the picture of neutral. He hadn’t been
five minutes earlier, though, when they were sitting on the floor.
That first stiffening of his cock had marked him as interested in
more than an academic sense, and she took it as proof that he had
more invested in his dragon and her involvement with both dragons,
than he was letting on.
“What if I had released it?
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