Sapphire Dragon (Awakened Dragons Book 2) by Terry Bolryder Page A

washed over her. That always did when he was around.
    “What do you want to do tonight?” he asked. “I’m all yours, until you want to kick me out.”
    She laughed. “I wouldn’t. Maybe just take it easy tonight? Watch a movie?”
    He nodded. “Try that snuggling thing you were talking about.” He wrapped both arms around her, encircling her with strong muscles. “I think that’s what I missed most about leaving last night. I didn’t get to hold you.”
    “I didn’t know you wanted to.”
    “Of course I did,” he said. “I always want to.”
    She smiled and gently pushed out of his arms. “Well, in that case, you better help me make dinner so we can eat and get that out of the way. We’ve got some snuggling to do.”
    His blue eyes sparkled in a way she’d never seen before. Truly, it was like watching a black-and-white painting come into color the way he was changing every day.
    “Sounds good to me.”

12
    A fter dinner —where Luc had showed himself to be more than willing to help in the kitchen, if not woefully inexperienced with things as basic as boiling water—both of them returned to the living room to watch a movie as promised.
    For the movie, Hallie chose something on the tame side, a romantic comedy with a little action sprinkled throughout. But as the movie began, Luc just sat next to her on the couch, sitting upright, his gaze darting from her to the movie, as if unsure of how to proceed.
    Had Luc never done this before?
    First, she nestled into him, leaning back on his muscular frame, testing his reaction and seeing what he’d do next.
    He maintained his upright position but looked down at her with a curious glance.
    “You can relax, you know,” she teased, poking him in the side, trying to get him to loosen up.
    “I just want to make sure I’m doing it right,” he said cautiously. It was kind of cute to think of this huge, overprotective guy taking cuddling too seriously.
    “The key is to just find the right position for you and your partner so you can experience maximum comfort and enjoy the experience,” she explained.
    Luc made a hm sound, as if thinking for a moment. He then shifted his position, leaning into the back corner of the couch and then helping her move closer to him so she could rest back onto his chest, with the popcorn bowl in his lap before her.
    Heaven.
    “Ah, so this is cuddling,” he said discerningly as he wrapped an arm around her side.
    “Yes. And now we watch,” she said, turning his attention back to the TV, more for her own sake than his. Every second those deep, multifaceted blue eyes watched her, every second his hands touched her anywhere, she could feel her skin warming, could feel her body’s reaction to him.
    As they watched, Hallie’s mind wandered between paying attention to the TV, trying to ignore the rising sensations in her, and thinking about how radically different things were with Luc in her life. How even with the ups and downs, she didn’t think there was anything she would change about it all.
    “What are you thinking about?” Luc asked as he ran his fingers through her hair, his touch light despite the size of his hands.
    “Just about how different things have been ever since you came. Now that things are so changed, I’m not sure I could go back to my life the way it was before.”
    “So you can see a future with me in it?” he asked thoughtfully.
    “I mean, it hasn’t been long, but if the present is any indicator of the future, then yes, I can only hope so,” she said, turning back to see him looking down at her, his gaze tender and attentive.
    “Me, too,” he replied as she nestled back, moving the popcorn bowl to the floor so she could rest on his big, surprisingly comfortable lap.
    “You’re pretty good at this cuddling thing, by the way,” she exclaimed, relishing the feel of his thighs beneath her and his arm resting on her side.
    “Perhaps we should make it a regular thing, then?”
    “Definitely.”
    As