Double Dragons(16)
He tilted his head and then stood and joined her in the living room. He sat in a chair across from her and looked out the window of the high-rise apartment.
“Beautiful,” he said. “Ran and Draven always had excellent taste.”
“Don’t dragons always work together?” she asked again. “Where’s your partner?”
He bit his lip, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “I may have given him the slip. But once he finds out a mate was at stake, he’ll understand.”
“What?” she asked. “Why?”
He studied her, brushing his hair over his shoulder with one hand. “I would have thought they would have told you a bit more about things.”
She shook her head. “No. I sort of walked into something and they had no choice but to bring me here.”
“And you didn’t even put up a fight about it?” he asked, studying her critically with those incredibly beautiful eyes. Then he grinned. “I see.”
“What?” she asked, sitting up a little straighter.
“Well, it works out for the dragons.”
“What does?”
“That your life wasn’t something you’d miss,” he said. “It’s a problem with mates.”
“So what do you mean?” she asked. “I mean, men who look like you all do…”
“Immortality can be lonely. Sometimes even two gorgeous men aren’t enough for a woman. Not to mention, dragon breeding is complicated. A female might only have one offspring in her life.”
She bit her lip. She’d wanted kids, but she hadn’t met anyone she wanted them with, so that wasn’t really something she’d lose by not going back to her world. “Tell me more,” she said. “Tell me everything I need to know.”
He sighed. “That’s really for your mates to do.” He crossed one leg gingerly over the other. His legs were long and lean, as graceful as the rest of him.
“Is that your real hair?” she couldn’t help asking.
He laughed. “No, I just enjoy it. Got to keep things interesting when you live as long as I do.”
She gulped and nodded. “So where are they? Did they tell you?”
He leaned forward, tenting his fingers together. “How much have they told you about their dragons?”
“Nothing,” she said. “Well, I saw Draven make a little puff of flame on a match. But it was tiny.”
Quill arched an eyebrow. “He showed you his dragon flame? Interesting.”
Quill joined her on the couch, slinging an arm around her shoulder. She gave him a surprised look and started to move away, but he squeezed her to him.
“Um, I shouldn’t…”
“Please,” he said. “As you said, you aren’t mated yet. Just let me get to know you a bit.”
She frowned but stayed there, feeling that incredible calming energy flow through her.
“Feel that?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said, closing her eyes and leaning back her head. “Feels soothing.”
He nodded and rested his head lightly against hers. “All dragons have different powers. We blue ones can heal. Our presence is healing and our dragon fire more so. So that’s me.”
She nodded.
“So you’re with a gold and black dragon, and they have their own powers. Though they should be the one to explain them when they ask you to mate them.”
“They already did,” she said.
“No,” he said. “They didn’t. They might have said they intend to, but before the actual ceremony, they will tell you everything and then ask you to choose.”
Quill’s power still flowed through her, making her feel content and relaxed. Dragons were amazing.
“Is Draven the black dragon?” she asked. “I heard mention of it the night I met them.”
Quill pressed his lips together and started to stand. “Oh look, orange juice. Do you want some more?”
She pressed on. “They were saying he’s the most dangerous, the black dragon I mean. And I thought Draven, with his dark hair and, you know, his personality…”
Quill let out a laugh. “His personality? Oh, Draven would just love to hear that.”
She frowned. “Well, I don’t know. Is he?”
Quill turned to look down at her, still standing in front of the couch. “You aren’t going to let this go, are you?” he asked, propping a knee next to her and catching a curl in his hair. “Your hair is fascinating. Quite beautiful, like the rest of you.” His eyes scanned her body. “Just what dragons prefer.”
She blinked and inched back against the cushions. “Hey, Quill…”
He leaned forward, planting a hand on either side of her head as his intense gaze met hers. He bit his lip and looked down at her mouth, and she let out a little shiver as she felt his breath on hers.