Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 45585 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 228(@200wpm)___ 182(@250wpm)___ 152(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45585 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 228(@200wpm)___ 182(@250wpm)___ 152(@300wpm)
Cold and hard, Aurora would have expected his scales to feel unalive. Just like the first time she’d touched him, Aurora could sense the life in the plates that guarded him. When his head turned on the long agile neck to nudge at her, she hesitated for a few seconds to stroke him as she admired his deadly beauty. The flash of gold in his eyes told her he enjoyed her touch.
At the next playful nudge, she told him, “Okay. Okay. I’m getting on.”
When he blew a small puff of smoke at her, Aurora laughed. “You don’t have to flame me to get me moving.”
Laughing at what she guessed was humor in his expressive eyes, she climbed onto his back and settled into position. Wrapping her fingers around his scales and clinging tight with her legs, Aurora called, “I’m good. Fly, Daddy Dragon.”
Another snort of black smoke drifted upward as he moved forward. She could feel the impact of his bulk. How did a man become this massive beast?
As his snout touched the fire filling the entrance, the flames disappeared, and Drake launched himself out into the air. They dropped for a second before the air caught under his wings. Fear formed a ball in her throat for a short time before the allure of soaring through the skies overruled that emotion.
Drake descended in a much more leisurely fashion than how they’d soared upward when she’d arrived. Aurora watched the clearing grow larger below them. With a gentle bump, the dragon settled onto the ground. After giving herself a second to adjust, Aurora slid down from his back to land on the ground.
By the time she’d straightened her clothing, Drake stood by her side. “How are you dressed? Doesn’t everything rip apart when you dragon out?”
“Dragon out? That’s an interesting way to put it.” Drake wrapped an arm around her waist and guided her to the waiting car.
“What would you call it?” she asked.
“Transform or shift,” he suggested.
“I like dragon out. That’s what really happens, you know. Your dragon comes out.”
“Good point.” He smiled at her indulgently.
When she had taken her seat in the car, Drake leaned inside, seriously invading her personal space. Aurora held her breath, waiting to see what he had planned. To her delight, he fastened her seatbelt across her lap and pressed a quick kiss to her lips before straightening to slam the door shut. She watched him circle the hood of the car and get in.
Drake was truly a handsome man. She loved his hair and beard. His body was powerful but not too over-blown. Body builders who looked like they lived in the gym didn’t appeal to her. A good balance between working out to be healthy and eating a pizza every once in a while was much better in her opinion. Of course, Drake’s chiseled abs didn’t show any evidence of indulging too often.
She glanced over at Drake and had a feeling his nature alone helped him be powerful. Curious, she asked, “Do you work out a lot?”
“Afraid my wings will give out halfway up the mountain?” he asked.
“No. From what you’ve said, you towed all that furniture up there. That weighs more than me.”
“Definitely. As I mentioned, there is a gym at our house. I work out several times a week just so I don’t look like I’m hundreds of years old. Imagine the pot belly I could have,” he said with a laugh as he rubbed his flat abdomen.
“Can dragons get flabby?” she asked, genuinely interested.
“Of course. If I laid around on my gold for centuries, the old adage of use it or lose it would come into play.”
“I can’t see you doing that,” Aurora admitted.
“Neither can I. You are always welcome to join me in the gym, Little one. Or not.”
“You don’t care if I get flabby?” she teased, half joking, half serious.
“I care about you. You’re my mate. Whether you are young or old, spry or frail, I will love you. I would like to keep you around for as long as possible. Generally, working out helps people be healthier. I would love for you to join me whenever you wish if you want to be there.”
“I don’t think you care if I’m three hundred pounds or one forty,” Aurora said in disbelief.
“A number on a scale does not make you more desirable, Little one. You are what attracts me.”
She thought about that for a while as he wove his way back into town. Wyvern hadn’t seemed to change much even though her whole life had spun in a new direction. When they seemed to be at a stoplight too long, Aurora looked up to see the lights were totally black.
“It’s not working?”
“Probably an accident knocked out the lights. All the cars are taking turns. This won’t take too long,” he assured her.