Page 43 of The Dragon's Mate Proposal

“They know you’re human,” he said. “They don’t care.”

“I’ve never worked on a human before,” the male said, striding forward and replacing Cade’s arm with his own. “This is going to be so much fun! Let’s get started.”

“Okay,” I said, trusting Cade’s judgment.

“I’ll be back in a few hours. Enjoy,” he said with a wink before heading out the door.

“I will,” I said with a helpless shrug.

Then I was in a chair, and the man’s fingers were kneading deep into the muscles of my neck and shoulders. Muscles that had seen a lot of use over the past week from cleaning.

A low groan slipped from my mouth as I sank into the chair.

“This isn’t so bad a way to spend today,” I mumbled into the blissful euphoria that followed.

The woman, who introduced herself as Darlee, slid on a stool and started working on my nails, clucking in disdain at their state.

“Trust me, I know,” I said. “Lots of cleaning this past week.”

She flicked her tongue against her teeth. “He makes you do all the cleaning?”

“No, I didn’t mean it like that,” I mumbled. “Cade’s a good guy. He’s been working like a dog. Nonstop. Mostly outside, though. All those trees to cut down or remove. Bushes to hack up and stack. And more.”

“So, he treats you well?” the man, Junoh, pried.

“Yes. He does. I’m here, aren’t I? This isn’t such a terrible birthday present.”

“It’s your birthday?” Darlee asked. “He brought you to us for it?”

“Yeah.” I shrugged. “But he doesn’t know it is. I didn’t tell him. He’s already doing lots. Besides, I wasn’t sure if birthdays were a thing among your kind. I never made a huge deal about it back home.”

“Birthdays are always important,” Darlee said while Junoh made sounds of agreement from behind me as he turned my shoulders and brain to mush with his fingers, finding every knot possible.

“Oh,” I said. “Okay.”

“You should tell him,” she urged.

“Maybe,” I said, still unsure about the idea. “He has a lot on his mind already. I don’t want to burden him more.”

“He’s dragon. He can handle it,” she said. “Trust me.”

I smiled, sinking deeper into the chair as Junoh started massaging my scalp.

Maybe I would tell Cade. Maybe.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Cade

“Hello, Cade.”

I glanced to my right as a dragon sidled up to me, matching his pace to mine. The square jaw and green eyes looked vaguely familiar. As did the perpetual sneer twisting his face.

“Good to see you again.”

My head turned to the left as someone else joined us. Again, his face looked somewhat familiar, though I couldn’t quite place it or the voice. The hair, dyed a dark gray, was tickling a memory.

I sighed as it came to me.

---