Page 55 of Fated for his Flame

“Well, now you aren’t entirely defenseless,” I said, pointing at the knife.

“Yes, to a degree,” she said tautly, clenching her jaw. Then she ran a hand through her hair.

“What is it?” I asked. “Tell me. What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking I need a break,” she said.

My heart skipped a beat.

“From all of this. The stress and unease of being among your people. I need to get away from it. But I can’t. So, I don’t know what to do, Silas. That’s what I’m thinking.”

I pondered her words. When she first said she needed a break, I’d assumed she meant from me, from us. But that wasn’t what she’d followed up with. So, maybe …

“You know what? That’s a good idea.”

She rocked back slightly in surprise. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, let’s do it. Let’s take a break. We’ll leave. Get out of the Isles for a bit. Go on a vacation.”

“We can do that?” she asked, jaw dropping.

“Of course!” I said, unable to hold back a laugh. “Do you think we just stay here all the time? I know the perfect place for us to go in the Caribbean. Nice beaches, good food, privacy. We’ll go there for a couple of days. You can relax. How does that sound?”

Chloe flung herself at me.

“Careful,” I said, easing the blade away from my midsection, even as I laughed.

“Thank you,” she said, squeezing hard. “Thank you so much, Silas. This means a lot to me.”

“You’re very welcome,” I told her, leaning down to kiss the top of my head.

A couple of days with just the two of us. Sun, sand, and nothing to worry about.

Hopefully, that would be enough to patch things up between us. To make it right.

Because I was quickly learning I hated the idea of her not being around …

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Chloe

“Which one do you like?”

I peered around his dragon’s neck, watching the coastline come near as we slowly descended toward it. Ahead of us was a set of docks. Several dozen or more boats of various sizes were moored to them, including more than a handful of larger yacht-sized craft. I’d wondered how we were going to reach our destination because flying in on the back of a dragon definitely wasn’t it. Now, I had my answer.

“Does it matter?” I asked. “Are they all yours?”

“Not mine, no,” he said, his voice slightly distorted as the wind pulled at it before it reached me all the way at the base of his neck. “They’re communal, for all dragon shifters. So, pick one.”

“Ummm.” I glanced over the ships until my eyes landed on a sleek vessel that was a mix of black and white trim. “That one there, with the black patterning on it. Looks kind of like a stormtrooper.”

Silas made a beeline for the craft, and I smiled. He knew what a stormtrooper was, apparently, since he hadn’t questioned me on it. That was good because I’d always been a sucker for Star Wars. Princess Leia was kind of a badass. Royal, diplomat, spy, general, wrangler of Han Solo. I admired her a lot.

Maybe I’ve found my own scoundrel …

The thought came unbidden as I rested my head on Silas’ scaled neck, eyes half-lidded, the warm sun beating down on my back. Things were complicated but healing. The two days it’d taken for him to arrange our outing had helped to stabilize us. We hadn’t slept together since the fight, but that wasn’t going to last.

I resolutely shoved my other thoughts to the back of my head. The ones about what I should do once I was back among humans. The job I’d been sent to do. The mission I’d yet to complete …

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