Page 22 of Eliza's Cursed Dragon

“You do want to go back to the graveyard?”

She looked sad and I gathered she didn’t necessarily want to, but felt compelled to for whatever reason.

“Alright. It’s safe,” I reassured her one more time. “Do you want me to take you?”

She nodded.

“This morning?”

She shook her head.

“I don’t think anybody would mind if they saw you,” I said as another idea of why she might want to do her thing at night.

To that she shrugged. Okay, so that wasn’t it either.

“You have to collect them at night?”

Relief flooded her eyes and she bobbed her head up and down in affirmation.

“Alright. I don’t have anything better to do. Let’s go tonight? How about we fly?” I winked.

Her lips parted in the widest smile that made me think of a rising sun, reaching all the way to her sparkling eyes, and she nodded vigorously. Heat spread through my chest, my loins. God, that woman was getting to me. I would do anything for that smile, to make her happy.

One of the swans pecked at my leg and when I looked down, it motioned as if he wanted to go downstairs. When I didn’t move, he nipped at my pants to get me going. I looked at the woman and she made a motion to her mouth.

“Hungry?” I asked amused. “He’s hungry?”

She looked just as amused as I felt, shrugging and moving her head, her hand moved in circles around her stomach, before she raised it to her lips, indicating eating. “He’s always hungry?” I guessed.

Pealing laughter escaped her. Her hand flew to her lips, her eyes widened.

Gently I pulled her fingers from her mouth. “I love the sound of your laughter.”

A few of the swans snorted as if they found it funny too, and again I was taken aback at how human their eyes looked and how different.

“Well, let’s get some breakfast,” I invited, taking her hand and mouthing, “Elena?”

Again she giggled, but no, that wasn’t her name either.

“I’ll get it eventually,” I promised and she squeezed my hand.

After breakfast I went to work. Called Jack and informed him that he needed to pull some of his crew to divert them to my backyard. I wanted a pond and I wanted it now. The more comfortable I could make my beautiful guest, the longer she would stay.

For part of the day she stayed in her room, and when she returned her lovely fingers were blistered. I kissed each one.

“I don’t know why you’re doing what you’re doing, but I know it’s important to you and I won’t stop you. I will, however, find a way to stop your hands from hurting,” I promised.

She shrugged as if it were nothing, but pulled her fingers back, embarrassed.

“It’s alright,” I assured her, taking her hands back,, carefully holding them. “You have nothing to be ashamed of.”

An indecipherable look moved through her eyes, as if she was about to tell me something, but then the noise of a bulldozer startled her and she pointed at it in question, as the massive machine ran over my carefully manicured grass, ruining it.

“They’ll begin digging a hole today, for the pond,” I reminded her.

She stared at me in amazement with the widest, deepest violet eyes.

“I told you I would.” I laughed. “I’m nothing but a man of my word.”

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