Page 83 of Never Flirt with a Dragon

A laugh escaped me. “It may be hard to believe, but I feel the same way.”

“It’s not hard to believe. Flying will be as much a part of your life now as it is mine. It’ll be a lot better for both of us if you enjoy it.”

I couldn’t disagree with that any more than I could stop myself from asking, “What’s our life together going to look like, Jas?”

“That depends on you.”

“How do you figure that?”

“The way I see it, we have two options. We can try to make you more comfortable by easing into the bond, or we can jump into our new reality and figure it out as we go.”

My forehead creased. “How would we ease into it?”

“Move you into the bedroom you wanted. Try to establish a solid friendship before adding our bond to it. Build habits together and get used to each other as we do so.”

Oh.

“I don’t like that option, for the record, but I’m willing to attempt it if it’s what you want,” he said.

“What’s the alternative?”

“We continue as we are. You keep living in our shared bedroom with me. I introduce you to the thunder as my mate. We figure everything out together, as it arises.”

“There are pros and cons to both options.” I stared out at the mountains, my body still pressed to Jasper’s. “Lots of pros and cons to both.”

He made a sound of agreement.

“Do I have to decide now?”

“No. Soon, though.”

That made sense. We did have to figure out the living situation pretty quickly.

“Maybe we can fly back to Scale Ridge to pick up the rest of my stuff first? So I can see Vi? I don’t want to tell her everything over the phone. We need to have a conversation in person. If you’re up for it, we could go talk to my parents, too. They’re probably panicking by now.”

“Let’s do it,” he agreed. “We can pack a bag and head out now.”

With that, he carried me back to the mountain.

Since most of my stuff was still at home, I didn’t bother packing anything except the unscented shampoo and conditioner I used for Jasper’s sake.

He threw a few changes of clothes in a backpack with my shower stuff, then tightened the straps and slipped it over my shoulders before we headed out.

The flight was a few hours long, but it was relaxing. My body was pressed against Jasper’s warm, scaly neck the whole time, and the breeze around us was peaceful. I dozed off a few times, but he flew so steadily that it didn’t matter.

By the time we reached Scale Ridge, the sun was starting to set, so I figured Vi would be at work. My keys were in our bag, thanks to Elodie, so I unlocked the apartment’s door without knocking.

When I stepped inside, I halted.

The living room was as tidy as usual, but the kitchen was a wreck.

There was a tower of dirty dishes to my left.

A stack of glass casserole pans with lids on them to the left of that.

Multiple trays of something to the left of that.

Pop music played from the radio so loudly that Vi hadn’t even heard the door open, and was facing the stove while she stirred something and shook her hips.

---