Page 20 of Bred By the Dragon

I laugh uproariously. “No, no. It was here when I moved in, and I saw no reason to get rid of it. Swinging helps me think sometimes, though I do worry often that it might collapse on me.”

His mouth falls open. “Sounds dangerous.”

I love how seriously he takes everything. His sincerity is so genuine and unassuming, it’s a breath of fresh air. This is a dragon who has never put on a mask in his life.

“Do you want children?” Zakarion says after a long moment. I can’t read the expression on his face.

“I don’t know.” I shrug. “It’s never felt like an option for me, I guess? My life has never been stable, and when it comes to dating...” I trail off.

He blinks. “When it comes to dating... what?”

“I’m not good at it. Truthfully, I’ve always wanted to get married, ever since I was little.” I sigh. “But I’m still looking for my perfect man.”

His lips curl downward, but he nods in understanding.

“He’s out there,” Zakarion says. “And maybe then you will want to have children.”

Maybe he’s right. But it would have to be the right person, someone who made me want nothing more than to create life with them.

“Probably so,” I answer. “Maybe subconsciously that’s why I bought the house with the swing.”

After a quiet moment, Zakarion says, “I suppose I should return home.” One of his hands curls behind my back, dragging a claw over my hip. Then, he freezes, and draws it away. “My apologies.”

I blink for a moment, unsure why he’s apologizing, until I realize just how affectionate of a gesture that was.

Offering him a smile, I say, “It’s all right. We were just, um, pretty intimate.”

He lifts his long neck up off the ground and nods curtly. “I will try to keep it at a minimum.”

My heart falls a little at this, but I understand. It’s what I asked for—and it’s best if we keep an emotional distance between us, even when we’re doing something so... personal.

Zakarion rises to his feet again, sitting up on his hind legs as he typically does. “Thank you,” he says again, earnestly. “I don’t know how I could repay you for this without?—”

I wave a hand at him. “We already discussed this. You can’t pay, but I want to help you anyway.” Besides, the sex is incredible, and now I’m committed.

Zakarion searches my eyes, puzzling over me, before nodding. “If you’re certain,” he says, sounding distinctly uncertain.

I reach out and pat his cheek, relishing his soft, smooth scales under my palm. “I’m certain.”

He bows, his head nearly reaching my pelvis, and then steps back. His huge wings extend out from behind him, so massive they make his body look small.

“When should I return?” he asks, his shadow fully encompassing me and most of the yard.

“It’ll be a few weeks before we know if this worked,” I say, feeling a pang in my chest at the idea I won’t see him again for some time. But we’ve already gone this long only meeting once a month—I’ll be fine. “I’ll take the tests and keep you posted?”

He nods, and I can’t read the expression on his dragon face. We exchange phone numbers, and then hiking his bag over his shoulder, Zakarion lifts off into the air. The gust of wind from his immense wings blows my hair into my face, but I still manage to wave as he lifts off and flies into the sky.

I’m going to need to hustle again.

But that’s all right. I’m no stranger to the grind of keeping up with my basic living expenses and paying back school loans—not to mention the bill I racked up for the roof.

First thing the next morning, I sign up to be a driver, with the intention of carting partygoers from one place to another on weekend nights. Then I browse online job listings, where a freelance cleaning gig pops up.

Perfect. Some manual labor sounds like a good way to break up the tedium of waiting for the next pregnancy test.

Between cleaning jobs and chauffeuring, I still have time for some fall activities. I visit the pumpkin patch, then spend two nights cleaning and carving the pumpkins, though no trick-or-treaters ever come this far out of town. It’s likely no one will even see them except Sarah and Jared, who come over one night to help me out with cutting silly faces into the pumpkins’ corpses.

They’re both mystified by my choice to help Zakarion outside of DreamTogether.

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