Page 7 of Wicked

His hold on me is gentle and firm, his body solid along my back like an anchor. My heart hammers in my chest as Anne climbs higher. It’s like riding a wild horse bareback into the skies. Our bodies sway with every flap of her wings, and the wind whips through my hair. After being stuck in a concrete box for several days, soaring through the air with Manny’s arm around me is the purest form of freedom I’ve ever felt.

I turn to him, our faces so close now our noses almost brush. He glances down at my lips. His longing for me is so palpable it makes me want to reach into his head and pluck out the religious nonsense that’s keeping us apart.

If we only have a year together, I don’t want to waste a moment of it. Not that I have any intention of settling for only a year with Manny. I’ve fucked a warlock or two in my day. Maybe one of them could help us.

Anne’s wings stop beating. They’re stretched out and stationary as we coast across the sky. I glance down to see that we’re now high enough that the lights of the city are no bigger than constellations.

“It’s beautiful,” I say.

“Yes, it is.”

“And cold.” I shiver involuntarily.

He leans into me until his chest is pushing my back forward. “Ride closer to her body. It will protect you from the wind.” His voice is calm and quiet. Intimate.

Damn him. He’s making it impossible to not fall in love with him. The bastard is literally taking me on a dragon ride over New York City for our first date. For someone who claims he has no intention of jumping my bones, he’s being awfully romantic. Hell, I got so caught up in him, I stopped worrying about Buddy for a few minutes.

I haven’t stopped worrying about Buddy in a long time.

“You said Buddy sent you. Does that mean he’s okay?”

“Um, he will be. We have to go to Dorian Gray’s house tonight.”

My blood runs cold. “Why? Were they not able to help Buddy in the Den of Dreams?”

“They were, but he has to bond to an Illusor in order to become flesh and blood, and he’s still trying to figure out who he wants to be with for the rest of his life. We need to buy him time.”

Why does he need to bond to an Illusor? How does that work? I almost ask Manny, then I stop myself.

I think I’d rather talk to Buddy about this. I’ve already heard H’s account of what happened to Buddy after I got arrested, and the lawyers certainly told me their point of view, but none of them were able to tell me how he feels about it. I thought I’d smelled Buddy’s slick on H, and he was ready to risk his life for Buddy. I thought that maybe they were sweet on each other. I hope Buddy is okay with bonding to an Illusor instead.

“Can we put off telling H about being fated mates?” Manny asks.

“What? Why?”

“He really wanted to be with Buddy. I think it may be hard on him that I –”

“That you have a fated mate and you refuse to be with me? Yeah, seems pretty ridiculous to me too.”

Anne lowers her head and suddenly plummets toward the ground at an alarming rate. I shriek in terror as we fall. Anne’s wings are still outstretched and steady, but our speed indicates something must be wrong.

Manny gathers me in his arm again, and leans forward, pushing me toward Anne’s neck. “Shhhh, it’s okay. I’ve got you.”

Just as suddenly as we dropped, Anne extends her wings and stops above a tall skyscraper. I scream again, worried Dorian has somehow sent someone to kill us.

But Anne simply touches down on the top of the building, tucking in her wings.

“What? Why?” I stammer, unsure of what just happened.

“I think she might be mad at me,” Manny says, sliding off her back and holding out a hand to me.

She might be mad at him? We almost died just now because Anne was mad at Manny? I slide off the other side of her back, shaky and completely disoriented. I have had way too much excitement for one night.

The dragon shrinks, her blue scales smoothing into pale skin and her wings disappearing into the slightly hunched back of a small, old woman.

“I’m Anne,” she says, not bothering to hide her bare body in the slightest.

I like her confidence. She reminds me a little of Gran.

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