Page 55 of Dragon Detective

“I’ve come to a decision,” I said, my voice shaky. Thinking I wanted more and making my needs plain were two different things. Why were risks so hard to take?

“About what?” he placed his hands on his thighs and gazed up at me with his gorgeous amber eyes.

“About us.”

“You don’t need to decide anything about that. It hasn’t been long. I plan to woo you for at least a few more days.” Laughter spilled into his voice, but his gaze remained serious. He swallowed hard, telling me what I had to say wasn’t anything he’d brush off lightly.

“I want to be with you, Reylor.” I lifted my hand, tilting it to show the symbol that matched his. “You said dragons take their fated mates to their nests, and I think I’d like to see yours.”

“Hannah,” he croaked. “Hannah.” He rose to his feet. “I don’t know what to say except I’m stunned. Happy. No, thrilled. I—”

“Could you show me how a dragon claims his fated mate? I mean, a dragon shifter. I’m not ready to be with your dragon, as gorgeous as he is.”

“Hell yeah, I can show you.” He swept me off my feet and strode through the first floor to the kitchen. We stopped and made sure Max had plenty of food and water and locked his cat door to keep him inside. He sat on the island, blinking at us, and he didn’t voice a complaint as Reylor urged me out through the back door and onto the deck. Once the back door was locked, he lifted me once more and, with one leap, he landed on the patio below. He bolted to the path weaving through the dunes, stopping partway. “I’m shifting, and I’m not putting anything on when we reach my nest. Got it?”

“Hell yeah!” I said with a joyous laugh.

He ripped off his clothing, and I truly wanted more time to check out his gorgeous body, but in seconds, he’d shifted into hisdragon form. He lowered himself to the sand, and I climbed up onto his back.

He burst into flight, and at first, I thought he would take me to the apartment he’d mentioned he was renting until he bought a permanent place, that his “nest” was just a dragon-like way to say bedroom. And I was okay with that. I wanted to see his bedroom. My veins simmered with a need to settle in his bed with him looming over me.

But he flew out of town and headed east. My mind was swallowed by the gorgeous, star-speckled sky overhead and the way the full moon gleamed, and I soon lost track of what direction he traveled.

Finally, the flap of his wings slowed, and he soared lower, aiming for the coast. When he swept out over the sea, my heart fluttered along with the pace of his wings.

A small island with a tall building loomed ahead, and he aimed for it, landing on one of the huge slabs of stone peppered only with spurts of grass and a few wildflowers surrounding a black and white striped lighthouse. The light kept swirling in circles at the top, a beacon for those returning from sea as well as a warning to avoid the rocky outcroppings around the island.

When Reylor dropped to his belly, I slid down his front leg to the ground and gazed around in awe. He shifted and came up to wrap his warm arms around me, curling forward to kiss the side of my neck.

“What is this place?” I asked, lifting my voice to be heard over the crash of the waves on the eastern side of the island.

“My nest. In the past, most dragons used caves, but as we joined human society and settled in various parts of the world, we took our nests with us. I love this part of the country and knew right from the start that I wanted to settle here. Lighthouses still work their original purpose, but this one had fallen into disrepair. The government made sure the light keptrunning, but otherwise, no one had lived here or maintained the structure for a long time. I’m not the first dragon to reach out to buy one. Since I’m willing to maintain the lighthouse, and I won’t interfere with its original purpose, the town was eager to hand it over to me. I’ve owned it for a very long time.”

“It’s pretty here.”

Mist from the crashing waves drifted across my face as we stood there, soaking in the feel of this abandoned place that was also now a new home. A nest, I supposed, but it was basically the same thing.

A biting wind sought us out, though I remained warm nestled in Reylor’s arms.

The lighthouse towered in front of us, casting eerie shadows in the moonlight. The air tasted of salt and smelled like seaweed, though it held a hint of the cottage roses blooming in clusters nearby.

Waves crashed against the jagged shoreline beyond the lighthouse, the sound a swishing roar in my ears. Beneath my feet, the wet rocks were slick, and I’d have to take care when I walked across them in my heels.

“Would you like to see what I’ve done inside?” He stepped back, away from me, holding out his hand.

I turned and swept my eyes down his muscular frame, taking in his broad shoulders and rippling chest that narrowed to his hips. His abs could be featured in a workout magazine, and I couldn’t wait to run my fingertips across each bump and seam.

And his cock . . . Big enough to please and thick enough to make my heart thump faster.

Taking his hand, I linked our fingers. “Yes, show me.”

With a grin, he led me across the rocks, but it was slow going in my heels.

“They make your legs look like they go on forever,” he said, stopping and gesturing to them. “I can’t wait to see you walk across my bedroom wearing only them. But . . .”

“I should’ve worn sneakers.”

“Never,” he rasped. “Never, sweetheart. I want you to wear these all the time.”

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