Page 13 of Unhaunt Me

Chapter Six

Tritus

In an ideal world, I’d have stayed with Casimir right there on the paved stones and he’d have taken me while the music thrummed inside the ball. No one would’ve cared. No one would’ve batted an eye, but tension clung to his scent and strung his muscles tight like a bow string ready to snap. It wasn’t just me he didn’t trust. He didn’t trust anyone. Not me, not his cousin, not his old playmate and her mate.

“Not even himself apparently,”my dragon chimed in as Casimir and I made our way to the landing field where we shifted and took to the night sky together. He was a gorgeous dragon with long velvety wings and big inquisitive eyes. He had all his talons too. That meant he probably hadn’t fought much since coming to Starscale 1. He didn’t smell violent, but violence doesn’t always linger on the scales.

“He’s not,”my dragon said, as the wind brushed against our scales.“He’s not violent. He’s protective and probably a bit territorial. Maybe he’ll claim us fast when we get home. Maybe he thought he couldn’t do that in the Star Room. Maybe he thought it was like those old stuffy Earthside temples or churches or something.”

I had a feeling that the location of our meeting had little to do with the fact Casimir hadn’t ravished me right then and there. That wasn’t a thought most dragons would work too hard to keep off the flight link. Whatever it was he kept it locked up like a prized possession.

The flight back to my house was shorter than I would’ve liked. In the sky, Casimir relaxed more than he ever did on the ground. We flew close to each other and the tips of our wingsbrushed together whenever the breeze shifted so that we could glide. This flight was familiar to something deep inside me. It wasn’t the first time our souls had flown together and it wouldn’t be the last.

I landed first because I knew the exact spot where my little potted plants around the back patio wouldn’t be flatted to pebbles under our draconic weight. Casimir was patient as I shifted back to my human form and then waved him down. He landed perfectly – majestically even, his muscles gliding like a big cat as he came down. He stretched his wings wide before curling them in and giving into his scaleless form. Somehow his tie and shoes survived the shift. Ties weren’t that common here. They were a dress up, costume accessory, but he looked good in it.

“Okay. He can keep it on but everything else has to go,”my dragon snickered into my thoughts.

That wasn’t a bad idea and I was game if Casimir was. He stood silent for a long moment looking up at the night sky. It was a gorgeous clear night, and the air was crisp with the smell of autumn. I inched toward him, unsure of how much space he wanted. He took my hand and tugged me in close to his side before wrapping his arm around me. I curled into him, fitting perfectly against his body. We had been made for each other after all.

I glanced up at the wide-open sky and when I looked back at Casimir he was looking down at me. I licked my lips without meaning too. His were parted as if he were considering kissing me too. I leaned a little closer to him, encouraging him with my own parted lips. He cupped my chin, a scale on the pad of his index finger stood out, as his lips claimed mine. The kiss was softer than I expected. So soft that it was almost a question. Still cupping my chin, he moved so that he stood in front of me. A second later, his warm, nimble tongue slipped into my mouth.

Yes! Yes! Kiss me!

My head swirled with his scent and his warmth radiating against my flesh. He let go of my chin to hold onto my hips and I slipped my arms around his neck. Rising up on my tiptoes, I deepened the kiss, meeting his tongue and tasting him again. Our bodies pressed hard together, making new terrain familiar. I leaned against him, letting him take on my weight as I surrendered to the moment. His hands wandered to my ass cheeks and kneaded the pads of his fingers into my flesh. The half-robe I wore to contrast my mask was thin and didn’t hide much from the eye and even less from his squeezing hands.

He murmured something into the kiss that I didn’t catch. He smelled relaxed as I’d ever smelled him. He took a step back and I followed him. Then he took another. Did he want to stop? Was he pulling away from me?

“Mate?” I murmured.

He stopped kissing me and I rose up on my tiptoes to press my forehead against his. Casimir’s thoughts weren’t as closed off from the flight link as before but they swirled around in abstract spirals as if they themselves tried to hide from me and everyone else who might overhear them.

“You okay?” I asked and he nodded.

“Almost lost myself there,” he grinned.

“You don’t need perfect self-control every second of every day. I promise, if you get to be too much of a cave-dragon I can hold my own.”

His grin broadened and I let out a long, slow breath.

“I’m not made of glass.”

“Kids? Protection?” he muttered the words.

“Yes and if you want. I mean, if we ---” my head spun and I leaned in against his shoulder to catch my breath. “You make it so fucking hard to think.”

“Now you know how I feel,” he chuckled. “Protection?”

“Do you want kids? I mean, of course, you do. You have an egg in the nest. So maybe---”

“I asked you first,” Casimir said.

“I do,” I nodded. “I’m not saying that I won’t be involved in your first--- Wait! Is that your first egg?”

“Yes,” he nodded.

Good. We were getting somewhere now. He’d willingly told me something about his life.

“Do you have any kids?” Casimir asked a second later.

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