Page 18 of No Room at Dragon's Landing

When I picked up his first book, it was because the dragon looked like mine. But it was a drawing and, honestly, it looked enough like some other dragons I’d met over the years, so I didn’t think too much past that I liked it. Not once did I ever imagine it was because the author knew me on some level, one even they hadn’t recognized.

My beast might have scented him and recognized him in that instant, but Boen had known me before we even met. Fate had made sure of it. And now, here he was, in my bed, his limbs entangled with mine, my mark on his flesh.

The night before, we’d drifted off to sleep, sated, exhausted, and bonded in a way words could not express. But I didn’t stay that way long. There was too much running through my mind.

What would we do next? He had a career, and I had a business. He was an author and an illustrator, so he could probably work from anywhere, but we hadn’t had that conversation to know for sure. But me? My business was here, set on a foundation and very location dependent.

If he could live here, I’d build him a little mini house behind the B&B, filled with windows so he could enjoy the natural light as he worked. I wasn’t sure what kind of table he would use, or if he did everything on the computer, or really anything about his process. But I’d make sure he had what he needed—including privacy.

It struck me how little we actually knew about each other. We had a lifetime to learn, and I was excited to uncover every last detail about him. But, in this moment, it felt like an obstacle, one I wanted to move out of the way.

The house was a necessity, in my opinion. One thing we didn’t have at the B&B: quiet solitude and privacy. I didn’t mind. Everyone who was here regularly was my family, even if not by blood, and the guests? They were the reason I even had a business, but it would be a lot to get used to, especially for someone who worked predominantly alone.

I remembered the look on his face when we went into the basement, and he thought for just a nanosecond that something untoward was happening here, thanks to Sandra’s wonderful joke. And, of course, there was the time when Arnaud told him that he needed help with the kitchen floor and handed him a toothbrush, thinking it was the funniest thing in the world. Safe to say, we were a handful.

But that was what it was like here. You never knew what was happening—not with my aunt, not with the staff, and definitely not with the customers. That’s what made it wonderful, in my eyes. But what if it didn’t in his, and Boen didn’t want to live here? What if he liked his home and wanted to get back to it? What if he longed for the city life? There were so many what-ifs, and each and every one of them was running through my brain.

If he didn’t want to be here, I’d go with him. No question. Maybe my aunt would want the B&B, or maybe I’d sell it. I didn’t care which, as long as the two of us were together.

“You’re thinking so hard, even my brain hurts.”

I looked down to see Boen watching me. “Sorry. I was—”

He shook his head. “Nope. None of that. You’re supposed to wake up and be cuddly or horny or rushing off to work.” He squeezed me closer. “Not solving world peace or world hunger or whatever is going on up there.”

“Ah, if only I was working on something that simple.” I was teasing, but also not.

“What were you thinking about, then? You don’t have regrets, do you?” There had been no fear in my mate last night, but it sure appeared in that one question.

“No, my love, not a single one.” I brushed a kiss to the tip of his nose. “I was just thinking that I didn’t know what we were doing next, and I was hoping that you’d want to move here.”

He let out a long breath, his body relaxing against mine. “Oh. I thought that was a given. Did I jump ahead six steps?”

“No, no, omega mine. I just had to catch up.” I gave him a far-too-brief kiss. “As much as I hate to get you out of bed, I want to show you something.”

“Okay.” He climbed down, and the two of us went over to the window.

“See that little clearing right there?” I pointed out back and to the left.

“Yeah.”

“Notice how the grass is lower than the other area?”

“Yeah, I did notice that. I figured maybe it was septic or something.”

“Not exactly. One time, there was a little cabin there. The old owners took it down because it wasn’t considered livable and because it had once been a home, it served no real purpose as an outbuilding.”

He nodded, his gaze still glued to the space.

“I was thinking we could put one of those mini homes there and set up a studio for you.”

He wrapped his arms around me. “You would do that for me?”

“Make no mistake, my mate. I would do anything for you.”

He turned to face me and brought his hand up to my cheek. “I was afraid I was gonna wake up this morning and discover that last night had been a dream. I’d be scrunched up on the couch with my neck hurting and my mouth dry, wondering what day it was.” He kissed me.

“Disappointed?”

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