Page 46 of Dance with the Dragon Duke

“Need redemption for dying?” He lifted the bowl that seemed too hot to consume, steaming the way it did, but his dragon skin appeared unbothered.

“Yes.” She felt the corner of her mouth tug upward. “In that regard, I’m as silly as you, I guess.”

He blew on the broth to cool it. “A wise woman once told me that only the gods have foresight. We’re just doing the best we can down here, so let’s blame them and be done with it.”

Tomorrow’s next breath caught. She would very much have liked to pass the blame on to anyone else for all the pain she was causing him now. She bit down hard to still her trembling lip. “Yes,” she whispered. “Let’s blame them.”

Dark lifted a spoonful of scalding broth toward her.

Tomorrow turned her head away. “Dark, sweetheart, that will melt my throat.”

Sheepishly, he dropped the spoon back into the bowl with a plop. “I suppose I’m a bad judge of such things.”

They grinned at each other, and for a moment he looked more like his usual self.

“I’m really not hungry anyway,” she told him.

He set the bowl aside, fidgeting on the bench seat. “I just needed to do something for you.”

“Is it a bond thing?” Though it wasn’t something she’d ever expected to experience for herself, she knew there were bonding rituals dictated by instincts, like feeding and bathing and nurturing one’s mate to help grow the connection.

“It’s a ‘the love of my life is dying and there’s nothing I can do about it’ thing.” He poured her a cup of tea instead. “If you’ll please indulge me now.”

“In that case, I like honey in my tea,” she said helpfully.

Dark added so much of the golden nectar to her cup it nearly overflowed. She accepted it from him, fighting down an impious giggle, allowing the ceramic to warm her hands. Because he was watching her, she sipped it. The tea was so hot and sweet it made her teeth hurt. The lines of stress bracketing his mouth softened, so she forced down a bit more.

“I’m tired again,” she said, patting his side of the bed. “Will you lie with me for a bit?”

As he rounded the mattress, she abandoned the drink that was more honey than tea to the cart.

He shucked his boots, crawled under the covers, and pulled her close. His hot, leathery tail wound around her leg.

“What can I do for you?” he asked so quietly she sensed he hadn’t meant for her to hear the question at all.

She answered him anyway. “Just keep the monsters at bay as best you can.”

Dark pressed a kiss to the crown of her head. “I can do that.”

* * *

When Tomorrow awoke next, half the candles had burned out, casting creeping shadows across the paneled walls. She sucked in a nervous breath, and Dark stirred beside her.

His tail crept from her leg to wrap around her waist, hugging her tight. “Tomorrow?”

She hid her face in his shirt. He was still fully dressed, and his waistcoat was wrinkled.

“I’m all right,” she told him. “I feel better after sleeping so much. I’m just jumping at shadows again.”

His heat was a comfort, but then he left the bed, exposing her to the cool air, and his soothing tail languidly followed. She wanted to grab that tail and hold it close.

“Where are you going?” she asked, squinting in the dark.

Dark rounded to her side and lifted her in his arms. “I’m hoarding you until I feel better,” he said. Wrapping her in the blankets, he hefted her toward the closet.

Her head felt heavy. She rested it against his shoulder. “How worried should I be that you might not let me out ever again?”

“Moderately worried,” he confessed, and she sniggered. He tucked a corner of blanket over her arm. “But there will be no shadows in there to jump at. Not unless I want there to be.”

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