Page 81 of Dragon Exposed

He chuckled as he brought my hand up to his lips and kissed my knuckles. “A woman’s scent changes when she’s with child. I don’t know how quickly it happens, or when exactly my brother knew Finley was pregnant, but I will be able to tell, yes.”

I sighed, pressing my free hand’s palm to my belly. “Do you want kids? We haven’t exactly talked about it… but we haven’t been exactly safe about it either.”

“I would rejoice in having younglings with you, mate. When the fates bless us, it will be a cause for celebration.” He squeezed my hand before he pulled up in front of a shop that looked incongruous among the skyscrapers surrounding it. “But until then, I’m sure we’ll have a lot of fun just being together, just savoring each other.”

A bell tinkled over the door as we walked in, and a woman who I could only describe as a pixie appeared out of nowhere. “What can I help you find today?”

“We need masks for a club. Something comfortable, something that we’ll be able to wear for hours if needed.”

“Sure, sure. Magical or physical?” The woman smiled widely, practically beaming. “And are we needing anything else for the club?” She turned to me. “Oh, I’ve got so many ideas for what you can wear. Love the sparkles.”

I grinned, reaching over to take Levi’s hand. “Thanks.”

“The club is called Dragon’s Lair. We want to blend in by standing out.” He squeezed my hand. “We’ll need something to hide our scents from vampires too.”

The pixie of a woman nodded. “Magical then. Gotcha. If you want to stand out, a pair of dragon’s wings would just about top off the look.” She flitted around the shop, and every time she was in the periphery of my line of vision, I could’ve sworn she had a set of wings of her own.

“She’s a fae, love.” Levi leaned in close. “Her shop’s a portal between worlds and protected from humans stumbling onto it. She’s more of a nymph, than a pixie, though.”

I swallowed hard. “How often can you hear what I’m thinking?”

“There are some things you guard.” He grinned. “But I like being able to know what you’re thinking. I like knowing when you have questions or are wondering things, even if you don’t ask them aloud.”

Oh. Shit. “You’re kidding, right?”

Levi leaned down and kissed my cheek. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of, mate. I can help you learn to focus, to have more privacy in your own thoughts.”

I bit my lip. “Does it bother you? I mean, sometimes I think it’d be easier if I just knew what you were thinking.”

“I could bring down my walls for you, if that’s what you want.” He squeezed my hand. “But you should probably practice building your own walls if we’re going to spend more time with my brothers or any other supernaturals. Adrena usually has her own mental blocks in place to avoid overhearing, so you don’t need to worry about her knowing of your curiosity.”

“Right.” I sighed, wishing the floor would just open me up and swallow me whole. “Are you sure we can trust her? I mean, you are the dragon who exposed the existence of all supernaturals.”

“Adrena has no allegiance to the human world, and her spells and talismans keep her well-hidden otherwise. Fae have very little tolerance for dishonesty or half-truths, and as long as we’re straightforward and to the point, I doubt she’d have any cause to harm us. It isn’t in a nymph’s nature to harm those who haven’t caused direct harm to them first.”

Just one more thing I didn’t understand about the new world I lived in. I wondered if I’d ever fully get my feet under me.

“Okay, I’ve got just the thing.” She set two small rings on the counter. “Now, I know you’re going to the Dragon’s Lair, and so of course dragons would be the most obvious masks to wear, but I just couldn’t help myself. Your sparkles inspired me.” She handed the larger ring to Levi. “You, of course, must blend by being yourself, so it’s all tourmaline coloring, and it could make even the most stoic of men piss himself, if you choose to.” Then she turned to me. “You, however, have to sparkle.”

I watched Levi slip the ring onto his finger, and immediately, it looked like he had a mask made of leather, textured and shaped to look almost exactly like his dragon’s face. Behind him, two leathery wings extended from his shoulders, blending into the suspender straps as if those were what held the wings in place.

It was incredible.

With a deep breath, I put on my own ring, and then turned to face the mirror Adrena held up.

I had wings too, although mine looked more like giant, iridescent dragonfly wings. My mask, if you could call it that, looked like it was made of glitter and lace, framing my eyes in delicate swirls. The coloring matched my dress, and if I shifted from side to side, the glitter seemed to shift to match Levi’s dragon colors.

“They’re perfect, Adrena. What do we owe you?”

“Capture the sound of your first child’s first laugh. It won’t take anything from the babe, and it won’t cause him any pain or any struggle to find any subsequent laugh, but there’s great power in a laugh.” She rose up on her toes and kissed Levi’s cheek, and then mine as well. “I can feel the powers of destiny surrounding both of you. Go out and claim it.”

Levi led me back out to the car, even though I was still in awe of everything that had just happened. These rings made everything look so real, I was afraid getting in the car would dent the wings, so I slipped the band off and held it in my palm as I sat in the front seat.

The drive to the club was quick for New York traffic, and somehow Levi managed to get a parking spot close by, as if it had been reserved just for us.

Knowing him, I wasn’t sure it hadn’t been.

Once our rings were back in place, we bypassed the huge line of people hoping anxiously to get into the hot spot in town.

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