Page 23 of Destiny of the Dragons

“Alright.” Mia looked at Jace. “Any scale? I don’t want to hurt you.”

“It’s barely a pinch.” Smoke ran his hand over Jace’s head affectionately. “The big baby will hardly feel a thing.”

“Okay.” She scanned Jace, and decided something from the leg would be the least painful. His feet ended in sharp talons.

“Near the feet is good. Those are usually looser.”

Mia nodded, heat warming her up again. Smoke telling her what to do was a turn on. Something about his calm expertise was sexy.

Jace snorted and gave her a knowing look.

Mia crouched down and picked off one of the scales near his talon. It came out easily, and was one of the smaller ones ringing around the talon.

“I assume size matters?”

Smoke gave her a brief smile.

Mia held the scale in her hands. It was the size of a quarter, and very thick. It was a duller shade of red, darker at the end that was attached to the skin. She studied Jace’s foot, but didn’t see an obvious hole where the scale used to be. Like lizards, their scales overlapped each other.

“You’re sure about this?” She looked at Jace and Smoke. “Tikka’s my familiar, I can figure something out.”

“We’re sure.” Smoke patted Jace’s snout. “Enough showing off. It’s time to eat.”

Mia stepped back as Jace shifted back to a human. His eyes stayed a much lighter shade of brown, and he closed the distance between them, almost touching her he was so close.

Heat rolled off him in waves. The magic inside her sparked, and she almost spontaneously cast a spell. She pushed her magic back.

“Let’s get something to eat,” he said, his voice like gravel.

Mia nodded, not trusting herself to speak. Jace got dressed and they headed back to the car.

“When you’re a dragon, can you fly with people on your back?”

“You can ride me whenever you want,” Jace said, brushing his hand down her arm.

“Noted.” She suppressed a shiver. “When do I get to see Smoke’s dragon?”

“Later,” Jace said. “I wanted to be first since he’s bigger than me.”

Mia grinned. “Size does matter.”

Jace pretended to be offended and grumbled. Smoke drove them back into Vegas. He didn’t smile, but his shoulders weren’t so tense anymore.

She expected a fancy dinner place, maybe at a resort or casino, but instead it was a hole in the wall restaurant with a huge menu. They ate themselves silly, and after dinner, they took her to three different used bookstores, claiming them to be the best in town.

Mia spent the rest of her evening trying not to remember what Jace looked like naked, and wondering how Smoke would be different.

It was a good first date. Sometimes Smoke touched her shoulder, sometimes Jace put his hand on her arm. They asked her about going to antique shows. Mia tried to get them to talk about their little real estate endeavor, but Jace refused until it all settled down.

She expected to feel like a third wheel, or like she was excluding someone, but it was surprisingly easy.

After dinner, Jace drove them back to her apartment. Smoke seemed more relaxed around her now, but he didn’t steal little touches like he had been earlier.

Surely there would be a good night kiss. The sexual tension was thick enough to cut with a knife.

They would walk her to her door, but then what? Would one of them kiss her and then other? Or maybe one of them would touch her while the other kissed her?

Her heartbeat sped up at the thought. She’d pictured sexual scenarios a hundred times, but she couldn’t picture the lead up. Only the kissing part.

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