Page 66 of Walking in Darkness

He sat still while Connie helped Kit climb down. He made sure to not even breathe too hard. They already had one close call. They didn’t need another one. Once they were on the ground and away from him, Hudson stood.

“Hold up just a second,” Kit said. “Don’t change back yet. Connie? Why don’t you change too? Didn’t you say you wanted to, also?”

“Well, yes, but are you sure you’re okay with that?” Connie asked.

“I’m perfectly fine with it. You guys go do whatever it is you do, and I’m just gonna sit right here and chill.” Kit pointed to the ground. “I haven’t had a chance to see either of you fly yet.”

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely. If you’re worried about my safety, don’t be. We’re in your territory right outside of your house, a house full of dragons. Go. Go be a dragon. I mean, damn. I get to see two dragons in flight. No movie can beat that.”

Hudson snorted.

“But I guess that does beg the question whether or not it is safe for you to fly right now?” Kit asked.

“Yes. Hudson cast a spell to keep us hidden as soon as we walked out here. We’ll also keep an eye out for airplanes.”

“Airplanes. Yeah, crashing into an airplane could be a problem, I guess. I’m glad I didn’t know about the paranormal world all those times I flew home. That’s a new fear unlocked.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN – CONNIE

CONNIE GLANCED at Hudson, then back to Kit.

Kit stepped up to Connie, cupped his face, and pressed a kiss to his lips. “Go.”

Kit didn’t have to tell him twice. Ever since the wreck earlier, he’d been on edge. As he had told Hudson, he wasn’t in jeopardy of losing control, but he definitely was ready to shed this human façade. Plus, his dragon was going crazy.

He, too, wanted his mate to admire him. Connie had to keep reminding the contrary creature Kit hadn’t seen Hudson in his natural form until just then.

Connie stripped and then darted across the open space. Flinging himself into the air, he let his dragon take over. In mere seconds, his dragon was powering upward, Hudson hot on his heels.

Hudson pulled slightly in front, and Connie fell into formation right behind him and slightly off to the side. They moved in perfect synchrony, showing off the acrobatic moves they’d trained for.

The air in his face, the glide over his wings, relaxed him in a way very few things could. After a few more moments of trying to impress Kit, Hudson darted away, going straight up into the sky.

Connie had seen him do this before, so he stayed out of the way. When he had reached a certain height, Hudson foldedhis wings and dropped. His enormous body fell like a rock, screaming toward the ground.

He hoped Kit realized this was just an aerial maneuver, and that Hudson was okay. At the last second, Hudson snapped his wings out and soared above the treetops.

The power needed to pull off something like that was insane. Connie could do it too, but he needed to pull out of the dive much sooner than Hudson because he simply didn’t have the power his mate did. Nor the age.

Hudson circled back around, doing barrel rolls in the sky. Connie threw back his head and roared, Hudson joining him. They flipped and soared through the air, streams of fire exploding from their mouth.

He glanced down to see Kit lying on the ground, his arms behind his head, watching them. It looked as if he was enjoying the show. They’d stuck close to home so Kit could watch them play in the sky and not worry about being attacked.

Eventually Hudson tipped his wing toward the ground, and Connie nodded. It was probably getting close to time to eat dinner. Hudson landed first and transformed.

As soon as he moved out of the way, Connie set down on the ground gently and also changed. He rolled his neck as he tried to settle back into the smaller form.

Kit hopped up and rushed toward them. “That was the most fascinating thing I’ve ever seen in my life. Seriously. I can’t even begin to explain how thankful I am that I was allowed to witness something like that.”

Kit flung his arms around Hudson and squeezed him tightly. Connie was still getting dressed when Kit tackled him too. Laughing softly, he one-armed hugged Kit. Hudson brushed the grass off Kit as Kit pressed a kiss to Connie’s cheek.

“Are you getting hungry?” Hudson asked.

Kit nodded. “That snack we had a little while ago is long since gone.”

Connie slipped on his shoes, then held out his hand to Kit. “Let’s head inside and see what there is for dinner.”

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