Page 23 of Cowboy Dragon's Rose

I stumble, catching myself on the edge of the bed, heart racing and lips swollen.

“What the hell—” I start, but he’s already turning away.

“Sorry,” he rasps, voice thick. “I shouldn’t have?—”

“Wait! Zeke?”

But he’s gone.

Out the door, down the hall, footsteps heavy, like he’s trying to outrun something.

I collapse onto the bed, staring at the ceiling, still tasting him on my lips.

My heart’s racing, my skin’s flushed, and my brain?

Not okay.

“What the actual fuck just happened?” I whisper, touching my lips.

And for the first time in a long time, I’m not just scared of my past catching up to me.

I’m scared I’m going crazy.

Or worse.

That something weird is going on.

Something not even med school could’ve prepared me for.

Did that really happen?

CHAPTER SEVEN-ZEKE

The scent of hay and horses calms most people.

For me, it’s second only to when I’m in my scales and flying high above the world.

Maybe I should Shift?

No.

Grrrr.

Fuck no.

My Dragon’s focused on one thing only and I don’t dare give the creature my skin when all he’s thinking about is claiming a certain curvy goddess who’s currently taking up all the available space in my brain.

So, I try to work through it instead.

The barn’s warm, the afternoon sun filtering through the slats, casting golden stripes across the dusty air.

I move slowly through the center aisle, checking on each of the horses, letting my hand trail across their flanks as I go. They snort and nuzzle toward me—some affectionate, some impatient—but none are skittish.

They never are.

Not with me.

Even the high-strung gelding Dante named Cretin, swearing the thing is half feral, leans into my palm like I’ve got some kind of tranquilizer running through my fingertips.

---