Page 8 of The Dragon's Surprise
As Jenny spoke, Kyle laid down with his rear limbs under him and his front ones out straight in front of his body, with his tail moving back and forth. Lexi blurted, “He really does look like a cat.”
The dragon nearly glared, but Lexi ignored the look, took a deep breath, and walked over, closer to his tail.
Kyle had never really had anyone touch his dragon form since he was a teenager, back when he and his friends had made stupid dares, ones that could’ve killed each other.
However, as first Ethan and then Lexi caressed his snout before scratching behind his ears, tension faded from his body, relaxing him in a way he hadn’t experienced for years. Probably not since he’d become a fully-fledged doctor.
His dragon spoke up.They could become our family.
What are you talking about?
He’s our son, just as lost as us. And she should be ours.
Not wanting to think too hard about what his dragon was saying, he was glad when Lexi finally walked up to him and said, “Okay, Mr. Dragon, be nice. I’m not the best with unstable heights, but I’m willing to try. However, if you drop me, I won’t be responsible for my actions.”
Kyle wanted to smile. If this female wasn’t intimidated by his dragon form, she probably wasn’t afraid of much.
His dragon said,She’s strong, yes, but also vulnerable, remember?
Not wanting to dwell on the hurt look in her eyes from when she’d shared about her mother, he wrapped his tail around her middle and bobbed his head. After waiting a beat, just to make sure she didn’t want to back out, he lifted her gently. She sucked in a breath, but he placed her in a sitting position on his back, keeping a hold of her until she seemed steady. Then he slowly unfurled his tail and moved it away.
She froze for a few beats before stroking his scales. His beast hummed, and Lexi smiled at him. She really was beautiful when she smiled.
His beast mentally laughed.You’ll want her like I do soon enough.
Lexi said, “Okay, it looks pretty steep. Won’t I fall off?”
Kyle’s dragon moved out his hind leg, to create a gentler slope.
The female took a few deep breaths before she nodded. “I can do this.” She glanced at him. “Don’t you dare let me fall.”
He shook his head.
She hesitated, and then slid down his flank and leg, until her feet reached the ground and he steadied her with his tail.
Lexi grinned at him. “That was actually pretty fun.”
His beast spoke up.She could have a lot of fun with us, in our human form, too.
Don’t start.
I want to see how long you can resist her.
Ethan’s voice stopped him from replying to his beast. “Can I try, Dr. Baker? Please? Then maybe he’ll stop demanding things in my head.”
His dragon swung their head around, and at the boy’s expression—a mixture of uncertainty and distress—both man and beast softened. Kyle sometimes forgot how confusing it could be when a dragon-shifter’s inner dragon started talking to them.
His beast spoke up.Let’s help him.
We’ll see, dragon. We’ll see.
Kyle bobbed his head and extended his tail before motioning for Ethan to come. And for the next little while, he focused on making the little boy smile.
Lexi watched as Kyle set his son on his back and helped him slide down his leg. She wished this were enough, and that by Kyle seeing his son happy, it meant everything would turn out well and he’d want to take care of Ethan.
However, in her experience, dragon-shifters who found out they suddenly had a child didn’t always take it well. Especially since having a half-human kid meant greater scrutiny from the American Department of Dragon Affairs.
But even though it was far from easy, Lexi always kept trying to find the children families, even if it was with a new, adoptive family and not with their birth parent.
