Page 35 of Dragon His Heels
“Gods, woman, can I have a cup of coffee first?”
She waited for him to pour one for each of them. And then she counted two sips before starting again.
“You’re ruthless,” Gabe commented. “Do you now how many times I’ve thought they should have chosen you to be reeve instead of me?”
“Really?” He’d never admitted that before. “Thanks. But honestly, I wouldn’t make a good face for this colony. That’s why they chose you. They saw something in you that marked you as a leader. My job is to guide you, maybe catch you before you accidentally fall off the cliff because you’re too busy denying your calling.”
“Wow. Laying it all out there, aren’t you?”
She shrugged. “Nothing I haven’t said to you before.”
“Maybe not, but this is the first time I’m actually listening.”
“Gee, thanks.”
He chuckled and slid off his barstool to place his coffee mug in the sink. “Come on,” he said, nodding at the kitchen door.
“What?” she asked, but she was already standing, prepared to follow him.
To the ends of the earth.
Okay, let’s not get dramatic, she told her dragon with an internal eye roll.
“I want to show you something.”
“I’ve already seen it. Just this morning as a matter of fact.”
He tossed a smirk over his shoulder and headed down the hall. She hurried to follow. But instead of climbing the stairs to the bedroom level, he strode across the whitewashed foyer to the door leading down to his basement.
To where he kept his treasures.
He started to punch the security code into the electronic pad next to the door.
“Uh, what are you doing?”
“Unlocking the door.”
“Okay, Mr. Literal, why?”
“So we can go downstairs.”
“Butwhy?”
He glanced over his shoulder and arched one black brow. “Don’t tell me you aren’t a little curious? I thought you were a dragon.”
“Iama dragon,” she said through gritted teeth. “But this is where you keep your treasures.”
He flung his hand away from the door, feigning shock. “Why, I do believe you’re right, Talia. Come on, let’s see what sort of riches a reeve accumulates.”
He punched in the code, waited for the beep, then leaned forward for the retinal scan. The lock on the steel door released, and he twisted the knob and grabbed her hand, tugging her along with him as he descended the stairs.
Every dragon had a cache of treasures. Some were larger than others, of course. Talia had a small safe tucked underneath the basement stairs in her own house. Her hoard was more along the lines of family heirlooms than possessions that were actually worth money, although she had a few of those, too. Dragons loved shiny things, after all. And every boyfriend who’d ever given her a bauble had added to her stores. Except that one who had given her a piece of glass and tried to pass it off as an emerald. Foolish dragon.
And then Gabe unlocked yet another secured doorway and flipped on the light. “Gods above,” she exclaimed.
The contents of her safe were a pittance compared to what was in Gabe’s basement.
So. Much. Treasure.
