Page 9 of Dragon His Heels
Chapter 4
What the hell was wrong with Gabe? He was acting really…odd. Even for him.
And how had she heard him—and he’d heard her—when they were in dragon form? Sure, some dragons had the ability to communicate telepathically, but it wasn’t exactly a common trait.
Usually, it was between mates, fated mates, the kind who were so bonded to each other that no one and nothing except death could ever tear them apart. It also happened occasionally with warrior units, when they were so in tune, worked so long together and with such deep-rooted belief in what they did, who they were, that they were practically the same person. She’d also heard of twins having the ability, but dragon twins were rarer even than speaking telepathically.
She and Gabe weren’t warriors, they certainly weren’t twins, and fated mates didn’t exist in their colony, thanks to a decades-old curse. Not that it mattered to Talia, because she didn’t have time to find a mate, any mate, let alone a fated one. She’d heard stories of dragons mating and then becoming obsessed with one another, of shirking their duties and forgetting the rest of the damn world existed once they found the one fate had designated for them.
While, yes, she should stop dedicating so much of her time to Gabe, and sure, she really should start trying to date once in a while; the idea of being that attached to another being sounded utterly horrid.
She was secretly glad for the curse.
All that aside, how the hell had they communicated while in dragon form? She couldn’t even speculate with him, because he’d disappeared into the depths of his basement, and every dragon knew not to enter another’s lowest level without permission. That was usually where the treasures were kept, and dragons were notoriously high-strung about their treasure. Gabe was in a strange enough mood without adding the possible fear she might steal his baubles to the list.
***
Talia tucked Ruby in for the night and then made her breakfast in the morning, as Saturday morphed into Sunday. When noon came and went and Gabe still hadn’t appeared, she took the little girl shopping. Ruby had arrived with nothing but the clothes on her back. Talia intended for Gabe to take on this task, even if she had to go with him. He had to learn sometime.
Apparently not today.
When they returned to the house several hours later, Gabe was out on the back porch, wearing the same T-shirt and shorts he’d had on the day before, his foot propped on the railing, a bottle of beer in his hand. A couple of empties and a plate with crumbs on it sat near his elbow.
“I have three new swimsuits,” Ruby chirruped, bursting out onto the porch, waving three pudgy fingers. Gabe glanced over his shoulder, his eyes hidden behind sunglasses. Talia could feel his gaze on her, hot, like dragon fire.
“Can we go swimming?” Ruby asked.
He took his time answering. “Sure,” he finally said. “Is she coming too?” He pointed at Talia with his bottle.
“Actually, I have work to do,” she said quickly, shaking her head when Ruby looked at her. As much as she enjoyed lounging at the lake, and even knowing there were precious few days left before fall hit and it would be too cold to do so anymore, this was a perfect opportunity for the two of them to get acquainted without her hovering, ensuring things went the way she wanted them to. She was here for Gabe, of course, but he still needed to learn how to parent on his own. This living arrangement was temporary, after all.
“Good,” he said, not sounding pleased at all.
She escaped upstairs, taking the bags of new clothes with her and dumping them out on Ruby’s bed, sorting through them until she found the three swimsuits they purchased. Ruby eagerly stripped out of her sundress and tugged on the red and white striped one-piece suit. Talia handed her the brand-new Tangled-themed beach towel and the little girl rushed for the door again.
Gabe stood waiting for her in the hallway, dressed in a pair of white swim trunks with fat blue flowers on them. They sat low on his hips, showing off those infuriatingly sexy V-shaped muscles on either side of his rippled abdomen. Her dragon grumbled when she forced herself to focus on his face, not on the parts of his body the dragon apparently wanted to lick.
Gods, she definitely needed to get back into the dating game. Sure, like any red-blooded female, she could admit Gabe was, well, hot, but she’d never actually been attracted to the man before.
His gaze swept over Talia, and the sizzling hot sensation made her think of what the older female dragons described as “the change.” Like her body was on fire and the only way to make it go away was to strip naked and jump into a cold shower.
Or a hot one. With Gabe.
What the hell was wrong with her dragon?
Gabe finally shifted his focus to the clothes strewn about on the bed. “Did you use my card for all that?”
“Of course.”
“Good.”
He continued to stand there, despite Ruby shifting from foot to foot, anticipation practically bubbling on her skin, so Talia said, “We should take her to the school mistress tomorrow, introduce her, and see when she can start.”
He nodded. He was still wearing his sunglasses, so she couldn’t see his eyes, didn’t have a clue what he was thinking or why he just kept standing there. Finally, she waved at the poor, patient little girl. “There are only a few hours before dinnertime,” she pointed out.
He pursed his lips and blew out a breath. And finally, he wandered away, with Ruby dancing around his legs, bursting with excitement over the prospect of going swimming.
Talia exhaled and considered going downstairs and helping herself to his whiskey. For some reason, the tension between her and Gabe was about a thousand times more potent than it had ever been before. She’d been working for the man for five years; why did she suddenly feel so damn hot whenever she was in his presence?
