Page 36 of Drawn By Dragonblood
“That’s fucking cool,” I said, grinning at the technology that hung the platform over the road disappearing down into the valley on our left and leading to the garage door on our right.
A cold wind whipped at my hair, and I tugged Dakota close as I realized she’d wrapped her arms around herself against the chill.
Elijah turned toward us, fished something from his pocket, and tossed it to me. Keys jangled as they landed in my hand. “For the Humvee, just in case.”
My smile widened.
“The same switch will pull the platform back in and shut the door, but I can close it remotely from the helicopter,” he said, opening the chopper’s door and tossing his bag inside.
“I’ll get it,” I said.
“Will you remember how to return upstairs?”
I rubbed over my chest from a sudden, strange ache. “I’m sure we can figure it out.”
“We might need to stop by that hot spring on the way, though,” Dakota said, a smile in her voice even though the suggestion sounded somewhat strained.
And breathless as fuck with obvious intent.
My dick bucked inside my jeans.
I held out my hand, and Elijah hesitated a few seconds before clasping mine again. The same energy shot up my arm and straight south to my cock. “Safe trip,” I said.
He dipped his head, pale eyes intently studying mine. “I left my cell number on the table. Call if you have any questions or problems.”
“Will do.”
Stepping back, he released my hand, leaving me feeling…bereft I believed the word was. “Dakota.” He nodded toward her, and Dakota whispered a “safe travels” as he turned without touching her.
I laced my fingers through my wife’s, seeking comfort, and we stepped back into the garage, far from the aircraft and the whirl of wind as the blades started cranking.
Headset in place, Elijah busied himself with whatever it took to get that beast in the air, and when he finally glanced our way again, a small smile tilted his lips up. We both waved, and he lifted away, leaving us in a thunder of noise and whipping wind from the rotor blades.
A sense of sadness crashed over me, a tugging toward where he disappeared on the horizon.
Dakota absently rubbed her chest as though she felt it too.
“Come on,” I croaked, pulling her back into the warm cavern that remained flooded by Elijah’s scent regardless of his absence. “Let’s go check out that sauna and see if we can make it any hotter.”
Chapter 13
Dakota
Elijah hadn’t just left his phone number on the counter—he’d set a couple of hundred-dollar bills there as well.
“Maybe we ought to head to civilization and party today,” I said with a laugh while thumbing through the Benjamin Franklins. We’d visited the hot springs as Jon had suggested but hadn’t burned the roof down. Unlike I’d expected, we didn’t have sex in the steaming water but sat and conversed about the normal issues as we’d done so easily before meeting Elijah.
Our future.
Having the children we both longed for.
Him finding a job first so he could properly provide for us.
The topic of Elijah himself, neither of us touched with a ten-foot pole. It was obvious we both skirted what immediately bothered us, and while I knew a simple spilling of our thoughts would clear the air or at least give us a path forward together, I weirdly wasn’t able to discuss it.
Fantasy bordered on reality. Dreams in wakefulness and while asleep alike silenced my tongue.
It was as though something outside our control, some greater power demanded we both work through our issues as individuals for a change, that no outside influence—even each other—would be tolerated in deciding our individual fate.
