Page 22 of Draco Family Duet

“Thank God. I’ll eat in here. Maybe I’ll be out later. This is the last night I can fly for a few days, so I plan to take advantage. I hope it might fix whatever ails me.” I gestured to my mid-section.

“Interesting,” Fredomurmured.

I sighed. “I’ll bite. What’s sointeresting?”

“Someone else is complaining about a fluttering discomfort in her mid-section. This, naturally, is the same someone who was asking about you at dinner.” He disappeared inside my closet and I guessed he’d be returning with arobe.

Sitting up more, I murmured, “Maggie asked aboutme?”

“She did, sir.” Fredo dropped the robe on the end of my bed, then paused before exiting the room. “I’ll go get your dinner ready,sir.”

“Right. Sure. Yeah. Thanks.” I couldn’t focus on anything other than the idea that Maggie had wondered where I was. Business-minded as I am, I began thinking through next steps, plotting out where to go from here. Oh, and let’s not forget the ever-practical measurement of risk in terms of gain andloss.

By the time Fredo returned, he found me slumped over my iPhone as I made note after note about my current situation. “Ready to eat,sir?”

I dropped the phone on my nightstand and adjusted my position so he could set the lap tray over me. “Thank you,” I murmured. Though he remained silent, I’d noticed the way his eyebrows shot up when I thankedhim.

Fredo puttered around the room and I knew why. He worried over me. After all these years, I’d like to believe it had to do with more than money. He could easily find work with one of the other families in the Draco line. There were plenty of options out there, scattered about the globe, since our aging made it impossible to stay anywhere for long. We lived mostly solitary lives, aside from our mate and our servants. Fredo was often a source of frustration, but in moments like this, I was reminded of the comfort he provided aswell.

Hungry as I was, I devoured the liver in less than five bites. All decorum was forgotten the minute I had to recover. Once I was done, I pushed the tray back and stretched. Closing my eyes, I listened to my body as it healed. The iron raced through my blood stream. The proteins built up my muscles. Soon, my strength returned. I pulled my legs out from under the blankets and exhaled. Standing, I spread my arms and grinned. “Allbetter.”

“Yes, I see that, sir.” Fredo shifted uncomfortably as he helped me into myrobe.

“What is it?” I frowned. My need to fly wasgreat.

“Well, I’m not sure how much longer I can hold off Miss Maggie,” hemurmured,

I groaned. “Give me an hour. Just let me get my head right. I want to see her, too, but I can’t do it like this.” I sighed in frustration. “I’ll mess up everything. This is important. My future is at stake, my line.” I shook myhead.

“One hour, sir.” He nodded and backed out of theroom.

When I heard the door latch behind him, I walked to the balcony, savoring the feel of the gentle breeze against my skin. Without hesitation, I untied the robe and shrugged a few times to make it slip off my shoulders. I was ready tofly.

* * *

Maggie

From the couchin the library, I listened for Blaise’s door. It opened and quickly closed again. There were footsteps in the hall and I pretended not to notice as Fredo rushed past with an empty tray. So, Blaise had eaten, but not with me. I was restless and distracted. I’d read the same paragraph in this book about twelve times and if my life depended upon it, I still wouldn’t be able to give a synopsis. I barely hesitated. If Blaise could barge in on me when I didn’t want to see him, then surely it could work the other way. The flutter was growing more insistent and for some strange reason, I felt like if I could just see Blaise and talk to him, I might feel better. I tiptoed to the hallway and peeked toward his suite. The door was still closed. I’d waited long enough. I pushed up the sleeves of my thermal shirt, then I strode to his room. Taking a deep breath, I knocked, and then tested the handle. He couldn’t keep avoiding me. And if he wanted to, then I would just go. Yeah, that’s what I would say. The handle turned and with my shoulders back, and my head held high, I let myself in. “Blaise,” I began, in my most assertive voice. “We need totalk.”

I scanned the room, which appeared to be empty. Some movement on the balcony caught my attention. Blaise was perched on the railing, completely naked. For a moment, I was distracted by his muscular physique, which he’d hidden so well under his business attire. He had broad shoulders, tapering down to a narrow waist, and a really nice ass. Blaise spread his arms and without even acknowledging me, he dove head first down the cliff. I screamed as I rushed to the railing, fully expecting to find him in a crumbled, broken heap on the rocky shore. My heart raced, my flutter accelerated almost painfully now, instead of being merely annoying and unsettling. Tears streamed down my face. I couldn’t seem to catch my breath. As I stared down into the dark, his body disappeared, and I imagined the worst. My body shook as I tried to stop the sobs. Already, my throat ached from holding them in. Only as I stared down, some…creature soared up into the air, wings pounding. I squinted through the fog, and with the help of the moonlight, I realized I was watching a dragon andgasped.

Suddenly, there were two hands on my biceps, pulling me back away from the balcony, even as the dragon met my gaze with his bright blue eyes, which reminded me of giant sapphires. These eyes were familiar to me, comforting, albeit confusing. Immediately, I calmed down. The tears driedup.

“This way, miss.” Fredo tugged me away from the railing and through the French doors, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the flyingbeast.

“Wait. Just…wait.” I yanked out of his grasp and rushed toward it once more as the creature hovered nearby. The beating wings created gusts which whipped my hair around. I struggled to try to pull it away from my face, so my view would remain unobstructed. Though I should’ve been afraid, I wasn’t. Instead of a monster, I saw strength and power. Strangely enough, I felt…safe.

The dragon flew higher into the air, circled and dove a few times. I stood there watching in wonder, frozen in place, completely unable to look away. After several minutes of performing tricks a little way out over the dark ocean, the dragon raced toward the balcony and the closer it came, the faster my heart raced. Finally, after shooting into the air above my head, the dragon morphed and Blaise dropped down to the balcony, landing in a crouch a foot away from me with a gentle thud. I was so focused on Blaise, I barely noticed when Fredo rushed up and helped him into hisrobe.

Once Blaise cinched it around his waist, he tilted his head and licked his lips while staring intently at me. “You weren’t afraid.” It wasn’t a question, but I stillresponded.

Shaking my head, I murmured, “Of you? Never.” Then I laid a hand over my abdomen. The flutter made it nearly impossible for me toconcentrate.

His eyes honed in on the placement of my hand. “What if I did this?” he asked as he took a step toward me, wrapped me in his arms and pressed his lips tomine.

An incredible rush of heat spread through me. My mouth opened to his tongue’s gentle probing, engaging mine. Our heads twisted, perfectly attuned to each other, as if this had been choreographed instead of spontaneous. When he finally broke off the kiss, he buried his face in my throat and then pulled me closer to hischest.

“Not now either,” I whispered, almost afraid of ruining themoment.

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