Chapter 25

TWENTY-FIVE

“ N ow...” Asher took a deep breath. “Now I think maybe I was approaching it wrong. Trying to understand love like an equation instead of just... feeling it.”

His eyes softened. “And what do you feel?”

“Everything.” The word came out barely above a whisper. “When you’re near me, when you touch me, when I feel you through our bond... it’s like everything I thought I was missing just clicks into place. Like my whole life I was trying to solve a puzzle without knowing I was missing the most important piece.”

Talon’s eyes blazed gold as he drew her into his lap, wrapping her in his warmth. “Tell me more.”

“About how you make my dragon purr just by existing?” She settled against his chest, feeling his heart beat strong and steady. “Or about how watching you with those kids tonight made something in me melt? Or maybe about how eight hundred years of history somehow makes you more fascinating instead of intimidating?”

“All of it.” He pressed a kiss to her temple. “I want to know everything you’re feeling. Everything you’re discovering.”

She traced the scales that had emerged along his jaw. “I spent so much time analyzing love, trying to break it down into comprehensible parts. But this... us... it defies analysis. And for the first time in my life, I don’t want to understand it. I just want to feel it.”

Her stomach took that moment to growl louder than his dragon.

“I know a place that makes amazing Korean BBQ,” Talon said, helping her up from the bench. “Unless you’d prefer...”

“You know my favorite food?” She raised an eyebrow.

“I know everything about you.” At her look, he smiled. “Security briefings are very thorough.”

“That should probably be creepy.” She let him pull her close. “But somehow it’s just sweet. In a stalker-dragon-CEO kind of way.”

His penthouse took up the top three floors of the building, with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city. But what caught Asher’s attention was the spread of Korean dishes already laid out on the balcony.

“You planned this,” she accused, though she couldn’t stop smiling.

“Guilty.” He led her to the intimate table setting. “Though I didn’t plan on fighting my brother first.”

“Nothing says romance like aerial combat.” She settled into the chair he held out. “Though the glitter in your hair really adds something special.”

His mock growl made her laugh as they dug into the food. The conversation flowed naturally, moving from his memories of ancient Korea (“Their dragons were considerably more dramatic”) to her childhood science experiments (“The fire department only had to come twice”).

“Okay, but seriously,” she said between bites of bulgogi, “you must have seen some amazing scientific discoveries firsthand. What was your favorite?”

“Meeting Marie Curie.” He smiled at her excited gasp. “Brilliant woman. Terrible lab safety protocols.”

“Says the man who literally breathes fire.”

“Fair point.” He topped off her wine. “Though I wasn’t the one who accidentally discovered radioactivity while trying to prove dragons were real.”

“Wait, what?” She leaned forward eagerly. “There has to be more to that story.”

Hours later, they settled onto his obscenely comfortable couch to watch Intruders – her latest Netflix selection.

“I can’t believe you haven’t seen this,” she said, curling into his side. “It’s a classic example of subverting home invasion tropes.”

“Because watching people break into houses is relaxing after fighting my brother?” But his arm tightened around her protectively.

“Shh. Just watch.” She pressed play, then smiled as he immediately started analyzing the security measures.

“Their perimeter defense is terrible,” he muttered. “And who leaves their windows that vulnerable?”

As the tension in the movie built, Asher found herself more interested in Talon’s reactions than the actual film. Every time the protagonist outsmarted an intruder, his chest rumbled with approval.

“She’s strategic,” he noted during a particularly clever scene. “Adapting her environment for defense.”

“Like someone else I know?” She tilted her head to look at him. “Though you have slightly more dramatic methods.”

“Dragons are naturally dramatic.” But his eyes stayed fixed on the screen, clearly invested now. “Her tactical assessment is impressive.”

“Just wait.” She snuggled closer, enjoying how naturally they fit together. “The best part’s coming up.”

“Didn’t expect that,” he admitted.

“That’s why I love this movie. Nothing’s quite what it seems.” She traced the scales that had emerged along his jaw. “Kind of like a certain CEO who turns out to be a dragon.”

“The security cameras are positioned all wrong,” Talon noted as another tense scene unfolded. “Though her improvisation skills are admirable.”

“Of course, you’re focusing on security protocols.” She poked his chest playfully. “Can’t you just enjoy the suspense like a normal person?”

“I haven’t been normal in about eight centuries.” His hand slid up her spine, making her shiver. “Besides, you’re the one who spent our first meeting analyzing all the flaws in my building’s defense system.”

“Because they were terrible!” She twisted to face him. “Your wards hadn’t been updated since the Victorian era.”

“They worked well enough until you came along.” His eyes gleamed gold in the dim light. “Though watching you take apart my security was... intriguing.”

On screen, another dramatic sequence played out. Asher felt Talon tense slightly during the more violent scenes, his arm tightening around her instinctively.