Chapter 8

EIGHT

W ithout warning, Talon swept her into his arms. Asher’s brain short-circuited completely.

“This is very unnecessary,” she managed weakly. “And not at all helping with the whole attraction situation. Completely unfair use of upper body strength.”

“Would you prefer to walk?”

“I didn’t say that.” She clutched his shirt as he carried her toward what looked like a hidden elevator. “How had I not seen these doors before now?”

“They are warded with dragon magic so humans see them as just part of the wall.”

“Where are we going? Because while I’m definitely not complaining about the whole carrying thing, which is doing fantastic things for my already inappropriate attraction to you, I feel like I should ask.”

The “elevator” opened into what looked like a high-tech training room. Asher’s scientific mind immediately started cataloging details, though it was hard to focus with Talon’s scent surrounding her.

“A secret training facility. In your building. Under our noses.” She shook her head as he set her carefully on her feet. “How did I miss this? I’m usually much more observant. Though to be fair, I was busy trying not to notice how you fill out those suits.”

“The suits were tactical distractions,” Talon deadpanned.

“Did you just make another joke?” Asher’s laugh turned into a gasp as wings suddenly burst from her back. “Oh, that’s... different. Very different. Though possibly not as different as discovering my stoic CEO has a sense of humor. Which is annoyingly attractive, by the way.”

She broke off as his hands moved to her shoulders, helping her adjust to the weight of her wings. The touch sent electricity sparking through her entire body.

“You’re doing that on purpose,” she accused breathlessly.

“Doing what?”

“That thing with your hands. And your voice. And your...” She gestured vaguely at his face. “General existence. Very distracting when I’m trying to maintain scientific objectivity about spontaneous appendage growth.”

“Focus,” Talon murmured, guiding her through a basic wing movement. “Try to extend them slowly.”

“Focusing is significantly harder when you use that voice.” Still, she attempted to follow his instructions, only to accidentally knock over a training dummy. “Oops. Though in my defense, you try concentrating while your unreasonably attractive boss is being all hands-on with the wing instruction. Which sounds inappropriate no matter how I phrase it.”

His chuckle rumbled through her, and she nearly combusted on the spot. “You find me unreasonably attractive?”

“Oh, don’t even start.”

Before she could continue, the training room doors burst open. Both mothers swept in, looking entirely too pleased with themselves. They were followed by what appeared to be both entire families, plus Lori and Kaylee.

“Oh good,” Asher muttered. “An audience. Because this wasn’t mortifying enough already.”

“Asher Amelia Andrews,” her mother started, but instead of the expected lecture, Dr. Evadne’s eyes sparkled with barely contained satisfaction. “I did tell you to take risks with your research, though this is... rather more dramatic than I anticipated.”

“More dramatic?” Asher gestured at her wings. “Mom, I’m turning into a dragon. In front of my unreasonably attractive boss. Who apparently is also a dragon. And my mate. This is way past dramatic and heading straight into life-changing territory.”

“Life-changing in a good way from what I’m seeing,” her mother observed, glancing meaningfully at how Talon’s arms still steadied her.

“Really not helping, Mom.”

Everett pushed through the gathered families, his CEO-mode completely undermined by obvious big-brother concern. “Triple A, only you would cure yourself by accidentally turning into a dragon.”

“It wasn’t an accident,” she protested. “It was a calculated risk that happened to have some unexpected side effects. Like scales. And wings. And suddenly finding my boss irresistible—” She slapped a hand over her mouth. “Can we pretend I didn’t say that last part?”

“Too late,” Everett grinned. “Though to be fair, you weren’t exactly subtle before. Remember that AI conference where you spent twenty minutes ranting about how unfair it was that someone could look that good in a suit while being completely wrong about profit projections?”

“I will end you,” she hissed, then stumbled as another ripple passed through her body. Would this ever end? Talon’s arms tightened automatically. “Right after I figure out how to control these wings. And my mouth. And this incredibly inconvenient attraction that everyone apparently noticed except me.”

Then she accidentally set fire to another training dummy. “Oh come on!”