Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty-One

SIMON

We'd only been on the road to Willow Lake for a few minutes when blue scales rippled up and down Ogden's arms again. As lost as he was in his own thoughts, he seemed unaware he was clenching my hand. Could someone squeeze a hand tight enough to pop another person's fingers off? I hoped not. I also hoped his talons wouldn't erupt from his hands. The last thing I wanted was to have his claws slice into me. An injury like that wouldn't claim one of my nine, but I bet it would hurt, and I didn't like pain.

For as small and delicate as he appeared to me, I was beginning to see how dragons had gotten their fierce reputation all those centuries ago when they'd battled ignoble knights.

" Damn Wesley ." Ogden spat out his manager's name like a curse word. Smoke and sparks erupted from his mouth and nostrils a second later .

" Do I smell something burning? There better not be singe marks in my upholstery," Van warned from the front seat.

That jolted Ogden from his literal and figurative fuming. He patted the back of the seat to extinguish the spot where one of his sparks had landed and the fabric had ignited. It was little more than a glowing, smoldering circle, but… yeah… having the seats on fire would be problematic.

" Sorry , Officer Hellhound ," Ogden apologized. " Send me the repair bill."

If that'd been me, I'd have been tempted to pretend the scorch mark had always been there. Van never sat in the backseat, so how would he know? My father had raised us to never admit we were at fault for anything—well, except where my mama was concerned. She got the truth. But anyone else? No way. Cats didn't apologize. They were never wrong.

Of course, that'd been a lesson I had a hard time learning. My brothers were pros at it, but not me. I couldn't even blame that personality defect on my desire to keep my nine. It was just who I was.

But my dragon wasn't like my brothers or my father. He had integrity. Honor . I kind of liked that about him.

" I can't believe that little weasel could escape so easily," Ogden said.

" Hopefully they'll find something when they finish going through his house." Dillon twisted around to look at Ogden . " And something still might turn up from that tracking device."

" Let me know what you discover," Ogden said. He didn't ask. He just expected to be kept in the loop. His confident attitude was sexy.

" Of course," Van promised.

After that, everyone settled into their own thoughts. When Dillon faced forward again, it felt like I was alone with Ogden , even if we weren't alone at all. I wished we were sitting beside one another, but the middle spot on the bench seat didn't have any leg room. I doubted even Ogden with his shorter legs would be comfortable there. So I contented myself with petting the back of his hand. Slowly , his grip relaxed.

He shot me a rueful smile. " Sorry , kitty cat. I'll be in a better mood now."

" It is okay to be upset," I said. We may have only started this… uh… bonded situation or whatever we were calling it, but I didn't want us to wear masks around one another. If we started that way, it'd be hard to take them off later.

This time, his smile was easier. " Thank you. I just… I'm not one for brooding. Never have been. I don't know what's come over me."

" A lot has happened," I said. " Is that why you were singing when you were in that…?" Shoot . I shouldn't have brought up his abduction. What if I upset him again?

" In the cage?" He wasn't shooting out sparks or smoke again, so maybe it was okay to talk about it.

I nodded.

He shrugged. " It's hard to be sad when a good song is playing."

I'd never paid much attention to music. I rarely had the radio on and couldn't remember the last time I listened to anything on my phone app. But music was obviously important to Ogden . And if he wanted songs, I could get them for him.

" Van , can you put the radio on? Something happy?"

Van's jaw tightened, but he didn't protest when Dillon played with the radio until he found a station. As soon as " Sh - Boom Sh - Boom " started, Ogden sang along. By the third or fourth song, he was bopping and rocking in his seat. His entire mood had transformed. Light fizzy bubbles of happiness tickled my insides as I watched him losing himself in the music. This wasn't magic like I was used to, but it was still magic. He was magic.

I don't know how many songs we listened to on the way home, but even Van was tapping his steering wheel in time to the music when we arrived back at Willow Lake . Van took us straight to my apartment, where we unloaded Ogden's many, many suitcases.

As they drove away, I heard Dillon say to Van , " Can you imagine Jeremy and Ogden fighting over the jukebox at the pub? We'll never hear another new release."

I wasn't sure I was ready for Jeremy and Ogden to hang out together yet. I wanted to keep my dragon to myself. But I didn't have any food in the house, at least nothing I'd want to feed Ogden , so we might meet up with Jeremy sooner than I wanted. Ogden deserved so much better than canned spaghetti. Although … now that I thought about it, did I even have any of that left? I might have eaten the last can a couple of weeks ago.

Yeah . We'd need to either go out or order in.

" Let's get this stuff upstairs," I said.

I set everything inside the door, even though I wanted to carry it straight through to my bedroom. After all the kissing and other stuff we'd done this afternoon, I had ideas—many, many ideas—for what else we could do, but was I being presumptuous?

Ogden eyed his luggage sitting in the empty dining room area, then looked at me. " I didn't last long on the couch last time. Do you want to try that again?"

" Uh … no."

" Then why aren't we taking my bags through to your bedroom?"

Why indeed?

My heart thudded hard in my chest as I moved the bags. I don't know why it took seeing his suitcases in my bedroom to make me realize how quickly all this was happening. But this was it. He was staying here. With me. In my bed.

I swallowed hard. My body heated as I remembered what had happened in his apartment. In his hoard room, specifically.

But instead of pushing him onto the bed like I wanted so we could continue where we'd left off, we moved back to my sparsely decorated living room. I detoured to the kitchen and grabbed a couple of glasses of water. Unfortunately , all I had to offer him was water, although I wished I could give him a fancy coffee or a soothing tea. I really needed groceries.

As soon as I sat beside him on the sofa, he swung around to face me. He didn't straddle me this time though. Instead he sat with his back against the armrest and his legs stretched over mine.

What was I supposed to do with my hands? Could I touch him? Rest my hand on his thigh? Put my arm around his shoulders?

Since he wasn't straddling me and he'd accepted the glass of water, I didn't think this position was a precursor for sex… at least not immediately. I clutched my glass in one hand, and I made sure at least an inch of space separated my free hand and any part of his body.

He smiled at me, like I amused him, as he motioned for my hand. " Give it here," he said. " I want you to touch me."

" Oh … uh… right," I mumbled.

He placed my hand so my palm rested on his leg, just above his knee. Then he placed his own hand on top of it. He sipped his water and leaned into me. I exhaled slowly and felt the tension ease away.

" That's better," he said.

We sat in silence for a few minutes, and I relaxed more. I didn't remember ever sitting quietly with someone before and having it be so comfortable. My brothers were always arguing or teasing or being a-holes. My mama was always spreading advice or asking questions. And Pops was never without my mama, although I suspected he would like to sit quietly sometimes too, if given the chance.

But maybe I should take this time to get to know Ogden better.

" Your apartment is nicer than mine," I said.

" Thank you," he said, obviously used to compliments. " I think it'll be easy to sell."

" Sell ?"

He nodded. " I'll have to set up a meeting with a real estate agent soon. I want to get it on the market before fall."

" Why do you want to sell? Is it because of that Wesley guy? They're going to catch him, you know."

He nodded, then he cocked his head and looked at me. " Oh dear. With everything that's been going on, I guess I never talked to you about…" For the first time since meeting Ogden , his cheeks darkened.

" Are you blushing?" I reached up and traced my finger over his heated skin.

His cheeks darkened even more.

" Yes . Well ," he said as he cleared his throat. He turned the glass in his hands and stared at the water as it swirled. " Since the summoning magic has linked us, I thought we should live closer together."

" You'd sell everything because of me?" I blinked.

" I can't see you living in Aspen Bay ," he said with a casual shrug, as if him upending his life, which was way more complicated than mine, was no big deal.

If anyone should move, it should be me. He owned buildings and businesses and had employees. What did I have? An awful one-bedroom apartment and a security guard job for a place where nothing ever happened. I liked my job well enough, but there was nothing special about it. I could fit all my clothes in about one or two boxes and throw away everything else. It'd take me an afternoon at most to pack up and move.

But I didn't say any of those words because Ogden was right. I couldn't see myself living anywhere but Willow Lake . My brother Justin was the adventurous one in the family, not me. I enjoyed living in the town where I'd grown up, being surrounded by all the familiar faces and places and…

Ogden squeezed my hand. " Is it okay if I move to Willow Lake to be closer to you?"

I stuttered as I scrambled to find the right words.

" I've surprised you." He smiled and patted my hand.

" Where would you live?" Did that sound like I didn't want him here? I wasn't sure I did. I mean, even I didn't want to live here, but I put up with it because this was all I could afford. Ogden needed to live somewhere so much nicer.

" This is a big change for both of us. What would you think about me living here… with you?"

" Your hoard won't fit in my apartment," I blurted.

" No . I wouldn't bring my hoard to Willow Lake . Not yet. I'll arrange for it to be placed at a secure storage site." His gaze caught on mine, and my heart raced. " I love my place in Aspen Bay , it's true. I loved renovating it and making it mine, but it is time for a change and a new challenge. Until I figure out what that might be, I was hoping I could live with you."

" But …" I looked around my apartment. The drab one-bedroom place was nothing like his. At all.

" It feels… I don't know… Ever since our magics merged, I don't want to be separated from you," he said. He bit his bottom lip as his gaze caught on mine. " Is it different for you? Maybe it is just another factor of being summoned instead of being the summoner."

" No !" My emphatic shout startled us both. I licked my lips. " I mean. Yes , I've felt that too. But …" I gestured toward my apartment. " I'm not sure this is the best place. "

" Well , perhaps we shouldn't stay in this apartment for too long," he agreed. " But I was hoping we could look for another place. Together ."

" Are you offering to be my sugar daddy?"

Ogden burst out laughing. I loved that I had made him laugh, even if my question hadn't been intended as a joke. " I was thinking more about being your mate, but I will lavish you with everything your heart might desire, so perhaps your description isn't so far off. Even if we aren't fated, we could still see if we are compatible as chosen mates."

" Okay . Because I don't think I could call you Daddy ."

Ogden was still smiling, but his laughter had faded. " Whatever you feel comfortable with, kitty cat. That's what we'll do."

Was it that simple? " And you too, right? We both need to be comfortable."

" Of course." He pressed a kiss to my cheek.

" I know we talked about that before. About us maybe being mates, I mean." I forced myself to look into his eyes. Since I'd met Ogden , there were moments when I felt sure and brave and confident, but my nature was to be cautious. There were also moments when I was convinced we were mates, but doubts kept popping up like dandelions. I usually liked dandelions, but right now, the ones in my head were big and full and ready to spread more doubts until that's all that existed. " Do you really think we are?"

He nodded as he set his glass down on the floor. Then he plucked the glass from my hand and set it beside his. When he turned back to me, he met my gaze again. " Yes , love, I really think we could be. "

" I want us to be," I whispered as a light and fluttery sensation filled my chest.

The kiss was soft and gentle. And more of that light and fluttery feeling filled me until I was sure I could fly as high as Ogden had the first time I'd seen him. I liked it, which was weird, because cats don't fly.

" Now , kitty cat," Ogden said as he nipped at my earlobe and rearranged his legs, so he was straddling me just like he had when we were in his hoard room, "do you remember what I said about good kitties getting rewards?"