Chapter Twenty-Three

Emma

I waited a solid several minutes before piping up just to make sure I wasn't making a fool of myself.

"You know the party is in the other direction, right?"

"Don't worry, I haven't lost my sense of direction. We're just not going there."

"We aren't? But you said …?"

He chuckled, the mirth bubbling up through both of us. Rhyse was teasing me.

"We're not going there yet . Perhaps that's more accurate."

I gently smacked one of his scales. There was no reaction.

"Do you even feel that?" I asked, doing it again.

"What? The mosquito on my stomach?"

I hit him harder.

"A tiny little bug tapping on my scales? Is that what you're referring to?"

"You better watch it, mister. You can't always be a dragon."

"I can, actually," he said with a laugh. "I'm just as comfortable in either form. We go days, sometimes weeks, without shifting back if we don't necessarily need to."

"Eventually, you will," I growled, waggling a tiny fist in the direction of his head as his tail propelled us toward shore. "And when you do, I'll be there."

"To do what?"

"I'm gonna kick your shin so good," I mock threatened. "I don't want to tell you how much I'm gonna kick it, but let me tell you this."

His forepaw beckoned. "I'm listening," he said lazily.

"You're going to know you've been kicked. I'll leave it at that. Let your imagination fill in the rest. Mmm hmm. Yep."

Rhyse laughed. "I'm trembling."

"I know. I can feel it. I— hey! " I shouted as his shaking started to dislodge me, sending me sliding down the side of his flank toward the ocean.

A massive paw caught me, stopping me from ending up in the drink.

"Oh, dear. I'm ever so sorry ," Rhyse declared, his words dripping with false innocence. "How did that happen?"

"Ha. Ha. Haaa." I crossed my arms and frowned at him. "You're so funny."

"I know."

His other paw came up, and I lay across them as I'd been instructed. Rhyse kept me high and dry as we moved through the breakers, the waves barely affecting his body besides giving it a slow upward roll as they passed underneath.

Then we were beached, and Rhyse turned onto his side, depositing me in the sand without getting a drop of water on me.

"Thank you," I said as he padded up onto the sand before shifting into his human form.

I watched the transition, trying to pinpoint the exact moment he changed and somehow always missing it. He didn't pop in and out of existence, but it just happened so fast it was impossible to truly get a grip on things.

"Now, if you'll follow me," he said, heading up to the bluffs.

"Home?" I asked as we ascended.

"Temporarily. Then we're headed back down. I promise." He grinned down at me.

"You're hiding something," I said, focusing on our link, trying to pin down just what he was feeling.

"Whatever gave you that idea?" he teased.

"You did. You're terrible at hiding your emotions."

"Well, I'm glad we're shit at something together, then," he fired back with a big grin.

The response was so glib and unexpected that I had no words. My mouth moved up and down, but I couldn't convince any sound to come out.

"You just made a joke."

He rolled his eyes. "I'm not dead on the inside," he said.

I shrugged. "It seems like it sometimes, to be honest. But I'm glad to have evidence to the contrary."

When we reached the house, Rhyse hurried to his room, where he pulled something from his closet then came back to where I stood by the entry. "Close your eyes."

"Fine," I said, closing them and clapping my hands over my eyes. The soft rustle of fabric reached my ears as he drew near. My anticipation was building, but so was his.

We both really were terrible at hiding our emotions. Was that a bad thing, though? I wasn't sure. My mind started to go down that path, but Rhyse spoke before I got too far.

"Okay, are you ready?"

"Yes!"

"Then, open," he said.

I dropped my hands and opened my eyes at the same time.

"Surprise!" he cried, holding up a piece of shiny black fabric.

His eagerness to give it to me was palpable without our bond. I could see it written on his face, in the way his cheeks dimpled slightly and how his eyes were bright and wide, drinking in my reaction.

"Rhyse, it looks beautiful," I said, reaching out to touch it. "And soft. But … what is it? A dress? What are those loops for? I don't get it."

Despite my confusion, Rhyse didn't seem hurt, which was good.

"It's called a glani ," he explained. "It's traditional wear for women. Dragon women. You put it over your head, two layers on front, two layers on the back. Then you lift the loops over your head, and they snug it tight over your waist and chest."

I eyed it anew now. "This looks like it's going to fit," I said slowly, suspicion building, "and fit well. How did you get it so accurate?"

He looked down and away. "I, uh, I may have asked Janos to help. He's very good at sizing people up without actually taking measurements."

"Sneaky," I said, wondering at that. It had been several days since I'd visited the shop. He must have been planning this for some time.

Which meant Rhyse had been thinking of me. Despite saying he didn't want anything to do with me.

And you've had no thoughts of him even after saying the same, have you?

"Thank you. Let me put it on," I said, taking it from him and going to change.

The fabric was soft, and true to his word, Janos had picked the perfect fit. I wasn't sure about the amount of exposed skin. Wearing a bra with it was simply out of the question. Not if I wanted to look stylish. The loop was tight, and it gave a hint of support, but I would be bouncing freely in it, that was for sure.

Probably why Rhyse wanted to see me in it. That and the amount of leg.

There were no side panels to the outfit. Just smartly cut material draped down the front and the rear. My legs were visible all the way up. Which didn't mean much for me, but a taller dragon woman would be showing some serious curves.

Yet the loops were placed perfectly to ensure nothing of note was set loose. I did a little twirl before leaving the bedroom just to make sure. Everything was tucked in. I wouldn't be jumping around like a madwoman, but I had no fear of giving anyone a show either.

"Well, what do you think?" I asked, stepping slowly out into the main room, letting Rhyse look me over while I did a slow twirl for him.

Halfway through it, a wave of heat struck me like a pickup truck, knocking me off-balance and sending me into the wall as my hindbrain exploded with heated desire I'd only experienced once before.

"Whoa," I said, one hand on the wall to brace myself as my knees threatened to give out. "Easy, tiger. Easy. Down, boy! I need to breathe."

My chest was constricting as Rhyse's intrusive thoughts continued to win over. I noticed he was several steps closer to me now, chest heaving as he sought for control. Green flames burned in the depths of his eyes. Eyes that were staring at me with unblinking focus.

"Rhyse," I said, trembling, pulled in toward him. "Rhyse!"

Blinking rapidly as he snapped back to it, he turned away. "Sorry. Shit. I'm sorry, Emma."

"It's okay," I said, still holding myself up using the wall. "That was something else."

"I'm so sorry."

"I didn't say it was bad. Just … a lot. Okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay," he said, taking a shaky breath and then another. "I'm sorry. You just look … whoa."

"I look whoa?"

He turned to me with a look. "You know what I mean."

There was a brief spike of heat this time as his gaze ran over me, and I turned left and right for him, but he managed to retain control.

"I suppose I do," I teased. "After all, I am dressed for a party. Now, aren't I?"

"Yes, you are. Shall we?"

Stepping up smartly, Rhyse extended his arm toward me.

I looked at his bared forearm, recognizing this moment for what it was. Not just a simple act. This was something more formal. An invitation to attend the party, not just with him, but together . A visible sign of just what that meant.

Taking that arm meant a lot of things would change. Things between us. Things with those around us. I would no longer just be the human tagging along with Rhyse. I would be his. And he would be mine. For the evening, at least. In the morning, the questions would be asked. The boundaries set out.

But for tonight, he was asking if I would be with him.

There were plenty of reasons not to take it. To tell him I could walk on my own and didn't need his support. Many of those were good reasons that both of us would accept without hesitation.

They wouldn't be the truth, though. The truth, as bare as his arm or the sides of my legs, was that I wanted to go with him. And he quite clearly wanted that of me.

So, despite a shoulder-sagging weight of hesitation, I reached out and tucked my arm through his and allowed Rhyse to lead me down to the party.

As his.