7. Chapter Six

Chapter Six

Garrick

M y jaw tightened as I followed Tan and Roman down the hall. I did not want to do this. I didn't want anyone, not even Tanyl Helegolor, to touch my wards. I didn't want his magic mixing with mine.

Not after what happened last time. Not after I'd trusted the wrong person and my whole world fell apart.

I glanced at the witch in question, then looked at Roman, seeing him smiling at him. Roman certainly trusted the guy, and he didn't even know him.

But I'd trusted someone before, and look how that turned out.

That wouldn't happen this time. It couldn't. Not with Tan.

Tan was different, and I wasn't going into this blind like I had in the past.

With that in mind, I took a breath and walked into the living room.

Tan stopped near the front door—he'd obviously picked up where the ward magic originated—and turned to face me, asking, "You ready?"

Even though he didn't say it, I had a feeling he knew how difficult this was for me, and that was why he'd asked. He was always so kind and thoughtful. Well, maybe not when he was calling me out on my bullshit, but even when he was, he was never cruel. I had no idea how I'd gotten so lucky to have someone so sweet help me with this, but I was going to take full advantage.

After a long moment of staring into the witch's eyes, I gave a nod. "Yes."

He blew out a long breath, gave his cat a pet on his shoulder, and clapped his hands together. "Great. Since I'm not used to dragon magic, I'm going to place my hand on the door and get a feel for it for a minute, alright?"

I nodded, doing my best to hide my grimace.

I must not have succeeded too well because he added in a quiet voice, "I'm not adding my magic yet, okay?"

I gave him another nod.

Tan eyed me for another beat, then placed his hand on the door. As soon as he did, a burst of silvery magic sparkled in the air around him, almost looking like he was standing in a glittery cloud of smoke. I felt a rush of his death magic swarm the room, and I almost sighed, falling into the sensation of it. I would've thought it'd smell like death and decay or something, but it didn't. It smelled like Tan, only more intense. Like cedarwood and some kind of spice, maybe with a hint of rum.

Whatever it was, it smelled divine, felt it too.

And my dragon sure as hell liked it.

I could feel him rumbling to life under my skin, and I had to roll my shoulders to try and soothe him back down.

The way Tan's magic felt was like a balm against my rough skin. It felt smooth and gentle and as sweet as he smelled. It wasn't invading my wards yet, only exploring, but even that much had the hair on my arms standing on end.

After a minute, Tan released his silver magic, the glittery power dissipating immediately. He opened his eyes and said, "I'm ready to add my magic to the wards. Are you good?"

He was staring right at me, so all I could do was nod yet again. I didn't want him to see how much his magic was already affecting me.

He shook himself out and blew out a breath. His cat hopped down to the ground and trotted over to Roman, sitting at his feet and staring at us.

Tan didn't seem to notice because he placed his hand back on the door and shut his eyes in concentration. And this time when his magic released, it was like a tidal wave instead of the small drizzle it'd been moments before. His magic felt like it brushed against my skin, like thousands of tiny tendrils were sweeping against me in a calming and comforting manner.

I'd expected it to feel like an invasion, like he was tearing down something of mine and shoving his own piece into a hole not shaped for it. But instead, it felt like his magic was giving mine a huge hug. Like he'd reached out and put a hand on my shoulder in comfort, like he was wrapping me in the warmest blanket and holding me close, trying to protect me.

I'd never felt anything like it.

The air was knocked from my lungs, and I felt chills run along my back and arms. I was sure my hair was standing on end, but I couldn't look away from the beautiful witch standing ten feet away.

Holy shit, Tan's magic felt so… so damn wonderful, I didn't know how to handle it.

To my utter surprise, my feet moved toward him before I even realized it, and I found myself standing directly in front of him with a hand stretched out in his direction. It was as if my body wanted to touch the witch and his magic, and I was powerless to stop it.

If I didn't know any better, I would've thought Tan was charming me to force me closer, but charms didn't work on dragons. So apparently, he simply… called to me in a way others never had.

I snapped out of it when my hand was less than an inch from his body, and I snatched it back as if he'd burned me. But then Tan's hand flew out and grabbed hold of my own, giving it a squeeze.

My eyes bounced up to his pretty face, but he still had his eyes closed. Had he peeked them open to see me standing here or something? I hadn't noticed him staring, but I suppose it was possible.

His hand heated in mine, sending a pleasant warmth up my arm and shooting through my chest.

It scared me, how good it felt, but I didn't want to pull away, so I stood there in silence, afraid to move an inch and ruin the moment.

I took a breath, and a puff of smoke came out of my mouth. I watched in horror as it circled Tan's head, and when he took a breath, the smoke flew into his mouth and nose, just like last time.

My body went rigid, waiting for him to cough and yell at me, but after a few seconds passed, I realized he wasn't going to. I didn't know what that meant. Maybe because he'd breathed it in before? Maybe because he was holding my hand and my dragon-ness was protecting him? Or maybe it was because he was already working magic, mixing his together with mine?

Whatever the reason, I was grateful because he didn't even seem to notice it.

Hopefully that meant I wouldn't have to face his ire.

Finally, Tan slowly pulled his magic back, and even without fully checking, I could tell that my wards were thoroughly reinforced. They were stronger and more powerful than they'd ever been before.

It made that strange and uncommon feeling of safety want to crawl through me, but I shook it away. I couldn't feel that way. Not here, not anywhere. Certainly not with this witch who was still holding my hand.

His big silver eyes opened, and when he met my gaze, he smiled.

He was so beautiful, my little pretty, and his smile only brought out more of his natural beauty. The brown hair swept back out of his eyes, the stubble on his chin and cheeks, and those eyes. Mother of Scales, those eyes were beautiful.

And those lips.

His tongue came out to lick his bottom lip, and I held in a groan. Why did he have to be so alluring?

I stepped even closer to him, my hand tightening on his, and I heard his breath hitch.

My body started to lean in and curl down to meet his shorter frame. I wanted to taste those lips on mine, lick into his mouth, take my fill, and—

A throat cleared behind me, and I sucked in a breath, stepped back, and dropped Tan's hand.

The witch's eyes went wide, and he stared at me for a long moment before letting out a small huff, turning on his heel, scooping up his cat, and walking down the hall to the bathroom without a word.

Once the door shut, I turned to Roman with a glare. "Why did you do that?"

His eyebrows rose before he glared at me and crossed his arms over his chest. "Seriously, Gar? You told me this morning not to let you do anything stupid with the only witch we trust to help us. I kinda thought kissing and making out with him in front of me would fall under that category."

I stared at him for a beat, then exhaled, ran a hand through my hair, and turned away from him, pacing around the living room. "What the hell just happened?"

"Looked like you and your magic liked his."

I shot him a glare.

He shrugged. "I don't have a better explanation than that. I certainly didn't feel like walking up to him and kissing him."

I moved quickly, coming to stand directly in front of Roman with a sneer on my face as I growled out, "Don't. Touch. Him."

Rome's eyebrows rose again, and he lifted his hands in defeat. "I won't, Garrick. You know I won't. He's your witch, not mine."

That's right. He's my witch. My. Witch.

My chest heaved with my breaths, and my dragon wanted to growl and rip free.

He. Is. Mine.

"Gar… calm down, brother. No one's going to touch Tan. He's yours. He's safe in your den. I need you to take a deep breath."

"My witch," I growled out, and smoke puffed up around me.

Roman nodded, but his lips twitched as if he wanted to smile, or maybe laugh at me. "Yes, your witch. Now calm down before he comes out here and sees you acting like a caveman." When I didn't respond, he added, "Tan won't like it if you lose control."

That snagged my attention, and a tiny bit of sense trickled back in. I closed my eyes and breathed. I needed to get it under control. Why was I acting this way?

"What's happening to me?" I muttered under my breath.

Roman smiled widely and patted my shoulder. "Pretty sure you know exactly what's happening."

I growled at him, but the bathroom door clicked open, and I knew I needed to calm down. I took a few more deep breaths before Tan rejoined us in the living room with his cat perched on his shoulder again.

He stuffed his hands in his back pockets, not meeting my eyes as he spoke. "I think your wards are as good as they're going to get with only me adding to them, but they're stronger than before. We always like to add at least three different species' magics to our wards. I could ask Remi or Bel—"

"No." It came out more like a growl than a word.

Tan didn't flinch like most people did when I growled at them. But he did finally lift his gaze, but only to narrow his eyes at me. "It would make your wards harder to—"

"I said no, Tanyl."

His nostrils flared, obviously in anger. "I thought you wanted me to help protect you?"

"I do—"

"This is how I do that. If I can get Remi and Bel to add their magic to your wards, the mix of all those different magics will make it near impenetrable. It's the best way to keep you safe in your home. I—"

"No." I took a breath and made sure I was looking into his eyes. "I'm not comfortable with that, Tan. I'm sorry, but it's not happening."

His nostrils flared, and a strange sound came out of his throat. It almost sounded like a growl, but since he was a witch and not a dragon, it was cute rather than intimidating. "You're impossible."

"It's my nature."

He let out a bark of laughter. "Is that the excuse you tell yourself to condone acting like an asshole all the time?"

I ground my teeth together and shot him a glare.

Tan rolled his eyes and turned to Roman but gestured to me. "Is he always like this?"

"Pretty much."

I turned my glare on Roman, but all he did was grin at me.

Tan rubbed the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. "Barring the ward thing—which we will absolutely be coming back to in the future—"

"We will not," I cut in.

Tan continued as if I hadn't spoken. "I need to put together a plan for a new security system. Do you want me to work up here, or are we going back to your office?"

If I didn't know better, I'd think his cat was glaring at me from its perch on his shoulder.

I stared at the orange feline for a moment, and her eyes narrowed further.

Right, then. Definitely glaring at me.

I held in a sigh. The last thing I needed was his Bonded One being pissy.

Unsure of what to do about it, I ignored her and said, "Let's go back downstairs. I have some work I need to get done."

Tan nodded. "Alright. I need to get some work done too."

"Will you be okay working at the coffee table? I ordered a desk for you, but it isn't being delivered until tomorrow."

He froze. "You ordered me a desk?"

I lifted a shoulder. "You're going to be working from my office for the next few months. I didn't want you uncomfortable while you're with me."

His eyes flared for a moment, but it was gone before I could figure out what it meant. He murmured, "That was very… thoughtful of you. Thank you, Garrick."

"Of course. I'll give you anything you need." My eyes widened when I realized what I said and amended, "I'll get you—buy you—anything you need to be comfortable while you're here."

Some strange emotion crossed his face as he stared at me for a moment before giving me a nod. Then he headed for the front door, opened it, and started down the spiral staircase, calling over his shoulder, "Let's get to work, then."

Roman and I exchanged a look before he said, "Guess we know who's boss now." His lips twitched in amusement.

I shot a small plume of smoke at him, making him laugh. Then I headed after the witch, pretending I wasn't deeply inhaling as I walked down the stairs. Pretending I wasn't trying to pull as much of Tan's scent into my lungs as I could.

Nope, I absolutely was not doing that.