Page 17 of The Heart of the Dragon

I pulled my bottom lip into my mouth and chewed on it nervously. None of this could be true. It had to be a figment of his imagination. And yet, I saw that dragon...

"Okay, let’s say I believe you. For scientific purposes of course. How?—"

"Of course you believe me. Why wouldn't you?" He looked genuinely offended.

"Like I said. Let's say I believe you. How exactly does this plant affect you?"

He shrugged. "It made me sick once, a long time ago, and that was enough for me to realize it was a problem. And that was after one bite, not an entire plant's worth."

I rolled my eyes. "Then maybe you shouldn't have eaten so much. I've never had anyone go back for more than seconds. So you did ingest more than anyone has before." I bit my lips to hold back a smile even though I knew this was no laughing matter. I couldn't help it. Watching an angry giant like him fall on my food like it was something he'd never had before had been adorable. Not that I would say that out loud.

"That's beside the point. That plant is poison. I've seen fae die from it."

"Other dragons?" I asked curiously. If I was going to go down this rabbit hole with him, I might as well jump in with both feet and embrace what he said. Just in case. And for science. Whether he was delusional or not, he'd passed out after eatingthat stew and for hours, no one could rouse him. That was definitely not usual behavior.

I'd need to test these plants for any changes in their biochemistry. It didn't seem likely that any cross contamination had occurred, but I would check to make sure. In the meantime, I would lock up the rest of my cooking spices and only use items obtained from the grocer until this matter was resolved.

"I don't usually spend time with other dragons."

The suddenly somber look on his face made me curious. "Why not?"

He shrugged. "Because our king forbids others in his realm, and I'm rarely permitted outside of our boundaries."

"Permitted? If you're a dragon, and I'm not saying I buy into that yet, wouldn't you be the kind of predator who didn't take orders from others?"

"It's good you recognize me as a predator. Although you should have done so before hauling me out here. Your instincts seem to be problematic." He only paused for a second before he continued. "And the king is my uncle. He's a ruthless ruler with enough magic to hold his own against a dragon."

"He sounds like a peach," I mused, beginning to see a peek into his history that could explain so many things. Family issues were often at the root of a lot of problems among the homeless. Including dementia.

"I'm not sure I would compare him to fruit. He's neither pleasant nor sweet. Ruthless. Unforgiving. Manipulative...."

I could see him lost in his thoughts and memories, and I took that time to study him. Initially, all I'd noticed was his massivesize and then his scars, once those were revealed. I was curious about what had created such horrific marks, but I was also afraid to ask. There was no way they were attached to good memories and triggering him further didn’t sound like a great idea.

I glanced at his ears, but nothing about them stood out as different. They looked pretty much like anyone else's, and I immediately wanted to kick myself for even looking. If the fae were actually real, I had a feeling they'd be nothing like the children's stories I'd read over and over.

And he was most certainly not fae.

But he was ridiculously good looking. Even with scars. They didn't seem to detract from that at all. They had taken me by surprise at first, but now when I looked at him, I only thought he looked ruggedly perfect.

I blinked. Perfect? Why had that word popped into my head? The man represented danger. He was scary as hell and probably a threat. To both my person and my sanity. Because he had me rethinking everything I knew to be true about valerian, a plant I'd used safely for years, and my mother for decades before that, and her mother for decades before that. His theory bordered on ridiculous and I did as well for entertaining it.

"You wouldn't be the first person I've met with assholes for relatives. Many of my friends have issues with their families and good reasons."

"What about you? What is your family like?"

"They're great," I hedged, not wanting to get into any more details about how I’d recently discovered my adoption and when I asked them about it they’d lied. I'd seen it on their faces, and I was pretty sure they both knew it. I just didn’t know why. "Theyonly live about thirty minutes from here and I try to see them as often as I can."

"Are they scientists as well?"

I grinned. "No. My parents own a book and bath shop in town."

"Book and bath? They sell books to people who come for a bath?"

My smile turned to laughter as I pictured rows of bathtubs in my parent's bookstore. It was silly, but I couldn't help myself.

Since I couldn't take a breath yet, I simply shook my head.

He glowered. "I don't know why that's so amusing. You're the one who called it a book and bath shop. What else would you do there besides bathe and read?"

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