Page 40 of His Greatest Treasure

“What good does it do, to have family?”

“Well, they’re… they’re your family.”

I couldn’t explain. They just were. They were there, and we had a bond, and I hated the thought of them getting hurt. That’s how I knew I loved them. Our bonds were strong.

“Maybe fire spirits aren’t meant to have a family. That’s why I’m alone.”

“You’re not alone!You have me.”

“You’re not my family, though,” he said, and my stomach gave such a massive wrench inside me that I actually looked down, expecting to see a spray of blood from an open wound.

When I established that I wasn’t bleeding, I held Blaze tighter.

“Iamyour family. You’re- you’re my- my favourite person.”

He twisted his head to look at me. He looked a touch disbelieving.

“Am I really?”

“Yes.”

“Oh. I suppose that does make me family, then, in a way. If we’re- if I’m your favourite.”

“Yes, you are. We’re family. You’ll like being a Somerville.”

Blaze looked doubtful.

“Your father scares me.”

“He’s a dragon elder. He has to be scary, to protect us.”

“He doesn’t have to scareyou.”

I thought about it and I couldn’t articulate what I wanted. Something inside me told me that a dragon elderdidhave to be scary. Or at least, they had tohave immense power. And anyone with that much power would be scary by default, surely?

“Morgan told me about the Hoskins’ elder,” I said at last. “She sounds really scary. Morgan says she’s tiny but she’s really fierce.”

Blaze grinned and his eyes burned suddenly red and hot. “I can understand that.”

“Really?”

He raised his hands and made claws with his fingers. “Yes.I’m small but fierce.”

I laughed and kissed his neck again. “You’re small and sweet.”

He giggled as I kissed the ticklish spot at the base of his throat and he squirmed with laughter and joy. I was incredibly hard with him on my lap like that, but I didn’t want to draw attention to it. Blaze had never asked to do anything other than kiss and I didn’t want to rush him. Or burst all over him, if doing more than kissing made my insides go to war again.

At least he couldn’t smell my arousal, I reminded myself.

When we stopped and sat together, panting and calming down, I felt Blaze curl in on himself a bit more.

His voice was quiet and I had to listen hard to hear the words.

“I need to be small to protect myself out there.”

“You’re not out there. You’re in here. In our territory.”

“Yes, but I’m not meant to be here. If I have to go again—”

---