Page 165 of Nine-Tenths

"… yes."

I cup his jaw, lift his eyes to mine.

"Then how is it your fault?"

"I took her into another dragon's territory, it wasn't safe—"

"That's Simcoe talking. You don't really think that or you wouldn't have gone there to start with. Are you going to let me go through someone else's territory to go back to Orillia to see the fam?"

"Of course."

"No different, then." Something about all of this is still not sitting right for me, but I can't put my finger on it. "Next question: why would Simcoe touchme? Whatreasoncould he have?"

"None whatsoever," Dav says. "Trifling with someone else's Favorite is a very serious offense. There's a court."

"So he threw you into this frenzy onpurpose."

"He can't have meant to," Dav says with a shudder. "It was my fault, somehow. It always is. But I promise, I've been working on my temper. I contacted your Dr. Chen when you wouldn't come out of your room. She's been helping me with anger management."

"I see."

Nothing about Dav makes me think that heneedsanger management.

"I will never hurt you, Colin. I won't ever do that to anyone again. I'm dangerous," he insists, talking over me when I try tointerrupt. "I'm so dangerous that I'm only allowed to ever go to war. My temper—"

"Which, hey, reminder, you've never taken out on me—"

"I laid you flat on the floor!"

"After I took a swing at you, and only toendthe fight."

"The only thing I'm good at is killing."

"Bullshit."

"I—"

"Bullshit." I gesture grandly at everything around us. "Exhibit A." Then I point at the people and farm framed in the window behind him. "Exhibit B." I hold up our linked hands. "Exhibit C."

Dav shudders out a breath. "It's so much, love. It was easier with Charlotte."

"It was also before social media and entertainment news. Can you honestly tell me that if it wasn't for the paparazzi anyone would give a flying whatever about us being together?"

"Likely not. Simcoe wouldn't have known until I filed the paperwork, and by then it would have been too late."

"And yet the person I am wouldn't be different. I'm still too outspoken, too opinionated, too ugly for Lt. Gov. Longnose. I am still the person who encouraged you to break a massive dragon taboo for shits and giggles."

"And I still would have been the dragon who did it, because I wanted to make you laugh. And then kept going because it made people happy."

"Your kink is showing."

"Hush."

I’m relieved that both of us seem to have calmed down enough to tease. "So, the only difference is he wouldn't have seen me coming. Am I wrong?"

"No. Simcoe—"

"Is a controlling jackass. Do you know what Onatah asked me, after she told me about Charlotte? She asked if I knew whathappened to dragons who lock themselves away. Apparently, they wither."

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