Page 27 of The Baby Dragon Cafe
“As she should,” Aiden agreed.
They continued walking to another part of the gardens. This was lovely, being here with her, so lovely in fact that Aiden had been able to forget why he was supposed to be staying away from her and Sparky both.
Although he couldn’t help but feel proud when he saw how well-behaved Sparky was. He appreciated all the hard work Saphira had put in to make Sparky so.
Still, they shouldn’t be here. He didn’t want to get close to either of them. The farther away he stayed, the safer Sparky would be, and Saphira, too. She would be hurt to learn his family partook in the races that killed her mother, and he wanted to protect her from that.
Unfortunately, she looked so pretty, he didn’t have thestrength to tell her to leave. He wanted to be around her, to spend time with her. Usually, he didn’t want anybody to see him because he knew they wouldn’t understand, but he had an uncanny desire for her to know him, to see him.
Maybe he should let her in.
Aiden glanced at Sparky, who had been well-behaved this entire time, bouncing along with them. Sparky barely paid any attention to Aiden; his focus was all on Saphira.
“I can see why you lost track of time in here,” Saphira said. “It’s so peaceful.”
“It can be hard work, gardening, but always satisfying,” Aiden said.
“I can understand that—it’s the same way in the cafe. The hours fly by, and even though I’m exhausted by the end of it, it’s rewarding, too. I love seeing the cafe full of people.”
They kept talking, walking along the gardens, and Aiden had no idea where the time went. Without his notice, the sun began to set around them, the sky a blaze of pink and gold.
“Look,” Saphira said, voice soft. She had tilted her head back to look at the sky, her eyes wide. “How can anyone be blue when the sky is pink?”
There was amazement on her face, a smile tilting her lips, and all he could think as he looked at her was: “How can anyone be blue when they’re standing next to you?”
Saphira turned to him, and he realized he had said that last part out loud. Embarrassment flushed through him, but she didn’t seem offended by his saccharine words.
Aiden took a step toward her and, as he did, their hands brushed. Her breathing hitched. She was still holding the rose,but she moved her fingers, a feather-light touch against his knuckles. Desire beat through him.
Then, the rose stem moved in her hand; she let out a little yelp as a thorn pricked her. Panic shot through him.
“Are you okay?” he asked, holding her hand to inspect it.
A prick of red blood bubbled to the surface, and instinct took over: he brought her finger to his mouth and sucked on the wound.
Saphira’s soft gasp brought him crashing down to reality, but he was frozen in place, her finger in his mouth, the salt of her blood on his tongue.
Blood rushed through his body, his heart pounding painfully against his chest. Saphira’s eyes were wide and dark.
His chest tightened as he felt her pulse quicken against his fingers from where he held her hand. Her lips parted, her breathing shallow.
Alarm bells rang in his mind as the moment liquefied around them. He felt compelled to do something insanely stupid like kiss her palm.
Before he could decide, Saphira’s gaze strayed to the ground. She blinked, stepping back, removing her hand from him.
“Where’s Sparky?” she asked, voice high. Aiden looked around; Sparky was nowhere to be found. A potent concoction of emotions shot through him: anxiety, worry, guilt.
Aiden had a feeling Sparky hadn’t liked the fact that Aiden was taking up Saphira’s attention. He shouldn’t have been distracting Saphira; they should have been focused on Sparky.
“You guys shouldn’t have come here,” Aiden said. This was all a bad idea—even as he could still feel the imprint of herfinger against his lips, a sensation he knew would never leave him.
Hurt flashed on Saphira’s face. She stepped away from him.
“Where is he?” she asked, voice breaking as she looked around. Aiden searched for him as well, trepidation coursing through him. The gardens were open to the public; anyone could walk in. Anyone could find a stray baby dragon and take him for their own.
His stomach turned at the thought, and he searched harder, running over to the next section. Then the next, where there was a bush of vibrant purple dahlias … or what was left of them.
“Sparky!” Saphira cried, rushing up behind Aiden to see the baby dragon had eaten most of the flowers and ripped up the rest of the bush.
