Page 66 of Been There Dragon That
Rylee poked her head around the hallway. Wrath and a huge red-headed beast of a man were carrying in the light blue-colored couch. It had a chaise at one end and would wrap the room and face toward the beautiful wall of windows.
“Rylee, this is Tor,” Wrath said, tipping his chin toward the man at the other end of the couch. “His wife is Dawn.”
“Hi!” A petite blonde woman stepped out of the shadows of the entryway. Rylee hadn’t seen her yet. She was holding a big box. “Where would you like me to put the curtains?”
Another woman, much taller and a brunette, came through the doorway with a small end table in her hands. “Which room? I’m Ava by the way, nice to meet you, Rylee.”
“The bedroom please.” Rylee stood for a moment after Dawn and Ava disappeared into the bedroom. Tor. Dawn. Ava. Check. Check. Check. Okay. She could do this. It wasn’t like there would be a quiz later.
“Where would you like the couch,shuarra?”
She whirled to face Wrath. “Oh. There,” she pointed. “So it mostly faces the windows and the stove. Then if you want a TV, you can put it there on that big wall too.”
“Did you order a TV? I don’t remember seeing one on the list.” Tor asked as he and Wrath set down the first couch piece.
“No. I didn’t. Should I have?” She held Wrath’s gaze. She’d ordered a lot of things, but probably nothing a big mountain man deputy sheriff would like. She’d tried to get mostly oversized furniture so he would be comfortable.
“Not unless you want one. I mostly read for entertainment. Jack Ryan is quite entertaining. And there are these other books, archaeological thrillers, by Ernest Dempsey I really enjoy.”
This man would never cease to amaze her, would he… “You don’t own a bookshelf. I don’t know if I ordered a bookshelf. I didn’t—”
Tor laughed out loud. “You two are a pair. He didn’t want to furnish his place because he was worried his mate wouldn’t like something he picked, and you look terrified that he’s not going to like what you chose.” The red-headed man walked a little closer to Rylee. “I promise you. He’ll like everything if only because you chose it. And if you didn’t get a bookshelf this time, we can get you one next time.”
A little bit of the tension in her chest released at his words. Was it really so simple?
Tor walked back outside, and Wrath walked straight up to Rylee and kissed her hard. Kissed her like he hadn’t kissed her all night. Kissed her like the act of kissing was his favorite thing on the entire planet. Kissed her until she was breathless and warm and gooey on the inside.
“The couch is a great choice. And Tor’s right, don’t worry about what you picked. This is your home. I want it to feel like it.” He pulled away and then left, following Tor out the front door.
Cold wind blew inside, and she shivered. The sweatshirt she’d put on wasn’t super warm against the Alaska winter wind. And she still needed to put boots on, too.
The small blonde woman, Dawn, came out of the bedroom first, followed by the very tall, slightly pregnant brunette who’d introduced herself as Ava. “Why don’t you grab some shoes and a coat? Wrath said you're riding with us into town. We're all meeting at the Community center for baby and toddler playtime.”
“After what happened? Is it safe?”
Ava waved a hand in front of Rylee showing off where her fingernails had morphed into long sharp talons. “We’ll be good. Promise.”
Rylee gulped. “Are you both … something?”
“Just Ava,” Dawn said. “She’s a Reylean bear shifter. Tor doesn’t have royal blood, so I didn’t change after we bonded.”
Change? Bonded?What did it mean to bond? Would she change into a dragon if she bonded to Wrath? How did the bonding happen? They’d already had sex. Surely, he would’ve said something about her changing into a dragon…
“Is that why Naomi sounds like she’s from Jersey, but she’s a dragon? She changed when she did what you mentioned, bonding?”
Both women nodded their heads in sync.
“Royal bloodlines have the ability to change humans into Reyleans. Wrath did tell you about his dragon and—”
“Yes, we didn’t get into the smaller details yet. Is he… I mean … will I?”
Ava shook her head. “I don’t think Wrath comes from a royal bloodline, so it’s unlikely that you would be changed by your bonding. Have you felt sick or feverish at all since he bit you?”
Rylee shook her head and glanced around the cabin. “He hasn’t bitten me.”
“Oh, well then. You won’t know for sure until that happens. Did you tell him you didn’t want to bond? He said you were glowing for him, right?” Ava asked, keeping her voice low.
“Yes, but—I—well—it’s been a rough couple of days. We kinda talked about more stuff last night.”
