Page 51 of Taught By the Dragon

We both do. The situation may allow her to further realize she’s not back inside that prison. I doubt she ever saw a dragon up close there.

He doubted it too. In fact, the longer he stayed in that cabin with Percy, the more he understood how horrible her time inside had been.

Even if Percy had been on Stonefire for nearly two weeks now, she sometimes woke up in the middle of the night, screaming. He and Violet had agreed that if Percy had a bad dream, Violet would be the one to check on her. If Bronx did it, he’d want to hold Percy close again, soothe her fears, and merely revel in her heat against him.

That made him a bastard on so many levels. No matter how hard he tried to remember her imprisonment or what she’d been made to do on the inside, his attraction kept popping up when he least expected it—noticing her eyes or how the sun hit her cheek or even just breathing in the scent that was pure Percy.

Fuck.He needed to think of anything else, and quickly. So he went through preparation checklists for a rescue mission, like he’d done a million times before, back when he’d led them.

Soon enough, his body cooled. Time to shift. The sooner he completed this outing, the sooner he could go back to the cabin and the familiar role of being only a teacher.

His dragon huffed.Then get on with it.

Bronx closed his eyes and imagined wings sprouting from his back, his nose elongating into a snout, and his entire body growing and stretching until he had to balance on one hind foot and put his wings tips into the ground, using the talon-like points to steady himself.

He opened his eyes and looked down at his rear legs. Seeing one ending in a stump still made his heart squeeze.

His dragon spoke up.Forget about it, already. It’s gone. We have to adapt. Just imagine being able to fly with Percy one day.

I want her to fly, but she’ll do it with one of the teachers, Protectors, or both. Not us. Soon enough, our job will be over.

Tell yourself that.

Not wanting to argue, Bronx roared and then again, to let Violet know he was ready.

He heard the pair before they arrived. A few seconds later, Violet and Percy walked into the landing area side by side, and Percy’s gaze latched on to him. Even from a distance, he saw her eyes widen before going blank. And for some reason, he wanted to wipe away the neutral expression she used to hide herself.

His dragon spoke up.Then make this time special for her. I’m sure she’ll be awestruck by how big we are or how shiny our scales are.

He mentally snorted.You and the shiny scales. Why does it matter? It’s not a contest.

I want to impress her.

An uneasy feeling rushed through him.Do you know?

He was asking about Percy being their true mate.

His dragon growled.Of course not. If I did, I’d tell you. But you never let me impress anyone anymore.

Because we’re not eighteen. We’re forty-two. We’re too old to get cocky and impress females just to bloat our ego.

Before his beast could reply, Violet came up to him and raised a hand. Bronx lowered his head, and she rubbed his snout. “Hey, Dad, are you ready to try the fake hind leg? I’d say peg leg, but you told me I couldn’t call it that.”

He lightly butted his nose against her shoulder.

His daughter laughed and hugged his snout. “Okay, okay. But let’s get you stable before anything else.” Violet released him and turned toward Percy. “Want to help me?”

Percy jerked, as if she’d been snapped out of some deep thought or memory. “What?”

Violet walked over to her. “My dad is trying a new type of hind leg prosthetic. It’s still sort of basic. Numerous people are working on the design. It’s tricky to make one that will stay on for flight, landing, and takeoff, but it’ll allow Dad to use his wings freely. And showing them off, with the light behind them, is usually the best part.”

Percy blinked. “Sure.”

He watched the pair walk toward the large container that held his dragon peg leg, as Violet called it. And Bronx did his best not to anticipate when Percy would finally touch his scales or maybe scratch behind his ears.

* * *

As Violet openedthe storage box and undid some straps inside it, Percy kept glancing over her shoulder at Bronx’s dragon form. He was massive, much bigger than she thought he would be, and so much more regal.

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