Page 25 of Having the Dragon's Baby

“It’s rejuvenating to be out like this. It almost feels as if nothing else is real or even happening besides this moment.”

Marcus smiled at her, his eyes doting. “It is. That’s why I enjoy it so much. It clears my mind when it overloads.” He grabbed her hand, making Rachel feel as though she were in middle school and her crush had touched her fingers at the movies.

She intertwined her fingers with his, and they began their walk.

Rachel looked at everything, absorbing the beauty around her. She didn’t think the sight or the serenity it brought her would ever grow old.

Before she knew it, they were back at his house. For a moment, she was sad that the lunch had ended, even though that didn’t mean their day was over.

“Follow me,” Marcus said as he walked around the back.

Rachel did, excited that there would be more to their lunch.

When they got around the house, Marcus pulled on a fire escape set of stairs that blended perfectly with the house. Rachel hadn’t even seen it. It was tucked away so nicely.

“This takes us to the roof.” He turned to start climbing up and then looked as if a strange thought had hit him. He turned back around. “Heights don’t bother you, do they?”

Rachel couldn’t help but giggle at the thought of dating a dragon and having heights be the issue. “No.”

He looked relieved as a grin spread over his face. He bowed dramatically before her, indicating that she should climb first.

Rachel did a shallow curtsey before grabbing the metal and heading to the top.

When she reached the precipice, her eyes widened.

“Wow.” She stepped over the lip of the roof and looked beyond the house.

It was a breathtaking sight, being able to see as far as she could of the panoramic view she was lucky enough to see.

Mountains, trees, water, animals, everything. It was all laid out in front of her like a map in a fantasy book. It almost appeared surreal to be able to take in such beauty.

“It’s something, isn’t it?”

Marcus had quietly approached from behind and wrapped his arms around her as she stared in awe.

She put her hands over her chest. “It really is.”

She suddenly realized that the whole back side of the roof was completely flat, like the tall buildings in the city.

The odd part was his house had vaulted ceilings on the inside, so what was the need to create extra space for a flat roof?

He must have sensed her puzzlement as she looked around.

“Pretty spacious roof, huh?”

“Yeah, I noticed that.”

He took a step back from her as she turned and looked at him.

“I use this roof as a lookout a lot of times. The area is spacious enough to allow me to patrol in a hurry if need be.”

She was still slightly confused about what he meant.

“It’s so I can shift up here.”

Now, it made sense. She took in just how big the area was and began to wonder how large Marcus’s dragon was.

“Would you like to see my shifter side?”

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