Page 28 of Rhadan

She could see the branches in fine detail despite the darkness. Dragons had excellent night vision, but she wasn’t sure what he wanted her to see. “The tree?”

His vision narrowed on the owl disguised within its branches. It was watching them, but its head turned before it hooted.

She smiled. “Dragon vision is better than binoculars.”

Rhadan chuckled. “Most predatory species do have acute eyesight.”

“Unless you are hunting the rat population, I don’t want to hear about you eating anything that runs.”

“Hunting provides an escape when we are... incomplete. The dragon would much rather eat with his mate, regardless of the food choice.”

Tempest thought about his words. “Any chance you’ve been talking to Ash?”

Rhadan laughed. “I have. His mate, Robin, is a dreadful cook. When he does something that displeases her, she cooks for him for a week. His dragon is quite surly by the end of it.”

“She grew up in a mansion and didn’t learn to cook for herself. We are a lot alike. Only she knew she lived with a monster. She just didn’t know what he was.”

“I am aware. Mara has tried to teach her, but it has not gone well.”

“I know her last batch of cookies had more salt than sugar. Ash ate them though.”

“He is wise,” Rhadan said.

“I have been learning to cook, and while I’m a little more skilled than Robin, I can only make basic food.”

“Fortunately for you, my mother was an amazing cook. I am learning some new recipes from Mara, but she says my stew is heavenly.”

Tempest began to walk toward the cabin when Rhadan urged her forward. “I am impressed you know how to cook.”

“I’m not just a pretty face.”

“I wouldn’t know.”

He laughed. “Come on. It’s late. You need to rest.” He took her hand, and he opened the door to the cabin.

The warmth and smell of cedar had always welcomed Tempest when she visited the cabin. “There is a spare room upstairs. I stay there when I visit.”

“Yes. I am staying in the spare room as well.”

Her heart raced, and she swallowed the dry air in her throat. “We can’t sleep together.” She hadn’t forgotten her errant thoughts back at the warehouse. Rhadan made her think of things she had never had before. He instilled feelings she never thought she would have, and she wasn’t sure she would keep her hands to herself if he was beside her.

His lips moved beside hers. “I want you to explore my body, but we will not bond until your twenty-third birthday. Nothing will happen unless you wish it to.”

She paused at the bottom of the cedar stairs. “We aren’t a couple. We just met.”

Rhadan moved his fingers over her hand in a light caress. “You are right. We are far more. Mates are eternal, with or without the bond.”

Mara had told her that a dragon would take one day with a mate over an eternity of darkness. She had tried to explain the dark, emotionless world of the dragons who had no mate. Would Rhadan be satisfied to hold her and let her get accustomed to him in her life?

Rhadan sighed. “That you would even think that question means you do not understand what a mate is. I assumed with your sisters having mated, you would have a better understanding of your importance to me. I was remiss in my assumptions, and I apologize.”

“You don’t need to. The girls have all offered information. The problem was me, not them. I didn’t want to listen.”

“Why?”

“I need my independence. I let Devlin control me for too long,” she whispered.

“I understand that. Do you think I would deny you anything?” he asked.

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