Page 36 of Feathers and Scales

His heart felt heavy, and he circled back to that moment when he’d asked her why she ran. From their link, her fear had layered over a weighing sadness.

“What’s bothering you?” he asked.

Her eyes drifted back to the journal. “I’d rather not talk about it.”

“Ignoring it won’t make you feel any better. It’ll find its way out eventually.”

“Fine.” She sighed and closed the journal. “I nearly lost my life. Twice. And that monster is still at large. I also have a mysterious connection to a dragon that I need to figure out, so we can go our separate ways. Did I miss anything?”

“How does it make you feel?”

“Like I want out of my human skin.”

“At least you’re honest. You’re stronger for staying in it.”

“I don’t feel strong.” She scratched her nails across the pages of the book.

“None of us do.” He shrugged. “Some just act better than others.”

The hint of a smile graced her lips. “I never was great at acting.”

Her expression punched him in the chest, as if he’d struck gold. He relaxed into the chair.

The sun shone through the plane window, illuminating her pale features. Her long, dark lashes concealed her golden eyes as she continued reading the journal with her legs crossed at the knee. His thoughts strayed to her flushed pink and naked beneath him. His pants constrained against his body, and he fidgeted in his seat. He desired to take that journal from her and spread her thighs…

He stopped the images—surely sharing too much over the link—but ever since she’d sat in the car with him, healed and in her human body, her tangy scent filling his brain and a burst of color warming her cheeks at something she’d read, his libido had been going haywire. He wanted her in a powerful way, warmth coiling around his entire body. Yet he was trying to honor the distance she’d put between them, refusing to feed her anything untoward. What didn’t help was his dragon’s need to feel her across the link.

His fingers fidgeted with restless dragon energy.

Damn it.

He’d believed proximity would soothe his dragon temper, but he couldn’t fully relax. The shield she erected between them made him feel like he sat in a room losing oxygen, his suffocation inevitable. The more time ticked by with her so physically close but mentally closed off, the worse it got.

When she bit her lip and blushed at something she read, his dragon shredded at his skin, wanting to experience more of her across the link. His limbs shook.No. You have to calm down.He tried to breathe like he’d done when she drew his blood, but it wasn’t as easy without her direction. If she didn’t open the link between them, he would explode into a dragon. He tapped the bottom of her foot with his as it dangled over her other leg.

She met his gaze, and the blush on her face darkened. He almost groaned.

“Can I help you?” she asked.

“Stop—”Don’t make demands. Be civil.“Can you stop whatever you’re doing to block me?”

“I could.” Her gaze skittered around. “But I don’t know what’ll happen.”

“My dragon will quit…badgering me.”

Her breath quickened and her chest rose. Instead of showing fear, her stare examined him. For her sake, he took a few calming breaths and centered his mind on the feel of the seat beneath him, reining his dragon back.

She frowned in concentration. “I can feel it pacing…wanting to break free. What do you sense from me through the link?”

“I caught your reactions before you put up the shield. I can still feel slivers of your more intense emotions.”

A subtle thread of unease thrummed along the link. Her gaze turned distant, mouth parted slightly. Her focus shifted inward, as if she were struggling to figure out more about the link.

He smiled. Though she was one of the most difficult people to read, the longer he spent with her, the better he became at distinguishing her microexpressions.

“The link is peculiar,” she said. “A band of power connecting us, as if we’ve swapped spirit energy. But I don’t understand the purpose. Why would it be imperative to feel each other’s emotions? To learn to trust one another, maybe? Is dropping the barrier all you want from me?”

“I…” Desire flamed through his veins. His voice turned hoarse, and he rubbed his face. The need burned inside him to connect them again, dragon and spirit.