Page 26 of Dragon My Crazy

I kept the moment to myself. There was no sense ruining her afternoon over a stranger’s stare. But I marked his face, filed it away, and made a note to ask Flame and Blaze what they’d seen later. We continued on, her hand in mine. And I told myself the chill crawling up my spine was nothing at all.

“You’re quiet all of a sudden,” Elana said.

“Just admiring the view.” I squeezed her hand and nodded toward the water ahead. “Come on. The lake’s worth it, I promise.”

Chapter 13

Elana

Thelakewastotallyworth it.

The path opened up without warning, and suddenly there in front of me was a lake so perfect it looked like someone had photoshopped it into existence. The water was an impossible blue you only see in travel brochures. The mountains around it still had snow on their peaks. The whole scene was so picturesque, I half-expected a freaking unicorn to trot out of the trees and start grazing on the perfectly green grass.

It was the somewhat creepy-looking sign next to the path that ruined the perfection. Much older than the signs we’d seen in town, it proclaimed, in faded, crusty lettering, “Welcome to Crystal Lake.”

“Why does that look like the start of a scary movie?” I asked.

“I promise you there are no axe murderers here that I know of. Just the most beautiful view.”

Beautiful didn’t do it justice. The afternoon sun scattered across the lake’s surface, making the water shine like crystals.

Emmett stopped beside me, watching my face like he was waiting for a reaction.

“It’s beautiful,” I breathed.

“Beautiful,” he echoed. But there was a hunger in his voice, and when I glanced over, Emmett wasn’t looking at the lake at all. He was looking at me.

Heat climbed up my cheeks, and I turned quickly back to the view in an attempt to ignore my rising libido.

With my hand still in his, we started walking toward the rocky outcropping that jutted out over the water.

We reached the edge of the rock, and he helped me sit down. The stone was warm from the sun, like it was storing up heat for later. I let my legs dangle over the side, feeling suddenly very small in the majesty of this place. These mountains really had away of reminding me that I was just one tiny human in a great big universe.

Behind us, the trees rustled, and it was the only reminder Flame and Blaze were out there somewhere, playing invisible bodyguards.

Emmett sat beside me, close enough that our shoulders brushed. “I told myself that as long as the townsfolk left the beauty of the lake and the land intact, I wouldn’t interfere.”

“I see why you decided to settle down here.” I kicked my feet, watching the water ripple. “It’s like a fairy tale.”

“When I first arrived here, this whole valley was empty,” Emmett said. He crouched, picked up a flat stone, and turned it over in his fingers. “No towns. No roads. These mountains were sacred to the indigenous people who once lived here, and their medicine women would climb to the peak to harvest herbs and bark. But often, not a single soul bothered me for weeks on end.” He skipped the stone, and it danced across the surface of the crystalline water before sinking. “I told myself I preferred it that way.”

“And now?”

He straightened, and the look he gave me made my heart skip a beat. “Now I find it even better because you’re in it.”

The line was so cheesy, but it didn’t fail to make me blush.

“Oh, stop, Emmett. I’m in my fifties. I know I have great genetics and keep myself in shape. But—”

“No buts,” Emmett said firmly. “I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again. I’m much, much older than you. Next to you, I’m ancient. Age is just a number. I see you the way you’re meant to be seen.” His hands stopped just short of my body, like he was touching my aura.

“I thought Seth hid my magic.”

“I’m not talking about your magic. I’m talking about you. And you’re beautiful, and all my dragon wants me to do right now is kiss you.”

I froze.

I should’ve remembered what Luella said to me in the playroom. But the moment Emmett’s mouth crashed into mine, all logic burned away. His hands were rough, possessive, one gripping my hip like he was afraid I’d disappear, the other tangled in my hair, tilting my head to deepen the kiss. His tongue swept against mine, hot and demanding, and I met him stroke for stroke, my nails digging into his shoulders hard enough to leave marks.