Page 42 of Dragon Charmed

She relaxed her shoulders, which had been tensing up as he questioned her. “I agree. And I also know that we both want to protect that little girl. Let’s get her to safety and then figure out next steps and what all this means.”

He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. “Okay, for now. But if your friends have seen this before, then they need to clue us in on what’s going on. Maybe that can help us find Mia. She’s obviously in danger as well.”

“Yes, finding Mia is still important, especially since we know she’s hiding from someone.” Tessa freed her hands and placed them in her lap. “So do we have a truce?”

The corners of his mouth tipped up. “I didn’t know we were fighting.”

Tessa smiled. “Fighting might be too strong of a word. But working together is better than apart.”

“Agreed.” He sighed. “I’m exhausted. Do you mind if I use the restroom before we settle in?”

“Go ahead. I’m already done.”

He stood and grabbed his duffel and closed himself in the bathroom.

Tessa blew out a rough breath. That was too close. She had dodged a bullet. Once they had Lily to safety, Ben was going to push hard for the truth. But the truth about dragons wasn’t hers to tell.

She understood why the clan didn’t want more humans to know about their existence. But the longer she spent with Ben, the more she was beginning to trust him. And that surprised her. She didn’t trust easily. Experience had taught her to be wary, especially of rich, entitled men. But Ben was so down-to-earth. He was a kindhearted lumberjack who respected her and was willing to hold his opinion on this whole mess until Lily was safe.

And he was so kind to that little girl. There was something sexy and sweet at the same time about a man who treated kids with care. When he’d called Lily little bit and tucked her in earlier, Tessa’s ovaries started to dance. But there would be no fox trot, waltz, or salsa allowed. Especially tonight.

She bit her lip. They were going to share a bed. Thank God she hadn’t packed some sexy nightgown. She grabbed her T-shirt and sleep shorts from her bag and changed before climbing under the covers. A few minutes later the bathroom door opened, and Ben stopped in the doorway when he saw her in bed.

“I claimed the right side of the bed. Hope that’s not a problem.”

He dropped his duffel and shook his head. Was he going to strip to his underwear? Boxers or briefs? Boxers or briefs? She swallowed at another thought…commando? Was it hot in here? And now she was going to have to give both her brain and her hoo-ha a time-out.

He sat on the bed, pulled his boots off, and lay on top of the covers.

“You sleeping in your clothes?”

“Yep.”

Well, that was…disappointing. “You afraid I’m going to try and take advantage of you?”

He turned his face toward her, and his dark brown eyes danced. Roll away from the lumbersnack!

“Should I be worried about my virtue?” he asked.

“I don’t know. Is there anything you’ve done to tarnish it?”

The mischief in his eyes drained away, replaced with what? Confusion? “Not that I’m aware of,” he said.

She turned onto her side and faced him. “You know a lot about me, and I don’t know anything about you, Ben Wells.”

“There’s not much to tell,” he responded before turning his attention to the ceiling.

She could be a bulldozer on the best of days, but tonight she wasn’t going to push him. Something about his past bothered him, and she didn’t have the right to ask what it was when she wasn’t being totally truthful with him. “Ahh, a man of mystery. The lumberjack version of 007, huh? I get it.”

He chuckled and relaxed, so her joke did what she wanted it to.

“I don’t know which is more ridiculous in that statement, being a lumberjack or a spy.”

“You look like you’ve chopped some wood in your life, and flannel seems to be your wardrobe choice.”

Ben faced her again, and her heart sped up. “True on both counts.”

She smiled. “And I bet you could rock a suit.”