Naomi stared at him. Several times, she opened her mouth, but she couldn’t think of anything to say. He didn’t even deny it! He didn’t tell her that she was going crazy, or that she must have hit her head!
“So... dragons?” she asked weakly at last.
“Ugh.” Gregory made a pained sound as he shifted a little. “Can you come here? Just for a moment. And then I’ll tell you everything you want to know. I promise.”
Again Naomi stared at him. Then he held out his arm, and even though a part of her still dimly thought about calling the police, another part of her, the part that had almost given up on her dreams, looked at his strong arm, remembering the powerful wings of a dragon as magnificent as a thunderstorm.
Careful not to jostle his wounds, she came to rest on the carpet by his side. His arm wrapped around her shoulder, and then he pulled her even closer.
“Your burns,” Naomi gasped.
“Doesn’t matter,” Gregory muttered. He drew in a deep breath, his lips brushing gently against her ear. When he exhaled, much of the tension seemed to have gone from his body.
“That’s better. Sorry. I should’ve protected you from him, but I never thought a dragon might attack—I only just found you...”
“So it was because of me?” Naomi frowned. “That can’t be. I’m nobody special, and dragons... dragons aren’t even real! That is, they shouldn’t be!”
Gregory laughed very softly. “I think we’ve given you proof that we are indeed real.” Very gently, his fingers brushed a strand of hair out of her face. His eyes were bright silver now.
“And you are special. You’re very special to me. My dragon has found you at last. I knew you had to be special the moment I saw your painting. Naomi—you’re my mate.”
Chapter Six: Gregory
Gregory couldn’t take his eyes off Naomi. She was pressed so close that he could feel the sweet warmth of her body. It washed through him, heat rekindling at the core of his being, the ages-old magic of his dragon awakened by her touch.
He’d always healed fast. It was one of the powers of shifters. But usually, it meant a night of deep sleep while his body healed from whatever fight he’d gotten himself into.
Now, with his mate in his arms, it was different. Already, the healing power of his dragon was at work, soothing the painful burns the fire dragon had left. He healed more quickly than he ever had before.
And he’d been stronger than before during the fight.
Gregory had felt the immense power of nature at his beck and call, there during that battle in the skies. He could’ve called down thunder and lightning, he could’ve spewed forth a tornado, he could’ve ravaged the earth with all the destructive power of the wind...
But even so, the other dragon had defeated him.
Gregory took a deep breath, concentrating on the feeling of Naomi in his arms to calm himself. Surely it wasn’t too late yet. His power was almost at its zenith—but it couldn’t be too late. He’d found Naomi. He’d found his mate. He wouldn’t be torn apart by his power, or lose his mind to it.
It wasn’t too late. He was still here, after all. And he wasn’t insane. With Naomi by his side, he saw more clearly than he’d ever seen before.
“What do you mean—mate?” she asked. “That dragon I painted... That was you, wasn’t it? Was this... Did you do that? Was it all some weird sort of game?”
Now Naomi rose up on her elbows to glower down at him. Gregory couldn’t hold back another smile at the way agitation made her eyes light up. She was glorious, his mate. And she was just right for him.
“I did nothing,” he tried to explain. “I’d nearly given up hope that I’d find you. I was planning to fly from coast to coast, searching for my mate—for the one person my heart was calling out for. Your painting led me to you. No human should’ve been able to see my dragon form. Human eyes can’t see us; it’s part of the dragon magic. When we shift, we’re invisible to you. That’s why you think we’re just myths and fairy tales.”
“But I just saw you diving out of the sky,” Naomi interjected. “And I saw that black dragon too.”
“It’s because you’re a dragon’s mate. You can see me. You can see all of us.”
“Oh,” Naomi breathed, her eyes wide with awe.
Gregory ignored the ache of the burns, concentrating on the soothing warmth of her body.
“It was no trick. I’d never play with you. Back then, when you painted me, it wasn’t because you’d seen me with your own eyes. It was because you’d seen me—”
“With my soul,” Naomi completed breathlessly. “That’s what happened that night. It never happened before when I painted, but it was as if the dragon had come alive in my mind. I couldn’t stop painting. I had to get it all down onto the canvas. And then when I saw you... When I saw your eyes... I knew you.”
Warmth burst open somewhere deep in Gregory’s heart. Despite the pain, he reached out to touch her cheek, the gentlest brush of his fingertips.