“Congratulations,” she said warmly. “That’s what he assumed. He said he could feel a burst of your power.”
“They must have felt the same,” Timothy said slowly. “Or, perhaps—if there’s a plinth of fire now, that means there’s a powerful, elemental fire dragon out there as well. If he exists, he must have felt the same thing. They attacked the morning after I’d found her.”
“You’re the last dragon of the council without a mate,” she reminded him. “Once you’re mated, the council will be more powerful than it’s been in a long, long time. Of course they don’t want to deal with three elemental alpha dragons.”
“Makes it a bit harder to take over the world.” Timothy grinned, then grew serious again. “They attacked my mate. Not me—they went straight for her. Makes sense, of course—if you take her out, you keep us from mating.”
“She’s safe now?” Ginny asked worriedly. “Maybe you should just come here—”
“I don’t think she’d be any safer in Sky Home,” Timothy said. “Not after those fire dragons got in, all the way down into the prison cell.”
Ginny gave him a humph that didn’t sound convinced at all. “I’ll tell the chimera what you said. You know he’ll probably want to see the two of you anyway, once he hears that you found your mate?”
“I know,” Timothy said with a sigh. “But she had a pretty terrible morning. I’m not going to drag her away right this instant to meet the scary chimera. Tomorrow, if we have to. Anyway, shoot me an email once he’s decided what he wants from us.”
“I’ll let you know. Take care, okay?” Ginny said warmly. “And I’m looking forward to meeting her.”
“You’d like her,” he said softly, his heart filling with warmth when he looked out through the window.
Liana was still teasing their fire dragon, her face animated with laughter.
“See you soon.”
Chapter Thirteen: Liana
“Everything okay?” Liana asked softly when Timothy finally came back out half an hour later.
She’d used the time to go back inside and change. Now she was wearing the turquoise bikini she’d bought this summer during a particularly adventurous moment, and which she’d used exactly once, when her sister had taken her to a fancy spa with her girlfriends.
Timothy had changed as well. He was wearing shorts, which were the same, startling sapphire blue as his eyes, and a simple, white t-shirt. He pulled the shirt off as soon as he settled into the deckchair next to her.
She couldn’t help drawing in a startled, admiring breath. Of course, she’d known that he was an athletic man—but there were more than just broad, strong shoulders hidden beneath his shirt. Now, she had a perfect, unimpeded view of rock-hard pecs and abs that rippled and shifted with every breath he took.
His skin was gleaming in the sun. It had the golden glow that showed that he spent a lot of time outside in the sun, rather than spending all of his days inside a basement gym.
When he turned to face her, he reached out and rested his hand on her arm. The touch sent another shock through her.
A wave of longing flooded her. For a long moment, all she could think about was the heat pooling in her belly. The desire to touch those rippling muscles was so strong that she had to clench her fingers around the armrest to resist.
What if he doesn’t want me to resist...?
Heat rushed to her face.
She knew he wanted her. And if Braeden hadn’t been sitting out here on the deck as well, maybe she’d have reached out to press her hand against the flat, hard plane of his pecs to feel the powerful heartbeat beneath.
Maybe he’d have taken that for the invitation it was and pulled her into his arms to kiss her breathless.
And then...
Liana just barely managed to keep from squirming when her body throbbed with sudden need.
“Everything’s fine,” Timothy said, his voice a little hoarse. “I was just updating my friends about the fire dragons. We might have a meeting tomorrow—and don’t worry, if we do, I’ll bring you along. I won’t leave you unprotected, no matter what.”
“Oh,” Liana said, a little worried as she remembered the attack, but also intrigued. “Will I meet more dragons?”
Timothy nodded. “Probably. If we are summoned, the dragons of air and earth will be as well. They both have human mates, too. Although Naomi, the mate of the dragon of air, is pregnant, so he’s particularly protective right now.”
“Human mates? I’d love to meet them.” Liana felt a little surge of relief.