I have a feeling telling Briar that explicitly will frighten her. She might be an adult, but she’s human. She has no scales or claws or teeth to defend herself. The thought leaves me cold even as a surge of protectiveness goes through me. “I won’t let anything hurt you.”
She looks at me for a long moment and then finally nods. “Okay. What do I do?”
It’s a strange experience teaching a human what dragons seem to know instinctively. Her body isn’t shaped like mine. She can’t swim the same way I do. I end up bracing a hand across her torso just below her breasts and holding her afloat as she tests out movements to see what works best. Briar is clever, and once she sets her mind to something, I’ve noticed that very little deters her from the pursuit of that outcome.
Swimming is no different.
Within an hour, she’s bobbing about, paddling and laughing in a carefree way that feels like she reached out and hooked me in the chest. She swims into my arms and climbs my body to press a kiss to my snout. “Thank you for today, Sol. I think I needed this.”
Stay with me.
Again, I don’t say it.
But, as I follow Briar back to the shore, I finally recognize the feeling that’s been taking root in my chest, tendril by tendril. Love. The realization makes me both buoyant and feels like someone strapped a weight to my chest and tossed me off a cliff. It was different with Anika. I loved them, could picture the rest of my life with them, but when my parents ended the courtship, my heartbreak only lasted a few months. Because I didn’t lose Anika. Not really. We’re still friends. They’re still in my life.
When I lose Briar, she’ll be gone without a trace. I’ll never see her again.
Briar wades out of the water, stopping long enough to ring out her bright hair. She shoots me a look over her shoulder, and her brows draw together. “What’s wrong?” she asks in my language.
She’s been doing that a lot more lately. Trying out draconian in small sentences as she gets more comfortable with our lessons. Her mouth really isn’t made for it, but she’s more than coherent, and every time I hear it on her tongue, I get a little distracted.
Figuring out how to circumvent the translation spell wasn’t as simple as I would have liked. We had to ask Ramanu—Azazel—for help. They practically gloated to have more of their blood tattooed into Briar’s skin, but the end result was worth it. Briar can turn off the translation spell for our lessons. Or whenever she wants, really.
I clear my throat. “Nothing.”
“Sol…” She hesitates. “You just lied to me.”
It’s entirely too tempting to dive back beneath the water and just swim until I run out of breath. I’m…afraid. I give myself a shake and hold her gaze. “You’re right, I did.” I exhale harshly. “But I would rather not talk about it.”
Briar searches my expression for a long moment and then finally nods. “Okay.” She moves toward where her dress is and tugs it over her head. I start to worry that I’ve upset her, but she turns to me with a soft smile. “If you change your mind, I’m here.”
“I appreciate the offer.” Does she realize how novel it is that she doesn’t press? It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell her everything, to confess what I’m feeling, but I hold it back at the last moment. It’s not fair to put that on her. It doesn’t matter what I’m feeling now, and it certainly doesn’t matter how that feeling will inevitably grow as time goes on.
“Sol.”
Something’s different in Briar’s voice. I refocus on her to find her cheeks turning a charming pink. “Yes?”
“On the day that we met.” She won’t quite look me in the eye, her fingers twisting in her hair almost frenetically. “Do you remember what you said to me?”
I said a lot of things to her that day, but I’m not certain what she’s thinking of specifically. I hold perfectly still, watching her closely. “Remind me.”
“You said.” She sucks in a breath that makes her breasts bounce. Briar finally lifts her chin and holds my gaze. “You said if I ran, you’d chase me.”
Heat surges through me, but I force my legs still. “I remember now.”
Briar takes a small step back, and I can’t stop the instinct that has me tensing to pursue. She smiles a little. “Chase me, Sol.” Then she takes off into the trees.
Chapter 22
Briar
I haven’t thought beyond giving Sol something to think about other than whatever is bothering him. Sol’s threat from the first day we met has plagued me, making my skin feel too tight and my pussy throb with need. I haven’t had the courage to ask for this kind of game before now. As I crash through leaves nearly as long as I am tall, I wonder if I’ve made a mistake.