CHAPTER FORTY-SIX #2
We’ve ridden unicorns across rainbow bridges through a glittering sky of stars, conned alien mobsters in a galactic nightclub out of a priceless star-diamond, and ridden a gondola through Renaissance Venice while serenaded by a troubadour.
We’ve dined with the queen of a fantasy world where colors are magic, run through a twisty labyrinth chased by a barghest, and picnicked in a magical glen where the butterflies chime music with each wingbeat.
But I haven’t tried sending us into a specific scene in the middle or end of a longer book.
Luke expanded the human collection to contain fiction, and thousands of amazing worlds wait inside those novels…
if I can control this last aspect of my magic.
We’ve talked about trying it for days and even have on old clothes we won’t mind losing when ours get transformed by the book.
But I still hesitate, Dance of Desire representing one of the biggest screwups of my life.
“What if I mess up?” A knot of nerves tightens in my tummy. “What if I send us to the beginning and we get stuck and have to do the whole book?”
“That won’t happen.” He tips my chin until I meet his eyes. “For one thing, you can say ‘the end’ and pull us out at any time. For another, if we’re going to be trapped in a book, I can think of worse ones than this.”
“I thought you hated it!”
“How can I hate the book that brought me you?” He pulls me into his arms.
I give a pleased gasp and melt against him. Luke always says the sweetest things! My squishy heart turns to mush, a hundred sparklers going off inside my chest and filling me with light. I am all the metaphors of happiness!
“Besides, I want to see how their final dance scene goes so that I can prove ours was better.” He smirks. “I am, after all, superior as a dragon.”
“You are.” I smile at him. “You’re my grumpy dragon, and I wouldn’t have you any other way.”
“Here.” He reaches into his hidden pocket and pulls out a packet of cinnamon hearts.
“I already had dessert.”
“For your focus.”
I pop a few in my mouth, letting the invigorating flavor of the sharp cinnamon coat my tongue. Closing my eyes, I call upon my magic. It leaps within me, thrumming along the mate bond I share with Luke. An echo of his magic flows back to me, full of his belief in my abilities.
Focusing on the final dance scene in the book, I set my magic free.
It swirls around us in a flurry of golden sparkles, leaving us standing in the middle of a dance floor in our skimpy competition costumes as an announcer yells over the speakers for us to dance.
Other couples surround us, as well as a room full of spectators, but I only have eyes for Luke and the pride shining on his face.
“See, you did it. I knew you could.”
“I fudging did!” My heart skips with happiness.
The music starts, and the book takes over.
We dance the Dirty Dancing routine, working our way through all the turns, dips, and mambo steps.
As always, I love dancing with him, losing myself in the feel of his body guiding mine across the floor.
But Luke’s also right. With him as a normal human, we’re not as good as we were on Valentine’s Day, and when we do the final lift, he can only hold it for a quick second.
But it’s still a victory for the in-book couple, and they finish the dance with a kiss. Right as our lips touch, I whisper, “The end,” letting my magic carry us back to the real world and our library.
“Didn’t you want to stay for their happy ending?” he asks, his tail coiling around my calves.
“Nope! I wanted my happy ending, which means being here with you.” I meet his eyes, letting him see everything I feel for him. “It’s you I love, Luke.”
“As I love you, my Skye.” His arms tighten around me, his tail coiling around my calves. “I’ll dance in front of millions for the privilege of holding you in my arms.”
“I’m done with dancing for now.” I grin up at him, tugging on a horn. “I’m ready for my kiss.”
“As you wish,” he growls, sweeping me off my feet and taking my mouth in a soul-searing kiss.
Thank you for reading Dancing with the Dragon.