Chapter Eight
Sequin
The next morning Xav and I woke back up at the Scale B&B house I stayed in before going home for Dad and Teddy’s return. I had worried a bit about how Xav’s icy side would do in the tropics, but he told me not to worry about it. It turned out that he was an all-seasons ice cube and didn’t melt away the moment our bare feet hit the sand. Once again, we landed too tired to do much more than to crawl into bed. Xav wasn’t a fan of the plane I chartered but flying all the way down here the old-fashioned way would’ve left me down for the count. Though, Xav spent most of the flight as an icy breeze confusing the other passengers, but then again, I was my sire’s son, and everyone expected me and my friends to be strange.
I woke up with my face nuzzled into his chest and all wrapped up in his arms. Everything inside me called out for him as my inner beast blinked two big draconic eyes framed by vulpine-esque eyelashes. Xav smelled so good. Even the smell of his purple-butted cigarettes was growing on me because it meant he was nearby. I kissed his chest because I couldn’t resist. Maybe the island was a bit on the warm side for him because he’d taken his shirt off before we crawled into bed last night. Little green scales marked his chest here and there. I fought off the urge to kiss every last one. Was it the warm breeze? The mating response? My oncoming heat? Maybe it was just him. Maybe Xav had always been the answer. He sorta solved the war of the scales between Daliah and me or at least nudged us in the right direction.
“It was all part of my evil plan to get you alone,” he murmured, still half-asleep after picking up my stray thoughts over one flight link or another. I wasn’t sure if he was on the Moonscale flight link yet, but he would be as soon as we exchanged claiming vows.
“As soon as he knots us,” my dragon corrected.
It really was the same thing if you asked him.
“It is not. We’ve let plenty of guys knot us. That doesn’t mean we let them claim us,” my inner beast corrected me.
“What are you gonna do with me now that you have me all to yourself?” I asked Xav and ignored my inner beast’s ramblings. He could ramble about every knot he’d ever seen if you let him get revved up.
“Depends on if you’re hungry or not and if you need coffee or not,” Xav said, kissed the top of my head and rolled onto his back. I moved with him so I could still rest my head over his heart. “And if you need to ramble about yesterday or not.”
“One day you’re gonna tell me to shut up,” I laughed.
“Nah,” he shook his head. “It’s cute when you ramble on. Besides, it gives me more insight into what’s going on inside your head than you think and I’m curious on how yesterday went. You showed up at your dad’s ready to fly off and who was I to argue? Yesterday I took as you wanted me all to yourself or you were starting to feel the heat kicking in. This morning I realized it could be that it went horribly and you were getting out of dodge.”
I let out a long, slow breath and wondered for a second if any of my exes or one-night stands had ever spent so much time analyzing me. I hoped not because I wasn’t sure they’d like what they might’ve figured out. I didn’t mind Xav doing it, though. It made me feel less crazy when he was the only thing I could think or talk about for long stretches of time.
“I rambled a whole fucking lot,” I admitted, glancing up at him. “I hate to say it, but she could barely get a word in edgewise and all I could do was blame you and then blame her for taking me away from you. In a good way, though. I definitely get why she’d have given Rosemary whatever she wanted but on the other hand, I don’t know that I’d let you take down my mom’s stuff either.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Xav shrugged. “I travel light. Always have.”
“Because you’re elemental?” I asked him.
“We can say it’s that,” he nodded and kissed the tip of my nose.
I laughed like I was in high school again and had never kissed a boy before. I’d kissed lots of boys in lots of places back then and a lot of men all over now.
“Was she mad about you talking about me the whole time?” Xav asked, gently.
“I think she was more amused than anything else. I think that it’s like the tables have turned for her. She’s not that bad once you get to know her. Before Rosemary, I’d have said she wasn’t bad at all. We both just have a lot of growing to do to make room for you and Rosemary. After Dad went to sleep and Teddy spent more time over at Duke’s than with us, we became really co-dependent and it’s going to take a while to break those habits on both sides.”
“Do you want to?” Xav asked me.
“We have to or we’re not going to have a relationship at all and I don’t want to lose my sister,” I sighed.
“I’m glad you two were able to talk it out in between you telling her how awesome I am,” Xav smirked.
“What did you do while we were apart yesterday?” I asked.
“Pumped Teddy for all the information he had on you. Unsurprisingly, he’s a loyal brother. Wouldn’t tell me anything juicy!” Xav laughed.
“I don’t think Duke or Dal would’ve either,” I laughed.
“He told me enough, though.”
“Oh,” I said, hoping he didn’t recount all the things everyone believed from the old days. Sometimes Daliah and I didn’t know what to say to Teddy if something got him going. We didn’t know how to help him when Mom died. We didn’t know how to even help ourselves.
“He didn’t say anything bad about you, if that’s what you’re worried about. Don’t smell so nervous. I mean, I trust your brother well enough, but siblings are weird with each other. Even if he had bad mouthed you, I’d have assumed you had some rivalry going on.”
“Not like that, I don’t think,” I shook my head and let out a long breath. It was hot in here. I glanced at the thermostat on the wall but really had to focus on the digital display to see the numbers. Sometimes heat gave me tunnel vision.
“Yeah, we need to get you something to eat,” Xav said, sitting up and taking me with him.
“Huh?”
“You’re doing the heat squint.”
“Oh, really? How often have you seen that?”
“How often have other guys seen you do that?” he shot back at me.
“Touche!” I shrugged because he was right, and I had no room to speak about anyone’s body count. I had quit counting somewhere along the way. I was healthy, clean, and never pregnant. That was all anyone needed to know.
“Wait!” My dragon chimed into my thoughts as Xav and I made our way into the kitchen of the Scale B&B house. “Will he see all those guys?”
“Probably not. The magic isn’t going to think that’s the most important thing to show him, is it?” I blinked.
“Huh?” Xav glanced over his shoulder at me when I stopped in my tracks.
“Ummm.. Nothing. No reason but you’re not into slut shaming or anything are you?” I asked as he glanced around the counter until he spotted the coffee maker.
“Another kink?” he asked without missing a beat.
“No,” I shook my head. “The bad sort.”
“I was only playing when I said that. You caught me off guard with what you said.”
“Good to know,” I said. “For a moment all I could think about was the claiming vows showing you all of that and some people wouldn’t take that well and…”
“You can keep rambling if you need to,” he turned to face me. “But have you been to the purple district?”
“I’ve heard about it,” I said, trying not to blush.
The heat didn’t spread down over my face. Instead it spread over my belly as if my dragon’s fire suddenly came to life. Xav’s dark eyes followed the line of heat spreading up my chest and stomach. A second later, he ran a chilly finger from my chin down my throat and onto my chest and stomach down to my navel. I shivered but it wasn’t unpleasant. It was as if he put the heat back in its place and it had no choice but to sit its ass down for a minute.
“Do you all do the fast-acting heat shots here?” he asked.
“Sometimes. I don’t like them.”
“Noted,” he nodded. “Now what do you want for breakfast?”
“I can cook…” I started but stopped because Xav grinned like he always did when he had something smartassed on the tip of his tongue.
“Just say it,” I rolled my eyes.
“I know you’re hot enough to poach an egg on but maybe you should stay away from the stove, so you don’t over heat.”
I laughed despite how corny it was and stole a long, lingering kiss before moving away so he could open the fridge. I grabbed two mugs from the cabinet and filled one up at the ice maker.
“Mine too, please,” Xav said, his head still stuck in the fridge.