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Suddenly, tears prickled hot behind my eyes. “Dylan or Steph?”

Striker chuckled. “Both.” He finished unpacking the last grocery bag, then headed to the door. “I’ll let you enjoy the quiet while they’re finishing up.”

I nodded, then moved to the sink to wash some dishes that didn’t really need to be washed, mostly so I wouldn’t risk bursting into tears in front of Striker. He closed the door behind him, and I was alone in the quiet house again.

I took a long shower to clear my head, dressed in my comfy clothes, then sat back down on the couch with another coffeeand some toast for breakfast. I had no idea when Dylan and Stephan would be back, so I decided to take advantage of the quiet and catch up on more of my work. That was better than ruminating on the conversation I’d had with Striker, anyway.

It was midday when the back door opened and Stephan and Dylan tumbled inside. I looked up from where I was posted up at the dining room table. Stephan was dressed in a white undershirt and jeans, and a thin sheen of sweat covered his skin. The shirt clung to his muscular chest under his pecs and abs, and I could see the faint outlines of his tattoos through the thin fabric. I swallowed. I only realized I was staring when Stephan cleared his throat.

My gaze jumped to his. His eyes were flecked with gold and sparkling with laughter.

“Hi, Dylan,” I said. “What’d you learn today?”

“So much!” Dylan’s cheeks were bright pink, and I suddenly hoped he’d remembered to put sunscreen on before he ran outside. “Watch this.” He burped, and a cloud of smoke popped out of his mouth and drifted to the rafters. That sent him into peals of laughter.

I snorted a laugh. “I see you’re only teaching him the most important things, Steph.”

“Of course,” he said. “In all honesty, itisreally important to be able to control your fire. Wouldn’t want him to start singeing things when he’s angry.”

“I’ll actually be able to breathe fire?” Dylan asked with wide eyes.

“Maybe,” Stephan said. “Let’s get you fully shifted, first.”

“That’d be so awesome.” Dylan bounced from foot to foot like he couldn’t contain his energy. More smoke drifted from the corners of his mouth.

“Let’s keep the smoke outside, please,” I said with a smile. “Wouldn’t want to set off the kitchen alarm.”

“But I need to practice, Mom.”

Stephan grinned. “Not as much as you need a shower,” he said. “Go wash up before you stink up the whole house.”

Dylan laughed. “I smell great. I smell like a dragon!” But when Stephan fixed him with a knowing look, he raced up the stairs to his room.

I closed my laptop and pushed away from the table. Stephan approached me with a smile, grabbed me by my waist, and pulled me close. “You know, if he turns the vent fan on, he can probably blow smoke in the shower.”

“Please don’t tell him that,” I said. “I need the dragon stuff to be outside-only.”

“Fair enough.” Stephan smiled. His grip on my waist tightened. I leaned closer. He smelled good like this, like sweat and sunshine, like a man. Like himself—my favorite smell in the world. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him down for a kiss. His mouth moved slowly against mine, like we had all the time in the world. In moments like this, it really felt like we did.

He pulled away, and my heart fluttered when his eyes met mine.

I wanted to get lost in him. To forget everything outside of the world we created when it was only us two. But I knew that wasn’t possible. “I’ll start lunch,” I said. “You must be hungry.”

I moved to pull away, but he held firm. That unsure furrow formed in his brow again, and he reached up and cupped my jaw in his callused palm. “Everything okay?”

Damn those sharp dragon senses. He could always tell when something was on my mind, no matter how much I wanted to hide it. This wasn’t something I could talk to him about—not yet, not now. Not when my head was still so mixed up about it, and I was still thinking about the job posting Cassidy had sent me.“Everything’s good,” I said. “I was caught up in some work stuff. There will be a lot of shit for me to deal with this fall.”

“This fall,” Stephan said.

“When I’m back in Atlanta,” I said.

He sighed and dropped his hands from my waist. “Right. When you’re in Atlanta.”

I moved into the kitchen and opened the fridge. “Striker dropped off a bunch of groceries while you were out, by the way. If there’s anything you wanted for lunch from that order.”

“Your job couldn’t go remote?” he asked. “Could you do it from up here?”

I huffed a laugh. “It’s not that simple.” Then I began to pull out some leftover chicken breasts and some vegetables to make a quick chicken salad.