Page 54 of Claimed by the Savage Dragons

‘And you?’ She looks over at me.

‘I’m Drey’s second in command,’ I say. ‘I’ll be close, but,’ I grit my teeth, ‘he might not let me near you.’

‘He can do that?’

I nod. ‘I don’t think he will. He’s still our friend. But things aredifficultin the faction right now. Sometimes he has to be a leader first.’

Tor lets out a long breath. ‘We just have to hope that he doesn’t feel the need to make an example of us for the others’ benefits.’

He straightens and gestures to the pile of furs he’s prepared for her. ‘Put these on. We leave in ten.’

‘Can I shower?’ she asks.

‘Best not,’ I answer. ‘It’s better if you smell as much like us as possible.’

She gets up and gingerly starts sorting through the clothes that Tor has laid out for her. When she pulls the large sweatshirt over her head, I turn away and I notice Tor does the same. Wedon’t have time for anothersex marathonno matter how much we’re tempted.

‘You contacted him?’ he asks, and I nod.

‘He’s expecting us.’

‘Did you give him a heads-up?’

‘No. I don’t want Dom getting wind of it first. You know Drey sometimes gives that pencil-pusher his phone.’

I turn back around to find that Mari is already in the thick trousers and is wrestling with the layers of clothes she needs to put on before the furs.

‘Is all this really necessary?’ she asks.

‘Your spit would freeze before it even hits the ground out there,’ Tor tells her. ‘In the air, it’ll be colder than that. We’ll be flying for at least seven hours.’

‘What time of day is it?’

I check my watch. ‘It’s about seven in the morning.’

She frowns as she draws on the thick fur-lined trousers and tucks her layers into them to keep them up.

‘How long has it been since we…met?’ she asks Tor.

‘Five days. Almost six.’

‘Five days? That’s all?’ she murmurs with a shake of her head. ‘It feels like a lot longer, doesn’t it?’

I find myself nodding along with my friend even though I’ve only known her for three.

‘Come on,’ Tor says, holding out his hand. ‘It’s time to get going. There’s another storm on the radar. It’ll hit in less than eight hours. We don’t want to be flying in that.’

‘We can’t…’ She glances at us both. ‘Stay longer?’

I envelope her in my arms and relish the way she leans into me.

‘We want to,’ I confess. ‘Fuck, I’d stay here forever with you if I could, and I think Tor would too.’

Tor nods grimly.

‘But we can’t put it off any longer, or Aziel will probably make sure one of his allies is sent to find out what the delay is.’

‘And that would be a disaster,’ I interject. ‘At least this way, when we get there we control the narrative.’