Page 31 of Horn in My Side

As if on cue, Clawdia’s eyes opened, the bright blue eyes immediately training on Jasmine.

The dragon sat up and then let out a mournful chirp.

Jasmine couldn’t quite explain it, but a strange jolt shot through her, leaving a distinct note of displeasure.

The image of a feather and a lion’s tail appeared in her mind.

“She wants out.” Reaching inside the pen, she lifted Clawdia up into her arms. “Hey there, did you sleep well?”

The dragon snuggled against her neck.

“Sweet baby.” She patted the dragon’s back. “That pen still smells like griffin, huh? It’s okay. We’ll get it all cleaned up before we put you back in there.”

“Can you hear her talking to you?” Mal asked. “And can she understand you?”

“Not quite.” Jasmine paused, unable to explain it even to herself.

“See, when I work with the creatures here, I guess what they want and need. I never really thought about it, but my ‘guesses’ always turn out to be right. I assumed it was something I developed while working here. Like, when you do something over and over again and you get the hang of things.”

“I understand,” he said. “That’s how you learn any skill.”

She shifted Clawdia to her other arm. “But with her, it’s a little different.

We don’t talk to each other, not like the way you and I do.

She sends me images in my head. Like last night, when I was reaching out to her, she was showing me where she was.

I was getting these images of something shiny and glittery.

” She smiled down at Clawdia. “Guess you were right about females and jewelry.”

“Dragons are attracted to treasure,” he said. “As I suspected, you can link with creatures mentally.”

“I guess so. But this has never happened with any of the other animals in the shop.”

Mal rubbed at his chin. “Compared to everyday creatures, dragons are high up on the magical scale. That may explain why you’re having these more vivid ‘conversations’ with her.”

She blew out a breath. “It’s all too much, Mal. I don’t know what I’m supposed to be doing. What if I make a mistake? What if I get one of the animals hurt if I don’t understand what they’re trying to tell me?”

A warm hand landed on her shoulder. “You don’t have to do anything, Jasmine.

The magic is there, within you. It always has been.

The goddess spirit gave your ancestor that power for a reason, because he was a good man.

And I’d like to believe that it would only manifest in you because you’re also a good person and deserving of it. ”

His words plucked at an emotion deep in her chest. “That’s kind of you to say.”

“You should keep doing what you’re doing. And yes, magic is a skill. The more you use it, the more you’ll develop it.”

Clawdia wiggled around before Jasmine could respond. The image of bananas and kibble appeared in her head. “Hungry, are we? Let’s get you some food.”

Jasmine managed to find some apples in the fridge inside the office, while Mal opened up a new bag of kibble. Instead of putting Clawdia back in the pen, they lay her down on the sleeping bag instead. As the baby dragon happily munched away, Jasmine grabbed her camera and snapped a few photos.

“Our followers are gonna go wild when I reveal that Clawdia’s a dragon. And—” She put her phone down as blood drained from her face. “Oh no.”

“What’s wrong?” That tiny line between his eyebrows appeared.

She bit at her lip. “I can’t possibly post pictures of Clawdia now.”

“Why not?”

“It just occurred to me. What if the company I bought her from sees the photos, realizes their mistake and demands her back? I mean, dragon eggs must be worth a hundred times more than carcinos eggs. What if they sue me for her or for the money?”

“Do you want to return her, then?”

Something fierce burned in her chest. “I . . . I don’t know. No.” She shook her head. “I mean, I—the shop—bought her fair and square. It wasn’t our mistake. But, since you own Fantastic Tails, that technically means you own her. You could give her back or even sell her if you wanted to.”

Indigo eyes searched her face. “But what do you want, Jasmine?”

The question caught her off guard, so she didn’t know what to say. Or rather, she was afraid to say it aloud because she couldn’t remember the last time anyone asked her what she wanted. “Could we . . . keep her? For now at least?”

“Yes, Jasmine. Whatever you want.” To her surprise, he planted a kiss on her temple.

“Thank you.” Scooting closer to him, she lay her head against his chest, his arm coming around her, as they continued to watch Clawdia gobble up the pile of kibble.

“Jasmine?”

“Hmm?”

“If we’re going to do this, we should have a few ground rules.”

“Rules?” She looked up at him. “Like what?”

“We shouldn’t have sex right away.”

Her spine stiffened. “You don’t want to have sex with me?”

“Of course I do.” His voice turned low and raspy. “I want you in my bed, your sweet body under me, moaning my name while I make you come over and over again.”

Oh Mother Goddess, the temperature in the room spiked a few hundred degrees.

“But not right away,” he emphasized. “I want to take you out. On a date.”

“Oh. Okay.”

“And we should have at least three dates before we become intimate. Get to know each other and then decide if we really want to sleep together.”

That was actually . . . sweet. “All right.”

“Good.” Shuffling on his knees so that he faced her, he engulfed her hands in his, then stared down into her eyes. “So, will you have dinner with me, Jasmine?”

Not even the Mother Goddess herself could have stopped the grin from forming on her face. “Yes, Mal, I’ll have dinner with you.”

His smile reached all the way to his luminous purple eyes. “Friday night, seven p.m.?”

“You want to wait until Friday? Why?”

“Apparently, I have to go to the fireman training on Thursday,” he said in a dry tone.

“But why not tomorrow when the shop is closed? Or tonight. Or Wednesday? Or now? We can go on a lunch date. Why, that’s four dates right there.”

“That’s cheating,” he told her sternly. “And we should wait at least one week between dates.”

“You’re going to wait three weeks before we have sex?”

“Yes. I told you: I want both of us to be sure.”

Jasmine sure hoped orc dick was worth the wait. “Fine, Friday it is. I’ll have to ask my boss if I can leave a couple hours before closing time so I can get ready. He’s a real grump, you know,” she teased, bumping him with her shoulder.

He threw back his head and laughed—a real, honest-to-goodness laugh that, for some reason, Jasmine swore made him look even more handsome. “I’m sure I can convince him to let you go early.”