Page 19 of Visions of You

"Really?" Ianair whistled. "I'm sorry I was busy that night and couldn't see you embarrass yourself."

"What makes you think I embarrassed myself?"

"The fact that you're not bragging about your conquest."

Jaron scoffed. "Maybe I'm just being a gentleman and not kissing and telling."

By the Gods, he wanted to kiss Keegan. And then he wanted to do a lot more than that.

Ianair snorted. "Right. Because you're known for your discretion."

"I can be discreet!" Jaron protested. At Ianair's skeptical look, he sighed. "Fine, I didn't 'conquer' anything. We just talked."And then I gave him a piece of my hoard.Jaron kept that last thought to himself, feeling oddly protective of the private interaction he'd had with Keegan under the light of the fireworks.

"Uh huh. What's this vampire's name?"

Jaron hesitated. Was Ianair going to make fun of him?

Probably.

That was what best friends were for.

"Keegan," Jaron said finally. "His name is Keegan."

Ianair's brows rose. "The Rubyville seer? Really? Damn, Jaron, you really know how to pick them."

Jaron shrugged, trying to play it casual. "He's interesting."

"Interesting?" Ianair repeated, a sly grin spreading across his face. "Is that code for 'smoking hot'?"

Jaron rolled his eyes at his friend—even though he wasn't wrong. "Shut up. What about you and Ceska, huh? Has she finally made a move?"

It was Ianair's turn to look embarrassed. "What? No, we're just friends."

"Uh huh. Sure."

Ianair narrowed his eyes. "Don't try to change the subject. We're talking about you and your vampire crush. You think you got a chance with the guy?"

Jaron sighed, knowing Ianair wasn't going to let this go. "I don't know," he admitted. "But I hope so. He's…" Jaron paused and swallowed hard. "The dragon in me wants him, like, really wants him. I've never felt anything like that before."

Ianair shot him a look. "Damn, Jar, do you think…? Like, could he be your mate?"

Jaron didn't know what to think. He'd considered the possibility, but it felt too big a thing to happen to an unimportant dragon like him. Sure he was part of a prestigious clan, but only by accident. He was an adult now and he still couldn't produce fire. He wasn't like those royal dragons who'd found their mates.

"I don't know," he said out loud.

"How cool would it be if he was?" Ianair asked, sharing none of Jaron's hesitation. "Just imagine, you could shift into your true dragon form like King Nevin."

Jaron couldn't even process that thought. They called themselves shifters, but 99% of dragons these days could not shift. They'd retained their wings and tails, but their full draconic forms had been lost to them.

To most of them, anyway.

Recently both King Nevin and Prince Curren had managed to shift, and they credited this feat to their fated mates.

Miracles like that didn't happen to dragons like Jaron, though.

But if he found his mate…

Maybe he could finally breathe fire.