“No,” she said. “It’s fine.” And it was, despite the scarlet blush she was sure was spreading under her freckles. “I just… don’t hear that a lot.”
“Well, you should,” he said stubbornly. He held her eyes just a little too long, his long lashes shading his beautiful teal eyes she could just get lost in. They were bluer on the edges and a bit yellow in the center, with green in between. A startling color.
He broke the tension and sat up straight, looking at the yard behind him. “We need to put in draining. I’m digging a small system, but we should do more. With that hill and all that sand, your back neighbor probably isn’t happy.”
She nodded. “Cammie thinks it’s going to kill her rose bushes.”
“Not yet,” he said. He shook his head. “I can’t believe humans are so rude to each other. It’s like communities don’t help each other anymore. They could be patient with a woman on her own.”
She smiled at him. “You don’t sound like you’re from Earth sometimes, you know that?”
He blinked and then bit down on his full lower lip. “Oh. Sorry.”
She shook her head, hoping she hadn’t made this gorgeous man nervous. “It’s fine. Anyway, can you put in sprinklers and a lawn for Tank? I hate that we have to go to a dog park rather than him having his own grass. That’s what I’d really like.”
“Yes,” he said.
“You can give me a quote on it tomorrow,” she said.
“Oh, right,” he said. “Quote.”
“Yeah,” she said. “You know, because you’re getting paid for this, right?”
He looked confused and then nodded. “Right. Money.” He stood and put his napkin aside. “That was amazing. Thank you for dinner.”
She grinned. “Thanks for joining me. I don’t often get such handsome company for dinner.”
He turned to her, and his lips curved into a dazzling grin showing gorgeous white teeth.
“You think I’m handsome?” he asked, teasing.
She pushed him toward the front door, blushing badly, feeling as if her body couldn’t deal with another minute of him. “Of course. The whole world would, I bet. But of course you know that.”
“Hm,” he said, thinking about it as he walked out the front door and into the darkening light. He walked down the stairs with his hands in his pockets and then turned to her on the bottom one. “I’ll be back tomorrow at first light.”
She cocked her head as she watched him walk to the beat-up truck he’d driven here, her eyes drinking in his figure from head to toe.
She felt almost electric impulses to feel those muscles, those lips, drag him back, and run into his arms and stay there the rest of the night.
It was a very good thing he was pulling away with a wave.
5
Back at the castle, Liam showered and changed into silk pajamas and a night robe and was ready to check in with Aegis as he’d demanded.
It had been hard to drive away from his mate. He’d felt a physical resistance, as if something were being pulled from him.
She wasn’t mated. She didn’t know how beautiful she was. She worked so hard, but she was too exhausted to enjoy anything. There was much more wrong with her life than just her yard, and he intended to help her fix it.
He wondered if he should keep the information from Aegis, but wasn’t sure it would really be his choice as he walked into the office and sat in one of the comfy leather chairs facing the desk.
Aegis, who had been facing away from him, spun dramatically in the chair and slammed his hands down on the desk, staring into Liam’s eyes with his intense, vivid green gaze. “So how was it?”
“Good, I think,” Liam said, frowning.
“You’re late,” Aegis said. “I was beginning to worry you’d gotten in trouble.”
“Despite what you think, I don’t get in trouble for no reason,” Liam said.
“True,” Aegis said begrudgingly. “That’s Magnus.”
Liam laughed. He knew Aegis was doing them all a favor in helping them adjust to this world, especially when it pulled him away from his mate so often. The emerald dragon had every reason to be grumpy.
And every reason to be happy Liam had found his mate.
“She’s my mate,” he said, feeling almost as if the words were pulled from him against his own will. Or maybe it was just that his spirit badly wanted to announce it to someone, somewhere, out loud.
Aegis sat back in the chair, looking stunned. “What makes you think so?”
Liam thumped his chest. “My kind knows instantly. We hear it here.”
Aegis sighed, folding his arms over his chest. His pajamas, like most of his wardrobe, were green. He wore different shades, and these were dark green silk with a lighter robe. “Well, then there’s only one thing to do.” Aegis stood, pacing. “I’ll have to help you win her.”
“Okay.” Liam agreed. “How do we do that?”
Aegis pushed on a shelf of what looked like books, and it slid to the side, revealing an old-fashioned chalkboard. He picked up a piece of chalk and pointed it at Liam. “Pay attention.”
Aegis was about to write on the board when a knock sounded at the office door. He sighed. “Who is it?”
“Magnus,” the voice answered cheerfully. “And Titus.”
“Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum,” Aegis muttered under his breath.
“What was that?” Magnus called.
“Nothing,” Aegis quipped innocently. “Come in.”
“I heard that,” Liam said with a grin.
Aegis ignored him. “You two might as well take a seat. You could benefit from this as well.”
“From what?” Titus asked in that low, quiet voice of his, moving his braid off his shoulder and over his back.
Magnus slumped in his chair, looking haughty. “What is this, nursery school?”
“Just shut up and listen,” Aegis snapped, and the piece of chalk in his hand snapped in two, falling to the ground.
Liam snorted and earned a glare from Aegis as he picked the chalk back up. But he couldn’t afford to piss off Aegis now or not pay attention. His chances with Kate depended on it.
“We’ve talked about finding you mates, but we haven’t talked about what to do when you do find a human mate in this world,” Aegis said, scratching the chalk over the board, writing something they couldn’t see. “And this is going to be different than whatever you’re used to, so pay attention.”
“I know how to win wenches,” Magnus said. “They can’t keep away from us.”
“Shh,” Titus said. “I want to know how to win these new wenches. At least one of them.”
It was important to them to finally find a home after years at sea, after losing their whole civilization for the most part. They’d been desperate for mates when they’d left home. It was worse now that they’d been awakened.
“Me, too,” Liam said. “We’ll pay attention.”
“Says you,” Magnus said. “I want to hear about that toothsome piece that came to the castle the other day.”
Liam grabbed Magnus by the collar and yanked him out of the chair, causing a small rip in the dark scarlet pajamas he was wearing. Magnus snarled and shoved Liam off of him.