He and Ella were currently sitting in a booth at the diner, eating lunch. Even though there were two servers, Sasha waited on them. She must have been able to tell from their smiles that they were meant to be together, because she was cordial rather than flirty.
“I have an idea,” Tanner said, after sipping the last of his coffee.
“What is that?” Ella asked.
“What do you say I show you the progress of the construction site? I think you should know what we’re doing there. It might be useful when speaking to our clients.”
Ella grinned. “I would love that.”
“Let me pay, and then we can go.”
“Now?”
“Why not?”
“You’re the boss.”
Because Ella was wearing a dress and heels, they’d have to stop back at the house so she could change. The hard part would be not to make love to her again once they were home.
After he paid, they went through the lobby of the hotel and took the elevator to the top floor. They then climbed the one flight of stairs to the rooftop. Tanner shifted, picked up his mate, and took off for home. Once inside the house, Tanner waited at the kitchen island for her to change.
“I’ll hurry,” Ella said, before dashing into the bedroom.
To his delight, Ella was ready in a few minutes. She had on jeans, a long-sleeve black shirt, and cute hiking boots.
“Perfect,” he said, and Ella returned a smile. “We can go this way.” Tanner pointed to the door that led to the garage.
“We’re driving?”
“The construction site is too congested to land. If I fly, I have to set down about half a mile away and walk in. Where we are going is on the far edge of the park.”
“Works for me. Driving is my usual mode of transportation anyway.”
The trip to the construction site took about fifteen minutes. Because it was in the middle of the afternoon, trucks, cranes, and people on foot were everywhere.
“This is huge,” she said.
“It has to be if it’s going to house a lot of animals and accommodate people—people who need to eat, shop, and rest. We’ll even have a medical station over there.” He pointed to a building that was nearing completion.
“I knew it would be big, but I didn’t really understand the scope of the project. No wonder you work so many hours.”
“Ever since I met you, I’ve cut down on my time substantially.”
Ella stepped in front of him and turned around. She placed a hand on his cheek. “You are the sweetest man.”
He chuckled. “Remember that when we get closer to completion. You’ll think I’m ignoring you, but I promise you I’m not. Come on. What I want to show you is over here.”
On the short walk to the zipline, at least three people stopped to ask him questions, and Tanner had to work hard to be patient and answer. Some of the men could have figured out the problem by themselves. He wouldn’t be surprised if some of them were there just to ogle Ella.
When they reached the set of stairs that led to the zipline, he grabbed two helmets. “Have you ever ziplined before?” he asked.
“No. I’ve ridden ski lifts, and of course, I’ve been on the best flight in the world when you were showing me the beauty of the realm.”
She was adorable. “I think this will be a bit different. To be honest, I haven’t been on it. It has passed inspection, but I thought I should try it out in case clients have questions. You game?”
Ella grinned. “You have to ask?”
“I’ve heard it’s really fast.”
“I’m the queen of fast. I’m a really good downhill skier, remember?”
“Then this will be no sweat.”
They climbed the stairs to the top. While there would be someone in the future to strap them in, since the park wasn’t open, they were on their own. It wasn’t hard to figure out how to put on the harness. As a dragon shifter, he could never be afraid of this route. It didn’t matter that it was the longest and fastest zipline in all of Grindale Province. If anything malfunctioned, he’d just fly off. It was why he wanted to go right after Ella in case anything happened to her.
“Ready?” he asked.
“Yes. While there’s only a dusting of snow in the mountains, it reminds me of the slopes back home.”
Her wistful tone hurt. Was she missing Thedia? He had hoped she’d want to make a life here in Plux. But those kinds of thoughts were not productive, especially since he was determined to show her a good time.
“I can see that.”
She inhaled and then pushed off. Her joyful scream did his heart good. He was so busy watching her that he forgot to hook himself to the zipline. After giving her some space, he launched into the air. Tanner had thought it would be just like flying, but being in his human form while in the air provided quite a thrill. His dragon speed distinguished him from many other dragons, but this zipline gave him quite the heart pumping. As much as he’d observed the landscape from above, getting this close to the treetops was a thrill.
The trip only took a few minutes, but when he arrived at the platform on the other end, Ella was there grinning. He landed next to her.
“Can we go again?” she asked. Her cheeks were flushed, and she was slightly out of breath.
“We can go as often as you like.”
The adrenaline rush from the zipline didn’t even compare to the rush he was experiencing from seeing her so excited. This was what they were meant to do—enjoy life.
It was close to five, and
