He reached down with both hands and pulled out two fishes. “I will feed you then I’ll eat… you for dessert.”
She shivered with anticipation. “I’ll let you do that. How are you going to clean the fish?”
“There are advantages to being a dragon shifter.” Viper gripped both fish in one hand while holding up his other. She watched in stunned silence as his nails elongated about an inch. He used his nails like knives to clean cut the fish.
“Wow.” She was grateful he had such excellent control and didn’t release those suckers while they were making love.
“I need some long thin sticks to poke through the fish. I’ll use them to hold the fish over the fire. It shouldn’t take long to cook.”
“I’ll go look for the sticks,” she said, walking toward the wooded area. As she did, a wooden sign caught her attention. “Viper!”
He was at her side in seconds. “What’s wrong?”
“I know where we are,” she said, pointing to the sign.
Viper stared briefly at it, then turned away. “I don’t read. What does it say?”
That was the second time he said he didn’t read. Callie wanted to ask him about it, but the way he stiffened made her halt her questions.
“It says Lake Peak offers fishing, hiking, but doesn’t promote swimming. Caution for wild animals.”
“Do you know how far Lake Peak is from Arizona?” he asked, not looking at the sign at all.
“Not sure. At least six hours, maybe.”
“Come, I want to cook the fish and then put out the fire.”
“Why do we put it out at night? It will get cold?”
“The fire will be easier to spot at night. We’ll sleep for a few hours, then we’ll fly out while it is still dark.”
“Shouldn’t we be flying during the day?”
“A dragon in the daylight would be easily seen.”
“Right. You can’t be seen in your dragon form by humans. Number one rule.”
“Yes.” Viper grabbed sticks and headed back to their fire.
Something about how he answered made her sad. Were they too different to be together? Was she crazy to even want that? Other humans had mated with Drakonians—Valorie, Emily, and Gema. They seemed to be happy. So why was it so complicated for her and Viper? A thought came to her that made her insides feel turned upside down.
“Viper?”
“Yes?”
“Are you seeing someone else?”
“I see you.”
She almost growled at that response. “Are you dating someone else?”
He looked up at her. “I would never have touched you if I had someone else waiting for me. I’m a bastard, but I’m at least an honorable one.”
Callie felt terrible for almost accusing him of cheating or using her. “Sorry, I’m not good at this.” She slumped down on the ground across from the fire.
He went back to cleaning the fish. “You’re not good at what?”
“This,” she said, waving her hand back and forth from him to her. “Dating, sex, relationships. I suck at them.”
“I thought you were engaged at one point.”
“I was before I had to come to help my uncle after my aunt died. I knew my fiancé would not follow me. I think I wanted to end it but didn’t know how to cut it off. It was the first genuine relationship I’d ever had, but it wasn’t right for me.”
“Why wasn’t it right?”
“I loved him, but I wasn’t in love with him.”
“What’s the difference?”
“Have you ever been in love?”
“No.”
That made her heart ache for him. All these centuries, but no love. “Well, I’m not an expert on it. I only know what I saw with my aunt and uncle and what I read in books. The stuff in books was always so romantic, and I knew that finding a knight in shining armor to win my heart was not practical. So I relied on my aunt and uncle’s relationship to be my scale that I weigh all relationships on.”
“I never met your uncle but the few times I came to town I saw them together.”
“They were partners, worked side by side, and were each other’s best friends. It devastated my uncle when my aunt died. He would tell me it felt like he lost his right hand.”
“I can imagine what that would be like, to lose something so precious.”
Surprised at his words, she looked up to find his dark eyes on her.
“I never wanted to be tied to someone else that losing them would tear me apart from the inside out. I have never felt that love was even possible until now.” Her heart sped up. “Viper…”
A sound above them had Viper standing to his full height. “Stay here, I will check that out.”
Callie wrapped her arms around her waist and watched him leave. Fear for him filled her. She didn’t know what she would do if she lost Viper now. It suddenly hit her. She wasn’t falling in love with Viper; she was already in love.
Chapter 21
Viper heard what sounded like Drakonian sonar calls. His people could send out sonar calls in their dragon form to alert others of their approach or as a warning of danger and call for help. He needed to be a little closer to find out if he recognized the dragon. That meant he needed to take to the air.
With sure strides, he leaped and shifted. His wings quickly caught the wind, pulling him higher and higher. He kept close to the mountain range downwind from the other dragon.
A second answering sonar sounded in the distance. These were not his people. Every instinct in him wanted to go back to Callie and make sure she was safe, but he needed to make sure that
