The Dragon’s Chance by Jessie Donovan

Chapter Ten

The next day, Sylvia looked at Emma's open arms and finally handed over wee Sophie. "You sure you'll be okay watching her? I won't be away for long. Less than an hour, I think."

Emma cuddled her sister close. "Aye, I'll be fine, Mum. Don't worry."

Sylvia bit her bottom lip to voice further doubts.

Her dragon sighed. She's helped us before. She'll be fine.

But it's Emma, and she's never watched Sophie for more than five minutes on her own before. If it's not work-related, she gets distracted. You know it.

At least give her this chance.

Jake had suggested it, saying how a short time watching Sophie might be good for Emma. Otherwise, they'd have to wait even longer for someone else to be available to watch their daughter so Sylvia could finally show Jake her dragon.

If only he were here to reassure her. But Jake had a few matters to discuss with Finn, apparently, and said he'd meet her at the landing area.

Finally Sylvia stepped back. "Aye, but remember to call if you need anything. Jake will have his phone at all times."

Emma bobbed her head. "Of course, Mum. But Sophie's going to be the best sister ever today, aren't you, lassie?"

Sophie merely drooled onto Emma's arm.

Sylvia smiled. "At least that sets the scene for what's to come." Emma frowned and Sylvia added, "Aye, well, I'll go. I won't be long."

And turning around, Sylvia made her feet move.

Her beast sighed. Stop worrying. Besides, this is an exciting day for me. So don't try to ruin my mood.

Her dragon was right—this would be the first time Jake ever saw their dragon form. I know, I know. It's just strange having so much help these days.

People, such as the MacKenzies, have often offered help the past three months. You just always refused to accept it for some reason.

Sylvia hated being a burden on anyone. It was one of her greatest faults, made worse by her wanting to prove she could be a good mother to Sophie. I'm trying my best. And Jake makes it easy to accept help. He has a way of making it seem as if he should've always been around.

Of course he does. He's sexy, caring, and charming. I still say you should mate him and keep the human around.

Let's not ruin the day by arguing again. I'm doing my best to take it day by day, so I'll leave it there.

Her beast huffed, but fell silent.

It wasn't far to the landing area, and she saw Jake waiting at the edge, near the surrounding rock wall. As soon as he spotted her, he smiled, and her heart skipped a beat.

He really was too handsome for his own good. Not to mention he stood up for her whenever Sylvia couldn't find the words to tell people to leave her alone, like with Meg and Archie, all without trying to tell her what she should do. Add in his way with Sophie, and a female could get used to having a male like Jake around.

Not that she should hope too much for a future with him. A lot could still happen to show they weren't really suited at all.

Her dragon huffed, but thankfully Sylvia reached Jake before she could argue with her beast about how everything could go wrong. He pulled her close, kissed her gently, and murmured, "And here I thought you'd come wearing some sort of special outfit, one you could easily toss aside to shift."

She snorted. "Not even our first shift has special outfits. Showing someone my dragon doesn't signify any sort of life-changing event—it just is."

"It's not special, even for me?"

She touched his cheek. "Aye, of course it's a big deal with you. But seeing as Sophie could've spit up between me watching her and handing her over to Emma, I wasn't about to risk it." She leaned over to his ear and whispered, "Besides, I need to be naked to shift. And I suspect you'll like that."

He nuzzled her cheek. "As long as no one comes around when you're still naked and human, I will."

"I told you it's not a big deal for dragons. We're used to nudity. And it's a rather recent thing, history-wise, for humans to be so embarrassed by it."

"Oh, I'm sure throughout history that no one wanted to have their own special naked man or woman paraded about town, for all to see." He nibbled her earlobe and Sylvia leaned against him. "But as long as I'm the only one sharing your bed in the present, I'll learn to live with it."

She shook her head. "It's not like I have a line of suitors."

He met her gaze again. "But you should."

His words, stated so confidently, made her belly flutter. "Few are willing to not only face my in-laws but my five grown children."

"Then they're fools, all of them."

As she stared into his hazel eyes, all Sylvia could think of was how easy it would be to love this human. And not just because it'd been so long since anyone had defended her outside of her children.

However, she wouldn't get attached. It'd been a matter of days. One argument could destroy it all, and she needed to remember that.

She lightly pushed him away. "Enough flattery for now. My inner dragon is eager to show you our dragon form, aye?"

He kissed her quickly and then gestured for her to proceed him into the landing area.

She could feel Jake's eyes on her arse as she walked, so she swayed her hips a bit more than normal.

Something she never would've done before. But the longer Jake was around, the more she wanted to be a little more teasing, or mischievous, or something other than quiet, kind Sylvia on the outskirts of everything.

It was almost like when she'd been in Glasgow.

Her dragon said, He's good for us. I keep telling you that.

Hush. It's time to get ready to shift.

Sylvia quickly shucked her clothes, tucked them into one of the cubbies in the rock wall, and walked toward the center.

She swore she heard a soft growl coming from Jake's direction.

Smiling, she turned to face him. And, aye, there was a mixture of heat and possessiveness in his gaze.

She shivered but quickly closed her eyes so she could concentrate and let her dragon take over.

* * *

It tookeverything Jake had not to run up to Sylvia and shield her naked body from anyone else's possible gaze.

While waiting for her to arrive, he'd seen a naked dragonman come out of the landing area carrying his clothes, uncaring as he nodded hello at Jake.

But with Sylvia, it was different. He didn't want to share her with anyone who walked by.

However, as she closed her eyes and her body began to change, he quickly forgot about any sort of jealousy.

Her arms and legs grew into limbs, wings grew from her back, and her face elongated into the head of a dragon. In less than a minute, a large, red dragon stood looking at him.

He'd known Sylvia could change into a dragon. Of course he had. But it was still hard to reconcile the large, sharp-toothed beast with the woman who had burst into tears a few days ago.

Still, something about her eyes held the same calm, kind look that her human form did. That snapped him out of staring, and Jake slowly walked up to her.

She wasn't the first dragon he'd seen up close—his cousin's mate had been in his dragon form a few times when Jake had visited—but seeing Sylvia as a dragon was a long way off from a cousin-in-law he barely knew.

The large red dragon standing in front of him was the mother of his child, the woman he loved to hear laugh, the female he wanted to protect from whatever might come in the future.

And as her scales glinted faintly in the afternoon, she was magnificent.

He soon reached her, and Sylvia butted her head against his shoulder. The action made him laugh, and he finally stroked her snout.

Her scales were warm and hard, yet smooth to the touch. They were a dark red that ranged in color depending on how the light hit them.

Looking into one of her giant eyes, he said, "Is it weird for me to say you're both fierce yet pretty at the same time?"

She huffed, and he couldn't help but grin. He wasn't exactly an expert on dragon body language, but it almost seemed like a laugh.

Patting her snout, he replied, "Although I have to say we clash a bit, don't we? A red-haired man with a red dragon. What will the fashionistas say?"

The huff was stronger this time, and he laughed. "But being serious, I'll scratch behind your ear like you said to do, but then I want to touch more of you." With his cousin's mate, he'd been polite. But he wasn't going to hold back from Sylvia. Honesty was his policy with her. "Your wings look fragile yet tough. I'm curious."

She lowered her head, and he found the patch of skin behind her ear—a small strip without any scales—and he ran his nails back and forth. A humming sound rumbled from her throat, and he scratched harder.

Her dragon was definitely more catlike than dog, at least at first glance.

Once she let out a happy dragon sigh, he asked, "Can I touch your wing?"

She lowered it, and he walked over to run a finger over the thin membrane between her wing bones. While not soft, it was smooth with a slight texture, almost like textured leather.

A few beats passed before she flicked her tail. He raised his brows and met her large eye. "What, do you want me to ride your tail like some sort of mechanical bull?"

Could dragons roll their eyes? Because he swore Sylvia had.

With a snort, he went to her tail, and in the next second, he was held up into the air, high above the ground. He could see most of the clan's lands from up here, and beyond. The Scottish Highlands had a rugged kind of beauty he didn't think he'd ever get used to.

She then maneuvered her tail to place him at the base of her neck and released him. Minding his balance, he said, "Tell me you're not going to jump into the air."

Shaking her head, she stood up on her back legs. She gestured with her forelimb into the distance.

The sun had come out briefly, and it glinted off Loch Naver nearby, a stone broch reflecting off the mostly calm water, along with some of the nearby hills.

There were also what they called forests here in Scotland—although Jake wouldn't dare, given the large swaths of trees along the west coast of the US alone—and even some ruins of abandoned cottages.

He'd seen all of these things separately, from the ground. But all together, it was breathtaking. He could only imagine how much more so it would be from the air.

All too soon, Sylvia put him back on the ground and gestured toward the side of the landing area, signaling she would shift back.

Just as she started to shrink back into her human form, another dragon appeared in the sky above the landing area. It hovered, waiting for Sylvia to finish and move to the side. Jake had no idea who the green dragon was, but Sylvia had reached his side when she murmured, "What does Arlo want?"

Arlo set his feet on the ground, landing far closer to Jake and Sylvia than he liked. Before they could move farther away, the dragon reached out, plucked Jake up off the ground with the talons of his forearm, and jumped back into the air.

He heard Sylvia's undistinguishable voice as Arlo took him higher into the air. Looking up at the dragon, Jake shouted, "What the hell are you doing?"

But the dragonman ignored him and flapped his wings, going higher and higher into the sky.

Eventually the air became thinner, making it harder to breathe, and it got a lot colder. The last thing Jake remembered was hoping Sylvia would send help—he stood no fucking chance against a dragon carrying him in the air—before he blacked out.