and she’d timed it just right. His foot was in the air when she hit him, and he stumbled slightly to the side.
“Ha—Ack!”
Her cry of triumph became an awkward quack as he moved. Claire had forgotten one important detail.
Pietro had been holding her hand. Where he went, she went.
With his superior reflexes, Pietro of course recovered first—just in time to scoop her up into his arms as she lost her balance.
“Boy,” he said. “It sure is a good thing I was here to catch you when you fell.”
Claire, perfectly content in his arms and uncaring that it was the middle of the day on a Tuesday, narrowed her eyes and glared up at him.
“You know that was a super cheesy line, right?” she asked, pushing her lips out into a fake pout.
“Yeah, but did it work?”
She sighed, unable to keep the smile from her face for much longer. “I mean, maybe. I’ll never tell.”
“We’ll see about that,” he growled. “Now, are you ready to get back to your community service?”
“If I have to,” she said glumly. “I would really prefer to spend the day off with you though. It’s so gorgeous out.”
“You’re right,” Pietro said quietly. “It is. So we should spend as much of it together as we can, outside.”
“I’d love to. But I have to head out of town. Balance the Scales is doing a major drive today to get out extra kits. I need to help them.”
“I know,” Pietro said with a smile. “But you know, there’s a way we can do both.”
She frowned at him. “There is?”
“Of course. Come on, I’ll show you.”
Claire yelped in surprise as Pietro started eagerly pulling her along, heading out back of city hall, to the loading area.
“Listen, Ro,” she said as he took off his shirt. “I’m not really about the public stuff… I love you, but you’re gonna have to wait until later.”
Pietro snorted. “And you say I’m the one with the filthy mind.”
“Well, you are getting naked. At city hall. In full view of the security cameras,” she added, pointing a finger up at the side of the building.
“It’s for a good purpose,” he muttered. “Now, hold my clothes, will you?”
Claire didn’t have time to agree or disagree before he dumped all his clothes into her hands.
She had even less time to react as he jogged out between the cars and lowered himself on one knee. At least he was obscuring his nudity. That was hers after all, not the entire towns.
“Oh shit!” she yelped as Pietro changed into his dragon.
One moment, he was kneeling, the next a massive dragon longer than a school bus filled the empty space between the garbage bins near where she stood and the cars parked along the far side.
Its gigantic, fiery wings fluttered slightly and then settled down. The one on the far side tucked in against his flank, while the near side extended out toward her.
“Pietro,” she said quietly. “What’s going on?”
The long dragon head tilted slightly so one yellow eye could focus directly on her. “Giving you a first class ticket to your gig today. Are you coming?”
Claire licked her lips. “Ummm. Are you serious?”
“Yes,” he said. “Just walk up my wing, sit at the base of my neck. We’ll go flying. Enjoy the sun and the air on the way. Spend some time together. It’s past time we did this.”
Part of her was fascinated by the idea of riding dragonback. Another part was just as equally terrified.
“You’re sure this is safe?” she asked nervously, reaching out to test the wing, finding the darker red membrane to be far sturdier than expected.
“Of course. I’ll be going slow and won’t be doing anything wild. You’ll be fine as long as you stay seated.”
“Right,” she said, tentatively taking a step out onto the wing. “It’s a good thing I love you, you know. To trust you like this.”
“I love you too,” Pietro said, his flanks vibrating as he chuckled. “But I do have one question for you. One request, I guess.”
“What’s that?” she asked, a third of the way up the wing now.
“Can you bring my boxers too? I’m gonna need them.”
Katie turned back to see that in her flustered state she’d dropped his underwear.
“Those stinky things?” she complained.
“They are not stinky,” Pietro growled. “I shower every day, thank you very much.”
Claire laughed, some of her tenseness fleeing as she relaxed a bit more. “Lean a little bit closer,” she muttered, but she went back down the wing to get them. “I’m just doing this because I don’t want anyone else getting an extra peek at you. You know that, right? Not because you asked me to. You’re mine, not theirs.”
Pietro smiled. “I wouldn’t want it any other way, my love. After all, you’re mine.”
She shivered at the possessive tone. It felt right. Very right. She liked being claimed by Pietro.
“I guess giving you a second chance after the bar was a good idea after all,” she said as she finally settled down behind his neck, packing his clothes into a pile and stuffing them under her shirt. It wasn’t the best look, but it would do.
“It wasn’t that bad!” Pietro protested.
“You came up to me, told me with utter politeness and formality that I was pretty and asked if you could ‘have this dance’ like it was some sort of formal occasion and not a jukebox in a bar. Then, you turned to point at the dance floor and, as you did, you dumped half your drink on me. Yes, actually, it was that bad,” she said.
“Oh, whatever. You wanted me,” Pietro said, his voice bubbling with laughter.
Claire’s shocked response was lost in a shriek as he spread his wings and launched them into the sky.
***
***
Thank you for reading Dragon’s Second Chance Romance. If you enjoyed it, please consider leaving a review so that others might enjoy the adventure as well.
Next Book: Dragon’s Fake Wedding Date (Dragon’s of Mount Atrox #3)
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Other Books by Riley Storm
Thanks for checking out my other books!
Below you can find all my novels, divided up by series. The brackets indicate which of my worlds the series is written in. So dig in!
Dragons of Mount Atrox (Five Peaks #4)
Dragon’s True Mate
Dragons’ Second Chance Romance
Dragons of Mount Valen (Five Peaks #3)
Her Dragon Guardian
Her Dragon Lord
Her Dragon Soulmate
Her Dragon Outcast
Dragons of Mount Teres (Five Peaks #2)
In a Dragon’s Mind
In a Dragon’s Heart
In a Dragon’s Dream
In a Dragon’s Soul
Dragons of Mount Aterna (Five Peaks #1)
A Mate to Treasure
A Mate to Believe In
A Mate to Protect
A Mate to Embrace
Storm Dragons (Winterspell Academy)
Stolen by the Dragon
Trapped by the Dragon
Dragon’s Chosen Mate
High House Ursa (Plymouth Falls #1)
Get the Five Book Bundle (Click Here)
Includes:
Bearing Secrets
Furever Loyal
Mated to the Enemy
Shifting Alliances
Blood Bearon
High House Canis (Plymouth Falls #2)
Get the Five Book Bundle (Click Here)
Includes:
Savage Love
Blood Mate
Moonlight Bride
Shadow’s Howl
Royal Alpha
High House Draconis (Plymouth Falls #3)
Get the Five Book Bundle (Click Here)
Includes:
Fire Dragons Bride
Mated to the Water Dragon
Ice Dragon’s Caress
Earth Dragon’s Kiss
Claimed by the Dragon King
About the Author
Riley Storm
Riley is one of those early-morning people you love to hate, because she swears she doesn’t need caffeine, even though the coffee-maker is connected to her smartphone. She lives in a three-story townhouse by the good graces of a tabby-cat who rules the house, the couch, the table, well, basically everywhere. When she’s not groveling for forgiveness for neglecting to pet her kitty enough, Riley is strapped in to her writing chair coming up with crazy worlds where she can make her own decisions of when feeding time is and how much coffee can be drank without her friends—of which she has three—holding yet another intervention that they threaten to post on the internet.
Find her on:
Riley Storm’s Website
Riley Storm’s Amazon Page
Riley Storm’s Facebook Page