Lord of Destiny (The Dragon Demigods #6) - Charlene Hartnady Page 0,37
the guys. They’re not straight shifters. They don’t experience the need as I do.
“I can skip my swim.” He points at the pool. “Do you want to fly?” He looks up as he says it. There’s this mischievous glint in his eyes.
I suck in a breath. “Are you serious?” I try to hold back my excitement. Just the thought of spreading my wings, of taking to the sky. It makes me giddy.
“Of course I’m serious.”
“How? Where?” I’m grinning broadly. My face hurts I’m smiling so hard. “Will you come too?” I like the idea of flying with Stephan.
“Absolutely!” He is grinning too. “I could do with some hard flying.” He throws his towel onto a nearby lounger. “You should let Maddox know. He might want to come with us. Maybe Barrett too.”
I shake my head. I want this time with Stephan. I like him. I realize that I like him a little too much, but that’s okay. It’s not like anything is going to happen between us, but it might be nice to spend some time with him before we leave. “They’re already asleep. I’ll send Maddox a message. We can even leave a note on the kitchen counter.” I like that idea better. “Just in case anyone wakes up and wonders where we are. I doubt that would happen, but just in case.”
His gaze softens. “Okay, then. We’re about ten minutes away from the country and about twenty minutes away from the start of my weyr’s land. We can shift there. No humans will be nearby to see us.”
I’m bubbling with excitement. “I can’t wait.”
We walk inside, and Stephan grabs a set of keys off a hook. “I’ll need a shirt.” He looks down at his chest. I try not to do the same because…we can’t go there. Checking Stephan out might just make me want things…I simply can’t have. No matter how much I might want them.
Note to self, no ogling!
“I’ll write that note. Otherwise, I’m all set.” I’m wearing shorts and a T-shirt, with a pair of flip flops on my feet. I don’t need anything else to shift and fly. In fact, the less I have on, the better.
“Give me a sec. You’ll find a pen and notepad in the top drawer.” He points towards the kitchen.
I nod. I find the items I need easily and spend half a minute writing a quick note to the guys. I keep it short and sweet. I decide to take my cellphone with me. I can leave it in the car. I go and fetch it, almost running into Stephan in the hallway.
He jumps back to avoid touching me. “Sorry,” he whispers. “We need to be more careful,” he says as he pulls on a shirt.
I want to tell him that I don’t mind. I’m not a huge fan of reading people. Not normally, but with Stephan, I’m drawn to touching him again. I’m reminded of those feelings of affection I got for him when I touched him before. I guess I want to feel connected. It might not be him specifically. Maybe I just need to feel again. That’s it! At the same time, reading someone is intimate. I will see into his future. Into his head. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea. I need to respect his space. I nod once and step back from him.
“You ready?” He gives me the once-over.
I nod and then follow him down the hallway and into the kitchen. Stephan grabs a couple of waters out of the fridge, and then we’re heading into the garage.
He unlocks the Jeep, and I jump into the passenger seat. The garage door glides open almost noiselessly, and we reverse. I half expect Barrett or Maddox to run out after us. I sigh with relief as we head down the street.
My phone is on silent. I look at the screen for a minute, expecting it to light up with a frantic message, but it doesn’t happen. We drive in silence for a few minutes.
“When did you realize you could see into the future?” Stephan glances my way.
“My friend and I hugged, like we’d done countless times before, and boom,” I whisper.
“What did you see?”
I feel my whole body tense. “I saw my best friend die,” I choke out. My throat still clogs when I think about Mimi. When I think about that day. My hands still go clammy. I can still see it. Her death. Her broken body.