Cerulean Magic: A Dragon Mage Novel by Aimee Easterling

Author:Aimee Easterling
Language: eng
Format: mobi, azw3, epub
Published: 2017-05-20T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter 21

An hour later, salt wind blew against Sabrina’s face as she strolled down the endless line of beach with Nicholas by her side. Both passengers and crew were accounted for—either resting in the hot sand, building elaborate castles closer to the water line, or darting in and out of the waves. So why couldn’t Sabrina relax into the moment and enjoy this unexpected bout of shore leave?

Oh yeah, that’s why, the captain thought as large fingers squeezed her own before moving on to soothe away the knotted tension alongside her neck. Hand holding, neck massages, sultry glances, beautiful scenery—this walk seemed perilously close to a date.

Then Nicholas broke the mood and startled a laugh from Sabrina’s lips all at the same time. “By my calculations, Gunnar is at least a day behind us, assuming he knows where we were headed in the first place,” the shifter murmured, fingers changing from rub to drum as he counted miles, estimated relative velocities, and came to a heartening conclusion. Trust her companion to be running math problems in his head even as he stroked relaxation out of her tense muscles.

Unfortunately, Sabrina wasn’t able to be nearly so coherent, not when warmth pooled in her belly and soothed deep-rooted worries out of her brain. For a single moment, she allowed herself to become a woman instead of a captain, leaning into her companion’s enticing heat. “Mmm,” she answered vaguely.

But Nicholas appeared to expect a reply, and eventually the captain pulled herself together sufficiently to use real words. “I figured we had some wiggle room, so I told the crew we’d stay here for a few more hours. After that, Steph wants to head south along the coastline. She feels like the egg might hatch better some place warm.”

“Good idea.”

It was a good idea. But what seemed like an even better idea was accepting this brief respite the jet stream had delivered into their hands so they could share a moment just for the two of them. To take advantage of the solitude offered by empty beach and whistling wind to get to know each other a little better without danger breathing down all of their necks.

Perhaps this was also her opportunity to lower time-hardened defenses and let Nicholas in on the family secret that still ruled her life and damaged her dreams. Perhaps.

Before Sabrina could summon enough courage to broach the topic, though, heated air swirled around her face as fiery wings popped out of Nicholas’s shoulder blades. And, like a coward, she allowed herself to be sidetracked by the intricate beauty of the interwoven flames.

Unlike the other dragons who called the Aerie home, Nicholas seemed to prefer this half-shifted form over the massive bulk of a full-on dragon. So she’d seen his human body wreathed in fire multiple times before.

Of course, Sabrina’s attention had always been riveted elsewhere when the wings came out in the past—either focusing on attacking pigeons, on her own drunkenness, or just on general mayhem.

Now Nicholas stood resplendent, warming the wind that swirled around them both in a playful eddy.

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