Page 61

They chatted while they ate, and he found Harden’s father was very much where Harden got his personality from. He was quiet and a little sharp but incredibly amusing. His mom was bright and sparkly and impossible to resist. She made him smile.

“Can I have another bowl, please?” Harden asked, and his mother nodded and ladled out more, obviously tickled.

“I need to learn how to make this stew…” Brayden would make it all winter for his mate.

I’ll make sure to give it to you.

Brayden started, glancing at Alina. He forgot sometimes that it wasn’t just he and his mate or brothers who could do that. Anybody who had a good talent for it could talk mentally among the dragons. It just took him longer to forge a connection so he could do it. Thank you.

Of course. You are family. Someone needs to cook. Harden doesn’t do it. She winked at him.

I know, and I have found out that I’m pretty good at it so I’d like to keep on.

“You can stop talking about me any time you would like.” Harden tapped his arm, giving him a glare. He could tell it wasn’t a true expression though because Harden’s eyes were twinkling.

“But it’s so much fun, my son.”

Harden made a silly face, and then dug into the stew again, humming happily.

They ate and chatted, and he fell in love with Harden’s family just like he had his mate. And then it was time to go to the bathing pools.

“Do I need to take anything with me?”

“It’s private. They know we’ll be there. It’s big enough to shift, you know? We can relax and be ourselves.” Harden was stunning in his eyes, relaxed and easy, humming a random little tune. It was as if he knew he’d taken time away from everything and he could fully relax.

It was so fine.

“That sounds amazing. I’ve never been able to swim as a dragon except down at the sea here.”

“No? Come to the pool. We’ll soak and play and rest. No one will bother us, and we’ll just be free for a moment.”

“Are you sure your folks don’t want to come?”

“After a meal like that? No, they will sit together with their books and doze.”

Brayden laughed. Some patterns were universal. Elders napped. It was a thing.

One day that will be us, but not yet. Not now.

No, love. We’re still in the honeymoon phase. He’d explained honeymoon to Harden, who’d thought Tyr would love it.

He personally wasn’t sure that Tyr was capable of leaving home long enough to go somewhere different. The bees and Tyr were so connected that, well, that wasn’t true. Tyr had gone to the ocean, he thought. Hadn’t he?

Maybe he hadn’t. Brayden honestly couldn’t remember.

The pools were not really underground, but they were in the shadow of some sort of mesa that rose up out of the prairie land the homestead sat on. The pools steamed gently in the light, and the smell wasn’t sulfurous like it would have been back in the place that Brayden came from. It was more earthy and somehow rich and salty.

He could just wallow in that for a long time.

Harden began to strip, his mate completely unconcerned. He was so damn beautiful, and Brayden stopped, hands on the hem of his shirt, staring. He couldn’t tear his gaze away.

His mate’s belly had a swell — not huge, but obvious — and Harden was smiling, long hair loose.

So he wandered over to take Harden’s hips in hand, pulling him close for a kiss.

Harden stepped right into him, face lifted to accept him, take his lips and tongue as Brayden pressed against him. It made goosebumps rise up on Brayden’s skin, made his body go hard.

“Mmm… Come into the water, mate. Come melt into me.”