Byrd held her gaze for a second longer before blinking and turning away. “Raven wasn’t the first. We survived then. We’ll survive now.”
Panting, Kara held on to herself as her mind reeled. Those words had come from Byrd, but not the Byrd she knew. This was something older, something deeper. She could feel power tingle across her skin where it touched his side. His words echoed in her brain over and over. What did it mean? She lay there, watching Byrd as his breathing evened out. Who was he? The only thing Kara really knew about him was that he had been part of Raven Nightingale before her death. Noah had saved him by forming a dragon-heart stone and claiming him. Other than that, Byrd was a mystery.
Raven Nightingale was even more of an enigma. Kara knew she had been an ancient dragon, well respected and influential in the dragon world, but that was it. How old was she? Where did she come from? Kara pondered these questions as she relaxed next to Byrd. Ideas played with her mind, driven by Byrd’s words. If Raven wasn’t the first, could someone have given Raven her dragon? Kara made a mental note to look up everything she could find on Raven before going back to her train of thought. That would explain how Byrd had known how to make a heart stone, but how did he tell Noah? Or did Noah already know? She pondered that one for a while.
Rolling over, she pressed her back into Byrd’s warm side and let the subject go. No matter how hard she forced the questions through her brain, she wasn’t going to get an answer without either Byrd or Noah telling her. And then there was the matter of broaching the subject. Asking about the dragon heart meant talking about Raven’s death, and she didn’t know if Byrd was ready for that yet.
As Kara shifted to get more comfortable, something hard dug into her ribs. She wiggled around until she was able to pull it out. She didn’t need light to identify the soft glitter of the diamond tear. Wrapping it in her fist, she tucked her hands up in the hollow of her neck and leaned back against the dragon again. Somewhere in her sheets was another tear.
Kara had never cried diamond tears, but she knew they hurt to shed. Letting out a sigh, she closed her eyes and tried to get to sleep. She would not bring the subject up while Byrd was still grieving for his loss. She would still work to get them into a condition to answer Daniel’s questions, but she would not be the one to cause them any more pain.
A thin beam of sun lanced across the room and fell across the head of Kara’s bed. She moaned as the light broke into her dreams. Rolling over, she snuggled into the warmth behind her. A soft sigh of pleasure left her as she wiggled closer to the heat source. Her mind recalled her late-night visitor and the reason she had a warm bed this morning. A smile graced her lips as she relaxed. It was nice waking up with a dragon in her bed. They were warm and cozy.
“Morning,” she mumbled as she raised her hand to caress Byrd’s hide. Her fingers fell on something firm, but it wasn’t the hard touch of scales she’d expected. Kara froze as something draped across her, pulling her closer to the solid mass in front of her.
“Good morning.”
Kara’s eyes popped open in surprise at hearing a human voice. A wide expanse of creamy flesh filled her vision. Human flesh! She swallowed hard as she took in the male chest her hand rested on. The pec muscles were well toned, even if the skin was a bit pale. A smattering of red curls dusted across what skin she could see. Carefully, Kara tipped her head back and looked into the face of the man holding her. Her heart skipped as she recognized him from the pictures she had seen yesterday. His root-beer eyes held amusement in them. “Noah?”
He smiled. “For the moment.” The tips of his fingers rubbed down her back, easing her tension. His brow furrowed in thought. “I do have a question, though.”
Kara looked at him, waiting.
“What happened?”
She cocked her head, not understanding his question.
“I don’t remember how I got here.”
Kara laughed lightly to herself. “That would be Byrd.” This was probably a conversation best had out of bed. She tried to move out of his arms before answering.
Noah’s grip on her tightened, pulling her back in against him. “Shhh,” he hushed her, holding her in place.
Unsure of what was going on, Kara froze in his arms. Her heart thumped as he curled forwards so his mouth rested against her hair. She drew in a deep breath, trying to calm her heart, but the smell of dragon musk sent trills of excitement down her spine. It had been a long time since someone had held her this close. Her dragon flashed with desire. It liked that Noah held her so tightly.
“Sorry,” Noah apologized as his grip on her eased. “Byrd’s focused on you.” He closed his eyes as if he were concentrating deep inside. “I can feel him back there, just waiting. You stirred him when you moved.” He opened his eyes and stared at her. “He likes you.”
A light blush colored Kara’s cheeks, and she looked down at Noah’s chest. “It’s instinct,” she explained. Her fingers rubbed over his skin as she spoke. “Where is he this morning?”
Noah’s head shifted as if he were thinking. “Sleeping, I think.” He paused again. “It’s hard to tell with him.”
Kara smiled. “You’re both a little unbalanced at the moment. Things will settle down as you get used to each other.”
Noah nodded. “But that still doesn’t tell me how I got here.” A smile curled the corner of his mouth as he ran his hand down Kara’s back. “Not that I’m complaining or anything.”
The hint of mischief in his eye sent a shiver of desire through Kara, speeding her pulse along. She ignored it as best she could. “Byrd came in last night, upset.” Thoughts of the two dragon tears lost in her sheets cooled the heat in her body. She tried to think of a way to explain how she felt, but the look in his eye softened, telling her he understood.
“Thank you,” he said. “For everything.”
The blush that had cooled from her skin came back as she looked back down at his chest. Her fingers shifted across his skin again. “You’re welcome.” She watched his chest rise as he drew in a deep breath. “That’s my job,” she said, belittling her actions.
Noah snorted.
Kara looked up at him, surprised by his action.
“It’s not your job to care.”
Offended by his words, Kara shifted back from him as far as the circle of his arms would allow. “I care,” she insisted.
“Yes,” he said, pulling her back in against him, “but that isn’t your job.”
Kara opened her mouth to argue but stopped as Noah went on.
“You’re supposed to understand. Not care.”
She closed her mouth unable to argue. He couldn’t have hit the nail harder on the head if he’d tried. As a therapist, she was supposed to analyze her subjects, empathize with their issues, and help them find a solution to their problems. To truly care about someone required emotions she couldn’t afford to have. Emotions she worked very hard to keep out of her work. In this case, she had failed miserably.
She looked away from him, unwilling to face the swirls of feelings floating inside her. “So.” She changed the subject and looked back at him. “I think I have an idea on how Byrd is taking this, but how about you?”