Page 19 of The Dragons' Healing Mate

I took a deep breath. “I’m pretty sure I’malreadycrazy for taking on the entire horde’s health care as asinglehuman.”

Nix chuckled. “I’m pretty sure you did that as a bigfuck youto Jenkins.”

“I mean, don’t get me wrong, that was part of it.” I laughed, leaning back in my seat. “But also, I really care about the horde. I want them to be healthy.”

He squeezed my hand, that dazzling smile on full display. “They’re good people. They deserve it.”

Letting out a huff, I tilted my head with a much-needed stretch. I didn’t even realize that the relaxed position meant my breasts stuck out until Nix looked over, his eyes landing squarely on my chest.

Usually, I would have made a snarky comment, but there was something about the heat in his eyes that made me pause. I had to admit, I kind of liked it.

“Eyes on the road, buddy.” I laughed, gesturing in front of us.

“Oh, sorry.” He shook his head like he was physically trying to shake the thought out of his brain. “Having seen you without a shirt, I know what’s under there. It’s very hard to concentrate. You’re ahighlydistracting woman.”

“Considering our past, which I don’t remember, you should know themverywell.”

“Oh, trust me, I know themextremelywell.” Nix’s tone could only be described as proud. “I was pretty sure I knew every freckle and curve of those beauties. Then again, it’s beensolong, I think it’s only fair that I reacquaint myself with them thoroughly.”

I chuckled. He was so smooth, I almost allowed it. I had no doubt I would enjoy his relearning, especially given what I already knew about him.

“Maybe later,” I taunted. “I don’t feel like crashing.”

“I’ll take it.” He beamed, sneaking another look at me before exaggeratedly turning back to the road.

The time flew by as we drove into town, the two of us making easy conversation about what we expected in the horde, from the clinic and heightened security to Ma’s plans for dinner. It felt incredibly normal. And, God, I didn’t realize how much I’d needed that.

“Griffin is excited about getting his cabin,” I added, remembering how much he’d talked my ear off about it.

Nix snorted. “The man’s smart. He leveraged his beatdown to get a damn good place. I am thoroughly impressed.”

I squinted, probing a little. “He said it wasold, though. Just how old is it? Does it need a littlework? Or are we talking?—”

“Oh, it needs a completeoverhaul. That thing has been in the horde longer thanIhave.”

“Ha! Oh no. And just how long have you been in the horde?” I assumed he’d been with them his entire life. My attention was certainly piqued.

“Well, I didn’t grow up there.”

“Are you from one of the neighboring hordes?” It wasn’t unusual for dragons to move hordes, especially if they found what they felt was their clan or their mate.

Nix snorted. “No, not at all, actually. I was a foster kid. I never knew my biological parents.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” I replied, my chest burning at the thought of little Nix all on his own.

He shook his head, shrugging. “It’s no big deal. I didn’t know any different. But when I was a teenager,thingsstarted happening…” He trailed off.

“Oh fuck,” I whispered.

Dragons began their first shift in their early teenage years. If Nix had been in the public foster system with humanswho had no idea what dragons were, well, that could get messy.

“Yeah, it was less than ideal,” Nix admitted. “I was fourteen when my first shift happened, and I was fuckingterrified. I didn’t know what was going on. Luckily, my foster parents were away at the time, so they didn’t see it happen. Not that they were particularly good foster parents. They were just using me as a cash cow.”

I squeezed his hand tighter. “Nix, I’m so sorry. That must have been so scary.”

“A bit,” he admitted, his face devoid of its usual smile as the memory took hold. “I had no idea what was going on, but I had enough sense to make it to the woods. Honestly, I thought I was either dying or hallucinating. I’d probably been out there on my own for a few hours when Bastian appeared.”

“Bastian?” I shot Nix a look, my mouth falling open.