Page 38 of The Dragons' Healing Mate

I cocked a brow at her.

“No, not that,” she added, her face flushing that red shade I was becoming very familiar with. “That was… amazing. But wet clothes afterward… not so much.”

I smirked, kissing the top of her head. “That’s what you get for shoving me in the river.”

“Worth it.”

Once dressed, albeit soggily, we started our trek back to the horde house. As we got closer, I paused, turning to Rowan once more. I’d been ruminating too long, and I needed to just get it off my chest.

“Hey, not to beat a dead horse, but I need you to promise me you won’t wander off like that again. I was lucky to be out here to see you go into the woods, but if I wasn’t and someone was out there who wanted to—Yeah. Just, please. I need you to help us if we’re going to keep you safe.”

Reaching up, Rowan patted me on the cheek with a small grin, keeping her palm against my flesh for a moment. “I will let someone know if I need alone time again. You know, you could always get me a dog or something.” She slid her hand back, heading off toward the house. “Or you could put one of the younger dragons on ‘Rowan duty’?”

I stopped short, remembering what we’d just done out there while alone together. The idea of some other dragon getting too big for his britches and trying something made me want to find the nearest tree trunk and punch the shit out of it.

And it wouldn’t just be me. None of my clanmates would want Rowan hanging out alonewith another dragon. I looked back up at her, noting the smirk. She just couldn’t help but tease me a little.

I hurried up to her side. “I’llthinkabout the dog. Butunfortunately, our dragons are far too busy at the moment.”

She smirked at me, sauntering and swaying her hips. “Pity.”

As Rowan strolled off, I clenched my jaw, muttering under my breath behind her, loud enough that Iknewshe heard me, “Oh, you’re going to pay for that one, menace.”

Rowan

It’d been a few hours since dinner, which was just as delicious as always, with the added bonus of double chocolate brownies, and my stomach churned. It wasn’t because I’d eaten too much or things weren’t sitting right. That was beyond fine, thanks to Ma’s incredible cooking. But when I excused myself from the table, offering both Orsen and Grey a tiny smile as they gazed over at me, the intense realization that I’d slept with them both and had a whole new understanding of dragon anatomy dogged me.

I’d been trying to ignore it, to let my brain relax for the evening, but it wasn’t working. I needed to process this out loud, and I didn’t know anyone better to do that with than Griffin.

So, many hours after dinner, I slipped out of my room and hurried down the hallway. I only got a few feet along before someone cleared their throat behind me. Startled, I spun around to find Nina with her arms crossed over her chest, smirking at me. “Where are you sneaking off to?” She smiled as I stopped and rolled my eyes, about to tell her it was nothing, but then I stopped, a lightbulb going off over my head.

“Actually, I think you’ll come in handy, too.” I rushed over to her, looping my arm through hers. “It’s time for a little girl talk. I need you and Griffin to help me out.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Nina laughed, shaking her head at me.

“I need some… validation? Information? I promise to divulge all the juicy details.”

Her eyes lit up, and she started zipping to Griff’s room with me. “Oh, I amsoin.”

When we arrived at his door, I rapped my knuckles on the wood and waited for him to answer. When he did, he stared between the two of us, clearly confused that we were there.

“Ummm, did I miss something? Am I in some sort of trouble?”

Chuckling, I pulled Nina inside. “No. But I need to talk with both of you. It can’t wait.”

We went straight to Griff’s bed and took a seat, Nina giggling. Griffin rolled his eyes with a shrug and closed the door, following us over, where he sat down near the head of the bed. He raised his brows at me, waiting for me to begin this impromptu meeting.

“Umm, right, so I… I have a question for you both.” My stomach fluttered, and as I realized what I was about to ask them, my nerves got the better of me.

Griff nodded, folding his arms. “All right. Shoot.”

“Right, so, well… I, umm, there was this thing before, and…” Jeez, I couldn’t talk at all. I wiped my hand over my face, breathing too hard for the situation.

“Spit it out.” Griffin laughed.

Nina rubbed my back. “Come on, Rowan. You were the one who wanted to talk. You can do it.”

I took a deep breath, steeling myself and trying to find the right words, but instead, what I blurted out was, “You’ve slept with a lot of humans, haven’t you?”