Page 41 of Dragon AU

Did he look at them and think of starbursts the way Shelly did? He didn’t know why it mattered, but it did, and he hoped the answer was yes.

He tried bringing back that feeling of belonging, of ownership, of quiet, self-imposed responsibility for his hoard. But while the love he had for them burned bright, the dragon stayed quiet. As if the only way he chose to come out was without Milo’s control, without his explicit desire to bring him forward.

It was frustrating.

He wanted to finally see who he truly was.

“We need to stop meeting in bathrooms.” A voice came from behind him and Milo screamed like a pterodactyl, twirling in place and bouncing like a pinball, knocking his hip into the sink, his shoulder into the hand dryer, which started whirring, and finally his head into the open window.

He flailed his arms around like a windmill, grappling for something to steady him before finally finding something warm and holding on for dear life.

He steadied himself and looked down at his pale fingers digging into tan, hairy forearms scattered with ruby red scales.

He knew those forearms.

But he couldn’t think because his fingernails were elongated. Digging into skin. Sharp and silver. His eyes went wide.

“I GOT CLAWS!!” he yelled, lifting one hand and shoving it into Rowan’s face, making him go cross-eyed.

“Dragons tend to, yes,” Rowan said.

“Yes, but this is the first time I’m seeing mine. Look how cool!” He shook his hand in front of Rowan’s nose. “D’ya like ’em?”

“Yes,” Rowan said simply, and Milo paused, a record scratching in his mind as he tried to comprehend what had just happened.

“Oh,” he said stupidly, heart hammering in his chest.

Rowan liked his claws. Did Rowan also like…him?

It had long been established that Milo found Rowan attractive, but he didn’t know if the inverse was true. Finding out that Rowan wasn’t a soulless asshole also hadn’t helped his building crush.

“That’s a rare color. It narrows our options for your breed significantly.”

“OH!” Milo said. “That’s what you meant!”

“Sure.” Rowan’s brows drew together. “What did you think?”

“Nothing!” Milo’s chest deflated and his claws opted to exit stage left too. He flipped his hands over. “They’re gone.”

He swallowed his disappointment and looked up, finally realizing they were standing super close to each other. Like, close enough that Rowan’s breath was tickling his lashes. Close enough that every inhale made his chest brush Rowan’s boring brown tie. Close enough that he could see Rowan’s dragon eyes looking back at him.

Bright red. Like a supernova. So pretty.

He reached up without thinking, tracing a finger around Rowan’s temple, not touching but hovering above the skin. Heat radiated from it, begging him to make contact, but Milo held himself back.

Rowan sucked in a breath, and the hands holding Milo’s waist, keeping him steady, tightened.

Milo swayed in place for a second, the action pushing him farther into Rowan’s personal space. His smoky scent enveloped him, making it hard to think about anything but how good he looked and smelled.

Milo’s stomach tightened with an arousal he couldn’t fight and his eyes dropped to Rowan’s lips on instinct. Stern and tight and rarely smiling among the hairs of his perfectly trimmed beard, they looked inviting now. Soft and welcoming. And Milo thought about how they would taste, all the red flavors rushing to mind. Strawberries and watermelon and candy.

His mouth watered and his dick hardened.

He leaned in and Rowan didn’t pull back. His fingers only tightened, feeling like they were pulling Milo in as his own gaze dropped to Milo’s mouth.

“Can I—” Milo said.

The door to the bathroom opened and Rowan jumped away from him like he’d been burned.