Orange lights played tag across the gentle ripples I stood ankle deep in, smooth stones underfoot while the rhythmic clinking of metal against metal and the sound of fluids being pumped through pipes competed with the creek's mumbled gurgling.

The air was heavy and cool, like a waterlogged cloth had blanketed everything in a damp chill. Shivering, I bent under the expanse of a storm-thick sky surrounded by metal smokestacks and those intertwined pipes to dip my hands in the shallow stream and splash myself, washing off mud.

It was only after Alex lost the umbrae and doubled back, taking a division in the stream that met with the main creek to return to the bosom of the valley, that I had a moment to take off the dress. Giving me some privacy, he went off a short distance to make sure our escape was sound.

Sighing, then sneezing from the cold, I brought a wet wrist up to rub my nose. I sent a solemn glance to where the champagne dress lay on the creek bank, carefully folded. Micah's coat was spread underneath it because I didn't like the thought of the dress touching the dirty ground.

Sniffling, I bent to cup more water. The dress was off, and I'd stopped glowing. That I was calmer also helped, maybe more than taking off the dress. The air around me held a soft darkness where only factory light remained. Alex would send a wind devvi to return the dress and coat to me later. They lay on a rock next to the soaked shirt he shed before taking off, its front missing most of its buttons.

The slip I wore under the dress was all I had on now. It covered me but was thin, so it didn't hide my—ah—assets very well, especially with how cold I was.

Water tumbled noisily as I splashed my arms, neck, and shoulders, all splattered with mud from the chase. I rubbed the dirt from my legs with a wet palm and bent to scoop more water with the intent to splash my face when I froze at a breeze that rose from the creek.

Alex materialized, startling me.

Heartbeat hammering, I straightened with a sharp inhale, water falling from my hands down the front of my already damp slip. Would I ever be used to how fast he was? I began to ask if we'd managed a clean getaway, but paused when he shifted to one side.

He waded a complete circle around me, his demeanor taut but smooth, movements flowing with a dragon's grace that could only be described as swift rapids managing bulbous rock. He came back around to stand in front of me where factory light stroked his naked upper body. My stomach gave a twist when his gaze lifted to stare through lank, wet hair, the soaked darkness hanging long about his temples in points, like dripping daggers.

There was something different about the water devvi as he stood in the middle of his native element. Skin stark white, with an upper body so Renaissance-superb one would swear Michelangelo had shaped it. I studied his exposed state. There were markings. They were faint, and yet very much a part of him, flowing as a smooth current of natural tattooing with the curve of his sturdy shoulders, swan neck, dripping temples. A dragon's grace, a dragon's markings.

He certainly approached me with a wildness that attracted me, if I would allow it. Marveling at his impromptu designs as if they were a secret suddenly unveiled, I wondered if they only appeared when he was thoroughly soaked.

I touched my forearms and realized I was shivering again. Was it because of the cold? Or did my body quiver for another reason? His heartbeat; I can taste it. Lips sealed shut, I swallowed at the phantom rhythm. Like before, back on the porch, the solidness of it reminded me of hard candy.

Eyes closing, I drew in a breath through my nose, and then another, becoming almost dizzy, unchained from the earth. Concurrently, the water swirling at my feet transitioned to become much more, like a second pair of eyes while my real ones were shut. A remarkable thing I'd glimpsed once before on the night of my detox-transitioning, when standing in water had given me the instant knowledge of a nearby waterfall. What I was experiencing now was similar, except amplified to a degree I could never have imagined as his heartbeat chased after mine.

Pulse fluctuating, my heart gave one forceful thump, and suddenly I knew it all. Everything that touched the stream for miles in either direction came into sharp focus. I opened my eyes, my breath raspy with the wonder of it. That single, strong beat had been his heart locking onto mine. Just as he was one with his element as he stood in it, I too could know everything he knew.

And then, as soon as it began, it was over. My pulse faltered and broke the connection because my body wasn't used to such things. The sensation of perceiving everything through water fell away, but in the brief moment we were like that, he'd given me a glimpse of what it was like to be fully devvi—and oh my word! I watched him with new eyes that saw his true self, his beyond-human status more dominant than ever.

I had to force myself to take slow, steady breaths, listening as he finally broke the silence between us to say, "You know, it isn't often that I am so off base in my evaluation of a matter that I'm shocked speechless when I find out how sorely I've misjudged things."

He was talking about his reaction, back at the greenhouse. Swallowing, I was surprised that my voice wasn't shaky when I confessed, "How things played out, the misplaced kiss. It was...not as I would have wanted it to happen. However, I...don't regret it." My words were a bit breathless with the realization that I didn't, despite the twisting agony of my one soul.

"And you shouldn't," Alex agreed. "As I have admitted, my reaction was entirely of my own making. In assessing the situation with you, I was only partially right in my assumptions. While it still holds true that your sense of self is human, your baser instincts are colored devvi. The primal fabric of your very being has been rising as the numbness of all that was forced upon you chemically is dissolving. Perhaps your human sensibility to be concerned was triggered when you saw how I responded. However you shouldn't regret a display of affection with one male in front of another—just as a she-devvi who is courting two males wouldn't. Because that is precisely what you are doing. You are courting us both, Micah and me; you are more she- devvi than I realized."

His voice took on a quiet, matter-of-fact tone as he continued, "You will leave the group of your childhood, taking with you those of your choosing. All previous social rankings will fall away. You will form your own group and be its alpha female, its leader."

Precisely said, paralleling what Micah had meant when he said that we would "add others."

At this he paused to send his gaze off into the distance. When it returned, he seemed to be a bit embarrassed. "I was never within my rights to place a claim of courtship on you, rather, it should have been a petition sent directly to ask you to consider me. And now I find myself in the position of coming in second on the scene. You've had another male for a while now."

Yes, I did. Whether I had realized it at first or not.

"Again, I misjudged," Alex confessed. "I missed the fact that Micah's affections for you were beyond duty, clothed as they are in the guise of protection and possessiveness."

"He considers me his home."

"Yes, that makes sense. It's a new-age romanticism among his kind. How does this concept strike you?"

"Being his home? It's a beautiful sentiment."

"You accept the responsibility of it fully," he said, his specific wording striking me through with the realization that, yes, I was somehow now duty bound to live up to everything that being "home sweet home" meant to Micah.

"He is Beta in your emerging mate hierarchy, the first buck taken into your queendom," Alex continued. "You two are a packaged deal. As such, if I wish to be with she-who-is-siren to my very being, then I must win both of you over."

Winning Micah over... "That may not be so easy."

"I don't expect it will be."

"He said something—" I hesitated, then just said it, "he won't share me with someone who can't best him."

"That's not so unusual. It's all about feats of strength for lightnings. He speaks of physical confrontation to prove myself his equal and thus worthy of joining you."

"An actual fight? No, no I don't want that!" Holy cheddar! When I agreed with the stipulation...I hadn't realized... I shook my head hard, stirring my drying hair about my goose bump covered shoulders. By this point, standing in the creek for so long, the cold water and damp night had me shivering, almost uncontrollably so.

"There are other avenues of persuasion in gaining his favor," Alex informed me. "At your bidding, I will travel those first. Though I can't promise it won't ultimately come down to an elemental show of fisticuffs."

Fisticuffs. The dated term would have made me smile if we weren't discussing the two guys battling. The way Alex talked sometimes reminded me of just how much older he was than me and Micah. I bet old enough to have had other lovers. Human lovers? Another water devvi would have left him bound. My assumption that he'd been in other relationships was just being practical. It wasn't as if I was expecting him to be a one hundred and thirty-one year old virgin.

"You will convince Micah to accept you as his equal using non-violent methods." I made it a statement, not a question. My sky lion had entered my life first, and I needed to be mindful of this, even if my she-devvi instincts would see me dragging them off into the bushes to have my way with both at the same time, the aftermath be damned.

"I will employ non-aggressive tactics for you," Alex answered. "Anything, for you..." At this he left off. I watched his weight shift from one foot to the other, a drifting, side-stepping motion.

Freezing from the cold, each shaking breath I exhaled passed through quivering lips. I wondered if they were colored as ice blue as they felt.

Slowly, he circled again, round and around, his gaze intent on me, eyes seeming to take on a beastly gleam. He was the dragon again, with markings that flowed across skin so white it faintly glowed, as if he had swallowed the moon. Switching from eloquent conversational mode to this wild, wire-tight creature revolving before me seemed as effortless as flicking a light switch.

Somehow he could be utterly silent, his legs never breaking the creek surface, its babbling unhindered. The dragon did not offer to speak anymore, and yet his intense eye contact spoke volumes: intrigue and admiration, desire and hope. Very careful hope. All of it tasted warm. Smelled warm, like stepping into a bakery with the ovens turned on full blast, emotions cooking.

The circles he walked heated the creek even though fresh water flowed through the spot. My shivering dissipated, and a satisfied expression crossed his face.

"You warmed the water for me?"

His head tilted, and I could see into his heart; I saw his need, the optimism he had woven into his association with me. His siren.

"I would heat the water, and so much more," he said, voice more a low growl now, still faintly accented. He reached out as he passed in front of me.

I took his hand. He continued to circle until he ran out of length to walk, my arm going around my back, his arm wrapping my waist. He could have pressed against my front when he came to a halt in front of me, but he allowed me a little space.

My free hand went to his chest where I could sense the stored power twisting. I read from his emotional signature as I asked, "What do you need from me?"

At these words, relief flashed through him. "You can discern so much."

"I rummage through people's hearts," I said with a frown. "It isn't the politest ability, but it does give me insight." My fingers squeezed his. "Although that insight is limited. I can only glean so much understanding from wordless information."

"It bothers you that you have a direct linkage to other's hearts? It shouldn't. You can connect to people on every emotional level. This is a treasure you shouldn't be hesitant to polish."

"Mmm, every level," I mumbled, and my gaze fell. Every level perhaps, except for love, the connection that mattered the most. "You need something from me. What is it?" I prompted again, lifting my head.

His gaze pushed into mine. "I need an answer."

"What is the question?"

"I am unable to ask it yet." The warmth from Alex's emotional signature ebbed, the heat in it beginning to flicker.

Flickering? Why would an emotional signature flicker?

"Do you suppose for a minute," he said, his free hand coming to rest over the top of mine, still pressed to his chest. "I could make-believe the answer to my question is you?"

Like a candle placed in an open draft, his emotions stuttered and threatened to go out. If a total absence of an emotional signature signified love, what did flickering represent?

Falling in love?

My palm turned under his, and our fingers slid together. This is him falling in love with me? Entranced by the thought of it, I swayed forward. My foot found an uneven spot in the streambed, and I slipped, but scarce fell an inch—because Alex was embracing me. My heartbeat fluttered at the direct contact. Tangy saliva flooded my mouth, the instinct to breed triggered and priming.

"What can I give to you?" the dragon rumbled. "What do you need in your life to make it better? More satisfying? Please tell me, Aurora, and I'll make every damned effort to get it for you. For how can I ask you to be my answer if I do not know what I can do to make myself worthy of asking the question?"

What would make my life better?

With my head swimming from his direct touch, I thought of the one thing I ached for. I stared up into it, transfixed upon the flicker, wondering if it might taste like peaches. The one thing that will make my life better...

Instead, I answered him the thing that was a close second. "I wish to be stronger."

Eyebrows rising beneath moisture-tipped bangs, he leaned closer, the depths of those keen eyes discerning there was more I wasn't admitting to.

"You are in possession of great strength," he firmly told me.

I swallowed, and my cheeks flashed hot. Then why did everyone always have to bail me out of trouble?

His forehead touched mine and turned, the markings on his temple pressing to my heated face. "Your warming skin tells me there is something you are reluctant to share."

"I..." I bit down on my lower lip.

Alex placed a thumb to my chin, a gentle, downward pressure disengaging the nervous habit to allow the truth to burst out. "I want to be able to taste the emotion you are teetering on right now."

Embarrassment washed over me, and I tried to turn away, but he wouldn't allow it. My one soul, the one which was akin to his, beat her wings, competing with my pounding heart. I needed to know this from him, this developing love. Would there be peaches in something so new?

"So you can't discern every emotion that passes through—"

"A person's emotional palate," I finished for him, then softly admitted, "I can sense all but one."

"Which are you lacking?"

I gazed down at the creek for a moment, the orange light dancing there among our legs. "Love." It came out as a whisper. "I can't see it. I can't taste it in the air, nor on your breath. It is there," I acknowledged before he could declare it was. "I know it is there in the nothingness I can suddenly sense in you. I do not want to be told what I know."

"You need to experience it in the manner to which you are accustomed. Is that it? An emotion isn't real for you unless you can taste it?" His fingers lifted my chin.

One of my souls took flight in a flash of wings, and suddenly all I could see were his blue, blue eyes.

Fingers sliding along my jaw, he cradled my face. "Then with a tilt of my head, allow me to dispatch of this treacherous gap that separates my feelings from you." Alex's lips met mine.

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