The Dragon Prince's Consort

Seventeen

It was cute watching him try not to look excited. His tail gave him away with a hearty whack against the floor and Valen pinned it down with his foot. "Eyah, sorry." He cringed and started to fold in on himself, shoulders curling forward and chin ducking to his chest; his ears swiveled backward and pressed close to his skull, flattening his thick, choppy dark hair.

"Hey," Fang reached out and raised his chin, "You don't have to be sorry, you didn't do anything wrong."

Valen's eyes came up and he searched Fang's. "I know, but... you're the first woman I've slept with who didn't act like it was a punishment. The other night, you didn't even know who I was and you still..." His eyes slid to the side; in his lap his hands turned and held the one Fang left behind. "I don't know what I'm doing – I've never had a real friend before, I don't want to do something wrong and drive you off."

Fang chuckled and stroked his chin with her thumb, watching his eyes soften and half close. "Don't get too attached to me now – you're supposed to be getting me out of here, remember? But... I do think there's some chemistry and I'm fine having fun with it while I'm here, if that's something you'd be interested in."

Valen's eyes popped open again and his ears flared. "Chemistry?"

"It means we're getting along." Fang took her hand away from his face and watched Valen follow it with his eyes before snapping back to hers. "You know, for someone who says he doesn't know what he's doing, you were pretty amazing last night – it's kind of wild how you're so shy until you get into bed, then you're a beast."

Valen dropped his head, letting his shaggy fringe fall over his eyes in an attempt to keep Fang from seeing him grin. He fussed with a tie on his glove, avoiding her eyes as if that could hide how pleased he was at Fang's praise. "Um... I am a lot stronger than I look, I guess. And you're not... you know."

Fang scooted closer, leaning down to peek under his curtain of dark hair. "Did you ever think about sleeping with a human before?"

Valen shook his head. "I assumed that if a Drass woman wouldn't want to, neither would a human woman. And I couldn't really get close to one anyway, so I didn't really have the opportunity to ask."

"So, besides size, what's different?"

"Um..." Valen's hands turned in his lap, the glove tie twisting. "You're, um, softer, and a lot lighter. Picking you up was like picking up my niece – you're so thin for a moment I thought I might break you." Suddenly he brought his head up. "I'm sorry, that was rude–"

"You're fine," Fang assured him with a smile. "I've always been skinny."That happens when you grow up on government rations. Her smile faltered when she saw Valen's forehead crease. "What's wrong?"

"You can't keep warm when you're thin," he said, voice grave with concern. "On Anun being underweight can be worse than being under-dressed – there's nothing to catch the heat, you could lose whole limbs or freeze to death."

"I don't think that'll be a problem as long as I stick close to you, you're a furnace." Sitting next to him, Fang could practically see the heat simmering off of Valen's body through the vents in his long, dark coat. "That's one thing I really like about Drass, you guy sare seriously warm."

"It's our Flame," he said. "I mean, that's what the old stories say. I know it's really just the body burning calories, but–" He swallowed his next words when Fang took the lapels of his coat in hand and pulled him close, leaning in to speak directly into his ear.

"Someone's in the next stall," she told him. "He's been there for a minute and he just peeked around the corner again, I'm pretty sure he's watching us." Her other hand went for his and Fang covered Valen's fingers with her own. "If you're up to it, this might be a good chance to give your brother even more to worry about – you know how Drass love gossip." She felt Valen turn his head, the scales on his cheek rubbing just below her eye and his breath warm on the side of her neck. Under her hand his balled into a fist and Fang squeezed it.