“Keep your eyes closed,” Magnus said, holding her by the hand as he led her, blindfolded, through the castle that had become her new home over the past few weeks.

Aegis had been right about the place. There was plenty of room for her and Magnus to have alone time whenever they wanted, which was frequently. But it was also nice to have other people around when you wanted to talk, especially since she’d been able to get acquainted with Liam’s mate, Kate, and Opal, who she learned was the opal dragon and Aegis’s mate.

It felt like she had a new family now. There were other people in her life she could trust, connect with, share her thoughts and feelings with, and get to know better. And through it all, Magnus was amazing.

Heck, even Perky had made a few friends, including Kate’s black lab Tank. She could often see Perky leading Tank around or looking for new places to nap and soak up the sun in the gigantic house.

They stopped, and she felt Magnus’s hands leave hers, followed by the sound of shuffling.

“Okay, you can look now.”

She pulled off the blindfold and opened her eyes. As her vision cleared, she saw the car she’d shown Magnus the first day he’d come into her shop. The one she’d once staked her future on.

Only, instead of a beat-up, dysfunctional heap, the car gleamed light blue and chrome, sparkling in the well-lit garage.

Stunned, Lindy walked up to it, running her hand over the smooth sides, the perfectly restored mirrors, the new windshield. She came to the hood, and Magnus popped it for her, showing the insides. Not a single piece was missing. Everything was polished and looked as new as it must have the day it came off the production line.

“I know you don’t really need the money. But I knew this car was important to you, so I figured I’d fix it up so you can keep it,” Magnus said, smiling.

She just stood there, too stunned to speak.

Magnus started to look worried. “Did I do something wrong? Should I not have done that?”

Lindy threw her arms around him. “No, it’s wonderful. Thank you, Magnus. Can we take it out for a spin tonight?”

“Yes, of course. It’s all yours. In the meantime, lunch?”

They held hands as they left the garage, and she stole one last glance at the car before they closed the door behind them. In the kitchen, Titus, Liam, Kate, and Citrine were talking while Titus was making something in a large pot.

The quiet giant was pretty obsessed with cooking. Sometimes with mixed results.

“So, Titus, what’s for lunch?” Magnus asked cheerily.

The blond man with icy eyes just looked over. “Something burned if you bother me.”

“So touchy about your cooking,” Magnus said, grinning.

“I’m sure it’ll be great, Titus,” Lindy said, earning a grin from him as he picked up a bottle of something and poured some into the pot, stirring carefully.

“So that’s two down, one to go, I guess,” Liam said as he pulled Kate to him, and she looked up into his eyes.

“Yes. Who would have thought the whole Rent-A-Dragon thing would have worked so well?” Kate responded, looking at him as if he meant the world to her. The same way Lindy felt about Magnus.

“I did,” Aegis said flatly, striding into the kitchen with Opal by his side.

“That’s a lie,” Liam said.

“You’re right. I thought you were all going to fail horribly. But it looks like you’re not the worst group of dragons ever,” he said dryly. “At least two of you, so far.”

“When do you think we’ll find your mate, Titus?” Kate asked.

He didn’t respond, but instead, just kept stirring.

“I’m going to go do more research into the mercury dragon. See if any of the texts the oracle mailed me make mention of him,” Citrine said, standing up from the chair he’d been sitting on.

“Stay and eat,” Magnus offered with a wave.

“I don’t know why you’re offering since it won’t be done for another fifteen minutes,” Titus said gruffly.

“We’re dealing with a dangerous foe that we know nothing about. Knowledge is power after all. If he meddled so intricately with Magnus and Lindy, there’s no telling what else he may be planning. Or what he may have already done.”

At that, Liam snapped his fingers in realization.

“Wait. Do you think that call from Kate’s boss could have been from Mercury? The one where he insisted she come into work, even though afterward, when I spoke to him, he said he was okay with her taking the day off? He’s a shapeshifter.”

“It could have been. When I picked it up and my boss was on the other end, I just assumed he had a new cell number,” Kate chimed in.

“Entirely possible,” Citrine said.

“Or the night when we thought Dante, the gold dragon, came into the house. When I confronted him, he denied it. At the time, I just thought he was lying. But maybe it was Mercury trying to stir up trouble between us and the precious metal dragons so we’d fight,” Liam added.

“Also possible,” Citrine replied.

“Damn. All this time. Who knows how long he’s been watching us?” Liam said.

“I’ll talk with the oracle again, now that things are starting to calm down on her side. Maybe she’ll remember something, anything, that can help us,” Aegis said begrudgingly, earning him a smile from Opal.

“For now, we should be safe here in the castle,” she said. “Let’s just make sure to keep an eye out for anything suspicious.”

“If he does show his face around here, we’ll just kick his ass,” Magnus said.

There were nods of approval all around, and Titus resumed what he was doing while Citrine left the room, an odd aura of tension around him.

“Hey, we have fifteen minutes until Titus is done. Want to go back to our room?” Magnus whispered closely into Lindy’s ear, sending a tiny shudder of excitement down her spine.

“Definitely,” she replied quietly.

“Hey, we’re going to go look at the restoration job I did on her car before lunch,” Magnus said, wrapping an arm around her side and taking her with him.

“Bullshit. We all know where you’re going,” Aegis said, rolling his eyes.

“See you in a few,” Liam and Kate said in unison.

When they made a turn at the corridor, out of sight from the others, Magnus pinned her to the wall, kissing her deeply as she felt warmth spread through her body to her toes and fingers.

“Mine,” Magnus said, his voice low as he claimed her again with his lips.

“Yes,” she said, wrapping her fingers in his hair, pulling him closer.

It felt good saying yes to him. Yes to life. Yes to love. Yes to forever.

* * *

* * *

I hope you enjoyed the second book in the Rent-A-Dragon series! If you enjoyed Magnus and Lindy’s story, I hope you’ll leave a review to help other readers find it. I really appreciate all your support.

I plan to keep releasing quickly, but while you’re waiting for the next book in the series, you may want to grab my limited edition Awakened Dragons Boxed Set, at .99 for a short time for all SIX BOOKS.

I never do boxed sets that extreme, and I usually wait about a year after release to put books in a boxed set, so get it while you can.

Thanks again so much, and make sure you are signed up for my newsletter here so you can be first to hear about the next dragon’s shenanigans:

Sincerely,

Terry