Holy Smokes by Katie MacAlister
“We will work that out later. Right now we have a wedding to attend.”
I looked at the destroyed mess of a chapel. “Uh…”
“I never told you what I did before I was made wyvern, did I?” Gabriel asked, his dimples dimpling like crazy. “I was ordained in several faiths, any one of which would allow me to marry you two.”
My laughter startled a nearby pigeon that had settled on a mound of debris. The bird flew into the air, flapped around us a few times, then resettled itself and watched with bright, interested eyes.
Drake raised his eyebrows. “Shall we?”
“Hell, yes! There’s no way I’m going to wait for another wedding.”
We found a relatively quiet corner, one that was momentarily empty of the emergency crews, police, and bystanders who milled around the remains of the chapel. There, covered in dirt, blood, and imp guts, perched as best we could on a pile of rubble and debris, with only Nora and Caribbean Battiste as witnesses, Drake and I were finally married.
“Congratulations,” Nora said a minute later when the quick ceremony was over, a delighted look on her face.
“Mazel tov,” said Caribbean Battiste, beaming.
Gabriel’s dimples flashed warmly.
It was Drake who wholly held my attention. His eyes were filled with love as he smiled down at me. “Happy now?”
“Yes. But I could be more happy,” I said, rubbing a smudge of dirt off his cheek, laughing at the surprised look that flashed in the depths of his emerald eyes. “The imp goo is starting to dry and is itching like crazy. Take me home, husband.”
“I can’t believe you got married without me!”
“I’ve apologized a dozen times already, Jim. I’m sorry I didn’t summon you so you could see us married, although to be honest, it took all of two minutes, and then the police descended on us, and Drake dragged me off to see my doctor.”
“I can’t believe you sealed the portal without me!”
“Yeah, well, Nora seems to think that means something, but you know, I think it’s all part of being a Guardian. And speaking of that, is it wrong, I wonder, to hope Chuan Ren is harassing the hell out of Bael?”
Jim lolled over on its back and presented a hairy belly to be rubbed. “I can’t believe you were covered in imp gore, and I missed it. Hey, what do you think of my package? Is it bigger than the old one? I think it is. I gotta remember to tell Cecile I got a new form, in case she notices the difference between this one and the last.”
I obligingly scratched Jim’s belly and purposely did not look at its nether parts. “I’m just glad you went with another Newfie. I don’t think I could have gotten used to you as any other dog.”
“Newfies rock,” it said, kicking its back legs when I hit a ticklish spot. “Hey, Drake. Hey, Uncle Damian.”
My uncle made a face at Jim as he entered the living room on Drake’s heels. “Does he…it…have to call me that?”
“Aww, I think it’s cute,” I said, grabbing my pillow and down comforter and scooting a few feet down the couch so Drake could sit next to me. He hauled me over his lap, tucking the blanket around my legs.
“How do you feel?” he asked, a familiar glint in his eyes.
“Fine. Better than fine, perfect. Which the doctor confirmed, so you can stop treating me like an invalid.”
A little tendril of smoke drifted out of one of his nostrils. I pursed my lips and blew a perfect heart-shaped ring of fire.
“You’ve been practicing,” he said, admiring it.
“That’s not the only thing I’ve been practicing,” I answered with a wicked wiggle of my eyebrows.
Passion, love, and interest all came to life in his eyes.
“Oh, yeah, it’s gonna be steamy jungle lovin’ time,” Jim said, rolling over.
“Out!” I told it, nibbling on Drake’s lower lip as I pointed over his shoulder to the door.
“Oh, man! I missed all the other good stuff—you can’t make me miss this, too!”
“Out!”
Jim grumbled all the way to the door. “Fine. Be that way. But I’m going to call Amelie and talk to Cecile, and you’d better not complain at all about the phone charges! When I think of what I went through for you…losing a perfectly good form, although I gotta admit, having a bigger package is going to rock…”
The door closed on the demon’s comments.
“I thought I’d check in before I left, but I see there is nothing to concern myself about,” Uncle Damian said, his voice gruff, but as near a smile as I’ve ever seen on his face. “I take it there is no word on that red wyvern?”
“No.” The light in Drake’s eyes dimmed a bit. “We don’t know for sure what has happened—the sept has called a conclave in Beijing. I’m assuming it’s to name a new wyvern, but we won’t know for certain until one of them contacts the weyr.”
Uncle Damian nodded. “That porn star—he’s gone to ground, too?”
“Ugh. Fiat,” I said, sliding my arms between Drake and the couch. “No one’s heard from him, although he’s apparently convinced almost half the blue sept that he is the rightful leader. Bastian is having a real struggle coping, but he seems confident that he’ll be able to pull them back together. And now that Drake has formally re-mated me, I don’t have to worry that Fiat will try to reclaim me.”
“Good,” Uncle Damian said.
“That leaves only Kostya as the remaining troublesome dragon, and he…” I glanced at Drake. “Well, despite everything, he’s going to go forward with his plan to gain an official spot at the weyr table.”
“Will you support him?” Uncle Damian asked Drake.
His hands were warm under the blanket, stroking my thigh. “I would like to think that our septs will once again support one another, but much of that depends on Kostya.”
Uncle Damian was silent for a moment. I knew he wasn’t any too fond of Kostya, despite the fact that he’d helped us with the red dragons, and I expected he was just keeping quiet out of respect for Drake’s feelings, but he surprised me when he said finally, “Give him time. He’s still suffering from being imprisoned. I did a spell as a POW—you never really forget that. He may come around yet.”
“That is my hope,” Drake agreed.
“Yes. Well.” Uncle Damian looked vaguely embarrassed and cleared his throat. “I’ll be on my way. I’m glad to see you so happy, Aisling. Drake, if you don’t take care of my girl, you’ll have me to answer to.”
“He’ll have me to answer to, and that’s a whole lot scarier,” I told my uncle, kissing the cheek he leaned down to present. “Call me when you get home so I know your flight landed OK.”
He nodded. Drake started to move me off his lap in order to see my uncle to the door, but he waved him back. “You stay there and make sure my niece is as well as she says she is.”
“You’ll come and visit us to see the baby, won’t you?” I called after him.
“Wouldn’t miss it. Be well, Aisling.”
“Love you,” I called, covering Drake’s ear so I wouldn’t deafen him. “Now then, husband mine, I believe you were going to give me a thorough examination to make sure that I was, in fact, just as delectable as you found me before the wedding?”
The fire was back in his eyes. “What form would you prefer this examination to take, kincsem?”
“I was thinking a full body exam, perhaps in the tub, with that spicy frankincense oil you used. What do you think of that, dragon of my dreams?”
“I don’t think you’re going to have the energy to dream tonight,” Drake answered, hoisting me up as he got to his feet, the burn of his lips almost as hot as the burn he started within me.
“Is that a threat or a promise?” I asked, licking his lower lip.
“Both.”
I smiled to myself as he carried me up the stairs to our bedroom. “Make me burn, baby. Make me burn.”
* * *
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Katie MacAlister, Holy Smokes