Read Online If There Be Dragons by Kay Hooper - Free Book Online Page B

ones.
    “Fine,” he agreed softly.
    Restlessly she murmured, “You haven’t said much.”
    “Just trying to decide whether to use my magic sword or my thrice-blessed dagger on those dragons,” he said solemnly.
    In spite of herself Brooke started to smile. Wonderingly she realized that the recounting of her painful memories hadn’t hurt nearly as much as she’d believed they would. And Cody, the warm glow in his eyes undiminished, seemed so understanding. Of course, the worst was yet to come, but Brooke realized that Chapter Two, and all those chapters to follow, would come more easily.
    She was grateful for that. Grateful to Cody and to his persistence. But she was also nervous and uneasy; she would be stripping layer after layer of her protective wall away until only her bare and wounded self remained. Would those half-healed wounds reopen when exposed to the light?
    Would Cody hurt her?
    Brooke pushed the silent questions away, and sought to follow his lead in lightening the atmosphere between them. “Thrice-blessed? I thought that
twice
did the trick.”
    “Not with your dragons,” Cody responded feelingly. “S’matter of fact, I may have to get the thing blessed again. However, since three’s a magic number, we’ll hope it does the trick.”
    “Three’s a magic number?”
    “You should know.”
    “I’m psychic, Cody—not a witch.”
    “My mistake.”
    “See that it doesn’t happen again.”
    “Or?”
    “Or I’ll feed you soup made of bats’ wings and eye of newt, and you’ll turn into a frog.”
    “But then you could kiss me, and I’d turn back into a prince.”
    “
Back
into a prince?”
    “I’d hoped you wouldn’t notice that.”
    “I notice everything.”
    “Uh, I think I’ll practice reading your mind,” Cody announced calmly.
    “Why?”
    “Because this one-sided business is very unfair.”
    “What brought this up?”
    “I was just thinking.”
    “Oh. Okay, then—practice. What am I thinking right now?”
    “You’re hungry.”
    Brooke stared at him, startled. “That’s—right.”
    Cody smiled modestly, then started chuckling. “I’d better confess before you dip into my mind and discover that I didn’t dip into yours.”
    After mentally untangling his sentence, Brooke shot him a suspicious glare. “You didn’t read my mind?”
    “Nope.”
    “Then how did you know…?”
    “Well, I’m pretty observant myself, you know. Just before you challenged me to read your mind, you looked toward the refrigerator. So I guessed.”
    “Princes don’t resort to sneaky tactics,” Brooke reproved him sternly.
    “They do if princesses are psychic.”
    “Even if. It’s unprincely.”
    “All’s fair.”
    “Don’t start throwing clichés at me.”
    “I’ve already told you that I don’t throw things.”
    “You’re looking more and more like a frog, pal.”
    “Trust me, lady. I’m a prince.”
    That plea was made with such a soulful look that Brooke had to bite back a laugh. Shaking her head, she rose from her chair. “And on that note I’m going to fix lunch. Any preferences?”
    “I have a sudden aversion to frogs’ legs.”
    “Funny.”
    Cody looked mildly pleased with himself. “Apropos, I thought.”
    Brooke sighed. “Right. I repeat. Any preferences?”
    “Nope. Nary a one.”
    “Then I’ll see what’s in the cupboard.”
    “Do that, Mother Hubbard.”
    “I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist that.”
    “If I’m getting predictable, I’ll quit,” Cody said, injured.
    “Not predictable.” Brooke reflected. “Just not surprising.”
    Cody frowned. “I’ll have to do something about that.”
    Rummaging in the cabinets and refrigerator for the makings of lunch, Brooke sent him an amused look, but said nothing. Surprise, she knew, was the essence of many a battle plan, and she wondered if Cody had chosen deliberately to keep her slightly off-balance. Why? The better to fight her dragons?
    Something clenched inside of her suddenly as Brooke