Intact Read Online Free PDF Page A

orchestrated my contract here knew about you and didn't mention anything to me. I found out less than a week ago. It is a little much to take in."
    His arm around her waist tightened. "I will give you whatever you need to help you adapt to the change in your circumstance."
    She stopped in her tracks and he stopped with her. "Don't give me anything. I earn what I get and I will fight for whatever I get. You were cranky enough about the lost home site to threaten a settlement. I am fairly sure that I don't want to involve you in my struggle for emotional equilibrium."
    He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "If there is anything I can do, tell me."
    She relaxed a little, her feisty mood subsiding at the warm touch. "I will, but give me time. From what I understand, Draikyn live a very, very long time. You don't need to hurry."
    He resumed walking, his wing flaring out to block the wind from blowing her hair into her eyes. The small protective gesture cracked her reflexive hostility. He was going to wear her down and it wasn't going to take long at all.
    They walked in silence for half a mile before he asked, "How long does your species normally live?"
    "A female will live ninety years or so. Some more, some less. I am guessing that my alterations have extended my lifespan somewhat."
    He inclined his head. "It is likely. When we bond completely, that will sync your lifespan to mine. It will extend it even more."
    "Ah, I see. Now, why do the Evian call you the Monolith?"
    He chuckled. "It is a strange tale."
    "We have twenty minutes of walking to go. Strange suits the evening."
    "I have been a geological specialist most of my life. It has been my talent and my passion. I have been able to seek out deposits of jewels and minerals beneath the surface of any world, so I was contacted by the Evian centuries ago to begin a survey of one of their worlds."
    "Sounds fairly straightforward. What happened?"
    He sighed, a heavy gust of sound. "They didn't tell me that there were sentients on that planet who were not yet of star-drive capabilities. I landed and did a recon in my larger form and it started a religion."
    He grimaced and continued, "The locals began to call me the Monolith and reported it to the Evian scouting teams. They found it very amusing and sent the name in the recon report to their home world."
    "And it stuck."
    "Oh yes. I had done many explorations for the Evian and by the time that moniker was hung on me, it was almost my time to sleep. I was the Monolith worshiped by the Jesku and there was nothing I could to about it. They even erected statuary in my honour. I refused to allow the Evian mining privileges, but it was too late, the name stuck."
    Smiling at the small insight into Hyfor's past, she was almost sorry to see her home appear at the end of the street.
    The tiny house was enough for her, but it had no guest room. She was going to extricate herself from his grip when he said. "And now, I will leave you at your door. Are you free tomorrow?"
    She bit her lip. "I have an appointment in the morning, but I am free in the afternoon if things go well."
    "Excellent. Will you accompany me to one of the sites I am deliberating? It will be better if I have a woman's opinion. I only see the stone."
    His frankness was refreshing. It was also a bit of a lie. No creature could crawl out of a multi-hundred-year slumber and put together an outfit that flattering if they had no eye for detail.
    Her eyes widened in surprise as she heard herself say, "Pick me up at my offices at noon. Berenghetti can show you the way."
    He kissed her goodbye on her doorstep and she shivered the entire way back to her bedroom. An unfamiliar noise outside made her rush to a window in time to see a jewel-encrusted dragon curling into a sleeping posture on her front lawn. He took up the entire small space but seemed very content to curl his head under one wing and go to sleep. His whole body was a mound of gems that the Evian must drool over in their