“You would have me believe that it would not have bothered you if I had just screwed, as you called it, another female?”
She slapped his shoulder. Lucky for him it wasn’t hurt.
She was small in stature, curvy in all the right places, and damn if she wasn’t stronger than he gave her credit for.
“No, you ass. Of course I’d hate you. But,” she said, a frown forming and her eyes dimming.
Deo tried to read her thoughts.
Mate? Why do you frown?
He watched as a small droplet of water escaped her eyes. Brushing it away with a finger, he waited patiently for her. He thought sharing a connection would help him understand her, but he was wrong. Or he was wrong so far.
I want all of you; I don’t want to share you. And now that I know who the other woman is, well, it just sucks.
Deo adjusted himself on the bed in their infirmary. He wanted to get back to their room and kiss away the sadness.
“Mate. I could not leave her. It would not be right. Besides, as soon as she is healthy she will be taken back to her home.”
As he breathed Aisha’s scent in, his need for her grew. He’d been starved of his new mate for too long. Hours? A day? He really wasn’t sure. That place had been a labyrinth and time didn’t exist.
Deo had tried to remember everything that had happened, but it was disjointed in his own mind. He’d been in and out of sleep for a few hours, but he didn’t want to talk to anyone. He didn’t think he could fully comprehend what had happened.
Fucking demons. He’d been prepared to handle the consequences. He’d been able to use instinct to get him as far as they had, but that last creature. Well, he still wasn’t sure what it was as it had clawed his human body. He’d shifted much too late that time, and Deo blamed the demon energy.
Seeing her sadness, feeling it, he knew he shouldn’t mention that saving the female had been the biggest risk.
Aisha still hadn’t spoken. He tried to focus on her scent and controlling his need for her as the seconds ticked by. How could he make her see that his love for her had never been in question? From the moment he saw her, he knew she was meant to be his.
“Aisha, that woman never had a chance, but she also didn’t deserve to die either.”
She nodded, it was at least some sign of life.
“Yeah. I know. I’m mad at myself. If you would have, you know, done that, it would have been my fault. I should have told you about creepy scientist guy sooner. Reality is, I was pretty much so desperate to tell you how I felt that I forgot about everything else. It’s like I was a love-struck teenager again.”
That made little sense to him, but the sentiment wasn’t lost on him either.
“Well, I appreciate that you did. I was growing less and less an honorable mate every time I saw you.” He gripped her hips, ignoring the burning in his side. It would heal. The ache between his legs, on the other hand, wasn’t going away. Not with her this close. The scent of her tantalizing him.
He smirked as he watched her eyes grow a little wider. “Don’t worry, mate. I would have ensured you said yes before I mated you properly, but I was growing more and more desperate. You are the most enticing female I have ever seen.”
A blush peeked out from under her shirt and climbed her neck. He enjoyed being able to make her squirm.
Leaning in, his mouth an inch from her ear, he whispered, “I wanted to taste you from the moment I laid eyes on you.”
Dipping his head, he kissed the crook of her neck. She shivered under his hands.
“I want to taste you now,” he continued to say.
Aisha couldn’t hide her thoughts from him, and a smile spread over his lips.
“But you’re hurt,” she said.
Yes, but that’s not what you are thinking.
She gasped.
Out of my head.
He pulled her closer.
I like the thoughts running through your mind.
Kissing along the pulse in her neck, along her jaw, he waited for her to turn her lips to his. Her thoughts were having a hard time arguing.
But, your side.
She pulled away and studied him. He didn’t like it when she scrutinized the situation. He knew this look and knew it would be a fight.
He slid his hand around her neck, pulling her closer. Perhaps if he distracted her long enough.
“I don’t want to hurt you, Deo,” she said.
Absently, he wrapped his fingers in her hair as he locked his gaze with hers.
“I welcome the pain of knowing I am alive, here, with you. You still don’t understand that you not only bring my soul peace, you strengthen me.”
She tilted her head. Her words said one thing, but her thought said she enjoyed the sensations of his fingers against her neck.
“So, by strengthening you, do you mean you might heal faster closer to me?”
Deo licked his lips. Trailing a finger over the neckline of her shirt, he shrugged.
“Should we test out this theory?” he asked.
His eye caught the marking, peeking under her shirt on her shoulder. His hand traced over the fabric where the start of his markings on her skin peeked out under the tank top.
She moaned.
Deo realized that he had yet to have the chance to explore his new mate as any dragon should. He didn’t know how his markings appeared on her. Would they be as large? Would they cover her beautiful breasts? The idea of seeing them only made his dick harder. He shifted her on his lap to give himself more room.
Pulling aside the strap of the shirt, he began to kiss the swirling design unique to him and his mate. The intricate lines started to glow the blue of his dragon's power as his lips connected with each piece.
She moaned.
Aisha tilted her head away, stretching her neck to give him more
