Mine. Ours. Mate.
“Need a ride?” she asked.
“Christina?” He dropped his bag at his side and crossed the distance between them. “It’s you.”
“Yes. It’s me. I—”
He wrapped his arms around her, feeling the softness and warmth of her body, and breathed in her sweet scent. Instinctively, his lips found their way to hers, crushing them in a sweet, slow kiss. When he finally pulled away, she looked up at him with warmth radiating in her eyes.
“I’m sorry, Jason. For what I did. For what I said. I was so consumed by my need to find Mama’s killers that I didn’t see what I had with you. Please forgive me.”
“There’s nothing to forgive. You’re my mate. And I love you.”
Her lips parted in surprise. “I love you too, Jason. And I want to be yours.”
He brought his mouth down for another kiss. This time, an electric shock shot between them and a strange sensation seemed to spread through his body. It was calming, but at the same time exciting. Like something big was happening. Although he couldn’t describe what it felt like, he knew what it was. The melding of their souls together.
“I…” She blinked.
“The mating bond,” he said. “You’re mine, forever.”
“And you’re mine,” she said, her eyes shiny with tears.
“Let’s go home,” he said.
“Home to Blackstone,” she finished. “But only if I get behind the wheel. I wouldn’t want my driver getting us lost.”
He laughed and kissed her cheek. “You can do whatever you want, just as long as you’ll always be my mate.”
“Forever,” she answered.
Chapter 20
Jason didn’t want to let Christina out of his sight. They went straight back to his apartment and didn’t leave for a whole twenty-four hours. He didn’t want to share her either, wanting to keep her to himself, so he didn’t tell anyone he’d made it home.
Even though they were mated, he knew that there were many things they had to work out. This wasn’t some romantic movie where they would be living happily ever after and the screen faded to black. He would do anything in his power to make sure she was happy, but he knew it wasn’t going to be easy. Christina was a complicated woman, and that was one of the things he loved about her. So, he knew they would have to talk things out.
“What are you going to do now?” he asked as they lay in bed. They were having a lazy afternoon cuddle. He enjoyed feeling her naked body against his, and running his hands over her soft skin, even if they weren’t making love.
“What do you mean?” she asked in a sleepy voice.
“Well, you can’t sponge off me the rest of your life—ow!” He rubbed his head where she hit him, though she had a cute grin on her face when she did it. God, was everything about her sexy and adorable? “I mean,” he said, pulling her close, his voice turning serious. “Your mom’s killers. The Agency.”
She frowned. “My father and brothers will find the person responsible for her death and make them pay.”
“What about you? You’ve been wanting to do that your whole life.”
“Yes,” she nodded. “But I have you now. I don’t want to be away from you.”
“And I don’t want you away from me. But I also don’t want you to resent me for the rest of our lives.”
“I would never resent you.”
He kissed the top of her head. “I want to do whatever I can to help you. Name it, I’ll do it. We’ll find the people responsible for your mom’s death and we’ll make sure she gets justice.”
“Are you proposing we go on some kind of wild revenge spree?” she asked.
He laughed. “No, we’re not going to go Bonnie and Clyde on anyone. Though, you would look cute in a fedora.”
“Then what do you mean? How could I possibly do my work with The Agency and be here with you? Because I told you, I choose you.”
“I know,” he said. “But if it had been my family and I wanted to find justice, you’d support me right?”
“Of course. I love you.”
“And I love you, Christina. All I’m saying is that I don’t want you to feel stuck here. When The Agency finds these fuckers and you decide you want to go get your revenge, then I want to be there too.”
“To protect me?” she asked.
“Yes. Those bastards also tried to kill me and my family. I’ll want to make sure they won’t ever try it again.”
Her expression turned clear. “I understand. We’ll do it. Together.”
* * *
Jason didn’t realize it, but the solution to their problem came in an unlikely form the next day.
“What?” he said in an annoyed voice as he yanked his front door open. He had been in the middle of shower sex with Christina when the doorbell rang. He’d ignored it, but when the ringing became impatient, he had no choice but to answer it.
“Jason Sinclair Lennox,” Riva Lennox said as she stood in front of him, hands on her hips. “Are you ever going to leave this apartment?”
“Not if I could help it,” he muttered under his breath. “Hey, Mom. What’s up? Oh, you brought Sybil too.”
“Jason! You’re naked!” Sybil shrieked and slapped her palms over her eyes.
“Yeah, people usually shower naked,” he said dryly.
“My, you took your time opening the door. I’m glad you’re taking your personal hygiene seriously,” Riva said, her brow raised. “But we didn’t even know you’d arrived back from London.”
“I landed the other day. Christina picked me up,” he said smugly.
“I know,” Riva said with a knowing smile. “She came to Blackstone Castle a couple of hours before you did and told us everything. We gave her the keys to your truck.” She clapped her hands together. “I’m glad everything worked out and you found your mate. She’s a wonderful girl.”
“She is,” he agreed.
“Jason?” Christina asked as she peered around from behind the door. Her hair was still wet from the shower, but she was fully dressed. “Who—oh. Riva, Sybil. Nice of you to drop by.”
“We were worried when we didn’t hear from you,” Riva said.
“Sorry, we got…distracted.” She blushed. “Please, come in. And Jason, go put on some clothes.”
With an unhappy grumble, Jason trudged back to his bedroom and put on a fresh pair of jeans and a T-shirt. He considered shaving, but he loved torturing Christina with his stubble by rubbing it all over her sensitive places. And he had yet to find all of them.
“Ready?” Riva asked when he came out of the bedroom.
“Ready for what?”
“We’re having lunch with your parents and my father,” Christina said. “Let’s go.”
He wasn’t looking forward to meeting Ari Stavros under the circumstances, but he supposed he should make nice.
They drove back to Blackstone Castle, Jason and Christina in his truck and Riva and Sybil in his sister’s car. When they got to the dining room in the east wing, Hank Lennox and Ari Stavros were deep in conversation. They broke off when the four of them walked in.
“Glad you could finally join us,” Hank said, his gaze directed at his son.
“Nice to see you, too, Dad.” Jason walked over to Ari. “Sir,” he said formally. “It’s good to meet you again.”
Dark eyes looked up at him with a steely expression. “Is that all you have to say to me, after you destroyed my townhouse and put my family in danger by traipsing through London for everyone to see?”
“Papa!” Christina said, her face mortified.
“Er … sorry?” He cleared his throat. “I mean, my apologies, sir. I’ll pay for your house. But, there was something else. I wanted to ask you something.”
“And what is that?”
“For your daughter’s hand in marriage,” he said with a gulp. Beside him, Christina let out a gasp. “I know it’s old fashioned, but I wanted to get your permission to ask her.”
Ari looked
at Christina, his smile wistful. “You don’t need it, but you shall have it.” He shook his head. “I just can’t believe a Blackstone dragon is taking away another one of my daughters. You don’t have a third brother hiding somewhere, do you? Let me know so I can keep my Cordelia away.”
“No one age-appropriate, sir,” Jason quipped. Then he turned to Christina. “This was kind of spur-of-the-moment, so I don’t have a ring. But I’ll fly you to any store in the world and we can pick out any ring you want. So,” he got down on one knee and took her hand. “Christina Stavros, you’re already my dragon’s mate and my soul mate. Would you do me the honor of being my wife, too?”
Christina’s jaw dropped and she took a quick gasp of air before she said, “Yes. I will marry you.”
Jason got to his feet and picked her up, then kissed her tenderly. She returned his kisses with an urgent fervor before pulling away.
“Congratulations!” Riva said, her eyes shiny with tears.
“Oh. My. God.” Sybil said. “You’re really mates!”
Hank stood up and hugged his son, and then Christina. “Welcome to the family,” he said. “I’m glad my son is finally settling down.”
Christina and her father also hugged warmly, the older man almost reluctant to let her go. “May your marriage be blessed with love and many children.”
“Eager to be a grandfather?” Christina quipped.
“Yes.” He shook his head and laughed. “A wolf with dragonling grandchildren. Who knew?”
Hank cleared his throat. “Son, I wish you’d given us some warning before you decided to be spontaneous.”
“And romantic,” Riva added.
“Warning? What for?” Jason asked.
“Sit down, both of you,” Hank said, his voice serious. At the change in tone, the mood turned from celebratory to somber and everyone took their seats “Ari and I have been talking since they arrived here,” Hank began. “He told me everything. About the SPA and what they’d uncovered.”
“You did?” Christina asked. “You’ve never told anyone about us.”
“I know,” Ari said. “But times are changing. Your brother was right. We need as much help as we can get.”
“And we’re going to help,” Hank said. “The Lennox Foundation has enough resources to bring to this fight. This isn’t just about our family, but our kind.”
“We must come together and form a strong alliance,” Ari said. “Which is why I’m expanding The Agency to Blackstone. And I want your help, Christina.”
“Me?” she asked.
“Yes, you. Who better to establish our headquarters here than you? You’ve worked behind the scenes and in the field.”
“But it’s only been a year, Papa,” she said. “How could I run it all?”
“You’ll have me,” Jason said, looking at her warmly. “I told you, remember? We’ll do it together.”
“And you’ll have me and your brothers for advice,” Ari added.
Christina looked floored. “I … I don’t know what to say.”
“Will you do it?” Ari asked.
“Of course!” she said, beaming at him. “Thank you, especially for your trust in me, Papa.”
“I know you can do it,” Ari said. “You’ve always made me proud.”
Christina sniffed back the tears and Jason placed a hand over hers. “You’ll do great.”
“All right,” Riva said, wiping the tears from her eyes. “What do you guys say we get some food? I think we’ve had enough excitement for one day.”
Christina laughed and looked at Jason warmly. He returned her smile and squeezed her hand. Deep inside him, his dragon gave a contented snort, finally at peace and whole.
Epilogue
“Are you sure about that dress?” Sybil asked, her nose wrinkling. “Jason’s already seen you in it, albeit accidentally.”
Christina laughed, thinking about that incident. “It’s fine, Sybil. I can’t really imagine myself in anything else.” She had tried on numerous dresses at The Foxy Bridal Boutique, but her heart really was set on that particular dress.
Catherine was right. It was her dress. She was really lucky no one else had bought it since she’d tried it on. “Or maybe, it was meant to be?” Angie had said with a wink.
“I don’t think Jason was looking at the dress anyway,” Kate quipped. “Though he’s seen a lot more since then, huh?”
“Ew, Kate!” Sybil put her hands over her ears. “I don’t want to hear about my brother’s sex life.”
“You’re such a goody-goody,” Kate snorted. “How about you, Catherine? I heard the quiet ones are the wildest in the sack.”
“Well…” Catherine began.
“Ugh!” Sybil groaned. “I’m starving,” she proclaimed and pointed to the cafe across the street. “Can we get a snack, please? All this shopping is making me hungry.”
The four women agreed, crossed the street, and entered the cafe. It was a self-serve coffee shop, so they lined up, ordered one by one, and waited for their order at the end of the counter. Christina was the last to order, the rest of the girls having picked up their food, and was waiting for hers when she felt a tap on her shoulder.
“Yes?” She turned around. “Oh, hello…”
“Penny,” the girl said. “From The Den.” She fidgeted with the bottom of her shirt and looked down. “You probably don’t remember me.”
“I do,” Christina said, recalling the events of that night. She had meant to check on the young waitress, but she just hadn’t had time. “How are you, Penny?”
“I’m fine,” she answered, looking up at her with wide, green eyes. “I just … I wanted to say…” She took a deep breath. “Thank you. For the other night. If you hadn’t…” Her low lip began to tremble and her face got even paler.
Christina placed a hand on Penny’s shoulder. “It was nothing. No one should have to put up with that.” Anger began to surge in her. The man the other night hadn’t touched her, but the way Penny reacted … she had a bad feeling this wasn’t the first time.
“You were pretty bad-ass,” Penny said. “The way you dealt with that guy. Are you like, a black belt in Karate or something?”
“Something like that,” she replied. An idea struck her. “You know, you can learn too, if you want. To defend yourself.”
“Me?” she asked. “Oh, I couldn’t. I mean, I don’t have the time or money to take lessons. Plus, I’m not exactly in shape like you.”
“You don’t need money or to be a body builder to learn,” Christina said. “I’ll teach you.”
“What?” Her face brightened. “Really?”
Christina nodded. “You don’t have to be afraid, Penny,” she said, patting the other girl’s arm. “And you have every right to defend yourself.”
“That’s … so nice of you,” she said with a slight sniffle. “I’m just … no one’s been so nice to me lately.”
Christine frowned. Penny seemed like such a sweet girl. How could anyone treat her badly? “Listen, what are you doing now?”
She held up the book in her hand. “I don’t have my shift until tonight, so I like to drive in early and read here.”
“Come sit with us.” She pointed to the table where the girls had set up.
“Oh, I couldn’t…”
“You already know everyone,” Christina pointed out. “I won’t take no for an answer. Besides, we can set up the details of your self-defense lessons with me.” She dragged Penny to the table. “You ladies remember Penny, right?” she said as she pulled out a chair.
“Of course! Penny, my girl! My bringer of tequila! I have to thank you for my wicked hangover,” Kate said, raising her coffee cup.
“Oh, I’m sorry—”
“It was a joke, girl!” Kate said. “Come and take a seat.”
“Thank you,” Penny said as she sat down on the empty spot on the couch between Kate and Sybil. “I don’t want to intrude on your girl time or anything.”
“Not at all,” Sybil ass
ured her. “Besides, we could always use more girls around here.”
“I just hope we won’t bore you with wedding talk,” Catherine said.
“Oh, I thought your wedding was a while back?” Penny asked, confused.
“It’s my wedding, actually,” Christina said.
“Congratulations,” Penny said. “When’s the big day?”
“In two weeks,” she replied. She and Jason had realized that there was no need to wait, and neither wanted a big wedding like Matthew and Catherine. They were going to do a quickie ceremony at the castle with immediate family only, then have a party at the Blackstone Hotel ballroom. It would be easier to secure the ceremony and the reception that way, should the people behind the bombing try anything again. Her father and Kostas doubted there would be another attempt, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
“That’s wonderful,” Penny said. “I didn’t realize you were planning to get engaged.”
“Neither did we,” Catherine said with a snort. “I can’t believe Jason asked Papa for your hand in front of you.”
Christina laughed. She was still getting used to the idea of being mates, but it felt right. She didn’t feel any physical changes, but it was just … different. She still felt like herself, but being around Jason was just so much better. And the sex … well, that was something else.
“Me neither, but that’s Jason. Besides, when you know, you know, right?”
Catherine chuckled. “Yup, and you go with it. Or you spend some time fighting it like two stubborn goats, at least until someone gives you the needed push to get together.”
Christina shot her twin a dirty look. As soon as she and Matthew came back from their honeymoon and she told them about her and Jason, Catherine gave her a smug look. She said they knew all along and they conspired so they would get together.
“It’s so romantic,” Sybil declared. “I just hope my mate will turn out to be someone nice. And handsome!”
“And sexy?” Kate added.
Sybil blushed. “Well, it wouldn’t hurt.”
The Blackstone Bad Dragon Page 14
