by Minx Malone
“What are you doing here, Paul?”
He glanced over at Hailey who rolled her eyes. “Just coming to say hi. I haven’t seen your boyfriend around lately.”
Hailey narrowed her eyes and adjusted her grip on the shovel in her hand. “What are you a stalker now, huh Paul? Are you peering in her windows, too? Need help rubbing one out of that tiny dick?”
Morgan choked back a laugh. Considering how petite her friend was she was always looking for a fight.
Paul ignored her. “I’m just trying to warn you, Morgan. Dragons are bad news and I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
Morgan doubted that. He was just pissed that someone else had gotten somewhere when she’d been turning him down for months.
“You don’t have to worry about me. I’m a big girl. Aren’t you always reminding me of that?”
He had the decency to look slightly ashamed. “I’m just trying to look out for you. We could be good together.”
“Paul, I’m sorry if this is hard to accept. But you and me, it’s never going to happen.”
He dropped any attempt at civility then. “Whatever. I was trying to throw you a bone. But I don’t want you anymore now that I know you’re just another dragon whore.”
All of a sudden Paul was lifted off his feet. Morgan gaped as a shirtless Ian, scales on display, held him aloft like a rag doll. Paul clawed at the hand clamped around his throat, his face an alarming shade of red. Ian didn’t seem to notice or care, just pulled him close.
“Stay away from my mate,” he hissed.
chapter seven
Ian squeezed harder, enjoying the choking sound coming from the throat of the human male who’d dared insult his mate. He would rip him to shreds and leave his body for the vultures. Then his mate would know that he took her safety seriously. She might not love him yet but surely defending her honor would impress her.
“Ian! Put him down this instant.” Morgan stood at his elbow, looking between him and the human with fear.
Or maybe not.
He dropped the human and then picked up his mate, carrying her out of harm’s way. Then he turned and put himself between her and the man now climbing to his feet.
“I can’t believe you just did that. You could have killed him!”
Ian was about to tell her that killing him had been his objective but the look on her face indicated she might not see that as a good thing. Over the last few days, he’d allowed Gavin to poke, prod and run experiments on him all in the name of research. His brother hoped they could figure out the composition of the drug that had been used against him so he could develop an antidote.
In exchange, Ian had asked him question after question about the idiosyncrasies and preferences of human females. He’d gotten a crash course in the role of flowers, chocolates, whispered promises and the importance of foot rubs. There had been so much to learn and he still wasn’t sure why anyone would want someone else touching their feet but in the end, he’d been willing to learn anything. He’d promised her that he was going to show her how he felt. Now he could.
“Um, sorry?”
His brother had been adamant that when in doubt, you should always apologize and then offer some type of enticement. He’d mentioned wine and chocolates as acceptable items. Ian wondered how that worked. Did human males just walk around with emergency rations of sweets in the event their mate became angry? Maybe he could just go fetch her some now.
“Would you like some chocolate?”
Morgan wrinkled her brow. “Huh?”
A small, red-haired girl appeared next to his mate, appraising him with curious eyes. “Wow, Morgan. He’s hot and he brings you chocolate? Some girls have all the luck.”
Morgan looked exasperated instead of happy. Clearly he was doing something wrong. She moved around him toward the human male. Immediately his scales came out as he blocked her with his body. Like hell was she getting any closer to the man who’d threatened her.
She held up a hand in front of his face. “Just, no.” Then she walked around him. “Paul? Are you okay?”
The human male held his throat while glaring at Ian. “I’m fine. Just remember what I said Morgan.” He walked off, glancing behind him worriedly the whole way.
Morgan sighed. Then she turned toward him. Her eyes narrowed.
The redhead looked between them and whistled. “So, I’m going to go. I’m Hailey by the way.”
She held out her hand and Ian shook it gently. When he retracted his scales, she jumped.
“Okay. That was awesome. I love your… DNA.”
Morgan coughed. “And that’s enough for now. Bye, Hailey.”
They watched as her friend put her shovel down next to a patch of bare earth before walking down the graveled path to the car parked at the end of the lane. Ian turned back, surveying the dirt and tools surrounding Morgan. They must have been in the middle of planting more of the herbs she used in her homemade products.
“What are you doing here, Ian?” Her face was impassive as she observed him.
“I’m here for you. Of course.” He moved forward to take her in his arms, startled when she sidestepped him.
She knelt to pick up her gardening tools and then stalked back toward the cottage. He followed behind her as she put everything by the back door and then walked in. Ian stood in the doorway uncertainly, watching as she opened the refrigerator and took out an array of fruits and vegetables.
“You don’t seem pleased to see me. I’m sorry I don’t have any chocolate for you.”
Morgan slammed the cucumber she was holding down on the counter. “Pleased to see you? Ian, you just left and never came back. You didn’t even call me to let me know you got home okay.”
Ian stepped closer. “Was I supposed to? My brother had to do some research on the nerve agent used on me. We didn’t have any new information so why would I call when I had nothing to report?”
Morgan’s mouth scrunched up into the most adorable little pout. “You don’t call a girl to give her a status update. It’s just a courtesy.” She averted her eyes but not before Ian saw what she was trying to hide. His lack of communication had hurt her.
Damn Gavin and his lessons. He hadn’t told him that phone calls were so important.
“Morgan, I am so sorry. I wanted to learn everything about courting a human female but my brother didn’t have time to go over everything. He mainly covered the importance of food and flowers. He didn’t say that phone calls were expected.”
She stared at him for a long time. Then she smiled a little bit. “Food and flowers, huh? Is that why you keep asking if I want some chocolate.”
Glad to be back on a subject he knew something about, Ian grinned. “Yes. I was told to offer sweets and they make women feel better.”
Finally she laughed. “It certainly doesn’t hurt.”
He moved behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She let out a breath and leaned back into his embrace. Everything was right in the world again.
“So I’m supposed to call you when we’re apart. Even if I have nothing to say?”
“Well, yeah. You don’t have to have something to say in particular. You can call a girl just to say hello. To let her know you haven’t forgotten about her.”
Baffled, Ian spun her around and grasped her face in his hands. “Morgan, how could I forget you? You’re my mate. Mi tesarik. You are the one woman made for me and the reason I live. Forgetting you would be like forgetting to breathe.”
Morgan grasped his wrists, her beautiful green eyes searching his. “I thought you were just saying that stuff. How can you possibly feel that way about me already? We haven’t even known each other a week!”
He chuckled. “I don’t need a week. I knew within the first five minutes.”
As if breaking free from a trance, Morgan pulled back. He could tell she was skeptical of the whole mate thing. Humans didn’t have the same instincts so it probably seemed foreign. Then it hit him that humans didn’t live the
same way dragons did. They often mated multiple times and even abandoned their mates and children sometimes. Something considered completely taboo in dragon culture.
“You don’t know what it means to be a dragon’s mate, do you?”
Morgan shook her head. He pulled her close again and she snuggled against his chest.
“It means that you are the one woman I am drawn to. That day when our eyes met, something inside of me recognized something inside of you as my perfect match. Your happiness is my highest priority and I will do anything to keep you protected. Our word for mate, mi tesarik, translates closest to my treasure in your language. Dragons do love to hoard treasure but we consider our mates to be priceless.”
Morgan’s mouth fell open. “All of that in five minutes?”
He kissed her on the nose. “All of that in the blink of an eye.”
She stood on tiptoe and then they were kissing, their mouths fused together like they needed each other’s taste to survive. Suddenly the desire she’d been fighting off the past few days came roaring back. Everything he’d said to her swirled around her brain until she was dizzy with it. The knowledge that he wanted her, cherished her, needed her, was more arousing than any physical touch could ever be.
He was all hers.
“Ian. Take me to bed.”
She felt his smile against her lips and then he lifted her. She curled her legs around his waist, enjoying the feeling of being cradled in his arms. It was a primal thing to be held like this by such a strong man. She felt completely safe and protected with him, something she wouldn’t have even known was missing in her life. There was no doubt in her mind Ian would put himself between her and danger without a moment’s hesitation.
When he set her down on the bed, she kept her arm hooked around his neck and pulled him down for a kiss, breaking only to pull her sweater over her head. Ian kissed the cleavage spilling over the top of her bra before unhooking it. Morgan pushed her jeans down, leaving her in a pair of white briefs.
“I would have worn something a little sexier if I’d known you were coming.” She laughed behind her hands.
“You are perfect just like this. Besides, these aren’t going to be on long.”
She lifted her hips to allow him to slide her panties over her hips and down her legs. Then he pushed his jeans down and kicked them to the side. Morgan sighed. In the late evening light, he looked like some mythological being. A god amongst men. She took a moment to just appreciate his masculine beauty. She truly was a lucky girl.
Then he turned on the light.
Morgan scrambled to wrap the sheet over her. “Can we leave the light off?”
Ian pulled at the sheet gently until she finally released it. Her hands immediately flew up to cover her breasts. He pressed them to her sides.
“Never hide from me, angel. Everything about you is designed to tempt me.”
When he kissed her again, she finally stopped struggling beneath him. As their tongues tangled together, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders holding him to her.
“Ian, it feels incredible.”
Rolling them over, Ian settled her on his lap. He took her hands, helping her balance as she rode him. Morgan cried out at the tight fit, rocking back and forth until she could take a few more inches. Finally he was all the way inside, rooted deep in her tight heat.
“You look so beautiful like this. Full of passion. Full of me.”
His whispered words pushed her desire to a higher level. With anyone else, this position would have been the worst. All of her jiggly bits were on display and she hated how her large breasts looked with no support. But with Ian, he looked at her like she was his to worship. Her hips rocked with his, catching the rhythm that she knew would take them both over the edge.
“I’m so glad you came back. I can’t believe you’re really here.”
Her orgasm took her off guard, starting deep in her belly and radiating waves of pleasure throughout her body. She cried out, uncaring of how loud she was or how she looked. All the while, Ian whispered how sexy she was and how much she turned him on. Then she heard his deep groan and felt him twitch inside her, letting her know that he’d found his pleasure too.
Morgan collapsed on his chest, exhausted and replete. He kissed the top of her head.
“I love you, angel. Believe that.”
chapter eight
Over the next few weeks, Morgan learned what it meant to be the mate of a dominant, demanding dragon. It was as exhilarating and exhausting as it sounded.
Ian had boundless energy. He helped her work in her garden and was fascinated by her greenhouse. He’d brought her to what he called his “den” and introduced her to his brothers. She’d taken him to meet her parents and he hadn’t even been offended when they’d been less than friendly. Morgan had been mortified but she knew many people of the older generation were frightened of shifters. It helped that Ian had rid them of a dead tree in their yard by incinerating it.
She’d never forget the sight of him breathing fire.
He went out of his way to support her business and had even helped her by flying her to West Virginia to deliver a bulk order. It had been so surreal to ride on him while he was in dragon form.
He supported her in every way he could and made her feel like the most beautiful, desirable woman he’d ever seen. Each day, she kept waiting for him to get tired of her, or start making suggestions of how she could work out more and lose weight but instead he uplifted and encouraged her.
She wanted to do something for him. Morgan glanced over to where her dragon was sitting on the couch typing on her laptop. Apparently he was active in running the retrieval firm he owned with his siblings and dealt with their customers. He’d started working out of her living room part of the time so they could spend more time together.
I should tell him I love him.
He was very open with his feelings and professed his love for her regularly. Even if she couldn’t understand how his feelings could be so deep so quickly, she wanted him to know that she felt the special connection between them.
“Angel, I need to talk to my brother. But if you need me, come get me.” Ian rose from the couch and kissed her cheek gently.
“I was going to take something over to my dad, anyway. You work. I’ll be back in about an hour.”
She grabbed the balm she’d mixed the night before from the shelf in the dining room where she kept all her non-perishable products. After tucking it into the pocket of her jeans, she opened the door of the cottage and stepped out into the damp, cool air.
Her parents’ cottage wasn’t far. Part of the reason they’d chosen the house was because it was close to her grandmother’s place. When she arrived, she opened the door and stepped inside. Her mother, Grace, looked up from her place on the couch.
“Morgan. What brings you by sweetheart?”
“I wanted to bring Dad some more of that arthritis balm.”
Her mom stood up and held out her hand. “Wonderful. I know he really appreciates it. He just left for the hardware store. You know how he is in there, so who knows when he’ll be back. But stay for a while. Have some tea.”
Morgan settled at the kitchen table while her mother poured the tea. By the smell, it was one of her mother’s mixtures. It smelled like cinnamon and rose hips. Probably something her mom was testing out.
“How is Ian?” Her mother asked tentatively.
She appreciated that her parents were making an effort even if they didn’t really understand her choices.
“Great. He took me to deliver that bulk order the other day so it wouldn’t be late.”
“Took you?”
“Yeah, he flew. I got to ride on his back. It was pretty crazy.”
“Flew? Imagine that.” Grace smiled. “Things are so different these days. When I was a girl, even before the rest of the world knew about the dragons, we were warned to stay away from certain areas. It was considered folklore by outsiders but those of us who grew up here
knew the stories were true.”
“He really cares about me. I’ve never felt like this about anyone. I know it’s been difficult for you to adjust to this but I appreciate that you’re trying even though you don’t approve.”
“Oh, my sweet baby. It’s not that I don’t approve. I’m just scared for you.”
“You don’t have to be afraid, Mom. Ian loves me. He’d never hurt me.”
She knew that with absolute certainty. Even if he eventually got tired of her down the line, she knew he would never hurt her. He was a protector through and through.
“I don’t think he’d hurt you on purpose, no. But I remember the dragon wars. It was a dangerous time for our community. I have nothing against Ian in particular. He seems like a lovely young man and he adores you, I can tell. But the more you get involved in his world, I worry that you could get hurt accidentally. Dragons can be volatile creatures. Violent and unpredictable.”
“Humans can be, too.”
Her mother put her cup down and grasped her hand. “That’s true. As long as you’re being careful, I’ll try not to worry so much.”
After they finished their tea, Morgan helped her mom unlock her tablet since she’d forgotten the password again. They walked out into the cool air together.
“Tell Dad I’m sorry I missed him. But I’ll come by in a few days just to check on you.”
“Bring your young man with you. We’ll have dinner. It’ll give us a chance to get to know him better.”
Grateful, Morgan hugged her. Suddenly her mom stiffened. Morgan turned to see what she was looking at. Three men stood in the yard behind them. One of them pointed at Morgan.
“There she is. That’s the one.” They started running toward her.
Morgan gasped as she recognized two of them as the men who’d been looking for Ian the day he’d been hurt. Foreboding came over her and she pushed her mother back toward her cottage door.
