by Dena Christy
Once inside she looked around, hardly believing that it was only the night before that she’d fled that bed, fled him.
“Can you forgive me?” Elle let go of his hand and squeezed hers together as she stood there trembling. She glanced up at him, trying to read his answer in his eyes. He stepped in front of her and cupped her face in his hands.
“Forgive you for what?” He smoothed his thumb over her lower lip and she longed to step closer to him, to rest against him. But this was important and she couldn’t let his distracting touch prevent her from making amends to him. What she’d done had been unworthy of both of them, fleeing in the night and letting him wake up to find her gone.
“For running from you.” She looked deep in his eyes and saw nothing but warmth in there. It gave her hope that perhaps they could put the events of the last night behind them. Although he had saved her life, she didn’t want to take for granted that he wanted to be with her for the rest of their lives, that they would be together in love.
“Why did you run? Was it because of what I am?” There was something in his eyes now, some shadow that told her that perhaps there were a few ghosts haunting him. She could feel the tension in his hands as his thumb stilled, and she reached up to put her hands on his.
“I will admit that it was a shock learning that you are a dragon. You have to admit that you are special. But that wasn’t why I ran. I was afraid, not of you or of what you are, but of what I was feeling inside for you. I loved my husband deeply and when he was murdered, there was a wound inside me that I thought would never heal. And then I met you.”
She stopped there for a moment, struggling to put her thoughts into words. He clasped her hands and took her over to the bed, sat down on it and pulled her onto his lap. He put his arms around her, holding her quietly as if he could sense her struggle.
“I was afraid of feeling that devastation again if something happened to you. And when I learned that there was such a thing as dragon hunters, I was certain that I would go through something like that again, so I ran.” She gave a sad laugh when she realized that in the end she was the one who had attracted the danger, not Gregor.
“What’s funny?” The beating of his heart was steady under her ear and she relaxed into him. Sitting here like this, being held by him made her feel like nothing bad was ever going to happen again.
“I ran away from you because I thought that you would attract danger and violence to you and I didn’t want to lose you that way. Little did I know that I was the one who was the magnet for violence.” She swallowed hard for a second, past the prickle in her throat when she remembered what Gabriel had told her had really happened to Ian. “He killed Ian. What I never realized was just how obsessed with me Gabriel had always been. I’d never seen him as more than a friend, and I met him before I met Ian. He was the one that introduced us. It’s my fault that Ian was killed and mine that Gabriel was hunting you.”
Gregor pushed her back a little, his scowl fierce when he gently cradled her face in her hand.
“I don’t want to hear that again. It is not your fault that Nash was hunting me, and it wasn’t your fault that he murdered Ian. The blame for that rests squarely with him. You aren’t to blame because he couldn’t accept that you didn’t have feelings for him. Nash is dead, and while it won’t bring your husband back, at least he is out of our lives and can never hurt you again.”
A tear slipped down her cheek, and he brushed it away with his thumb. As she looked at him, she knew what she had to say to him. If nothing else, what had happened with Nash had taught her a valuable lesson. There were no guarantees in life and she needed to make the most of every moment she had. She had to reach out and take what she wanted from life. And what she wanted most was this man.
“I love you.” She slid her hands up from where they rested on his chest and put them around his neck. She tugged and pulled his face down to his so she could kiss him. It felt like forever since she’d had the scent of him in her nostrils, the feel of his firm muscles against her and the softness of his lips moving against hers.
He pulled back slightly and looked into her eyes.
“You love me, even though I’m a dragon?”
“I love you, Gregor. It doesn’t matter to me that you are a man and a dragon.” She felt very vulnerable sitting here, confessing her feelings when he hadn’t said the words back to her. She couldn’t blame him for being reluctant to say them since she had run from him. “I’ll understand if it will take you a while to be able to say them back to me. It was a shitty thing to do, leaving you in the night like I did.”
“It wasn’t one of the best moments that I’ve lived through, but I’ve lived through much worse. You aren’t the only one who was scared. I told you once that there was a woman, a long time ago, who was in my life and died. She died running from me and I was terrified that history would repeat itself.”
A thought came to her, and she looked into his eyes. “Did this woman look like me?”
A surprised look crossed his face. “Yes, she did. So much so that I believe she was you in another life.”
“How is that even possible?” It would explain the dreams she’d been having, but why were they set so far in the past if he was then who he is now?
“I lived a long time ago, and when she died, I went into a deep sleep. I have only just awakened recently.”
“From the night we met I’ve felt like I’ve known you. I’ve been dreaming about you, but in the past. I think those are memories from my life before coming back to me. She didn’t die… I didn’t die running from you. The last dream I had I was happy and in love with you, I was going to stay with you. A man came, a man named Archer, and he took me away with him.”
A look of pain flashed across his face and Elle leaned close to him and held him.
“Thank you for telling me. I have been carrying the burden that you died running from me, that you couldn’t love me because of what I am. Perhaps I needed to feel that. I needed to not take your love for granted when I found you the second time.”
She had promised herself that she wouldn’t ask, that she would wait until he was ready to say the words, but she couldn’t stop the question from coming out.
“You know I love you. Do you love me, even a little?”
He drew back in surprise, and she felt a little silly for asking. The man risked his life to save hers.
“I forget that sometimes a woman needs to hear the words. I didn’t tell you in the past, and that was something that I have regretted. I thought you died not knowing how I felt. I will not make that mistake again. I love you. I’ve carried you in my heart for centuries and you will live there for the rest of my days. You are my woman, my love and there will be no other for me.”
Wow. For someone who forgot to say the words, he made up for it when he did. The love she had for him bloomed inside her and it was no longer enough to sit here and be held by him.
“Now that you’ve said the words, why don’t you show me.” She gasped when he growled and pushed her back onto the bed. She snaked her arms around his neck as the weight of his body came down on hers.
“I intend to show you every day how much I love you.”
Epilogue
Gregor opened his eyes as light streamed into the bedroom of the apartment above Elle’s shop. It had taken several months and a lot of money to rebuild, and yesterday it had finally been time for them to move in. He was glad that she’s decided that she wanted to continue with her business. He still blamed himself a little for the destruction, although Elle had turned his words back to him when she’d said that Nash and the other hunters were responsible for the fire, not him.
She stirred beside him, and he could still not quite believe that she loved him. His curse was broken, and he would spend the rest of his life showing her how much she meant to him.
“What are you thinking about?”
Her voice was husky with sleep as she turned her head to look at him.
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��That I’m the luckiest man in the world.” He pulled her to him and kissed her softly. His kiss deepened and he could feel his hunger for her rising inside him. She pulled away with a laugh and rolled over to sit on the edge of the bed.
“As much as I would like to continue this, we have somewhere to go.”
Gregor groaned and wished for a moment that he had the ability to pause time. He would freeze this moment with her. It was difficult to tear himself away from the need for her, especially when she looked so beautiful with her long, dark curls spilling down her back.
“I’m sure Iszak and Julia will have other children.” He reached for her and put his hands on her waist. She playfully slapped them away and stood. His eyes skated down her nude flesh. “Standing there naked will not convince me to get out of this bed.”
She shook her head at him and pulled on her robe. “I want to go see the baby. They are expecting us. I’m sure there will be more children for them, but this is the first one. Now get up.”
“You know I like it when you boss me around like that.”
She rolled her eyes as he laughed, and she walked toward the door of the bedroom. She glanced at him, and the way the light hit her face nearly took his breath away. His love for her welled inside him, and he got up out of the bed and approached her.
“Have I told you how much I love you?” He put his hands on her waist and pulled her to him.
“You tell me every day, and I never tire of hearing it. I love you too but don’t think you will distract me. Now get ready so we can see the baby.”
She walked out the bedroom door toward the bathroom. He followed her, and she turned to look at him again with one eyebrow raised.
“I’ll only go if you promise that we can make a little one of our own when we get back.” He wiggled his eyebrows at her and she stopped to look at him, her expression growing serious.
“You haven’t mentioned children before.” Her voice was quiet, and he wondered if perhaps children was not something she wanted. She was right when she said that they had never discussed it, he hadn’t really thought about it until now. As much as he wanted to see his baby in her arms, he wanted her more.
“It’s not a deal breaker if you don’t want any.”
She smiled a soft smile at him and reached up to caress his cheek. “I’m glad you brought up the subject, because there is something I wanted to tell you.”
“What?” He braced himself to hear her say that she didn’t want to have his babies.
“We don’t have to make a baby when we get home, because we’ve already done it.” She smiled at him and for a second Gregor couldn’t say anything. His eyes darted down to her flat stomach and back up to her eyes.
“How long have you known?”
“Not long. I wanted to wait until after Julia had her baby before I said anything. I wasn’t sure what your reaction would be. I’m glad that a baby is something you want too.”
He pulled her to him, and it was like the last tiny doubt that he had that this was real finally left him. Elle loved him, and their love for each other had created a life together. He knew now, what he hadn’t known when he’d first emerged from his stone slumber. Everything that he’d gone through in the past happened to bring him to this point. He was meant to earn the love of this woman, and he would never forget that lesson.
He truly was the luckiest dragon in the world, and he would spend the rest of his days thanking fate for bringing her back to him.
Also by Dena Christy
Paranormal Romance Series
Dark Assassin, Dark Wolf Series Book 1
Dark Curse, Dark Wolf Series Book 2
Dark Wolf, Dark Wolf Series Book 3
Dark Vengeance, Dark Wolf Series Book 4
Dark Gods, Dark Wolf Series Book 5
Having Faith, Cold Bay Wolf Pack Book 1
Saving Grace, Cold Bay Wolf Pack Book 2
Andor, The Dragon’s Mate Series Book 1
Iszak, The Dragon’s Mate Series Book 2
Standalone Paranormal Romance
Going Under
Science Fiction Romance Series
Alien Capture, Latrothian Warrior Series Book 1
Alien Rescue, Latrothian Warrior Series Book 2
Alien Escape, Latrothian Warrior Series Book 3
