Page 33 of The Dragon's Mate Proposal

All I had to do was take it.

With a growl that drew a delighted hiss, I kissed my way down her jaw and neck, gently biting and nibbling. Her hands grabbed at my head, holding it tight and firm, not letting go.

I growled again.

Something growled back.

We both froze for a second before pulling apart.

“Was that you?” she asked.

I shook my head. “Was it you?”

Her face scrunched up, the look of arousal fading swiftly, replaced by uncertainty. “You think I can growl that deep?”

“No,” I admitted, standing up straight, trying to accept the moment was over. It had been rushed anyway. “But it was better than any alternative I could think of.”

Looking around the pool, I could see no signs of another dragon. My gaze went to the sky next, though how I would’ve missed the sound of wings passing overhead was beyond me. Still, nothing.

Lifting my head, I sniffed at the air, drawing in deep, trying to scent whoever had made the sound. But there was no sign of dragon. The entire time, I kept myself between Samantha and the direction the sound had come from. Whoever it was, they would have to go through me if they hoped to get to her.

“Be prepared to run if I tell you to,” I murmured.

“What is it?”

“I have no idea. Whoever they are, they’re being very coy. They’re downwind of us, so I can’t scent them. But they can smell us.”

As I spoke, something moved in the bushes across the water, still deep enough in the brush I couldn’t spot who it was.

“Well, come on out,” I called, growing irritated. “I don’t want to play your damn games any longer, please and thank you. We know you’re there. What do you want?”

There was no reply, only a slight shuffling of movement.

“Stay here,” I said to Samantha, waving a hand at her.

“Yeah, no problem,” she said, sliding up the rock, pulling her feet under her, ready to get up and leap away as necessary. “I’ll stay right here.”

“Good,” I said, sliding through the water in near silence as I approached the other side of the water, my focus narrowing in on what was in front of me.

The bushes rustled slightly as I neared, but my worry was already fading. The closer I got, the smaller whatever was hiding seemed to be. It was obviously some sort of wild animal. All I had to do was shoo it away.

Pushing the branches aside, I came face to face with a bear cub. It rambled on in alarm, a loud, almost honking noise. A cry for help.

I relaxed, backing away slowly, leaving the youngling in peace. Apparently, the property had been abandoned long enough the larger wildlife was moving back in. That was no surprise.

Of course, there was still the mother bear to be on the lookout for. I backed away from the bushes, intending to leave before she made an appearance.

“Cade!”

Wings sprouting from my back, I was leaping across the pond toward Samantha before I even registered what was going on, the sheer terror in her scream galvanizing me into action.

The mother bear had appeared from the woods, a huge brown beast roaring in fury as her cub continued to bleat in alarm from the bushes.

I landed on the sandy shores, dragon wings spread wide as I bellowed my own challenge, fully intent on distracting the animal from Samantha.

It didn’t work. The beast charged at her.

I leaped again, swooping in and grabbing her in my arms, wrapping my wings around us protectively mere seconds before the protective mother slammed into me. The impact was enough to send us both tumbling into the water.

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