Page 36 of The Dragon's Mate Proposal

Smooth, Samantha. Real smooth.

Chapter Nineteen

Cade

“Are you feeling warm?” I asked, ignoring her question.

I wasn’t going to kiss her. My dragon was back under control, the feral desires of my more beastly nature chained up, and not allowed back out.

Which wasn’t the same as saying they weren’t there. My cock still twitched, and my ears thundered with the sound of my heart racing from her warmth against me. It felt right to have her that close.

But that was as far as I let it go. Things had gotten out of hand. We both needed time to process what was going on, to understand it and learn how to deal with it.

Because once I found my fortune, I would leave. Back to life among humans and away from there.

My dragon growled its disdain, trying to shove its opinion to the forefront, but a firm effort of my will shoved it back down. I wasn’t going to listen to it.

“Y-yes,” Samantha said, her teeth still chattering, though the intensity was lessening. “Much warmer. B-but why am I still s-sh-shaking?”

“Shock,” I said, still keeping her held still. “From what just happened.”

She nodded. “Makes sense.”

“That’s good. If you can think logically, it means you’re processing it well.”

“I guess. It’s not that shocking, though. My reaction, I mean.”

“No?”

“Of course not. Anyone would be stunned if a guy they just met whipped out his dick and starting peeing everywhere after wrestling a bear.” She craned her head back to give me a look. “Seriously. Marking your territory? What kind of macho business is that?”

I laughed. “Okay, so maybe my dragon was a bit more in control than usual. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t a factual statement. It will mark this as my territory, and the bear will stay away. Which means you can go around more freely and be safe.”

“Fine. If you say so.” She rolled her eyes, but they were sparkling with barely contained laughter. “Next time, just go behind a tree, okay?”

“Okay,” I agreed, laughing. “Now, shall we get you dried off?”

“That would be nice,” Samantha said as I carried her out of the water and set her down. “But how do you intend to do that? I’m soaked.”

“Like this,” I said, focusing my fire and pushing it to the surface of my skin, raising my body temperature rapidly until my clothes steamed and tendrils of fog wrapped themselves around me.

When they cleared, my clothing was dry.

“Neat party trick,” she said dryly. “But how do you intend to work that on my clothes?”

“Two options,” I said, lifting fingers to match. “One, you strip and give your clothes to me.”

Samantha gave me her “raising an eyebrow” look.

“Hey,” I protested, both hands in the air. “You didn’t think it was such a bad idea before the bear attack.”

I didn’t intend to be so bold, but seeing how she flushed from her chin down past the hemline of her shirt was worth it. One day, I would see just how far her blush went.

She breathed a little deeper, clearly thinking about the memory my words evoked, but she didn’t act on it.

“And option two?” she made herself say with obvious effort.

“Hug me,” I said, spreading my arms wide, welcoming her into my embrace.

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