Page 31 of Fated for his Flame

He snorted. “There have been no women. Not in that sense at least.”

“I’m the first?” I asked doubtfully.

“Not in the strictest sense, no. But you are the first who’s been more than just fun,” he admitted uncomfortably.

“Why did you do this?” I asked, voicing a question I’d been curious about since the start. “Choose me as your mate, I mean. You’ve been amazing to me, but it seems that by being human, I’ve brought you nothing but troubles.”

My voice wavered slightly at the end, but I managed to keep it together. If I lost my composure, I would be forced to explain why. Why the idea of someone fighting as hard as he had to for me was so foreign to me. Something I wasn’t used to.

And that part of my childhood—foster family after foster family, being abandoned by the system, left to fend for myself—wasn’t part of my current identity. But it was what drove my need to know why he had chosen me. Nobody picked me like he did. Ever.

Why was it different? I wanted to know. Needed to.

Silas took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled. I glanced over at him. He was staring out at the ocean and its infinite vastness, but I could tell he wasn’t really seeing it. His focus was elsewhere. Inward. I let him gather his answer, taking his time. We weren’t in a rush.

“All my life,” he said at last, “it was expected of me to take over for my father at some point. He’s a believer in the old school. He won’t let it happen until I’m mated. Not to just anyone, though. It has to be someone he approves of. Like I’m just another asset of his to be managed, not his own flesh and blood.”

Wordlessly, I reached over and took Silas’ hand in mine. The anger in his voice was disguising pain. I wanted him to know it was okay, that he could let it out.

“For years now, ever since I turned eighteen, in fact, he’s paraded women before me. All of whom he’s chosen. Women who fit his dumb definition of what a dragon woman in this position should be. Meek. Submissive. Etc.”

“Be seen, not heard,” I muttered.

“Pretty much. They’ve all been the exact opposite of the type of woman I think I would like. Someone strong. With a personality and brain. To stand with me, not behind me!” He clenched his hand into a fist.

I leaned over, putting my head on his shoulder while slowly prying his fingers apart before sliding mine between them. He stiffened slightly but only for a moment.

“It’s driven a wedge between him and me,” he continued, his thumb starting to stroke the back of my hand. “Every time I say no, he gets a little more frustrated with me, and every time he brings yet another one before me, I grow angrier at him and his unwillingness to change ways. Then you were there, and for once, things were different.”

I perked up slightly as the answer to my question began to reveal itself.

“I didn’t expect it to go this well, though,” he said with a chuckle, squeezing my hand. “That’s been an unexpected surprise.”

“A welcome one, I hope.”

He nodded.

“So, then, you want me to stay?” I asked, unsure why that was the question to ask.

That’s not true. You know why you asked it.

I wanted to be wanted, desired. Mission or not, it was something I’d never really had before. Not from someone I was interested in. Men had lusted for me. That was a part of my missions I didn’t enjoy, but they were idiots when they thought with their cocks and not their brains. A hint of cleavage or the idea of a midnight tryst, and half the time, they would spill any secret I wanted.

Silas wanted me for my brain as well. And that … that felt good.

“Yes,” he said. “At first, I might have said no because I didn’t really believe this could be a long-term thing. But now … Now, I’ve kissed you. You make my dragon antsy, something no other woman has done. I’m having fun.”

I smiled at him, trying to disguise the topsy-turvyness of my stomach. “Are you sure? It’s causing some friction in your family. My presence, I mean.”

“It’s pissing off my father, you mean.”

“Yeah, essentially.”

Silas grimaced. “Too bad, I think. I’ve pissed him off enough over the years. It’s nothing new. This time, I’m doing something for me. If he can’t see past his prejudice and be happy for his son, then perhaps … I don’t know. We’ll deal with that when we get there.”

“Your father wants to kill me,” I pointed out. “We should probably plan for that.”

“I will not let that happen,” Silas growled suddenly, banishing the silence around us. “I swear to you, Chloe, right now, I will never let him harm a hair on you. I will protect you.”

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