Page 13 of Her Dragon

“Yes, my treasure,” I confirmed with a smirk. “I never felt desire until I caught your sweet scent in my lungs and locked eyes with you.”

She relaxed into my hold. “Good.”

My dragon was smug about her satisfaction with my answer. “And in order for me to fully claim you, I’ll need to bite you here and mark you as mine forever.”

“Do it now,” she demanded, tilting her head to give me better access.

“The mating mark only takes hold if I’m deep inside you and your pussy is full of my come.”

Her bottom lip puffed out in an adorable pout. “Ugh, I really want you to claim me, but I think my body needs a little break before I’ll be ready to take you again.”

“I know.” I nipped at her bottom lip. “Which is why we should probably get up so neither of us is tempted to do anything that would hurt you.”

She sighed. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”

Lifting her off the mattress, I stood. “I need to let my alpha know that I found you anyway, so maybe we should head over to his cabin.”

A short while later, we did just that. Although she didn’t have my mark on her shoulder, Marielle was drenched in my scent and wearing one of my T-shirts over her leggings. So there was no mistaking her as anything but mine.

“Wait out here for me, my treasure?” I requested, brushing a kiss against her temple when we got to Keane and Laina’s back deck. “Keane can get cranky if his cubs get woken up, and they might still be down.”

“Go ahead,” she urged with a smile. “I’ll enjoy the fresh air while you risk the wrath of your alpha.”

I found my alpha alone in the kitchen. “Artemis, I’m surprised to see you. I figured you’d be at your cave today.”

“I found my mate yesterday.”

“Congratulations.” Keane clapped me on the back. “I’m fucking thrilled for you, man. Claiming your fated mate is the best damn thing that’ll ever happen to you.”

“I haven’t fully claimed her yet,” I admitted, scrubbing my palms down my bristly cheeks. “Biting her wouldn’t have been right when she didn’t know about it last night.”

“I recommend that you get on that sooner rather than later,” he suggested. “Your dragon won’t settle until she carries your mark for all shifters to see and recognize her as yours.”

I knew he was right, but I needed her sweet pussy to heal a little before she could take me again, and the mating mark couldn’t be given until she was filled with my come again. My inner beast would just have to understand that our mate’s comfort came before our needs.

10

MARIELLE

While I waited for Artemis on Keane’s porch, I spotted a familiar figure crossing through the backyard.

“Why am I not surprised to find you chomping on a pickle?”

Evette glanced toward me, and her eyes widened. “Marielle! You’re to blame for my current addiction. You don’t want to know how many of these darn things I’ve eaten since you gave me that snack pack at the gas station on Saturday. I swear, if I wasn’t a nurse and knew better, I’d think these two were going to come out pickled.”

“Two?” I echoed, eyeing her rounded belly. “You’re having twins?”

She nodded. “Yup, I’m surprised Leyton didn’t brag about it to you at the gas station since he’s quite proud of himself.”

“I’m sure he is.”

“What’re you doing here? Did you run into some trouble on your hike?” Her brows drew together as she shook her head. “Oops, that must’ve been the baby brain talking because you were headed out three days ago and don’t look as though you spent all that time in the wilderness. In fact, if I didn’t know better, I would’ve guessed that you just spent a week relaxing at a spa.”

“That’s because of Artemis.”

“Oh my gosh,” she squealed, clapping her hands. “Were you the reason Artemis flew off with a roar the other day?”

Evette pressed her fingers to her lips, her eyes going wide again as a woman came out of the cabin to join us. “Don’t worry, you didn’t spill the beans before Artemis had the chance to explain everything. She already knows he’s a dragon shifter and she’s his fated mate.”

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