Page 71 of Never Feed a Dragon

We got in my car, but I didn’t start talking until we were down the road from the guys.

And, at her request, I told her everything. Starting with the night of her wedding reception, and all the way through. She didn’t get every detail about the sex, but enough to put the whole story together.

We stayed in my car when we reached her cabin, her eyebrows high on her forehead as I finished the story.

She was quiet after I wrapped it up, but I expected that. Randa often processed things before she responded. She needed time to think.

So I waited, drumming my fingers on the steering wheel and trying to resist the urge to tap my foot too. Waiting and I weren’t good friends. Maybe that was another reason I didn’t like baking. When I was cooking, there was always another component to work on. The sauce, or the side, or prepping for the next meal. But with baking, I had to wait.

And wait.

And wait.

It got old, fast.

When Randa finally spoke up, she asked, “Do you want to hear my real thoughts, or do you want me to support you?”

My stomach clenched. “You know the answer to that.”

She sighed, and bit her lip.

I waited.

Again.

“I’m not taking sides,” she began.

“There are no sides to take,” I countered. “Me and Eli are on the same side. He agrees with me.”

She hesitated.

“Randa,” I all but growled.

She turned to face me, lifting her knee up onto the seat as she did. “Okay, so, here’s the thing. Jasper knew we were going to be mates before the bond actually started.”

I blinked.

He what?

How?

“He couldn’t stop staring at me, but he wasn’t planning on getting close to me to trigger the bond. You know the story how I sat down next to him and he accidentally drank from my glass, right? But he’s mentioned repeatedly that he wouldn’t have been able to stay in his seat if I’d talked to another guy. And definitely wouldn’t have if I’d tried to go home with someone else. Even before the bond is formed, the possessiveness is there.”

My forehead creased. “He couldn’t have known I was his mate. It’s been two years since the first time we met, Randa.”

“And you’ve been flirting and fighting the whole time.”

“I’ve slept with other guys since then,” I pointed out. Only two, and both encounters had been absolute shit, but still.

“But has he ever seen you with one?”

I thought about it.

The only time he would’ve seen me with another guy was at the club, when Randa and I went out with Elodie, and he tagged along. He’d interrupted my conversation with another guy a few times, and had made sure Randa and I were heading home before he drove away with Elodie.

That didn’t mean he knew I was his mate, though.

He was just a good guy.

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