Page 75 of Never Feed a Dragon

“Yes.” I didn’t know what this was, but I wasn’t walking away from it.

“Why were you flirting with the women at the party?”

Shit.

I didn’t want to answer that, because I’d already sworn to myself that I wouldn’t lie to her. But the truth was going to be difficult for her to accept.

Still, I couldn’t keep the secret any longer.

Not without hurting her, and I wasn’t going to hurt her.

“I was trying to start a mate bond,” I admitted.

Her forehead creased. “Dragons don’t want mates.”

“Most don’t.”

“But you did?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“I got lonely.” I lifted a leg onto the bed, turning so I could face her more completely.

“How long were you trying?”

“A few years.”

It wasn’t a lie.

It just wasn’t the full truth.

The crease between her brows deepened. “Then why did you go home with me?”

She had me with that one.

“I’ve wanted you since the first time I met you,” I said bluntly. “I wasn’t going to watch you leave with another guy.”

Her cheeks reddened. She wasn’t blushing, though. She was angry.

“You wanted me, but you were trying to start a bond with the women you flirted with at the party?”

“No. I didn’t give a damn about them.”

“How many years have you been looking for a mate, exactly?” she bit out.

“Two.” I held her gaze as I gave her what she was looking for.

What she seemed to have already put together.

“You argued with me and flirted with other women in an attempt to start a bond with me?” she demanded.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because you were fun, and fiery. Because you were the sexiest thing I’d ever seen. Because I knew in my gut, soul, and every other part of me that you were supposed to be mine. Because I was losing my damn mind every day I spent without you.”

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