Page 42 of Bred By the Dragon

Zakarion closes his eyes, and his shoulders drop like he’s given up on something he’s been holding onto tightly. “I care about you far too much,” he says, so quietly I have to strain to hear him. “Far, far too much.”

“Too much?” I ask. Then why has he behaved this way, like we’re strangers?

“I want you.” He drops his head low, refusing to hold my gaze. “I want you more than I’ve ever wanted anyone. But you made it clear that’s not what you need.”

Oh.

I throw my arms around his neck for real this time, and sink against him. He tentatively puts his arms around me in return, holding me close to his chest.

“I think,” I say finally, swallowing hard, “I think that I love you, Zak.”

sixteen

ZAKARION

She loves me.

My heart soars. It sings. It does loop de loops in the air with wild joy knowing that Sammy loves me as I love her.

I kiss her hair, burying my face in it, squeezing her tight against me. I could simply absorb her into my body to keep her and our hatchling close to me forever. She squeaks as I envelop her completely, dragging her off the doctor’s table and firmly into my lap.

“Sammy,” I murmur, stroking her back and her head and every part of her I can reach. “I think I’ve loved you since the day I saw your face.”

She pulls away enough that she can look up at me, and though her eyes are red and brimming with tears, there’s a broad smile on her perfect, round cheeks.

“But you didn’t even know me!”

I shake my head. “All I had to see was that hope and joy in your eyes and I knew.” I was a goner from the beginning.

Her smile wavers, though.

“But what does that mean... in the long term?” she asks, uncertain. “You may love me now, but what about when I get old, and you don’t?”

I don’t understand the question. “Why would it change?” I ask. When dragons find their heart bond, very little can tear it apart. “I love you for you, Sammy. Even when you’re wrinkled and gray.” I like the idea of that, actually—the two of us getting older, surrounded by our hatchlings. If she truly feels what she says she does, I plan to plant many more of them in her.

“But then... what happens when...” She sniffles again as a fresh wave of tears stream down her face. “When I die? I don’t want to take you with me. I couldn’t do that.”

My heart breaks looking into her sweet, dark eyes. I understand so much more now. Is this why she kept me at arm’s length? Because she feared our future?

“When you die, you will be surrounded by those that love you,” I tell her. I hold her cheeks in my big hands, and brush my snout over the tip of her nose. “My heart will always be filled with you, for all of my days.”

Her gaze softens. “How are you so certain of that?”

“It’s been clear to me for a long time now.” I cradle her belly between us, tracing the shape of it with my index claw. “This hatchling was made from love. I know that in my soul.” I pick up her hand and press it to my chest, where my fire simmers. “And as long as it breathes, there will always be a part of us that lives on, no matter what becomes of us.”

Tears are dribbling down her face, trailing over her plump lips as she smiles back at me.

“That’s a nice way to think of it,” she says, raising one hand to run it down the side of my snout. I lean into her, and the feel of her soft skin against my scales makes my body think other, dirtier things.

Gently I lift her off my lap and place her back on the patient table so my cocks don’t get any funny ideas, which is as good a moment as any for the ob-gyn to return. He brushes some of his long, white hair away from his eyes, and takes in the sight of Sammy’s small hand clasped in mine with a wry grin.

“Would you like me to print this for you so you can take it home?” he asks, gesturing at the picture on the screen.

Sammy’s face lights up. “I would love that!”

I take in the sight of our hatchling again, curled up small in her belly, and squeeze her hand. Soon, everything will be how it should be.

SAMMY

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