Page 26 of Ditching the Dragon (Fated Dates)

“And the fact you are my mate. I can be quite persuasive.”

“Ugh, this again. Listen, asshole, I don’t know who you think you are, but we are notmates.”

Ice clinks in a glass during a long pause. There’s the slightest sound of sipping, and I have this sudden image of the way his throat worked while he ate the cherry from my drink.

“You can resist, Annie, but we are mates. Eventually, you’ll come home. You belong with me.”

“I belong with no one. We aren’t compatible.”

“Aren’t we? Tell me where you are. I’d bet I can prove how compatible we are in under two minutes.”

“Very funny, Wick.”

“Tell me where you are, and I’ll prove I’m not joking. I’ve been dreaming of the taste of your pussy for ten long days. I’m hungry, gorgeous. Would you deprive a starving man?”

More like thirsty.

“That’s not even a convincing attempt,” I mutter, but even I can tell I don’t really mean it.

“No? You don’t want to know that every night, I come to the image of you writhing beneath me? When you dropped your eyes at the meeting, I promised myself to make you kneel for me. Wouldn’t that be fun? What salacious dreams have you cooked up in that creative, brilliant mind?”

“We’re not doing this,” I interrupt him to say.

“Doing what?”

“I’m not having phone sex with you. We aren’t mates. Move on. Find a new... find something else to obsess over.”

I catch myself before I can say tofind someone else. My mouth won’t say the words, like my body refuses to give that thought air even though my brain knows it’s what’s best.

He rumbles that sly chuckle that skitters over my nerves and leaves a lurid warmth in its wake.

“You’re my entire focus, Annie,” he says. “We are mates. I knew it the moment I laid eyes on you. If you need to run, then I’ll gladly hunt you down. I’ll prove I’m worthy of being your mate.”

How to escape this situation?

Shit, did I disable the GPS on this phone?

“No need. I’ll come to you,” I lie. “Where are you?”

“At your apartment. This mattress is shit, but it smells of you, and I really fucking like that.”

He’s at my apartment?

“You bought my building, didn’t you?” I conclude.

“And the management company, and your favorite coffee shop on the corner. The owner was ecstatic when I told them I wanted to upgrade the kitchen. Something about a croissant recipe.”

“You can’t buy Marni! You had better leave them exactly where they are, as they are. They make the best latte in the city.”

“I haven’t forced a single person to do anything they haven’t wanted to, but you’d be surprised how enough cash will move wheels at Autobahn speeds.”

“Give up on me, Wickham. I’m too expensive.”

“You’re worth what I’ve paid and more. Come home to me, Annie.”

“Not in a million years.”

“Then I guess I’ll have to come get you. I’ve never been to the Savvy on Fifth. How are the rooms?”

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