Page 17 of Dimitri

Caspian smiled. “What does it mean?”

I grinned back. “I’ll tell you after you’ve rested. My first thought about the moment isn’t of claiming you but of taking care of you. You are obviously needing rest if you came here to spend time with your brother and their young child.”

“Flora is relaxing. And it makes me feel good to be able to help Drew while Sebastian is at work.”

I wasn’t so sure it was relaxing being around babies. At least not my own nephews and nieces. Then again, I wasn’t a warlock and didn’t have the use of magical powers to help take care of them. Perhaps it was easier for him because of that, but I had always found my nephews and nieces to be a headache whenthey were incredibly young. But that was most likely due to my siblings and how they tended to raise their children.

“You seem…unsure.”

I shook my head. “I was thinking of my own nephews and nieces. They are not what I would call…relaxing.”

Caspian chuckled, and then it turned into full-out laughter. It was one of the most wonderful sounds I’d ever heard, and I could only sit there and stare at the beautiful man who had been gifted to me. I had a feeling that life was going to be wonderfully exciting and fulfilling.

Chapter 6

Caspian

Iwas fading fast, and it was starting to show. I hadn’t even thought about it until Dimitri had said something, but the fact that he did brought it to the forefront of my mind, and now it was about all I could think about. My One was an alpha. A dragon one at that. Although I didn’t know much about dragon shifters, I had a feeling they were all protective and possessive.

His dragon was going to push him to take care of me in all ways. Did I want that? Although I hadn’t been expecting my forever one to be an alpha, I was quickly discovering that I liked that idea. I enjoyed the thought of being the center of his care and attention. I had always assumed I would be the one doing all of the caring and looking after, but the thought of being the center of his attention was appealing. Now that I was here and we were discussing things, the past several months were catching up, and Dimitri was right; I was tired.

“You aren’t hungry?”

I looked over at Dimitri and realized he’d eaten a good portion of the food. My own plate still had the first fajita on it, and I’d only taken a couple of bites. “You know, I’m not. I did eat earlier, but it’s been quite some time.” I sighed. “I think I’m justtired. You were right. Everything is catching up with me, and I’m ready to turn in for the night. I hope you aren’t disappointed.”

Dimitri gave me a look that spoke volumes. “I could never be disappointed when you are only being honest with the both of us. Your time is vastly different than ours here in Montana. It is perfectly understandable to be tired and want to rest.” Dimitri glanced around the room for a moment before his beautiful eyes refocused on me. “Why don’t I show you to my bedroom, and while you have a rest, I will get in contact with Master Edison. Then, after you have rested, we can go see which houses are available. Does that sound like something you could agree with?”

I knew it was, but for some reason, my brain wasn’t completely connecting with my mouth at the moment, and I only nodded in agreement. Dimitri slid off of his barstool and then reached out for me. I took his hands, and once I was standing in front of him, I had to look up. That was also something that I had discovered I very much liked.

“We have forever, lyubimyy. Do not ever feel as if we are doing something incorrect simply because we have chosen to wait to claim one another. There is no set timeline. It is one of our own making.”

He wasn’t wrong, and if I was thinking fully, I would most likely have had the same thoughts. I let Dimitri lead me to his bedroom. It was multiple shades of gray and black, and I had to wonder if he would be willing to lighten things up a bit. It wasn’t that I wanted neon-colored throw pillows everywhere, but perhaps a little bit of color aside from the monochrome would be nice.

“I see your thoughts,” Dimitri said. “I do not care about the décor like others do. For me, this is simply a place to sleep, and that is about all. Please feel free to completely change everythingonce we are in what will be our home. This is not a home but a temporary lodging.”

How did he do that? We weren’t mated yet, but he knew exactly what I was thinking. Suddenly, a thought occurred to me. Was that something to do with his family’s line? That honestly didn’t really matter. I looked back at Dimitri and smiled.

“Perhaps just a bit of color,” I suggested. “I am not one to go full out. Everything needs a different color scheme. But maybe a few pieces that have more color in them could really bring the rest of the room together.”

Dimitri chuckled “Again, you are more than welcome to change any and everything. I ordered what I could not find in the council store, as well as in the larger stores down off of the mountain.”

He was so adorable, and he didn’t even realize it, which only added to his appeal. For dramatic flair, I snapped my fingers and was suddenly standing in front of him in a pair of flannel pajama pants and a T-shirt. I had a feeling that once we claimed one another, I would no longer wear anything to bed, but for the moment, I was going to wear something.

“That is a very convenient thing.”

I nodded. “It most certainly is. Care to tell me which side of the bed you normally sleep on? I usually sprawl out in the middle of my bed at home, and if you have a certain side, I am more than happy to take the other.”

Dimitri pointed to the far side of the room. “I would prefer you sleep over there. My dragon will not allow for our mate to be between us and the doorway. Yes, it is perfectly safe here on Treasure Ridge, and I realize and understand you are incredibly powerful in your own right. That does not mean my dragon is going to be rational in this. I do apologize.”

“Completely understandable.” I walked around the bed, and after pulling the thin blanket back, I pushed on the mattressand found it to be quite comfortable-feeling. My body was telling me it was past time for me to be resting, but my brain was arguing with the rest of me. It was just past dinnertime here, and my newly found One was very much still awake and would be for hours yet. There was an internal war going on, but unfortunately, sleep was going to win. “I do apologize. I honestly did not expect to meet you on this trip. Not that I’m upset about it—nothing could be further from the truth. But I have been here several times to visit Sebastian, and I hadn’t ever detected that you were here.”

Dimitri rounded the bed, and with me sitting on it, his height seemed so much more than I knew it was. He reached out, and although I expected him to touch my face, instead, he gently pushed on my shoulder. “You rest now. I will take care of the cleanup from our meal, as well as contact Master Edison about housing. Did you wish for me to talk to your brother?”

Did I? I thought about it for a moment before shaking my head. This was something I honestly needed to discuss with my brother myself. He, of all people, would understand what it was like when suddenly discovering your One. “I’ll talk to him tomorrow. He knows I met you—well, not you specifically, but that I met my One and that my visit has certainly been altered.” I couldn’t keep from yawning as I lay back on the bed. The day had truly caught up with me, and it was simply time to get at least a few hours of rest. “I apologize. I wanted our first meeting to go so much differently.”

“There is no need. Rest now.”

This time, when Dimitri reached out, he did touch the side of my face. As his fingers tripped down to my chin, a smile appeared on his mouth. I couldn’t help but wonder what those luscious lips would feel like against mine. Would they be soft? Firm? Did he even enjoy kissing? I had a moment of panic beforeI remembered that, most likely, the man who was my perfect match would enjoy kissing as much as I did.

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