Page 7 of The Dragon of her Dreams

“I’ll have the royal tailor come by in the morning to measure you, and I’ll see you at breakfast.”

“You know you don’t need to take me to the royal birthday party. That seems like a big step at this point in time,” I tried again before she could leave.

Cass grinned at me from the doorway. “You’re coming with us, Jaegar. You need to find your mate, and Marienne can help you, I’m sure of it. Plus, you never know... your mate may very well live in Bravadok.”

“That would be handy. Then I wouldn’t need to come home again.” I regretted the barb when the queen’s face fell. “Queen Cass, I—”

“No apologies,” she said, holding her hand up in front of her. “I don’t blame you for feeling unwelcome or unwanted. Not that it compares, but I was orphaned at a young age and remember the pain well.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” I said, startled to hear such a thing.

“King Stavrok raised me as his younger sister, in a way, so I was very lucky. The royal families are all I’ve ever known, and for that, I am grateful.”

I nodded my head, unsure of what else to say.

I’m such an ass sometimes.

“There’s a private bathroom through that door,” Cass said, pointing to a door I’d assumed was the closet. “So please, take a long shower, and get a good night’s sleep. If I know Damon, he’ll have a million questions for you over the coming days. He is very good at holding his armor in place and protecting his heart, but I have a feeling, Jaegar, that you are going to go crashing through those walls in record time.”

“I...” I began to say, though I had no idea how to respond to such a thing. But I didn’t get the chance to say anything more.

“Goodnight, Jaegar, sleep well.” Then she left me in a room bigger than my whole house.

“Goddamn, this is crazy.” I walked over to the door that she said was a bathroom and threw it open. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” The bathroom was half the size of the bedroom and the biggest one I’d ever seen. “And this is just for guests?” I asked the emptiness, though as expected, it failed to provide me with an answer. I glanced at the bed, then back at the shower. I didn’t want to use their fancy royal facilities, but I also didn’t feel clean enough to sleep in their beds.

“Fuck it.”

Talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place.

I tore off my old, warm clothes, then piled them in the corner of the bathroom. The whole room was tiled with soft sandstone tiles and the floor beneath my feet was warm as I walked over the huge shower. The smell of my own body odor made me grimace.

I definitely need a shower.

I turned the knobs and adjusted the temperature until the water was just hot enough that I could step beneath the heavy spray without burning myself. The heat was heavenly, and the smell of sweet acid—ketosis—met my nostrils. I’d burned too many calories today. I’d barely eaten before arriving, then found dinner hard to swallow as the family had stared at me the whole time.

I’d sweated standing so close to the fire, but had found comfort in the move. Hearths were always safe spaces. I reached for the soap and started scrubbing away the sweat and grime of my day, even washing my long hair.

Once clean, I stood beneath the hot spray and just let the heat wash away everything, not just the suds, but also the despair and hope, fear and stress. And I remained there, just soaking, until there was nothing left but my tired body.

A vision of my woman came into my mind, and I groaned as my cock hardened in response. I’d dreamed of a dark-haired beauty for too many years to count. She had fair skin, eyes as blue as sapphires and long, dark hair that fell to her waist. She was the epitome of a gothic beauty.

I soaped up my hands and wrapped my fist around my cock. I’d searched for my mate for so long and had never found her. The loneliness was beginning to eat away at me. Anselm hadn’t been wrong there. My age was advancing, as was the need for my mate. In my dreams she had lips painted red like berries, full and lush. Her body was slender but strong, and her nipples were a perfect treat for my mouth. I stroked my cock with long pulls, the pleasure tingling along my skin and making my balls tighten between my thighs.

I needed to find her—the woman who was destined to be my mate. And when I did, I would tangle my fingers in her hair and kiss her until neither of us could draw breath. Then I would lay her down and slide into her hot, wet, and welcoming body, fucking her until we both screamed out in ecstasy.

“Oh, God... fuck!” I gripped my shaft tight and pumped once more as my orgasm stole over me. Groaning softly, I watched as my seed pulsed out of me before the hot water washed everything away. I collapsed back against the tiled wall, letting the pleasure of my release eat away at every last remaining ounce of strength.

When I could finally open my eyes, I turned off the water and grabbed a towel. The material was the softest I’d ever felt, which for some reason, made me angrier than I could rationalize. Quickly drying myself, I turned off all the lights, then went into the bedroom. The bed wasmassive, far too big for one person, but there was no random woman to fill the space with tonight.

I threw back the heavy blankets and climbed underneath. The luxury of this room was overwhelming, and I rolled into my usual sleeping position so that I didn’t think about thewhat ifsthat had claimed my childhood. I’d always wondered how different my life might have been if my father had known of my existence. If my mother had just told him she was pregnant. Would I have grown up in the castle, surrounded by luxury and wealth? Would my parents have married and had more children, or would I still be the bastard I was today?

There were still so many questions, and as of yet, no answers in sight.

Perhaps there never would be.

And even if my sire managed to tell me the truth, would anything ever fill the gaping hole left inside my chest after all these years?

Chapter 4

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