Page 56 of The Naga

Maybe someday he'd tell me, but for now, I was just glad he had. I was glad Fate had brought us together, and I was glad to have this new life with him. I was going to treasure and protect it with everything I had.

"Um, shouldn't you be working?" Khush asked in a tone that implied he didnotwant me to go back to work but he was too good of a mate to let me get in trouble.

"Shit, yeah," I mumbled, scrambling to my feet then offering Khush a hand. He rose up to his full 'height,' then pressed a kiss into my palm.

"Go, go. We can talk later."

So I got back to business, and as I spent the morning dealing with unhappy customers, I wondered what the fuck I was doing. Why was I clinging to this job that was very rarely fun and most just a monotonous crap pile that kept me away from my mate?

I'd barely spent a cent since I got there. Touya and Silas had even added cat food to their grocery list, and they used the Sanctuary money to get it, despite my insistence that I could pay. Apparently, Scrappy was now a resident of the Sanctuary, and therefore the Sanctuary would provide for all her needs. Simple as that.

So what was I making this money for? I didn't want to be independent anymore. I wanted to be able to depend on Khush, and on this place full of the most wonderful people I'd ever met. Maybe later today, I'd talk to Khush about leaving my job. I doubted he'd have any protests, though. He might just throw a party instead.

Twenty-Four

Khush

Dustin wanted to leavehis job, and I tried not to show my excitement on my face, but I had a feeling I failed spectacularly.

"I'm guessing you don't mind," Dustin said, a small smile on his face. We were on our way back to our cabin after a delicious dinner, and we'd been walking slowly to enjoy the fresh air and the starlit sky.

"All I want is for you to be happy. As long as leaving your job won't make you unhappy, I'm perfectly fine with it," I promisedhim, and he glanced over at me, blue eyes sparkling like the stars had taken cover in them.

"I don't really need the job anymore, do I? And I'd much rather spend that time with you or helping around the Sanctuary."

"Yeah, you don't. I don't know if I mentioned it, but the headmaster has a lot of money. Like alot. And he has investments and stuff, so he's not going to run out anytime soon. He pays for everything around here, and all he asks in return is that we keep the Sanctuary running smoothly and do our part."

"Do you know why he built this place?" Dustin asked the question all of us had asked ourselves or each other at some point in our stay.

I shook my head, glancing up at the sky. My brows furrowed as I realized a part of the sky was...flickering. It was blinking in and out, or were my eyes playing tricks on me?

"Do you see that?" I asked, eyeing Dustin before glancing up at the sky. He followed my gaze, his head turning this way and that.

"Uh. not really. What did you see?"

I squinted at the sky again, and realized the blinking was gone. Huh. Maybe I had just imagined it.

"Sorry, it was probably nothing," I said, returning my gaze to my mate. "To answer your question, I don't know. None of us do, and no one's had the courage to ask him."

Dustin hummed softly, squeezing my hand before letting go and fishing in his pants pocket. He came up with his phone, and quickly flicked through the screen before tapping something out and swiping the screen once more.

"Look!"

It was an email, sent to a person I assumed to be Dustin's employer, because the subject line read 'I quit' while the main text went something like 'I fucking quit because this job sucks ass.' He'd signed it, 'The tired and underpaid employee, Dustin Harvell.'

I couldn't help but laugh as I read the email. It was just so very Dustin.

"I love you," I said, because nothing else could explain just how absolutely besotted I was. Everything Dustin did made me smile, and I didn't think that would ever change. Dustin would make me laugh a month, a year, and a century from now, and I'd just keep falling deeper and deeper in love with him.

"What?" Dustin asked, giving a surprised laugh as he glanced between me and his phone, as if unsure how his email could've elicited that particular reply from me. Didn't he know everything he did made me love him more? I could tell him I loved him for the rest of our lives, and it wouldn't be enough to describe my feelings for him.

I shrugged as he slid his phone back into his pocket, pulling him into my side as we finally reached the cabin. Scrappy took off out the door the moment we opened it, so we left a window open for her as we cleaned up and got ready for bed. Recently, Scrappy had taken up the job of 'guarding' the Forest during the nights, and no one could convince her that she was probably the least threatening being here.

Just like Dustin, she'd won over everyone too, and it wasn't unusual to find her gone for hours at a time as she visited her other 'servants' around the place. She hadn't made it out of the Forest just yet, but I had a feeling the day wasn't far.

After we were ready for bed, we headed upstairs, and Dustin threw himself on the bed as I closed the door behind us. While I had no trouble leaving the main door unlocked or even open, there was no way I was leaving this door unlocked. No one was allowed to see Dustin naked except me, and I'd be damned if I let anyone get even a peek at him. Not that anyone would try, but Silas had a habit of barging into places, so caution was necessary.

"Aren't you going to join me?" Dustin asked from the bed, and I turned around to look at him, letting out a shaky breath as I got a good look at his naked form. Fuck, he was so damned sexy. He held a hand out to me, and I found myself moving closer without conscious thought.

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