Page 54 of So I Dared a Dragon

But when we touched each other like this none of it mattered.

I forced myself to pull away from her before I brought her over to the tiny couch and ripped her dress off. My mate deserved better. She deserved respect. More than that, worship. As much as I dreamed about our time together in the caverns, our next time wouldn’t be anything like those hurried transactions laced with sadness. Even though I’d asked her to be mine, I knew I could never possibly keep her.

But now, I could have her in every way possible.

“As I was saying.” She grinned as she wiped her finger under her bottom lip to clean her ruined lipstick from her chin. “We didn’t kiss during our last date.”

“And you wanted to kiss me.”

“I want to do a lot more than that with you, dragon. My battery-operated boyfriend is getting a workout—”

“Your what?”

She gave me a coy smile. “It’s a sex toy. It vibrates, not quite like you, but what could possibly be like you? It takes the edge off.” She shrugged. “I’d be happy to show it to you. Sometime soon, I hope.”

“I’d like that. A lot.” My voice was rough with pure need and the sensation she called purring as I thought about her pleasuring herself. “But I have a request.”

“I’m all ears.”

“I don’t want you to take the edge off.” Echoing her words felt strange, because it wasn’t something I’d usually say. “I want you to save all that for me.”

“I can do that.” Her vibration intensified. “But first, I have to show you something. Two things, actually.”

Not until then did I notice that she had a little black bag over her shoulder. But—

“You didn’t wash off my painting.” It had been days since our last date, and they looked perfect. Real, even. I reached for her arm, but she shied away from me. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Well, maybe everything. The scales won’t come off. I think they’re a part of me now.”

“Why don’t you want me to touch them?”

Her eyes darkened. “Because they feel so real, like you made me a dragon.”

I took her hand in mine, hating the way she trembled. Like she thought I would be angry with her.

“I have another request. Never apologize for any part of this beautiful body. Especially for wearing my mark.”

This time, she let me touch the scales. They felt so real they took my breath away. Tiny sparks of flame followed my movement as I brushed my finger lightly over them.

Her lips parted. “Did you know this would happen?”

I shook my head. “I painted your skin for my own satisfaction. I wanted to know what you’d look like as a dragon. I’d dreamed of it many times, but never quite like this.” I lifted her arm to my lips, shocked at how real the scales felt. How warm they were and how power vibrated from them with far more intensity than her usual frequency. “It was selfish of me, greedy even. What I didn’t tell you was that painting scales on a partner is part of our old mating rituals. It was how mates shared power.”

“Is that why I haven’t been able to feel my wolf since that night?” She swallowed hard. I hated that this scared her, but there was no plausible explanation for this.

“I was just about to ask you, are you sure you’re only a wolf?” I chuckled. “Not that I mean that it makes you insignificant in any way. I’m asking if you are mixed with any other species, because this shouldn’t have happened.

“As far as I know, I’m just a rank-and-file member of the Montana wolf pack. But maybe I could paint scales on you too, and we could see what kind of power I give you. If I have any to give.”

“Sounds dangerous.”

“Was that disrespectful? I don’t know your traditions, but like I said, I have something else to show you.” She pulled a notebook out of the bag and handed it to me. “I’m not sure if you’ve heard about the incident at the library, where the ancient books erased themselves while I turned the pages?”

“No.” I growled. “Were you able to make out any of the words before the disappeared?”

“It happened yesterday, and it was the reason I pushed Bibi to set up the second date for tonight.” She motioned to the notebook. “Once I got back to Bibi’s house, I just started writing to see if it happened again. At first I was just telling a cute story; if nothing else, I figured I could write you a naughty tale. But then I blacked out, and my handwriting changed. Can you read this, or is all just gibberish?”

My mouth dropped as I took in the words. “Where did you learn this?”

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