Page 104 of Dragon's Honor

He gave her a sincere nod. “I would expect nothing less. I know she would do the same for you. And if she asked me to kill your ex, I would do it.”

Olivia grinned. “You’ll make an excellent brother-in-law.”

“I swear on my honor, Olivia, I will protect you as much as her. What happened with Grey won’t happen again.”

She gave him a hug and he felt honored to receive it.

“Good luck.” She dashed out of the house.

Now, here he stood waiting for his mate to come down the stairs. He was afraid she’d changed her mind. He put his foot on the bottom stair ready to climb them when he caught sight of the vision in a deep purple. She came down the stairs slowly. He took in the sight of her, every inch. The purple dress clung to her curves much like the green dress he’d liked so much. The one he’d ruined. The purple reminded him of the purple tourmaline deep in the green.

He wanted her wearing his colors. He wanted his mark all over her.

She stood on the last step, since he hadn’t moved away from it.

“Nice dress,” she said.

“You’re gorgeous.”

She grinned. “Thank you. And thank you for the dress. It almost makes up for the green one you ruined.”

“I almost wish I was taking you somewhere to show you off.”

“We’re not going out?”

He shook his head. “No, but this is still a special night.”

Finley took in his dark suit. Her fingers touched the knot of his tie and smoothed down is torso. A zing of excitement went right to his dick.

He needed to concentrate, not get lost in her touch. Not yet. They had a lot to get through before he could strip her naked and have his way with her.

He extended his arm, and she accepted it. He walked her to the living room. The entire thing had been transformed. There was a large tent with garlands of flowers and vines draped everywhere. There were battery-lit candles everywhere, including two rows that made a path to the tent. Inside was a perfectly set table with silver domes at each place setting. There was soft music playing and more candles inside.

“What did you do?” she breathed.

“I want this night to be special.”

“Ash, I don’t need…”

“I know you don’t, but you deserve careful planning and thoughtfulness.”

Her cheeks pinkened and she sat when he pulled out the chair. He plucked the silver dome off her plate revealing her favorite meal of lobster macaroni and cheese. He sat down next to her instead of across from her, wanting her to be within touching distance. It took everything he had not to pull her into his lap and feed her. He wanted to dote on her, take care of her, love her.

“This is amazing,” she gushed.

At first, he kept the conversation light and playful wanting to enjoy their meal before it got intense.

“Sawyer, I can’t stand it anymore. Before I bring out dessert, I have some stuff I need to say to you.”

She set her fork down and dabbed her mouth with the napkin and set it aside. “I’m listening.”

“I don’t want to fight alone.”

He wanted to roll his eyes at himself. By the gods he was stupid. “Wait, I wanted to say it better than that.”

“Ash…”

Every planned word he had was gone. Nothing felt like it was good enough. “I didn’t expect to ever want or need a mate. I certainly didn’t think I would have one. I spent a lot of time thinking it was a mistake. That you had one of my brothers’ heartstones, even though I knew better. I’m just a lucky fool. Now that I have you, I don’t want to let you go. I want you by my side. I want us to fight together. I want you by my side when we finally take down Grey. I want to claim you tonight as my mate.” He reached for the velvet box in his suit pocket and pulled it out. “I want you to have my heartstone. You already have my heart.” He opened the box and revealed the tourmaline. It was shaped like her bracelet, not his cuff.

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