Page 34 of Dragon Exposed

Maybe I would have to beat Declan with his own tail after all.

He just grinned at me as he headed for the backyard, to where the hatch that would lead him to the garage was. “Do I need to bring anything else back? Lube, vibrators, anything edible?”

I growled at him. “Get the fuck out of here, Declan.”

Once the back door slammed shut behind him, Izobelle turned around in my arms and looked up at me. “I feel like I walked into something there. What’s going on?”

“Dec’s been bent out of shape for months. Before the slaughter that destroyed our family home and killed our parents, he was quiet, liked to read every book in the library over and over. We’d often find him lurking in shadows and corners, just watching interactions. But he’s not the same dragon he was before.”

The word was out of my mouth before I realized I was saying it, and the tension tightened her jaw and her grip on my waist, but she didn’t say anything more about it.

It was an improvement, but I still didn’t like that she was afraid, or that I kept triggering it.

“What do we need to torture the vampire?” She was pressed against my body, so close I could feel her chest rise and fall with each breath.

I didn’t know how she could think of anything but the feel of her mate in her arms. But then, she wasn’t a dragon. Maybe it wasn’t as potent for her as it was for me.

Or maybe Ash was right, and I was just being hopeful that she was mine.

Without my heartstone, would I ever really know for sure?

“Levi?” Her voice came out a little huskier this time, and those seafoam-colored eyes looked cloudier. Maybe she was affected by my body pressed to hers.

Or maybe it was just easier to think of me as nothing more than a man if I was making her come.

“I don’t know if you should come down with me. It’s not going to be easy to watch.”

“Fuck watching. I want to help. I have to know what he knows, just as much as you do. And I need to know how to hurt fucking vampires.” She pulled back and squared her shoulders. “I won’t just go back to bed and wait for you or Declan to come check on me.”

I snarled. “Declan’s not getting anywhere near you in bed.”

She held her hands up, trembling slightly. With a deep breath, I shoved my dragon back down.

“I’m sorry. Having my brother here is harder than I thought it would be.”

Izobelle tilted her head and looked at me curiously. “Why? Other than him giving you shit constantly, it seemed like you were just like any other siblings I’ve ever met.”

Gods, how did I explain to a human how precious, how special a mate was? How did I begin to describe the sheer need I had to keep her safe, to keep her as mine and mine alone?

With a sigh, I reached for her hand. “The most simplistic way I could explain it is if you had something unique, something special, that was meant just for you, and your brother wanted to play with it.”

“You don’t want to share… me?” She swallowed hard. “Are you saying that’s a possibility? I…I don’t know that I’m into going poly.”

I shook my head. “I haven’t heard of any dragons sharing a mate. I don’t think he’d have any claim on you. But it doesn’t make it easier for me to see him with you, knowing you’re not claimed, that you don’t wear my heartstone.”

Her eyebrows rose again, and I realized just how little I’d explained to her, just how little she knew about my kind.

“Every dragon gets a heartstone, imbued with magic, from the clan’s witch. Just before we were attacked, Syrena sent our tourmaline stones into the world, away from us, to keep them safe, to give us the chance to still find a mate. The attacking clan would’ve destroyed them if they’d found them, to force our bloodline to die out.” I swallowed hard. “If I had it, I believe it would light up every time we touched.”

“You believe? Meaning you don’t know?” Izobelle’s brow furrowed, and she looked down at where our fingers were entwined. “Is that why you don’t want me around Declan? Does he have his tourmaline? Could his light up if I touch him?” As her eyes flicked back up to mine, she asked softly, “What if I don’t want to mate with him?”

I brought her hand up to my lips and kissed her knuckles softly. “I don’t think the fates would be so cruel as to let me meet you, just to rip you away from me. I don’t need my heartstone to know what I feel, to know how I crave you every time I see you. Or how much more I crave you when you’re not in my arms.”

She shivered, stepping in closer again before she rose up onto her toes and kissed me softly. “You really think I’m your mate?”

I nodded, completely earnest. “I can’t imagine a woman more perfect for me, Izobelle.”

“Even though I…” She looked away, swallowing hard again. “Even though I think I need to torture that vampire downstairs? Even though I don’t know if I’m ever going to be normal, even after I know Viktor’s dead?”

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