Page 29 of Dragon Unhinged

Gently, he moves us so that he’s laying down, on his back again, and I’m covering him like a blanket.

Only after he seems content that we’re both as comfortable as we can be in this cell, he says, “Shifters aren’t like humans, in that we can mate with just anyone. There’s old magic, something instinctive and ancient, that guides us to find our perfect mate. Unless we’re with our mate, unless the mating bond is in place, we can’t reproduce. We don’t get sick, at least not in the same way humans do, and we don’t have to worry about anything like that.” He kisses both my cheeks and gives me an easy smile. “We don’t have to worry about contraceptives.”

Chapter

Twelve

BRIANNA

We stay cuddled together for a while, over an hour by my guess, and even though Declan doesn’t say anything, doesn’t give any indication that he might be tired or that he might want his bed back to himself, I can’t shut out the idea that I might be overstaying my welcome.

I also can’t get the thought out of my head that he has a pre-destined mate somewhere out there. That he might have just given me something that wasn’t mine to take, but there might be another woman out there who’s fated to have so much more of him. His forever.

Even with the growled words in my head from earlier, calling me his mate,his, I can’t quite shake the feeling that maybe I’m not.

“I should get back upstairs.” I slowly sit up, realizing for the first time that there’s a new ache between my thighs, a soreness even making it difficult to even try and push the memories away. “Can I come back again tomorrow?”

“I will never not want to see you, whenever and however I can.” He sits up too, and even though he seems to start looking for something, there’s almost a sadness to his eyes as I stand.

The idea of walking back upstairs seems as daunting as traveling to a far-off planet. “I could try to bring some other things down, stuff to make you more comfortable.”

Declan gives me a shrug that can only be defined as non-committal, like he’s not entirely sure I’m going to return to him, even after everything we’ve shared.

I stop him as he tries to gather up our clothing, pulling him back toward me. “Tell me what you like. Tell me what you need.”

“You.” He sighs, wrapping his arms around me again, making me feel almost small as he completely envelops me. “You are the first thing that’s made me feel normal. The first thing to make me feel like not just a prisoner here. You, Brianna, are more than I could possibly ask for, and more than I could possibly hope to have. Even without these shackles, I don’t think I could ever fully feel like I deserve you.”

I gasp, looking up at him in wonder. “Declan…”

He bumps his nose against mine, not getting quite close enough for me to kiss him, but it’s an intimate gesture. “You can make whatever protestations you want, Brianna, but you are the most perfect thing I could’ve possibly hoped for here. You are more than I could have dreamed up, in all the times I wondered what my mate could be.”

There’s that word again. Mate.

“What are you saying?” I feel strange, aching to hear him confirm what I so badly want to be true with this man I barely know. This man who, in just a couple of days, seems to have made me feel for the first time in my life, like I belong with him.

Like I’m not a burden who destroyed a happy family just by existing. Like I’m not just a political bargaining chip or someoneto be handed off to whoever holds the highest power trade my father can get.

“I’m saying that if I ever get out of these cuffs, if I ever find my freedom again, I’m going to scour every continent, to find you, make you mine, and to make sure you wear my heartstone. To make sure you wear my mark.” The commanding voice is back, the one that makes something primal inside me stand up and take notice. The one that is completely certain. There’s nothing non-committal about his words, and it just makes me want to push him back toward the bed again, for a repeat performance.

Soreness between my thighs be damned.

“You should get back to your room.” He leans down and kisses me, a long, lingering kiss that, although more chaste, without any tongue, feels like a promise.

“Tomorrow.” I smile, even though I feel a little unsteady on my feet.

He hands me my shirt and yoga pants before nodding. “Tomorrow.”

Dressing again feels impossible, like covering up somehow covers up what we just did, even with his seed still coating my inner thighs.

I don’t even fully realize that the panties I wore down there are nowhere to be seen until after I’m soaking in a hot bath.

If his guards find those, there’s going to be some serious explaining to do.

Almost a month passes this way.

Me sneaking downstairs, bringing whatever I can smuggle down with me to pass on to the shifters. All of them, not just Declan.

Ewan still won’t accept anything from me directly, just through the slit in the door that the guards use as a pass-through.

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