Page 19 of Love Bites Extra Hard

I lifted a shoulder as we stopped in front of my door. “She smelled good when I landed on the roof. When the first scale fell, I realized why.”

Stella’s forehead creased. “Did you tell her what it means?”

“No. I told her it was normal, and didn’t explain the situation that made it normal.”

The crease deepened. “Lying seems like a bad call in this situation, Talon.”

“I didn’t lie. I just didn’t offer up more information than she needed. She thinks she sacrificed herself to the big, bad dragon king to save her sisters from war, Stell. If I tell her now, she’ll go on the defensive.”

“If you don’t, she’s going to be pissed that she fooled around with you without knowing it meant something,” she warned.

“Even if she knows the truth, it’s not like I’ll force her to seal the bond. The fact that it exists doesn’t negate her free will. This is my opportunity to make her see that fate knows what it’s doing. If I tell her and she runs, I’ll never get that chance.”

“If she ran, you could catch her.”

“And confirm what she thinks about me being her abductor.”

Stella sighed. “I get it. It’s not an ideal situation.”

“No, it’s not.”

But shewasmy ideal woman.

“Alright, I won’t say anything unless I have to,” she agreed. “But you can’t wait too long to tell her. She deserves to know.”

That perfect little female had no idea what was coming for her, and the thought made it hard to suppress a wicked grin.

Because she was my fated mate.

And she might not want me yet, but by the time I was done with her, she would be mine in every fucking way there was.

five

AVERY

When I wokeup the next morning with a scale under my sweats-clad ass, I rolled off it with a wince.

There was another one under my ribs. Thankfully, the sharp side was parallel with the mattress, so it didn’t cut me.

I spent a handful of minutes combing through my blankets until I had a whole stack of those sharp bastards. There were seven of them, in my bed alone.

That meant Talon had lostninescales the day before. He did have a ton of them, but the number still seemed concerning. What if something was wrong with him?

I didn’t care, of course. I wouldn’t let myself.

But still.

Concerning.

My mind drifted back to the night before, and my body warmed immediately.

Sex had never been like that for me. Never. As soon as a guy was snared by my magic, he was lost to my control. He couldn’t pull away. He definitely couldn’t get me off without undressing me. Or spend ages with his mouth on my tits and make me come so easily.

The night was surreal.

Absolutely surreal.

And I wanted more.

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