Page 46 of Chase Me

If anything, he would be the one who deserved to be upset. She was about to break their first date because she was mated to a dragon.

Not like she could tell Wes that. She didn't even know if he would be bummed out.

All she'd ever done was make assumptions about how he,and really everyone around her, felt. She never asked. Maybe he didn't even like her that way. On the other hand, she'd spent the last three years around eighty percent sure she was in love with him, so it hurt to think that he might not have shared any of those feelings.

What did she know about love anyway?

She knew what it looked like, on other people anyway. She should have a clue how it really felt.

She glanced at Jakob who was scowling at the other three dragon warriors. He was so damn handsome. But she wanted to rub those worry wrinkles around his eyes away for him.

She shook her head at herself. He made her feel things, pulled up emotions she thought long dead. Emotions she had never been taught to use in the first place.

Was that really her—her feelings? Or was it this bizarre mating thing? Jakob had said he simply knew she was his mate. Maybe those instincts he had talked about were impacting her too.

It could be like when certain animals went into heat. They were drawn to find a mate and reproduce.

Aww, wouldn't a tiny green-eyed version of Jakob running around underfoot be simply adorable?

Kids had never been a part of her relationship equation before. Wesley would probably make beautiful babies too, but she felt nothing when thinking about having his offspring.

It had to be the mating thing. She really needed some time alone with Jakob, not in a bedroom or a phone booth, to find out more about her psychological and physical responses.

Biology. It was all about biology.

It had nothing to do with love.

Gulp.

They were already mated according to Jakob, so she didn't need to worry about things like love.

Because she was not in love with him. Ridiculous.

Except, what if she was?

If love felt anything like longing and deep unfulfilled needs, then she was screwed.

“I am not showing you where my lair is. That is final, so fuck off Match.”

Whew, tensions were getting out of control. She could probably do something about that, if she weren't so damn hungry.

Huh. She'd been in Jakob’s kitchen three or four times since she'd been here and hadn't yet had anything to eat. No wonder she was running out of steam.

Ciara held a hand up in the middle of the group and swirled a little wind around for emphasis. Cage smiled at her and Jakob stepped closer. Match and Ky both watched her like she was a sideshow attraction.

“Let's take this into the kitchen and discuss this like adults and grown-up dragons over breakfast.” She didn't wait for their response and walked away, dragging Jakob along with her since he still hadn’t released her hand.

Mr. Grumpypants back there grumbled, but she heard him following them. The men moved to sit around the island, like she was going to wait on them.

She rooted through the refrigerator and found eggs and a tray of leftover cooked bacon. Rock on.

She found forks and a couple of large bowls next. Then set them in front of Ky and Cage. She slid the container of eggs over to Match. “I would like five eggs cracked into that bowl, please.”

Match stared at her for a minute and raised one eyebrowwhen she didn't flinch under his gaze. She smacked her lips and folded her arms. “If you would like to eat breakfast, you're going to have to help prepare it. I may be a mate, but I am not a slave.”

Cage and Ky made that oh-ho laughing sound guys did when one of their crew got told.

Ciara kept herself from grinning and turned her back on the group. A moment later, she heard eggs being cracked, followed by the sound of whisking with a fork.