Page 59 of Chase Me

She folded her arms around herself. “Did we, or did we not just star in a ceremony where I wore a special gown, you wore a special suit?”

What did that have to do with anything? He thought she’dlike the dress and he wanted to look his best for her. “Yes. We did. But?—”

“And did friends and family witness an exchange of vows that binds us together for as long as we both shall live?”

Not that they’d needed the ceremony, its ritual, or any words to bind them together. They were mated. They’d be together forever. In this world and the next.

“Yes. You and me for the next four-hundred and fifty years or so.”

That was also news he probably shouldn’t just spring on her. Her lifespan would now match his. Her aging would slow and she would remain her luscious twenty-something self for as long as he was still in his Prime. A big adjustment for a human.

If she heard him, she either didn’t care or wasn’t ready to discuss it, because she continued her tirade. If she would just let him explain that the ritual wasn’t important, that they were bound together the second they first met. Then they could commence with the love making portion of the evening.

“And if we didn’t have to go running off to America to find the relic, would we now be expected to entertain those guests with food and drinks, music and dancing?”

She was completely fixated on this. Could she really be this upset about a dumb ceremony or was there something else bothering her and this was the convenient fight to pick?

“I guess so.” He wasn’t exactly sure on the protocol for after a Wyvern mating ritual, but a party felt in order.

“Was there supposed to be a cake?” Her voice was getting shriller with each question.

Maybe she wanted the party. “If you want one.”

“That, my dear mate,” she spat the word at him, “is the very definition of a wedding.”

Jakob crossed the room and stood in front of her so close she had to tilt her head up to look at him. The fire, ice, wind, and lush green in those eyes took his breath away. He didn’t want to fight with her. He wanted to make love to her. “Ciara. Calm down.”

That was apparently the wrong thing to say, because every plant in the room wilted, the petals fell off the blooms, and one small pot he’d been preparing to put seedlings in burst into flames.

“Don’t tell me how to feel.” Her voice was quiet, but the wind whipping through the room at gale force wasn’t. “You're the one who brought up all these, these…feelings in me, dammit. So, don't go expecting me to shove them back inside. I won’t and I’m going to have to learn how to deal with that.”

Emotional women were not exactly his forte. He couldn't remember the last time someone had yelled at him. People didn't raise their voices to Wyverns. He had said he wanted to see her riled because she was gorgeous lit up this way. He ought to be more careful what he wished for, because he wouldn’t be surprised if she, of all women, sudden learned how to breathe fire.

“Ciara, sweetheart –”

“Don't you sweetheart me, Jakob Zeleny. Do you have any idea what my entire life has been about for the past eight years?”

He didn’t know how to answer that question because the answer was ‘not a fucking clue’. But that probably wasn't what she wanted him to say. At this point no matter what he said he would probably be wrong. He wasn't even a hundred percent sure whether she was mad about not understanding thewords to the mating ceremony or that it had all happened without her say so on the flowers and decorations.

She had asked him a question about her life back in America, so maybe she was upset that she would be leaving that behind.

That was something they definitely hadn't discussed. Okay, he could see how she would be mad about that. Good. He would dig in and get to know every part of her psyche, so she wouldn’t have to be sad or mad anymore. He wanted his mate to be happy.

Happy mate, happy fate.

“I don't, but if you'll just tell me what you're really upset about, I will do my best to fix it for you.”

He patted himself on the back for that. He might be new to being a mate, but he knew that they took care of each other. If she needed to have a job to feel comfortable and happy, he'd buy her whatever company she wanted.

“I'm trying to tell you why I'm mad. I'm a wedding planner, asshat.”

Uh-oh. They were back to the creative name calling. “I'm sure there are plenty of couples in the Czech Republic who need help planning their own weddings. That's not really a dragon thing, but once I call the household staff back, some of the women can probably help point you in the right direction.”

“No, jackass. It's not about other people's weddings. I wanted to be able to plan my own. Now it's too damn late.” She held up her ring finger in a gesture that almost looked obscene.

That wasn't what bothered Jakob. It was the tears gathering in her eyes. She turned her back on him before any of them fell. It didn't matter because his gut told him, with theempty burn spreading from the pit of his stomach to his throat, that he was too late to stop them.

He hadn't spent an entire minute in his whole life thinking about a wedding. He certainly never thought he'd have one, even if he did find a mate. He didn't consider the ritual they had just performed a wedding.

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