Page 27 of Darkhan

Zeno bent down and kissed her gently. “Then that’s what we’ll do, my dove.”

Harmony let her eyes close as he carried her inside, her head resting on his broad shoulder. The chill from the relentless wind disappeared as soon as they crossed the threshold, though she’d long since stopped paying it any real attention.

Zeno carried her up the stairs, all the way to the bedroom they’d been sharing since the first night he’d brought her to the penthouse, and sat her on the bed. Only then did he peel offher dress. He dropped to his knees and peppered kisses up her legs, his always-trimmed beard occasionally scratching against her skin as he tilted his head for a new angle. His hands kneaded her flesh, squeezing and rubbing as he slowly climbed higher. He deftly avoided her center as he ascended her body, his touch and his kisses prompting her to lie back on the bed.

By the time he swept his tongue over the first nipple, she was breathless again. “Z-Zeno…”

He didn’t linger there, gliding across her skin to deliver the same attention to her other breast before continuing up. He took hold of her arms and stretched them over her head, his tongue lingered over the new mark she hadn’t yet seen at the base of her neck, and she swore her blood caught fire. Then he resumed his path up, nibbled on her earlobe, and finally dropped a light kiss to her nose.

Harmony sucked in a breath. “What…?”

He smiled, his eyes warm with a strange but endearing mix of affection and desire. “Am I not allowed to appreciate my mate’s beauty?”

A strangled laugh escaped her. He’d just had his hands and his lips over nearly every inch of her. There was no hiding her rolls from him. Yet he still managed to say that as if it were an undeniable fact. “You are.” It was a weak response, but her brain was mush.

Zeno leaned down and kissed her properly, pressing his lips to hers before slowly working his tongue into her mouth. The kiss was wet and thorough and despite the hunger she sensed in him, he took his time with her. He never released her hands. When the kiss finally broke, both breathing heavily, he said, “You understand I do not merely want you as my mate, Harmony.”

She blinked at him. “You want to knock me up that bad?”

A devilish smirk lifted his lips. “In fact I do.” He let go ofher hands in favor of reaching down to anchor onto her hips and proceeded to rock his pelvis against hers, gliding his renewed erection over her pussy. “Every inch of you, inside and out, will only ever be mine. But to some extent, I will share that claim with our children.” He pushed himself inside her as he spoke, moving slowly enough that her eyes rolled back in her head and her back arched before he was settled.

Harmony panted, her vision bleary but her heart racing. She stretched out a hand, reaching for him.

Zeno lowered himself over her again, rocking slow, driving himself deep in a mostly grinding motion as he crushed her torso up to his. He kissed her, rough and wet, then trailed yet more kisses down her throat on the side he hadn’t yet marked.

Harmony curled her arms around him as best she could, her fingers digging into his skin. “I-I’m already yours,” she said, gasping as she fought for words. “All of me. You have me. You’ll always have me.”

He growled low, nipped at her skin, and pushed up to his elbows to find her gaze again. “And the world will know, regardless of their species. We are mated, and soon you will be my wife.”

What little breath she had rushed from her lungs as his declaration echoed like a church bell in her head.Wife.The wife of Zeno Darkhan.

Harmony moved her hands to grab hold of his face and pull him down for a fierce kiss, causing his rhythm to falter. The harder snap of his hips had her breaking away to choke on a scream and she twisted her fingers in his hair. “Yes! Please, yes!”

Zeno moved his lips to her ear. “Fly with me, then, my dove.” He thrust into her again and ground down, their bodies already tilted at the perfect angle for the motion to add friction to her clit.

She felt him release in a hot burst, deep inside her, andher body chased after him into oblivion. Harmony clung to his shoulders as she shook, tears rolling from her eyes with the intensity of the orgasm and emotion he’d roused in her. It felt so good it almost hurt and she didn’t want it to end. She didn’t ever want it to end.

Zeno wedged his arms beneath her after several seconds, his own breathing ragged, and hauled her up without dislodging her. “I love you, too, Harmony,” he murmured into her hair. “And I swear to you, no matter how the world changes, you will have me. Always.”

She sucked in a breath, managed to curl her arms more thoroughly around his shoulders, and closed her eyes as he started them toward the bathroom. “Always,” she whispered back. “I’ll always be your Little Dove.”

Epilogue

Three Years Later

“Settling your tab?” The old bartender raised a silver brow even as he rested his fingertips over the top of Zeno’s card. “You’re a creature of habit, old friend. The last time you cleared your tab you were newly mated.”

Zeno chuckled, tipping the glass still in his hand in acknowledgment before knocking back what remained of the drink. One wouldn’t hurt, and for old-time’s sake, it felt right. “Don’t look so worried, Clive. I’m just going away for a while. It would be rude of me to leave a balance hanging, no matter how well I know the owners are doing.”

Clive hummed and swept the card through the requisite machine. “I heard you’ve pulled from the last of your local business affiliations. Is everything all right with the family?” He handed back the card as he spoke.

Zeno slid the glass forward and accepted the piece of plastic that passed for money, tucking it back into his wallet. “Of course. You think I’d be worried about a small bar tab if there was something wrong with Harmony, or Nova?” Even the theoretical thought made his insides twist as though his organs were caught in a clawed vice. He pushed it down and offered the man across from him a genuine smile. Every word he said here would get back to Dario, so it saved him the trouble of one more phone call. “Now that Nova’s a little older, Harmony wants to see some of the places I’ve told her about. We were only able to travel the one time before our daughter was born, I think she’s feeling restless.”

Clive’s lips twitched. “I wouldn’t expect a dragon’s mate to be overly complacent in one place for long.” He lifted the glass. “I’m glad to hear you’re heading out for good reasons for once.”

Zeno grunted, unable to deny the accusation, bade the bartender a temporary farewell, and made one more exit from The Gin Room. Roland was already waiting for him and the car was in motion as soon as Zeno clicked his seat belt into place. Flying would have been faster, but he generally tried to play by the rules while he was living among society.

“Will you be away for a while, sir?” Roland asked as they neared the building.

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