Page 25 of The Dragon at the End of This Pregnancy

He dropped his head, and I clasped my fingers behind his neck, still not sure how this was different from grabbing under his chin, like I'd done before. It brought him even closer to me, and I pressed my lips to his.

He shuffled me to the side and opened the door without breaking the kiss, but then he lifted me into the van and shut me inside. I was still panting when he joined me in the driver's seat.

"It's too early to take you to bed," he said. "Also too soon to eat dinner, but there's a lake nearby. Want to take a walk with me?"

I wanted more kissing, but walking sounded fun, too. "Yes."

After a short drive, we parked in the shade of a large grove of trees that bordered the lake on one side. The trees reminded me of the conical evergreens around my cave, but their scent stung my nose. After two deep breaths, I sneezed.

Mac handed me a paper napkin from his pocket. "Are you all right?"

"I think so." Thankfully, we were soon away from the trees and walking toward a structure that reminded me of the dragon pavilion Tuft and his mate Axel had built for me. I ached for home. I wiped at my runny eyes with the napkin, this time for a different reason.

Mac had longer legs than I did in this form. I soon fell behind, and he waited for me in the middle of the bridge. The sun through colored panes of glass painted the walkway in a rainbow. I enjoyed the view as I approached. I needed to stay present and enjoy the moment. There was no reason to go home, anyway. My mate was here with me.

He held his hand out to me, and I slotted our fingers together. I nudged him with my shoulder as I leaned against the railing, matching his posture. Below us, fish shimmered as they swam.

"I wanted to apologize," he said.

"For what?"

"Back there, at the bondage tent. I had no reason to be jealous."

My mind was reeling over "bondage" but then it bounced to, "Jealous?" I'd thought that was the emotion Mac displayed, but I still didn't understand. "Why?"

"That human was hitting on you."

"I don't know what that means. He didn't touch me."

"He wanted to touch you."

Mac started walking again and pulled me with him. He returned to his long strides. I had to take two steps to his one to keep up.

"I don't want to touch him." I didn't know what else to say. I'd already told Mac he was my partner. I gripped his hand tighter, and he slowed. "I only want to touch you."

At the base of the bridge, a concrete path led off into the woods. We followed it to an empty picnic area. I headed for the table, but Mac tugged me toward a bench that overlooked a fast-flowing river.

Some tension seeped from Mac's shoulders as I sat beside him.

"Do dragons mate for life?" he asked.

"Yes. Once we've found our fated mates, that's it for us. If they die, we don't take another mate."

"You'll outlive me," he said. "I don't want you to be lonely."

"I won't outlive you. Remember Olaf?"

He grinned. "Yeah. The old geezer from The Grid."

"He's mated to Bale." My great-grand-something-or-other was one of the oldest living dragons. "A dragon's mating mark extends their mate's life."

"But you said?—"

"Dragons war with each other, and sometimes our mates are killed. Mating marks don't make you immune to fire."

"Oh." He squeezed my hand again. "So I could live as long as you do?"

"That's the plan." I rested my head against his shoulder, and he pulled his hand free of mine to wrap his arm around me. I didn't like our size difference in my human form, but I felt cherished and safe by his side.

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