Page 15 of The Dragon's Flamebound Mate
I listened to his soft snores until my knot subsided and then eased him onto his side. He snuggled into me, becoming my little spoon as he napped. My body longed for sleep, too, but my dragon and I were enjoying this peaceful time with out sleeping mate.
When I woke up this morning, there’d been no way I could’ve predicted the way it would turn out. Heck, my sorry ass did everything to ensure it didn’t, with the way I acted at work. But fate seemed to always have a way, and now here I was holding my always and forever in my arms and we were about to start our lives together.
I closed my eyes, inhaling deeply, and allowed myself to finally fall asleep in the only place I wanted to be—with my mate. The rest of the world would still be there when we woke—we still had to work together, to bring out team to victory, but now we were doing it together as mates, and the world looked a whole lot brighter.
Chapter 8
Ash
ThefirsttimeIwalked into this room, I had been so anxious, worried that I’d made the wrong decision by coming here. This time, I walked in, hand in hand with my mate, feeling like I was on top of the world. Whatever lay in store for us next, we were in it together.
“That was incredibly quick work.” Hayden gave a knowing smile. Had Zayne and I been the only ones not to fully realize the connection between us?
When he met me at my house and took my hand, my life changed. Suddenly it was no longer me against the world, it was us. There was no better feeling in the world, except maybe the feel of his knot filling me.
Which I hadn’t had enough of in the short time we’d been mated.
Zayne and I were seated in the conference room we had used in the past to go over our curriculum plans with Hayden and Kellen. Now we were all in here with the Flight Commander, going over an entirely different topic—one I much preferred, despite the awkwardness.
Based on the shocked expressions on most of their faces, it was a surprise to them—maybe not the fact that we were mates, but the fact that we got over our bullshit so quickly.
“Well, I’m sure all of you sensed some of the tension between us,” Zayne said, and everyone but the Flight Commander bit back their laughter.
Zayne’s hand was laced into mine, resting on the table in front of us. My mate was the tactile type—not something I had expected from him, but I appreciated it; it showed me that I wasn’t alone in this, that he was with me 100%.
Looking back, I didn’t think we had spent much time in the past twenty-four hours not touching one another. I wanted that to continue for years to come—a lifetime, even.
“It was impossible not to. At first, I assumed you didn’t like each other, considering Ash was basically here to take your job,” Kellan said, “but then…” He didn’t finish his sentence, but he didn’t need to, Hayden nodding his head in agreement and the Flight Commander looking a bit more perplexed than he had been when we first called the meeting. “Glad you two finally… connected.”
Hayden’s eyes widened, and he smacked Kellan on the shoulder.
“What?” Kellan said. “We were all thinking it. No offense, Zayne.”
Zayne chuckled. “None taken.” It wasn’t like it was an illogical conclusion to jump to.
“So now you’re mates?” Hayden said. “Congratulations, obviously, but what does that mean for the team?”
That was the question of the day. My ideal would be that we were partners in all things, including continuing our jobs as Co-Leader, but if that wasn’t what the school thought best, I’d step aside and let him take over. He worked so hard to get here and coming in and snatching it from him wasn’t going to happen. If us being mates meant I was done with this part of my life, I’d gladly let it go.
“I suspected that we were mates the moment I met him. Though I didn’t know how to say anything. When I ran into Ash after class the other day, well, I couldn’t wait any longer to find out.” Zayne lifted my hand to his lips and kissed it. If I didn’t have on my most professional demeanor, I would’ve melted into a puddle of goo.
“Oh, goodness,” Hayden said. “I think this is amazing.”
Commander Emmon smiled wide. “Never thought I’d see the day, Zayne. Not going to lie, you struck me as the bachelor-for-life type.”
Zayne wiggled in his seat and cleared his throat. “I had always hoped for a mate, and I’m happy to have found Ash.”
“Me too.” I smiled at Zayne, and he smiled back at me.
“Boo,” Kellan said. “If you two are going to make moony eyes at each other all season, this is going to be rough. I might prefer the two of you being at each other’s throats.”
Zayne crumpled up a paper from the pad in front of him and tossed it at Kellan. “Don’t be jealous.”
Being ever the professional, Kellan stuck his tongue out in reply. It was tiny moments like these that reminded me how well this group in front of me knew each other. I was still the newbie.
“We are happy for you,” the Commander said. “And I think a celebration is in order, perhaps with the entire staff. This is unprecedented. We’ve never had a mated pair on the same flight team, let alone as Co-Leaders. Perhaps we should look into separating the two of you.”
My body froze, words refusing to form. I understood why he was saying it, and I knew it was a very real possibility even before we stepped foot in here. That didn’t make them any less terrifying.
