Page 19 of The Dragon's Stone Hearted Mate
I sniffed the air, searching out whatever threat had stopped my mate in his tracks. He stepped in front of me and flashed me a soft smile before his mouth claimed mine for a soft kiss. Come to think of it, we had walked too long and let too much time pass since our last kiss.
Rho’s mouth opened against mine and I slipped my tongue inside. His hands rested on my chest as I held him tight to me as if he might slip into the endless forest of night if I didn’t hold onto him tight enough. All the good things in my life fell through my fingers like water. It was a tradition as old as I was and I didn’t want to lose him too.
“I am not a thing to be lost,” he whispered but his voice still echoed through the night eaten forest. “I am a person, and I am here. I will be here. My stone survived the end of my planet. It will survive some pissy little dragons trying to kill me and dragons are the biggest thing on your home world that I know of. Even in this form my flesh doesn’t give unless I want to receive the blow.”
I smiled because there were so many ways, I could’ve taken that and some of them were deviously intimate.
“But there is only one thing I want piercing me right now,” he said.
“Yeah?” I grinned, growing harder by the second. “What’s that?”
“Those sharp teeth of yours. We must complete the ritual. Every mineral inside me is calling out for your bite. There will always be a million things to consider before we begin our lives together, but that part is so simple. Claim me. Claim me here in the woods with only the trees and the critters of the night as witnesses. What does the Other World care where we consummate our reunion? They say the magic between true-mates was born here. Maybe it’s only fitting that it happens here in one of its wild, magical places.”
“MORVAN!” Cutter’s voice rang out through the trees.
“Tell me I am hearing things,” I whispered to Rho, but my words bounced around the trees as if they played a game of telephone with them.
“I’m really here!” Cutter called out. “You have a visitor! This wolf is looking for you! Said his cousin wrote him about locking your brother in a freezer!”
“What?” Rho mouthed to me.
“Mate, I am as clueless as you are on this one. My brother is dead. He died right in front of me. CUTTER!” I said the last part louder, calling out for the lion lost in the dark.
“YOU DON’T HAVE TO SHOUT OUT HERE! I CAN HEAR YOU!” Cutter yelled back.
“WHY ARE YOU YELLING THEN?” I bellowed and Rho covered his ears.
“BECAUSE I WANTED TO GIVE YOU TIME TO PUT YOUR PECKERS AWAY! YOU’RE ALL THE WAY OUT HERE SO I ASSUME YOU’RE SHY!”
“BOTH OF YOU STOP YELLING!” Rho cut in. “YOU’RE GOING TO CRACK ME IN HALF!”
A second later, Cutter sauntered out of the trees and stepped in front of us on the path. He wore pajamas with lions on them and of course, the pack on his back.
“What’s going on?” Rho asked before I had a chance to speak.
“A wolf is here to see Morvan. I heard him speaking with Sherry.”
“A wolf?” I arched a brow. “And his cousin?”
“No,” Cutter shook his head. “His cousin isn’t here but his cousin is the one who put your brother in the freezer.”
“In the freezer?” I blinked. “Cutter, you’ve lost me somewhere along the way. Are you sure this isn’t just a dream you had?”
“I wasn’t asleep. I was up rekilling a ghost,” Cutter shrugged. “Sherry told him she didn’t know where you were. She’s still totally freaked out about you,” he glanced at Rho. “I think the wolf is making her a cup of tea now.”
“Was his name Eston? Like Teal’s carrier is here?”
“Maybe. I don’t know,” Cutter said. “Look. I’m going back to bed. I didn’t know camp was going to be so bad for my sleep. Between you and the ghosts I might disappear from sleep deprivation.”
He turned off the path and disappeared back into the woods.
“Do you think he’s crazy now?” I asked Rho.
“No. I’m not sure what he’s talking about, but I don’t think he’s crazy. You only have one brother, right?” Rho asked.
“Yes,” I reassured him. “He’s dead and taken care of.”
“Still I think we have to go back and check on the others,” Rho frowned.
