Page 89 of Fated to the Grumpy Dragon
“Oh, Rhyse,” I murmured, nuzzling into his hand. “That’s very sweet of you.”
He frowned. “There is a dragon-sized ‘but’ attached to that sentence. I can feel it up here.” A finger tapped the side of his head, meaning our link.
“Yes, there is,” I said, swaying a little closer to him. “But I’m not sure it’s the one you’re thinking it is.”
“I’m listening.”
I bit my lip before I could stop it, overwhelmed by his intensity. It was hot, the way he was so focused on me and nothing else mattered to him.
“You aren’t the only one who’s done some thinking,” I told him.
The sudden break in emotions through our link came like an axe falling as he shut himself down, preparing for the worst.
“Relax,” I said, placing a hand on his chest. “What I meant was that you sent me away, told me to go home to be safe, right?”
He nodded stiffly.
“But, Rhyse, I realized, I don’thavea home. The place I grew up in is under dragon control. There’s no life to be lived there, assuming the house even stands. I don’t have family to go back to. My friends were few and far between, and they’re scattered I don’t even know where now.”
“What are you saying?” he asked.
“I’m saying that the only thing that resembles home … is with you.”
His jaw dropped. “You don’t want to leave?”
“I don’t want to leave.”
“You want to stay?”
“With you,” I confirmed, unable to stop smiling. Each confirmation of my desire to remain with him elicited stronger and stronger waves of giddiness from Rhyse, and damned if it wasn’t contagious. Even I didn’t seem to realize how badly I’d wanted to stay.
“Amazing!” he lunged for me, sweeping me off my feet, spinning me around in a circle as my one foot popped all on its own while I giggled happily.
“There’s one more thing,” I said, arms around his neck, staring down at him as he casually held me aloft.
“What’s that?” Rhyse asked more than a little warily.
“I think I’m in love,” I whispered, bending down to kiss him. “And before you ask, yes, I mean with you.”
Behind us, one of the two deckhands groaned audibly. “Get a room, you two.”
Chapter Forty-One
Emma
“Good morning, my love,” I said dreamily as I rolled over, the shifting of the bed warning me of Rhyse’s return. “What brings you back to bed?”
“Besides this?” he purred, one hand reaching under the covers to caress my body, producing goosebumps wherever his fingers went.
“Yes, besides that, you lecherous man, you!” I said, playfully swatting his hand away. “I’m not doing anything this morning, and that includesyou.”
Rhyse jerked. “I’ll showyoulecherous!”
I squealed as his caressing hands turned ticklish, finding all my weak spots with ease.
“Do you submit?”
“To you?” I cried. “Never! Never, I say!”
