Page 10 of Emerald Waves
Harrumph.
Enough with theharrumph. Harrumph is not an answer.
It is an expression of annoyance.
Well, do me a favor and be annoyed somewhere else.
You know as well as I do that there is nowhere else I can go unless you go with me and neither of us is willing to leave our mate. As for my annoyance, it is with you for constantly assuming that I am the one responsible for the desperation we feel at the need to claim our mate. I may contribute to it, but an equal portion is your desire too. When will you own up to that?
When he’s clean and has had a meal and a chance to process everything we’ve spoken about tonight. I will not rush him.
Did you not hear him say we had permission to touch him.
Do you not see me touching him.
Oh, I see, now do you see how much he’s enjoying it.
Following his lead, I looked, really looked at our mate. His eyes had drifted closed, and the places where I washed away the soap shimmered from the tiny, iridescent scales that had formed along his skin since Emerson had begun to listen to his dragon and really hear what he was trying to tell him. He looked so beautiful floating there that I could picture him on the waves with me, with that peaceful expression on his face, lips gently curved upward as his lashes, long and lightly curling at the ends, fluttered each time he started to open his eyes. As I worked my way up and down his legs, discovering other ticklish spots behind his knees and on the souls of his feet, he was the picture of bliss.
And I’d put that expression there.
The grimaces of pain that had been etched in his forehead and between his eyes had all smoothed out now, leaving behind nothing but the image of tranquility. No fluttering hands, no nervous energy, no frantic pacing or ceaseless muttering, therewas nothing but ease and relaxation, as if he didn’t have a care in the world.
We’d done that, my dragon and me.
Pride and longing filled me as I carefully cleaned his privates and his bottom, rinsed his hair, and got him to sit up so I could wash his back. Still taking my time and mapping every inch of him while breathing in the scent of soapy water. A part of me wished that I could wrap us up in one of those bubbles and hide away with him somewhere deep beneath the ocean’s surface, where nothing and no one could ever harm him again.
Chapter Four
Emerson
Relaxed.
When had I ever been this relaxed?
The answer was simple—never.
I felt foolish having never known my dragon had been there all along.Dragon, why have you hidden from me?
Because those awful dragons didn’t deserve us. They-they, they scared me. Then I hid so long I couldn’t find my way back.
But we found you, Caro’s dragon said.
Yes, dragon, you found us when we were lost.
And we’ll never let you go. Caro kissed me and all thoughts of who, what, and questions of why, evaporated.
“Emerson, I don’t want to be too forward but I’m not leaving you. Not now, not ever, which begs the question of where we’ll live.”
My eyes popped open as the reality of his words hit.
“Deep breath, Emerson. We can stay here, but that would require renovations. Massive, renovations.”
“Do you have a library or a,” dare I ask. I knew he did, all dragons did. Well, all dragons aside from me, but that was a private matter. “A horde room the ancient scrolls can be kept in?”
“I do have a horde and a small library, though my horde is a bit unconventional.” I wonder what that meant. Now, I am really intrigued. Would he trust me enough to share his most prized possession with me? Someday… “Ionus has the largest one but there are several rooms in my home that could be combined and turned into the library of your dreams.”
The library of my dreams. I once thought this warehouse was just that, but now, as I glanced around, it dawned on me—I’d merely been existing here but never truly living.
