Page 13 of The Dragon's Emberlinked Mate
I put a hand to his cheek and caressed his face. Emmen leaned into my touch as if it soothed him, like how I was soothed when he touched me. “Thank you,” I said.
“Always. My mate. I will always save you.”
And I would always save him.
Chapter 8
Emmen
There was something Rhythe was not telling me. In the past two weeks, his body had healed, yet it seemed that his mind had not. Each day he grew more and more quiet, pulling away from me. Finally, I’d had enough. Today would be the day that I would get him to talk to me.
It wasn’t good for him, and it wasn’t good for us to let this go. At first I thought it was getting over the accident. The entire event had been traumatizing. How could it not be? And if that was the case, we’d figure out a way to get him the help he needed.
But as time passed, I was leaning toward it being something else. And whatever that something was, leaving it mushed inside wasn’t going to do him any good.
I closed out all of my tasks, made sure that nothing and no one would bother us for the weekend. It would just be me and my mate. I couldn’t remember a time when I’d shut myself off from my outside responsibilities before. I’d never needed or wanted to, but my priorities shifted the second I entered that hospital room. Now Rhythe came first. Full. Stop.
Lord Malric had delayed his meeting with the school, so we didn’t have to worry about his visit for another week. Having found his mate in recent years, he understood better than most.
I packed up my laptop into my bag after shutting it down completely. I wouldn’t be turning it on this weekend unless there was an absolute emergency. And even then, I wasn’t so sure. I didn’t even plan to think about work at all once it was secure in my bag.
With everything put away, I went outside and shifted to my dragon form. My beast spread his wings and took off toward the one place I longed to be… home with my mate.
The short commute was one of the biggest perks of the secluded home Rhythe and I shared. Once upon a time, they had put together plans for how to put in a road so that the place would at least be accessible by car, but we had never taken that project on. I was glad for it. Being isolated from the rest of the world while still being close to everything was perfection in my book.
I shifted to my human form at the tail end of my flight, letting my feet land on the balcony that entered into the main suite. I still remembered learning how to do that as a dragonet. So many times I shifted too soon and fell or too late and broke something. My poor parents for having to put up with that.
Would Rythe and I have a nest of our own soon? Would I have dragonets putting me through similar stressors? I hoped so. Rythe and I hadn’t discussed it yet, and I would never pressure him to have a family before he was ready, but that didn’t stop my mind from wandering in that direction from time to time.
The main suite was where my mate spent most of his days. I sensed that the mansion was overwhelming for him, as it had been for me when I first moved in. The main suite was larger than most homes. It was hardly like he was crowded into a small space.
Rythe would hang out there with his sketchbooks, claiming that the sunlight was just perfect this time of day for whatever project he’d be working on. I didn’t know anything about that, but I loved that he enjoyed the space.
When I walked in, he was lying on the bed wearing only a pair of white track pants that were too tight to be legal. I kissed his cheek and settled on the bed next to him. He leaned into my touch.
“How was your day?” I asked.
“Fine,” he said, “just fine. Nothing exciting.” He shook his head. His face was somber. There was no light in his eyes.
I hated it. Something was wrong, and me, being me, wanted to fix it.
“Love, are you feeling all right? Should I get Vexus here to check you over?” I didn’t sense any injury left on him, but I also was not a doctor. Plus, I’d lived long enough to know that there was so much more to medicine than injuries.
He shook his head. “I’m fine. What should we have for dinner?”
He moved as if he was going to get off the bed, but I grasped his arm, showing him I wanted him to stay.
“Rhythe, talk to me, please. I feel you pulling away, and it terrifies me. Is it too soon? Am I pushing things too quickly?” I didn’t think I was, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t. The only way I’d know for sure was if he told me. “Do you want more time to remain unmated?”
His eyes grew large. “No, no, nothing like that.” He met my eyes and said more firmly, “No. I thought maybe you wanted more time.”
I laughed heartily at that. “More time? Rhythe, do you have any idea how old I am? I have had nothing but time.”
“Then why haven’t you claimed me? I’ve been here two weeks, I sleep in your bed, but you don’t even touch me.”
He said the words so quietly I almost didn’t hear them. I put my fingers underneath his chin and forced him to look at me. “Is that what has you sad? You were injured, Rhythe, I couldn’t—”
“I’m fine! I healed within days. There is nothing wrong with me.”
