Watching Rowan set up a more permanent space made me unspeakably happy. I was sure she didn't realize it, but the chances of her staying only grew as she put in more effort and interacted with the horde. If Rowan chose to leave, however, I would follow her, no questions asked. Would it destroy our horde as we knew it? Yes, but I couldn't find the strength inside me to care. As an Alpha, my priority was to take care of everyone, of course, but even higher on the list of priorities was my mate.
And I couldn’t lose her again.
While I helped move the boxes, I never strayed too far from her, keeping a close eye on her every move. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust her. Far from it. I didn’t trust the assholes eye-groping her. Young dragons could be notoriously stupid at times, and making a move on my mate would possibly be the dumbest thing they could ever do. While I was the friendliest of my clan, I would stillhappilyrip the eyeballs out of any dragon who looked at my mate too long.
“Can you put them in the back?” Rowan asked as I took several jars of old dried herbs out of a box. She looked over the contents, scrutinizing the various crushed leaves and powders with the most adorable little crinkle between her brows. “I think some of that stuff may actually be useful, so I'm going to put it on the shelf back there.”
“I’mpretty sure some of this stuff is older than me,” I said with a grimace, shaking what looked like dried beans with tiny blue flowers mixed in.
“They probably are. That doesn't mean they aren’t useful anymore. Dried herbs can last decades and still maintain their healing properties.” She plucked one of the jars out of my hand.
“Can we go get lunch?” one of the young dragons—Benjamin, I believed—asked.
I nodded quickly, all too eager to get them away from Rowan. “Go for it. I think we’re almost done with these boxes. Take abreak.”
It didn’t take the dragons, who Ma volunteered for cleanup, longer than a few seconds to leave. They rushed out of the room, elbowing and smashing into each other as they fought to be the first out the door, hooting about finally getting food.
Shaking my head, I chuckled low, remembering what it was like to be their age. And while I should have also been thinking about eating—and would have if it were any other day—all I could think about was Rowan. She bent down to set the jars from the box on the floor near the overflowing collection she’d made on the back counter.
The curves of her ass were fucking spectacular, always had been. And it had beenso longsince I’d been able to sink my teeth into them. The nights at the lake all those years ago were burned into my memory. Sharing Emmeline had been… well there weren’t words for how fantastic that had been. She straightened, and I had to clear my throat, prying my eyes away from her as best I could. It’d been ages since I’d been with anyone, after all. I wasn’t about to be with anyone but my mate, but the need to wrap myself around her was getting worse with every passing day. Keeping myself away was damn near impossible, but I wasn’t about to repeat Orsen’s mistake and freak her out.
“What is that smell?” For a moment, I thought one of the jars was leaking its noxious fumes, but Rowan closed her eyes, absently following her nose until she was a foot away from me. “Goddess, is that you?”
I stopped short, walking over to the desk in the far-left corner and setting down the box. Not so subtly, I raised my shoulder, sniffing at myself. It wasn’t bad. Sure, I’d sweat a little from carrying things back and forth, but hell, it was nothing compared to those teenagers with their overactive hormones.
“I mean… maybe? Are you sure it’s not?—”
But then Rowan was right in front of me, making thatface again as she closed her eyes and inhaled. It hit me. That wasn’t disgust on her face or even annoyance. She… liked it?
“Itisyou. It’s like warmth and sunshine.” Her fingers landed on my forearms as she leaned in, my blood singing as she got so close, heat rising through my entire body. “Holy crap, I… Wow. I mean, I know it’s been a while, but…Goddess, that scent. I want—Oh, jeez.”
The mood in the room had flipped on its head, though I had a feeling I was to blame for that. I mean, I’d been ogling Rowan’s ass, clearly giving off aroused pheromones, and now we were here. I couldn’t say I was upset about that—at all. Still…
Gripping my arms tightly, Rowan began to nuzzle into my chest. My cock kicked behind my zipper, every nerve firing as all of me came online, immediately ready to do whatever she wanted—to please herhowevershe wanted. I couldn’t stop myself from pulling Rowan closer, dropping my nose to the waves of her hair and drinking in her perfume. And boy, did it pack a punch.
I could smell her arousal, the fragrance of sweetness flaring bright enough to give the sun a run for its money.
Fucking hell.
A rumble escaped my chest as I squeezed Rowan’s shoulders, unknowingly turning us so her back was to the desk. I slid my hands under her arms, hoisting her up onto the wooden surface. Rowan squeaked, her eyes lidded as she gazed at me, seemingly drunk on the sudden swell of need. My hands were still on her hips, and my pulse screamed in my ears.
“Tell me to stop. Tell me to fuck off, and I’ll get out of here faster than you can blink.”
Swallowing, Rowan didn’t speak, her legs spread enough to make room for me.
“But if you want this?—”
“I want this.” The words were out so fast, and Rowan blinked, as if realizing what she said. “Oh God, that sounds insane. But… it’s been so long, and being next to you is…”
I pressed against her, cupping her cheek as my lips hovered over hers. “How long? How long has it been, sweetness?” Part of me wanted to know if any other fucker had touched her, but part of me really didn’t.
She trembled slightly in my hold, breathinghard. “I… I don’t remember ever… Not since before I woke up in Kiki’s hut. There’ve been… I could have, I suppose, but it never… It never felt right.”
“And thank fuck for that.”
Without another word, I crashed my lips onto hers, searing us both with the intensity. Fire roared within me, my inner dragon growling in possessive glee. I explored Rowan's mouth like it was the first time, sweeping my tongue across the seam of her lips, only to be welcomed past them eagerly. Our tongues tangled, caresses taking my hands over her entire body.
Nothing in the entire world felt as good as touching my perfect mate.
