He ran his fingers through her hair. “Beyond your time here, you’ve stayed true to your dreams and goals, no matter whatchallenges were thrown your way. I imagine you’d be the same with a mate.” She opened her mouth, and he added, “Don’t worry, I plan to woo you some more before talking about matings. Although that is my end goal, lass.” He hesitated and then asked, “Is that something you’d consider in the future?”
“At one point, I thought it might never happen. But with the right person, then yes, it’s something I’d consider. However, I need more than a week to figure that out, Cam. My instincts in the past weren’t great, and I need more evidence before I can convince myself to take a chance like that.”
He pulled her up until their faces were level. “Now that you’ve agreed to give us a chance, I’ll do my best to prove my feelings and intentions are true.” He smiled. “Although I have one request.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Do I want to know?”
“Promise to share my bed when you can. I won’t claim you fully, or ever kiss you on the mouth, but I want to hold you in my arms. Your presence is both soothing and intoxicating.”
“How in the world am I soothing? Besides, for all you know, I could kick in my sleep.”
He ran a hand down to her hip and squeezed. “Even if you do, you’d still be soothing. Because for years, my dragon had a restlessness that I struggled to contain. Mostly because of my lack of pursuing females and working too much. But with you here, well, it settles my beast.”
Aye, so don’t let her go.
I don’t plan to.
Emily traced his jaw, the light touch calming his dragon further. “You’re full of so many contradictions, Cam. Growly and protective, yet also anxious and vulnerable. Thank you for showing me so much of yourself so quickly. I definitely needed that, more than I realized.”
He sensed her words were related to the dragonman she’d fancied for a while, who’d ended up mating someone else. “Whatever you need, just ask, Emily. I’ll probably be stubborn sometimes, and I might be a bit of a beast if I’m in a foul mood. However, just know that you are the female I want, and the female I’m going to win.”
She smiled. “I look forward to seeing how you do it.”
He hugged her close and moved to nibble her earlobe before saying, “Me, too, lass. Me, too.”
And as Emily yawned again, Cam settled back and held his female close as she drifted off. For a short while, he reveled in her warm presence against him.
But then he also fell asleep, dreaming of what his future could be with Emily Davies as his mate.
Chapter Twelve
The next two weeks flew by for Emily. Between tweaking her formulas, spending time with Cam and his family, and helping out Dr. Keith with patients, she was busy. However, it was the kind of busy that made her smile and feel good, and want to make plans for the future.
Even though it was still rather soon, Cam had been true to his word and done everything he could to win her. Making her dinner, taking her on the best walks, and even surprising her with a windy picnic on the beach. He’d also shifted whenever she wanted, and his dragon form was becoming familiar to her, too. From his color to the nicks on his tail from an old wound, to even reading his body language.
Never in her life had a guy tried so hard to please her. Oh, they sometimes argued over silly things like doing the dishes or Cam leaving dirty clothes on his bedroom floor. But in a way, that only made the whole thing more real.
Emily was living with a dragonman she fancied, who fancied her back, and whom she was slowly falling for.
How it’d happened in such a short time, she couldn’t explain it. And to a woman who’d spent her life guided by evidence, itwas difficult to accept. And yet, Cam was just so wonderful, she loved his family, and even more Seahaven clan members had welcomed her into their fold.
She wanted to believe this place was her future. And yet, she’d been burned before, even abandoned by her family, and she couldn’t quite take a leap of faith just yet.
At least today she’d be distracted. After going back and forth with the researcher at UHI, as well as Dr. Keith, today was the day Emily and the others would go diving for more samples. The ones she’d collected on land about two weeks ago were promising, but not quite right.
However, between Dr. Keith’s recommendations and the marine biologist from UHI, Dr. John Richardson, she had some more good leads.
Even though they had an early start, Emily had promised to stop by Mary and Angus’s house on her way to meet the others since Cam had left early to survey the area and ensure it was safe.
She was a few feet from the front door when Mary opened it and smiled. “Emily! I was worried you might have run late. Come in, lass, and say hello. I know you’re busy today, but I have something to give you.”
Emily entered the house, hugged Mary, and followed her into the kitchen. “I told you to stop with the gifts.”
Mary waved a hand in dismissal. “You make our Cameron happy, and I’ll never be able to repay you for that.”
“Mary.”
Before she could protest some more, they entered the kitchen. Angus and Tor sat at the small table, eating breakfast. As much as Emily longed to join them, she never ate so close to a dive.
