His hands grabbed at Romilly's chest fervently. "More. I want more," he pleaded.
Romilly shivered like the words did something to him as much as the touch. "We can not, little one. I still have not told you everything."
"Fuck telling me!" he shouted. "I want you right here, right now, and you want me. Why are we waiting?"
Romilly's eyes started to glow. Archer took that to mean his dragon had come to the front. The animal was involved in their conversation now.
It might have been wrong of him, but Archer decided to get what he wanted the old-fashioned way. Tempting a beast.
"Hi, I'm Archer and I want you. I want Romilly the king." Romilly's chest vibrated beneath Archer's hand. "Yes, exactly. And I think that you can help me get it, can't you? You can make him see reason. He won't let me have you."
There was a second where the eyes continued to glow without any other movement, and Romilly didn't come back. There was no sign of the dragon either. All in all it flustered Archer, until the focus was back on him and hands were tearing at his clothes.
"Mine. Mine," he panted as Romilly disrobed him.
"Yours, little mate," Romilly bit out, his voice nothing but gravel. The soft tone he'd had was nowhere to be found. In its place was this animal that was far less human than before.
"Mate," Archer repeated softly. His body succumbed to the pleasure Romilly gave him. His mouth trailed down Archer's neck, his hands tugged and pulled, making it impossible for Archer to ignore what was going on. Yet still the word niggled at his mind.
Mate.
He knew what mates were. He'd understood from all the books he'd read and the worlds he'd explored in his childhood that mates were important. They were pivotal beings. And they were always someone's forever. The idea that he could be that for Romilly made Archer freeze.
Romilly instantly picked up on it. He drew back, and despite the way his hands were right on the edge of Archer's body, the man didn't move. Instead, he tilted his head to the side, the animal still somewhat in control.
"You said—" Archer started. "You said mate. Like fated. Am I?"
Archer witnessed the struggle between man and animal for a few moments before it was clear the man won out. The gold in Romilly's eyes faded as he came back.
"Oh, little one, I am so sorry. I did not think he would…I am ashamed of myself. I should have had better control."
Archer hushed Romilly. "No, don't. I'm not upset. And I don't need you to be mad at him. I just need to know if what you said was true. Am I your mate?"
This conversation was an odd one to be having, especially given that Archer was nearly naked. Romilly had managed to get his shirt off in his desperate state, but his level of undress wasn't near as far gone.
"I did say that," Romilly admitted, "because you are. That was the final secret, the one I had not told you yet."
"And why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I did not know how to say it. Because how do I say that you are the most important thing in my life, that you are everything I have ever wanted and dreamed of, that having you here means I get to no longer live in darkness? How is any of that easy to say to someone who was hurt and who needed healing, to someone who did not know your type existed?"
Archer eased his hands to Romilly's cheeks. He pressed against them, making sure his mate, his dragon man, was watching him. "You have to trust me. Just like you didn't panic when I said Daddy, I'm not panicking about mate. They are words that hold deep meaning, but they're not the end of everything. Not unless you tell me you want me to leave."
Archer went to remove his hands, but Romilly's eyes glowed again. The flash was just for a moment, and then Romilly shook his head.
"Do not dare try to climb down from me, little one. I need you in my arms. I need to hold you."
Archer smiled at that, not because of how desperate his mate seemed, but because his mate wanted him at all. He'd always assumed he was too needy, that the people in his life were right in what they said.
Now he not only got to understand that there was a supernatural world far beyond anything he'd ever dreamed up, but he also had a mate, a person promised to him by Fate.
Archer kept his gaze locked with Romilly's as he said, "You have to promise me that if things become too much, or if you decide that you don't want me anymore, that you tell me as painlessly as possible. I don't know how this bond or mate thing works, but everything I've ever read suggests it won't be good for me. So please be sure."
Romilly moved across the room, easing into a chair so that Archer was on his lap. He raised his hands up, placing them on Archer's shoulders, holding him steady.
"I vow to thee on this day that I do not want another and never will. If you accept me as your fated mate and we bond, then I will forever be yours and you mine. No person or event can come between us, not even death itself. I would go to any means to have you with me, to make you mine. I would be your mate above all else, then your Alpha, then your king. And most important to me, I would like to be your friend as well, the person that you come to when you need something. Your Daddy."
Archer grinned, overwhelmed with relief. "That's a lot of titles. Are you sure you want to give them all to me? Or take them all on?"
