Page 33 of Dark Dragon’s Mate

But…

“What if I hurt someone here?” she whispered. “Your staff. One of the other wolves, like Tristan. You won’t want to keep me either. You won’t be able to.”

Unexpectedly, he pulled her into his arms, holding her close. “We’ll figure it out,” he said roughly. “We can be monsters together.”

Together. She wrapped her arms around his waist, melting into the feeling of warmth and safety. It almost made it worth being a monster, if she could be one with him.

Finally, she made herself step back, even though it felt cold and lonely outside the circle of his arms.

“Thank you,” she said. They looked at each other awkwardly. “Well. Um. I guess I should go back to my room and try to get some sleep.” She tried to laugh. “Even though it is almost morning. And I probably won’t. Sleep, I mean.” She was exhausted, but too wound up for sleep.

But she didn’t trust herself around Emon. Not after what She-Wolf had done tonight.

He gazed at her for a minute, then said, “Come on.”

Emon ducked into an unused barracks room and grabbed a mattress and blanket off one of the bunks, hauling the mattress behind him. Then he took Trish’s hand, twining his fingers with hers as he led her back out to the roof, and laid the mattress out on the stone.

“If you’re going to stay here in my domain, you have to learn the stars,” he informed her. He pulled her down on the mattress, lying on their backs with her head on his shoulder.

She felt so good next to him. That cold, numb place in his chest thawed a little bit more.

He shouldn’t let it thaw. There would be pain when it thawed. But right now he didn’t care.

Because his wicked, dazzling Nightmare Wolf was looking into the sky with awe. His sky. Velvet black and thick with stars. Emon pointed out constellations, telling her stories about the creatures they formed.

Not telling her that the brightest star was lying there right next to him. And he’d just bribed her to stay with an offer of safety that he probably couldn’t follow through on.

The sky was just starting to turn light on the horizon when he finished a wild tale about gods and goddesses, with lots of illicit sex and jealousy and people being turned into raka, the long scaly river reptiles with dragon-like teeth and heavy tails that could smash through a stone wall.

“You’re making these up as you go along,” she accused sleepily.

“My domain, my stars, my myths,” he said loftily. “These are now the official royal constellations, and the official royal myths.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

She snuggled up to him. She was so warm, and soft, and wild, and she was going to destroy him. But what a way to go.

“You should stop being so sexy,” she murmured.

She thought he was sexy? Fuck. This was worse than he thought. He was doomed.

his dragon said. There was a pause.

I hope so.

Because he was about to throw caution to the winds. Even if the Nightmare Wolf attacked him again.

Chapter 17

Emon shifted position so he was facing Trish, keeping her cradled in his arms.

“If I kiss you,” he murmured in her ear, “do you promise not to try to kill me this time?”

“No promises,” she murmured. “Scaredy-dragon.”

“Bad wolf,” he countered. He kissed her forehead, then her closed eyes, one after the other. He let his lips drift down her cheek.

No snarls. No teeth. No fur. So far, so good.