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She took a step toward Tristan and said, “My very first night here, at the First Kiss ceremony, your dragon sensed I was your mate.” He looked curious, but nodded. Of course he would choose now to not interrupt her and let her talk. She took a deep breath and continued, “In the rare cases when a dragon-shifter finds his mate, it is not guaranteed that the male or female will accept the claim. I could walk away if I so choose, and you would have to let me go.”
He frowned. “Yes, but—”
She interrupted him, afraid she’d lose her nerve. “Let me finish, Tristan.” He nodded and she said, “I know it’s only been about a month since we first met, and we’ve both been through hell and back, but as much as your dragon is possessive as hell about me, I’m starting to feel pretty possessive myself when it comes to you.”
The corner of his mouth ticked up. “Is that so?”
She resisted the urge to tease him. She needed to get the words out. “Yes. And I want to make my claim official.”
A flicker of longing flashed in Tristan’s eyes, giving her the courage to open the box and say, “I accept your mate claim, Tristan MacLeod. Will you accept mine?”
He moved in front of her. “Will I? You bloody woman, do you even have to ask?”
“Hey, be nice. You haven’t even looked at the arm cuffs. I went through a lot of trouble to get them engraved.”
* * *
When Melanie had openedthe box to reveal a pair of traditional dragon-shifter mate bands, Tristan’s dragon had roared inside his head at the same time as happiness had flooded his body.
He could hardly believe it. Melanie wanted to be his mate.
All he wanted to do was take the box from her hands and toss it aside so he could kiss her and hopefully fuck her, but the frown on her face was adorable. Combined with his inner beast’s dying curiosity—dragons really did like surprises—he couldn’t resist looking down at the open box to get a better look.
Inside were two silver arm cuffs. One was larger and meant for him, while the other was more feminine. On his larger cuff was engraved, “Melanie’s” in the dragon-language. His name was similarly engraved on hers.
Tristan had never imagined he would wear a human female’s name on his arm, but now he couldn’t picture anything else. Melanie Hall was his, and soon would be forever.
He traced the designs on the bands. In addition to the names written in the dragon language, they were also engraved with the bold, thick lines similar to Stonefire’s chosen tattoo markings. The clan’s silversmith, Dylan, must’ve made them. How Melanie had convinced Dylan to engrave these so quickly, he’d never know. But then his mate was always a force to be reckoned with.
She’d gone to such lengths to honor his people’s traditions, and it touched both the man and the beast. For a split second, he wondered if he deserved her, but then his dragon said,Of course. She is ours and we are hers.
Aware that he’d been quiet for a while, he decided to find out how his human had known how to propose a mating. He looked up. “How did you know what to do? Since we only wear mating bands to celebrations and special events, their existence isn’t common knowledge.”
She lifted her chin and he resisted a smile at her sass. “You’d better start thinking more of my intelligence and resourcefulness, Tristan MacLeod, or I may just take the arm cuffs back.”
A possessive streak roared through him. He wanted, no needed, to put his name on her arm. “No, love. I won’t allow it. You’ve offered the mate claim to me and I’m taking it.” He removed the band meant for him and snaked it around his tattoo-free bicep. It was snug, but not uncomfortable, which was fine considering it was only for special occasions.
His dragon crooned at having their mate’s name around his arm.The other males will leave her alone now. She belongs to us.
More like we belong to her, he said to his dragon and his beast didn’t disagree with that.
He removed the cuff meant for her and motioned toward her arm. “Melanie Hall, will you do the honor of becoming my mate?”
Her irritation eased and she lowered the box. “Of course, Tristan. Despite your moments, I love you.”
She’d said those words to him once before, when he’d first woken up from his injury, and he’d yearned every day to hear them again. When she hadn’t said them, he’d wondered if she’d only said them to him because of his nearly dying.
But now neither of them was dying, and she’d said it so matter-of-factly that he knew it in his heart to be true. He felt the same, but had been waiting for the right time to tell her. He wanted her to know his feelings and not think it was simply out of gratitude for her saving his life.
Now was the time, and he couldn’t hold back his feeling any longer. He said, “Good, because I love you too and a dragon-shifter in love is a force to be reckoned with.”
Her breath caught. “Say it again.”
He took the box from her hands and tossed it on the ground. “I love you, woman.” He took her arm and snaked on the band. Then he traced his name on her arm before looking her in the eye. “Should I tell you the reasons why?”
She nodded and his dragon hummed.It’s about time she knows how we feel. Tell her nicely. It will make her happy, and our mate should always be happy.
Ignoring his smug dragon, Tristan traced her brow with a finger. “I admire your cleverness and wit.” He moved his hand down and traced her breast through her thin shirt, loving the fact she wasn’t wearing a bra. Her nipple hardened under his touch. “I love every curve and valley of your body.” He then moved his hand to her back and traced up and down her spine. “And I will always cherish your backbone and stubbornness, no matter how many gray hairs it might give me.”
