Page 124 of The Heart of the Dragon

He covered my hand with his. "It changes nothing between us. You are still my partner. My mate. My queen." His brow furrowed. "But I understand if you need time to adjust to this new reality."

I pinched my lips, my gaze dropping. "It's a lot."

"Do you think you will be able to forgive me?"

My head shot up to meet his gaze where I found a cloud of worry and darkness shrouding his features.

"I need time to process, not forgive. You were a dragon living under an unforgivable spell. I won't ever hold that over you. That's not who I am."

He grabbed my hand and pressed it to his lips. "You are a hundred times the fae that I will ever be. I don't know what I did to find such a mate, but I'm never letting you go."

Glancing back up, I gave him a small smile. "Even if I don't know anything about being a queen or even how to go about it?"

"You will be remarkable. Of that I have no doubt. The realm will be lucky to have you." His thumb brushed my cheek. "We'll figure it out together. Trust me."

"I do. I'm just…"

"Scared?" He offered, his expression both softening and growing heated at the same time.

I nodded, biting my lip. "A little."

"There's nothing unusual about that. This is a wild and new life for us both." He pulled me tight against him. "One we will navigate together. Side by side.

He captured my mouth with a searing kiss that I immediately sank into. My hands roamed over him, enjoying the sensation of his perfection as well as reassuring myself there were no lingering wounds.

Together. The more he said it, the more I believed.

Heat sizzled through my blood as he devoured me where we stood, until he grasped my butt and lifted me into his arms. Ieagerly wrapped my legs around his waist and kissed every inch of his golden skin as he carried me into the house. Our house.

We had so much to look forward to.

Our home. Our family. Our village. Our people. Our love.

Everything.

Epilogue

Three Days Later

Rose

I stretchedmy limbs to see how sore they were and was pleasantly surprised to find I felt perfect. Of course, that might have had something to do with the fact that Magnus was working his way down my body while his fingers drew lazy circles on my skin.

"We can't stay in this bed forever, you know."

"We can. I am the new king and thus can make anything happen."

I rolled my eyes. "You are getting a big head over the king thing."

"Maybe. But if it keeps you in bed where I can worship you like this at will, then call me whatever names you choose."

"I'm sure Isaac and Kitra would like us to surface sooner rather than later. It's not their job to take up our slack. Don't we need to figure out what comes next?"

He lifted his gaze to mine and I took in the storm clouds brewing in his gorgeous dark green eyes. We'd both needed this time. Him to fully heal, and me to adjust to—well, everything.

Pregnancy, a new world, an insatiable mate who refused to stop giving me pleasure. I giggled at that.

"And what exactly do you think is so funny?" His hands were wrapped around my thighs as he settled between them. "Do you not want the orgasm or three I was planning for?"

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