Page 25 of Marked By His Alpha Dragon's Desire

“So what about dragons?”

“What about them?” I asked.

“Well, do you have a hoard?”

I chuckled. “Perhaps. Is that something you would like to see?”

“Maybe,” he said, and he poked me in my stomach again. “Is it something I’m allowed to see?”

“Absolutely. Wait right here.”

I had been waiting for just the right time to share my small hoard with my mate. Like many dragons, I was attracted to shiny things. Not all dragons hoarded items, though. The instinct was unique to each dragon.

I went to the spare room where I had placed my footlocker that held many of my items. I opened it, moved some of the things aside, and finally found my treasure chest. It was small but heavy, thanks to the contents inside. I picked it up. It was small in size, but it held all the treasures I had acquired over time—some of which I had inherited from my parents, others I had found. The chest itself had been made especially for me a few years ago.

I carried it into the living room and set it down.

Luca’s eyes widened when he took it in. The sunlight shining through the window gleamed off the emerald jewels that lined the top of it. There were also jade and peridot gems inlaid on the slats and trim.

“Holy shit, Raphael. That’s a treasure chest. Like a pirate’s treasure chest!”

“Well, it didn’t belong to any pirates. Ever. I had it made for me.”

“No kidding? It looks old.”

“Some of the pieces have been reclaimed. The jewels on it were gifted to me—the top emerald from my parents, the two rubies from my brothers, Brock and Nolan.”

“But what’s inside?”

“That’s the amazing part.”

I called forth my dragon. He alone could unlock it. The lockplate was specially crafted so that when it was at regular temperature the chest was locked, but if it was heated to a certain degree it would unlatch. Once it was unlatched, I opened it up.

Luca gasped when he looked inside. There was an assortment of gold coins, jewels, and various gemstones.

“Raphael, this is beautiful.”

“Thank you,” I said. “It’s yours. The hoard is meant to be for a mate—to impress them. Everything I have gathered and put away in here has been for you.”

“I love it,” he said. “But more than that, I love you. I know it’s silly by human standards. We shouldn’t feel this way already. But you’re mine.”

“I love you too, mate. I am yours. Always.”

Chapter 14

Luca

At least right now, my schedule aligned nicely with Raphael’s. I worked three days of twelve-hour shifts while he worked three days of twenty-four-hour shifts, then we each had three days off. Although it was only day two, I missed him.

He was across the street from me all day, unless he or I were out on a call. Sometimes, I saw him in the window and waved. Sometimes, around mealtimes, if there wasn’t an emergency going on, I would sneak across the street and see him. For themost part, I tried to get through my days without being too attached to my mate, which seemed silly. It shouldn’t be this hard to be separated from a man I just met. Maybe that was too much of a human mindset. As far as I could tell, it was perfectly normal for mates to be incredibly attached to one another.

In fact, now that I knew about shifters and mates, I could see it in the world around me—like how Mrs. Benson and her mate, Gerald, ran the hardware store together, and how Olivia and Sue were always seen together, never apart. The two of them ran the bar in town, and it was quite famous for its 80’s nights. I had never gone, though Theo had begged me to a few times.

So it was perfectly normal for me to want to be near my mate all the time. Except the two of us had jobs to do. Both of us were relatively new to town, and I wasn’t going to jeopardize our positions because I was feeling clingy.

Unfortunately, this particular shift was going agonizingly slow. I missed my mate, and my stomach was rolling. I had barely been able to keep down a cup of coffee this morning. Sleep had been restless.

For years, I had lived without sleeping next to a person. Suddenly, Raphael was in my bed for just a couple of days, and now I couldn’t sleep without him. I needed a dragon-sized pillow to cuddle when he wasn’t there. Thankfully, online shopping had proven quite fruitful in that endeavor, and I had two different ones arriving this week. They weren’t actually dragon shaped, though when I’d found a fluffy green one, I’d been tempted.

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