Page 46 of Princess Seeks Dragon

Chapter Fourteen: Graham

“But if I take it off, we break up?” she asks after a long silence I can’t decipher. “If that’s the right word?”

“I suppose. But you could expose yourself to terrible danger like that, Angela. Don’t take it off until we know Genovese has turned his attention to something else.”

“You want it back so you can give it to your real mate?” Angela asks, her head twisting away from me. “Like... All the feelings we shared, the stuff we did—Oh, God. That was like a spell?”

“No! No, no, no. No.” I reach for her, but she pulls her hands back. I think of all the convoluted explanations I could offer. I could tell Angela more about my reservations about humans, or how the way the amulet is working overtime to find my mate, or my sketchy connections to a guy who knows a guy who knows Genovese, or even the ancient lore from my family or dragons in general—but I skip all of it. “I want you to keep it on because I wantyouto be my mate. My... wife. My wife.”

Angela’s head whips up so fast that I wince, imagining her fragile human bones snapping.

“But I know that you’d never agree to that so quickly. You are on the run from one arranged marriage, you wouldn’t launch into another so soon, not that this is exactly arranged. Assisted. Amulet assisted matchmaking,” I babble.

“That was different. He didn’t want me. I didn’t want him.”

That’s different, she says. Does that mean she does want me? “I want you,” I reassure. “I’ll prove it to you.”

“I... I don’t know what to say.” Angela clutches the amulet, but her eyes are starting to fill with tears while her lips tremble into a smile. “Are you serious?”

I slowly change back into my full dragon form, causing her to jump back a little, avoiding my sudden shift in size. “I asked for the right to call you mate. I freely give you the strongest protection I have. I would tear the scales from my side.”

Angela smacks into my side, arms wide, too-small body hugging my too-large side. “Okay, okay, you’re serious!”

“And tomorrow night—we’ll go to the mall. Okay, princess?” I offer. “I will court you in words and deeds. In return, you accept me in all of my forms.”

“That doesn’t seem like an entirely fair trade.” Angela’s hands massage over my hide, catching on some loose scales. With a hard tug, she wrenches one off, then massages the skin around it. “All I have to do is accept you while you save my life?”

“That’s for now. Until I woo you and win you on my own, amulet or no,” I say. “Then, I want something else. Something even more precious.”

Angela looks at me as she runs her hands over my hide, slow and sensuous. I have an idea that if I told her that I wanted her in any andallof my forms, she’d agree. I’m sure there are ways a couple could enjoy each other even with such mismatched sizes, but I shelve those thoughts for now. I rake my back talons down my side, loosening scales, and Angela goes about tugging them free. Each time she pries one loose, she pecks the skin beside it.

So gentle. So sweet. My flightless wren, my wingless angel.

God, I’m smitten.

Angela plinks the scales into the jar, then holds it up high to admire the moonlight on the shining scales as they pile like purple jewels in the glass.

“What could be more precious than someone you love? At least, that’s what I think marriage is supposed to be about—love.”

“Agreed, but for a while, I focused on a match with a dragoness and nothing else. Love didn’t even enter into it. I didn’t think I should even consider a human mate because it would hurt the family line.” Honestly, when I think of my time in the CrossRealms, when I think of all the fights my father had with other clans in the region, we’ve probably done more to hurt the family than marrying a human ever could. “I realize that’s silly now. I have a human form, too. What really matters is... Would my wife accept me in every form? Would she accept the risk of having a child that’s not fully human?”

Angela is quiet. “Is that all you want someone for? To have your kids? Pass on your genes?”

Her questions hit me like an arrow in my exposed side. “I think itwas.”

“Oh. I see.” Her voice grows calm and cold, but her hands are still gentle, and her soft kisses still fall.

“I thought it was the best thing I could do for my family. I’m a disappointment to my clan, you know.”

“What? Why?”

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