Page 100 of Always Say Yes to a Dragon

“Mmm, whatever you want, Elle.”

I dozed off a few minutes later.

I woke up with Az’zael’s arms wrapped around me from behind and snuggled deeper.

“If you keep wiggling against me, I’m going to take you again.”

“Mmmm.” I pushed back into his dicks. They were thick and long and definitely awake.

“Arum.” It was a plea.

I eased away from him. Teasing him was fun, but I was sore. My neck, where he’d bitten me, felt pleasantly warm, like a limb that had been sitting in front of the heater but was slowly cooling back to room temperature.

I reached up to feel the mark. “What’s it look like?”

“Go look.” He shifted his weight off of me and helped me to my feet. In the mirror, I saw…well, not much. Two circular, healed over scars side by side, a few shades lighter than my skin. I traced them with a finger. “It looks like it’s been there for years.”

Az grinned. “I told you. Dragon magic.”

I stared at the marks in the mirror. “You promise you won’t regret it?” At his shocked look, I added, “You settled on me so quickly, I couldn’t wrap my brain around it. I still can’t.”

He wrapped one arm around my hips. “The first time I knew I wanted you, I was flying around the city and overheard some humansarguing. Your kind has always fascinated me, so I eavesdropped and heard a female human defend their friend from another, which I liked very much.”

I snuggled into him. “Oh, I remember that day. I thought that might have been you, but I didn’t think you were close enough to hear us.”

“Dragon hearing is very good. I got closer because I wanted to see you, but you all disappeared when you noticed me. But you, you made sure everyone got inside ahead of you, even the human you’d just yelled at.”

I snorted. “Maya’s a pain in the ass, but she doesn’t deserve to get eaten by a dragon.”

“No, you saved that for yourself,” he said with a grin. “When I went to Norma’s Kitchen the first time, I overheard you arguing in the back with another server because he wanted to give me a barstool and you wanted to see if you could find a more comfortable option. That clenched it for me.”

“You liked me because I…got you a good chair?”

“You showed me kindness without even meeting me, when your first instinct was to run. You stood up for yourself and others. What dragon wouldn’t want that from a mate? Of course I wanted to keep you forever.”

I turned and kissed him slowly and tenderly.

Despite Az’s attempts to get me back into bed, we got dressed. I wanted to leave while everyone was still asleep, but Az wanted to take me down to breakfast.

It took me longer than it should have to realize he wanted to show everyone my new mating mark. “You can’t just trot me out and show me off.” It was exactly what I’d been upset about last night.

“It’s not like that.”

“Then what’s it like?”

Az frowned. “I want everyone to know how fortunate I am that you chose me.”

It felt like almost the same thing, but also not. Like he was pleased to be with me and not like he was showing everyone that I was with him. The distinction made my heart twinge and ping in my chest.

“Okay, let’s go to breakfast.”

“Wait!” His face lit up. “Your gift.”

“The one with all the papers?” Trepidation spiraled through me. Anything Az wanted to give me involving paperwork was bound to be serious.

“Yep!” He handed me the manila folder.

I thumbed through the papers, my eyes growing wider with every sentence I read. “Is this an apartment building?”

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