Page 20 of Hunter

“Yes.”

“Ilovesaying that, almost as much as I love?—”

“Please don’t say me,” Zoey cautioned. “You don’t even know me, and the last thing I want is to be loved because of what I am to you, not who I am. No one has lovedmesince my parents died twelve years ago,” she added huskily.

Hunter respectedthe hell out of Zoey for telling him that. He also, much as she might not believe him yet, knew he already loved her for who and not what she was.

He knew that Zoey was a young woman who had grown up strong and true to herself despite having lived with a fucking monster since she was eight years old.

Hunter no longer had any doubt that was exactly what Edgar Wallis was.

Behind Zoey’s outer strength was kindness and caring, and a desire to help people while continuing to follow her dream of becoming an artist.

Hunter could only imagine how disapproving a man like Edgar Wallis would have been when, after Zoey left her boarding school, she had told him she wanted to go to university to take a course in the art she obviously loved.

Or perhaps the other man had just been glad to be rid of her for another three years?

That sounded much more like the cold and selfish man Hunter had been observing for the past two days.

“My Zoey.” Hunter lifted his other hand, the one that wasn’t a dragon’s claw, to gently touch the side of her face. “How could I not fall instantly in love with such a strong and beautiful woman? How can I not wish to gather you up in my arms and fly us both back to Scotland? To offer myself to you as your mate and?—”

“Husband?” Zoey broke off abruptly, color blooming in her cheeks. “Sorry. I just… If we ever do become…mates, then you need to know that I would want to be married in the human world too.”

“I would be truly honored to be your chosen husband.”

She frowned. “Did I use the correct phrasing when I said human world? I don’t want to insult you.”

Hunter chuffed out a laugh. “I am not insulted, and yes, that is the correct term. You should know,” he said, sobering, “that once we are mates, you will no longer be completely human either.”

She blinked. “I won’t?”

“A snow dragon’s mate also has the ability to shift and fly beside him,” he announced with pride.

Her eyes widened. “Once we’re— I would be able to shift into a dragon and fly?”

“Yes.”

It all still sounded incredulousto Zoey. Especially the part where Hunter had just confirmed she would be able to shift into a dragon if she became his mate. Just thinking of the changes necessary in herhumanbody to achieve such a thing was mind-boggling.

At the same time as it all sounded utterly amazing!

Hunter glanced at her hair. “My instincts tell me you will shift into a magnificent red dragon,” he admired.

“Can Belle— Are she and Lachlan already mated?”

“They are, yes. Lachlan told me her dragon is black, the same color as her hair.”

The things Hunter was now sharing with Zoey were unbelievable. And yet…not as much as they had been when he had first shifted so suddenly.

She glanced down at his clawed hand before moving her hand the rest of the way necessary to be able to touch him. The moment her fingers came into contact with one of Hunter’s talons, he pulled back with a hiss.

Zoey frowned when she saw how pained his expression now was. “Did I hurt you? I didn’t mean to. You did say I could touch you,” she reminded wistfully, sad that she could no longer feel even that brief physical closeness. For a second or two, it had felt incredible.

“You can,” he assured gruffly. “It was just— The emotional link I felt between us was so intense that it resulted in me seeing such a kaleidoscope of colors that for a moment, it blinded me.” He gazed at her with open adoration. “Over time, the vividness of colors has faded for me. Meeting you, my mate, has brought the world back to a maelstrom of bright and beautiful colors. As bright and beautiful as you are. My senses are so sensitive, and I am so physically aware of you, that a single touch from you almost caused me to climax.”

Zoey blushed at this revelation. Possibly because one touch of that single claw had felt wonderful to her too. Her nipples were so swollen and sensitive, she could barely stand having them brushing against the inside of her bra, and between her thighs was so wet, she was sure her panties would be damp.

It had also opened up an emotional and physical connection Zoey hadn’t even realized was missing from her life until that moment. As if, for those same brief seconds, she had become completely whole for the first time in her life. As if all the painful black holes inside her, the ones that, when she was a child, had longed to be loved, had suddenly been filled.

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