Page 49 of Charming the Dragon
He blinked. “What are you talking about?”
“Instead of taking their time, learning what a woman wants, they just have to come and bam, she does too.”
“We’re not fucking lazy.” He stopped, gently took hold of her chin, and waited until Hayley met his gaze. “I’ll show you that soon enough.”
At the heat burning in his gaze, Hayley pressed her legs together. “Someone is cocky.”
For a few beats, they stared at one another. Nathan’s pupils flashed rapidly, faster than she’d ever seen before. “What is your dragon saying?”
“To abandon the search and show you right here and now that we’re not bloody lazy.”
Her lips twitched. “Did I prick your dragon’s pride?”
“A little.”
After raising a hand, she gently stroked his jaw. “I’m sorry. But one thing you need to learn about me is that I like to tease. It helps relieve tension and stress. Smiles and laughter just makes everything better.”
He leaned in and nuzzled her cheek. Each pass of his slightly rough skin against hers made her heart race faster.
He murmured, “You make everything better, Hayley. Just you.”
She sucked in a breath. “There you go again with the dreamy lines.”
“I just speak the truth.”
Once Nathan leaned back and met her gaze again, her reply died on her tongue. Right then and there she knew that if she asked him to bring her the moon, he’d try.
Oh, for crying out loud.Now she was thinking in ridiculous lines and cliches.
For a few more seconds, Nathan merely stared at her face, as if memorizing it. Then he kissed her cheek. The light brush of his lips against her skin made her want to turn her head and seewhat he’d feel like, what he’d taste like, and what he’d do if their mouths touched.
Except it would start a mate-claim frenzy. And as much as she liked him, was attracted to him, and wanted to give him a chance, she wasn’t ready for that. Not at all.
After clearing her throat, she gently pressed against his chest. Without complaint, Nathan moved away.
He really was different from her past boyfriends.
Not that he was her boyfriend. Not yet.
She readjusted her glasses and tugged down her top. “It’s exploration time, Mr. Woodhouse. If we don’t leave soon, we won’t have enough time to go looking down one of those tunnels at the other end of the lake.”
He grunted. “Then let’s hurry up, fetch our supplies, and head out.”
As he charged down the hallway, Hayley ran to catch up.
And the entire time, up until he eventually shifted into his dragon form, she missed feeling his hand in hers.
Chapter Fourteen
Despite Nathan’s best effort to focus on their surroundings and not on how nice Hayley smelled or how perfect her skin tasted or any other fantasy that had her naked and at his mercy, he kept reliving every caress, word, and emotion. He’d never been so consumed by someone so quickly before.
His dragon spoke up.That’s becauseHayley is different from anyone we’ve met.
Maybe. But it’s still too soon.
You don’t have to hand your heart over on a platter today. But don’t you fucking dare shut down later and push her away.
He didn’t want to. However, he’d eventually been consumed by Tracey, and that hadn’t ended well.
