Page 76 of Charming the Dragon
He held up one of his hands, palm toward her. There was a faint scar, but the skin was completely healed. “Yes. The scars will fade a little more, but never completely.”
She kissed his palm. “I’m sorry.”
Nathan moved his hand to her face and cupped her cheek. “Don’t be, love.” He whispered for her ears only. “Getting to know you was worth any pain.”
“Oh, Nathan.”
She nearly kissed him but halted a few inches from his mouth. Their breaths mingled as they stared at one another. How easy it would be to kiss him and finally learn what he tasted like.
But that would result in a mate-claim frenzy. And given that Denise took that moment to speak up, it was a good thing Hayley had stopped herself.
“Welcome home, Nathan. I was going to sit and chat with you two, but I just remembered I have some prep work I need to do for the next children’s event. I’ll be back in a few hours. No one will bother you until then.”
Before Hayley could even say goodbye, Denise was out the front door.
Nathan stroked her cheek. “If you’re not going to kiss me right now, then I want some of those biscuits on the counter. They smell nearly as good as you.”
She rolled her eyes. “Biscuits always smell better. That’s a fact.”
His gaze turned heated. “No, that’s your opinion. Your scent is one I’ll always crave, Hayley Beckett. Below ground or above it, yours is the best in the world.” He moved to her ear and tugged at her earlobe. “And you taste bloody amazing, too.”
Remembering Nathan’s head between her thighs, she pressed her legs together. “Stop it, or I might end up kissing you. And I’m not having a frenzy on your parents’ kitchen table.”
“Why not? It’s fairly sturdy. All furniture made for dragon-shifters is.”
She lightly hit his chest. “Nathan! That’s not the point.”
Laughing, he hauled her close. “I don’t want it to happen at my parents’ house, either. So let’s have a snack, and we can discuss what to do from here, without any interruptions this time.”
Hayley had tried a few times to bring up the true mate thing at the surgery. But someone always seemed to enter at the wrong time.
She quickly retrieved a mug for Nathan, poured the tea, and put a plate of biscuits on the table. She then deliberately sat across from him, so as to prevent wandering hands and distractions.
Distractions she’d dreamed about, but her rational side was in control. For now.
Nathan bit into the chocolate chip biscuit and moaned. “That’s the best biscuit I’ve tasted in my life.”
She sat up a little taller and readjusted her glasses. “I hope so. It was my nan’s secret recipe, one that I had to memorize since we’re not supposed to write it down.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Really?”
“Yes, really. Not even for you will I share the secret ingredient.”
Only to her children, if she had them.
For so long, it’d been a foreign concept. Hayley had never thought she could be a mum on her own and balance her career. But with a supportive partner and her own practice on Stonefire?
Yes, she could see herself being a mum in that case.
Which had been the last real barrier to her saying yes to the mate-claim frenzy.
Nathan reached across the table and touched her hand. “What are you thinking about, Hayley?”
She met his gaze, the flashing pupils a familiar, comforting sight to her now. “Our future, the frenzy, and life on Stonefire.”
“And what do you want, love? Tell me.”
No pressure, no convincing. He just wanted to hear her thoughts.
