Page 67 of Been There Dragon That
“Well, that’s some fortitude on his part. Once Reyleans find their mate, about the only thing they can think about is marking and bonding to them.”
So the fangs were definitely for biting. Or marking. And bonding.
She’d have to ask Wrath what exactly that entailed and why he hadn’t brought it up last night. Although, they had gotten distracted by each other. He’d been hesitant to share much of anything. She knew by his behavior he had been worried about how she’d react.
It was fair to assume that him wanting to bite and bond to her and possibly turn her into a dragon too, was something he’d purposefully avoided last night to keep from overwhelming her.
It was a lot to unpack. All of this was. All of them. The whole tribe. The attack.
In addition to the threat he’d been fighting since before she got to town, she’d brought another psycho to Mystery along with her.
Wrath and Tor and another tall well-built man walked into the cabin with the bigger half of the couch. Wrath had said his name … Ryder. He was with Ava.
Within a few more minutes, they’d unloaded and set up a kitchen table and chairs, three bar stools, a coffee table, several lamps, and several rugs. Most of it was sitting in the living room. But it was here, and she felt a sense of belonging in seeing the emptiness of the cabin start to be filled.
It was the beginning of a home.
“Let me go grab my boots and a coat.”
“Yep, we’ll head out to the pickup and get it warmed up again.” Dawn kissed her husband, and he nibbled at her neck and whispered something in her ear that made her laugh.
Ava also told her husband goodbye with a kiss and a hug.
The man was tall, like all the others, broad shoulders, long dark hair, and piercing brown eyes. He had that look about him, the one soldiers have who’ve seen horrors in war. But when he looked at Ava, Rylee saw all that pain reflected in his eyes melt into adoration and hope. Ava was that man’s light.
She went back to the bedroom and put on her boots and picked up the heavy coat Naomi had given her a couple days ago. She slipped her arms into the soft, sherpa-lined garment and then looked up to see Wrath standing in the doorway.
He was beautiful and still half-dressed.
This little mountain town had delivered her a giant. He made the door seem small. He made her feel so small and protected.
His muscled chest would make Greek athletes jealous. Intense masculinity. Gorgeous. Beautiful. There wasn’t a perfect word to describe the male beauty standing before her.
Black tattoos covered his shoulders, and the swirling lines continued down both his biceps and forearms. Forearms she wanted very much to touch.
His eight-pack of abs was bare, and the sweatpants hung low on his hips, showing off those very tantalizing male lines. She’d do about anything to lick along those lines.
Died and gone to heaven. There’s no other explanation.
The room warmed with his presence. She had to fight the urge to cross the room and press her body up against his. The way his eyes burned, she wanted to disrobe and offer herself as a sacrifice for whatever he might want.
She licked her lips, and a low growl rumbled from his direction.
“Don’t look at me like that,shuarra. Or I won’t be held responsible for making you scream in pleasure while the others listen.”
Her whole body shuddered, and she found herself even more turned on by the scenario he’d described. Her hormones were in overdrive. That voice. Holy-growling-libido-revving. The deep, rich, baritone words stroked her like he’d physically touched her.
Her ovaries did some backflips, and she put a hand against the closest wall for support so she didn’t collapse into a lusty sex-crazed puddle at his feet. That would’ve been embarrassing.
Or would it?
A tiny whimper of need escaped her mouth.
He raised an eyebrow, like he was astonished that particular noise came out of her at that particular moment, but the burn in his eyes became even more intense. And then that familiar smirk curved his mouth. That beautiful infuriating smirk of male satisfaction. He knew she’d liked what he said. That she was aroused by the thought of people hearing her scream when he made her come.
“My sweet little Rylee, the things I will do to you when I get you back home.”
She breathed a little hard and held her chin high. “You better get back home. Safe.”
