Page 22 of Dragon, Actually
Jewel giggles. “Sounds like my family. Just warning you, when you meet them, they’re going to try and show you pictures of the time I had a perm. Please don’t let them. I don’t want you to see that image every time you look at me.”
“I bet you look beautiful with curls.”
“Yeah, like a beautiful poodle,” she cracks.
I pull away to rescue one of the gifts from the pile that Mr. Whiskers has decided to maul. “Why don’t you open some of these?” I suggest, handing it to her.
“I recognize this paper,” she says, plopping down on the couch to admire the plaid wrapping and artful red bow. “I think I remember what’s in this one.”
I grin crookedly. I know exactly what’s inside each one of them. Call it a dragon talent, but I have a memory for detail, especially when it comes to my hoard, the contents of my refrigerator…and my mate.
She unties the ribbon and peels off the wrapping paper to reveal the purse I picked out to replace her worn-out one. She gasps when she lifts it out of the box. “I knew it was in here, but it still takes my breath away. You shouldn’t have!”
I pick up her frayed, limp tote bag from the floor. “I can’t let my mate walk around like this, can I? I mean, unless you like it better. You’re the one with fashion sense in this relationship. We can return the bag if you don’t want it.”
“Noooo,” she says swiftly, hugging the green leather to her chest. “Iloveit. It’s exactly what I’d pick out for myself if I had budget.”
I hand her the next gift, a warm winter coat. And another practical one, a few pairs of leggings to replace the one that died on our date. The next gift is some pretty sets of lingerie that she oohs and ahs over. Then the emerald pendant.
“Oh! I can’t believe I forgot about this one!” she says, immediately fastening it around her neck. It looks stunning on her, flashing brilliantly against her tan skin. A jewel for a Jewel. She stands to admire her reflection in the mirror on the wall. “Wow, it’s so gorgeous. And perfect for me. Emerald is my birthstone.”
“I know,” I say, my dragon instincts deeply satisfied that all my stalking and hoarding has paid off in her pleasure.
I hand her yet another package. This one I’m more nervous about: the snow globe. The one thing in the pile I didn’t pick out for her specifically. But still, her eyes mist when she unwraps it.
“You like it? I wasn’t sure you would, since I grabbed it randomly when the Hoardstrom’s security guard was getting suspicious.”
“This is what I wrapped the first time you spoke to me,” she says, voice thick with emotion. A fat, happy tear spills over, and I catch it with one finger as it slides down her cheek. “I’ll never forget that day because it brought me you. You’re the best gift of all.”
“Guess you better unwrap me,” I tease.
Jewel glances over, a wicked spark in her eyes as she sets the snow globe carefully down on a side table. “I think I’ll wrap you up first. Then I get to unwrap you. That’s how we do it.”
“Oh yeah?” My grin spreads, and I lean back in the cushions. I’ll play her games all day. “Go for it.”
Jewel picks up the discarded ribbons from her gifts and pounces on me gleefully. Straddling my lap, she ties bows on my horns, adjusting them until they’re just right. Then she wrapsthe longest ribbon around my tail until it resembles an oversized candy cane.
She leans back, scrutinizing her work. “Hmm. Big package like you needs something else.”
“Big package, huh? I like the sound of that.”
Jewel laughs. “I knew you were going to say that. You’re such a cheeseball. Luckily, I love cheese.”
The way she says it makes my heart lurch in my chest. “You do?”
She nods solemnly. “I love it very much.”
I brush away the moisture welling in my eyes cough away the smoke trickling out of my nostrils in embarrassment. “I think this cheeseball is melting.”
“Aw, baby,” she says, grabbing my face and kissing up my snout. I probably look ridiculous with bows on my horns, but if she’s kissing me, I don’t care.
I wrap my arms around her waist so she can’t get away when she hears what I’m going to say next. “I know what this big package is missing.”
“What’s that?” she asks, already shaking with laughter in anticipation of my response.
“It needs something sparkly and stunning on it. Say, a Jewel?”
She groans at the pun but kisses me again, this time on the lips. It starts off swift and innocent, but once our lips touch, desire flares between us, and we can’t stop.
