Page 14 of Having the Dragon's Baby

“Yes, it is…”

“But we really need this. I can see your bond already, but humans aren’t like us. Humans need to be shown affection to prove that what you feel is real.”

She was only trying to help, but her grip on his arm was annoying. He was the alpha, after all. No one should be telling him what to do.

“Christina…” he muttered with a bit of a snarl.

She removed her hand and then lowered her eyebrows.

“I know. This is new for you. I believe you can show her how you feel.”

Rachel walked over, and Christina embraced her. Marcus felt guilty about snapping at Christina, especially knowing that she was quite correct. He didn’t really know much about making women swoon. Usually, women came to him. But no one had ever been like Rachel.

His palms began to sweat when they said goodbye to the other women, who were also leaving to let the newborns sleep. He and Rachel walked side by side, her presence next to him both exciting and soothing.

“So, how was that for you?” Marcus asked, hands in his pockets as they sauntered around the grounds.

“I think I was just thrown into the deep end, but luckily, I’m a good swimmer,” Rachel remarked with a wink.

“I think you are a lot more than that.”

They approached the den again, and Marcus wanted to make some kind of gesture. He stopped her by touching her elbow, and she swiveled on a dime.

Her gorgeous green eyes looked up at him, and her plump lips stretched into her usual clever grin.

Marcus had to be bold, no matter how much the touch of her skin tore him apart. He took her by the hands, feeling the crackle of a spark ignite.

“I wanted to see how you felt about staying the night. No expectations, of course,” he said, grinning. “I wanted to get a chance to talk with you about what comes next. Without all the pageantry, I mean.”

Rachel’s eyebrows flew up, and for a moment, Marcus thought he had made the wrong step already. But then, somehow, her smile grew even wider, something Marcus didn’t think was possible.

“That sounds great, Marcus. I’m looking forward to having some more time with you … alone.”

She pursed her lips again, sliding out that bubblegum pink tongue. His cock twitched in his pants, and exhilaration pooled in his stomach.

“I like the sound of that,” he murmured.

Rachel folded her fingers between his as they turned around to walk toward the others. Then they looked at each other at the same moment, dusk falling over them.

He wanted to be alone with her, too.

SEVEN

RACHEL

The party had died down, and all the guests had slowly meandered home, leaving Marcus and Rachel alone at last.

Rachel’s heart had pounded uncontrollably when Marcus had asked her to stay the night. She hadn’t realized how much she had hoped it would happen until he had asked.

Marcus showed a side of himself she hadn’t expected, and it turned her on more than anything else had. He was downright hot, but when they were in the nursery together, she got to see a softer side of him. Almost as if he was scared of the children.

Not in a bad way, but afraid of anything so small. Rachel thought it was endearing.

A big, bad alpha male was nervous around babies.

To her, it showed how good a father he would be. Not the timidness but knowing how fragile they were. It all rolled together and gave off a need inside Rachel to bear his children all the more. Even more than she had already convinced herself of.

It reaffirmed her choice and settled her worries that she had made the right choice for herself and the rest of her life.

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