In good form, Michael sat contently, answering the same string of questions until the investigator was sure his story wouldn’t change. Then, they had left them sitting in an overly bright interrogation room, but that hadn’t bothered either of them much. Simply holding his hand, knowing that she had found the one man for her, made the entire event bearable.
Finally, Michael had been released into her custody by order of her brother. They had grabbed a couple of burgers before coming back here so Carissa could get changed. Her shirt currently had a bullet hole in it. Michael had insisted that she wear the leather jacket they had left in Daniel’s office on their last visit. He had also tried to give her his shirt, but she put her foot down on that one.
Things with Eternity were starting to look better, but they had a lot to do before everything was settled. They still had to return Terrence’s truck and pick up the motorcycle. Then, there was the issue of Michael’s ruined home. But all of that could wait until later. Right now, Carissa had plans for Michael.
“There you are!” Michael snapped up his good leather jacket from where it hung over the arm of Carissa’s couch. Tilly must have picked it up after she snuck them out. “I’ve missed you.” He held it up, checking for damage. There were a few new scratches on it from Carissa’s claws, but overall, it was fine.
Carissa smiled at his joy and stalked after him. What she had in mind didn’t involve a leather coat.
“Here.” Michael fished in one of the inside pockets and turned to find Carissa a lot closer then she had been. Surprise crossed his face as he held out a handful to her.
A seductive smile curled her lips as she took his offering: her jewels from the ball and a single, golden scale. Reaching up, she took the jacket from his hand and dropped it to the floor. A gentle hand on his chest pressed him backwards until his calves hit the couch and he went down to the cushions.
“Hello.” Michael smiled as his hands came up to her hips.
Carissa slipped her knee up on one side of him and settled on his lap, facing him. Her fingers sorted through her things, pulling the scale out and letting the jewels spill to the floor behind her. Michael’s hands slid lower, supporting her as she leaned forwards and ran the scale over his jaw line. She leaned in and placed a kiss on his lips, stealing his voice. “Mine,” she purred as she pulled back before he could deepen the kiss.
A rumble of agreement issued from Michael’s chest as he pulled her harder against him. Oh yes, he liked that idea.
Carissa saw a single objection pass through his ice-blue eyes, and he opened his mouth to voice it. “No.” She shook her head, stopping him. “Like it or not, you are mine.” She ran her fingers up through his hair, making his eyes close in sheer pleasure. “I claim you.” This brought his eyes back open to look deeply into hers. “And tomorrow, I will give you this scale, so the whole world will see that you’re mine.” She ran the scale over his cheek again. “It will look beautiful set about right here.” The hard edge scraped up over his temple and into his hairline.
He shivered at her touch. Well, this scale was probably too dead to do what she wanted with it, but he would have one of her scales. In addition to the desire darkening his eyes, there was shock and a single question. Did she know what sharing scales meant?
Carissa nearly laughed at him. Here she was, offering her life to him, and he was giving her a way out. A sign that he was truly her mate. The exchange of scales would bind them together irrevocably. It was painful and took a skilled mage, but once the scales were set, it marked them as a pair. Older pairs had entire sections of their hide that had taken on the color of their mate’s scales. Michael would look good with a section of gold on his frill. If he were lucky, the color might even seep over into his human form as a lock of gold mixed into his silver hair. That would be perfect.
“Oh, yes.” Carissa caressed him one more time. “I know what that means, and I will share a scale with you, if you’ll have me.”
Delight filled Michael’s eyes, and his hands slid up her back pulling her in for a tight hug.
She laughed and wrapped her arms around his head as he nodded, rubbing his face into her chest. They would have to talk about a human marriage later, but that was a formality for others. The sharing of scales was the real bonding.
Leaning back, Carissa pressed her lips to his once again.
Michael growled in desire and deepened the kiss. His hands slipped back down to her hips, pulling her forwards until they were fitted together as tightly as their clothing would allow. Oh, yes. They had both been waiting for this since he had pinned her to the grass on Darien’s lawn.
Heat bloomed in her as Michael pressed them together and worshipped at her lips. His tongue slipped into her mouth, promising all sorts of carnal delights. She shrugged off Michael’s spare jacket as he rubbed against her rhythmically. Oh, their first time was definitely going to be hard and fast, followed by hours of slow exploration. She shivered with anticipation as his lips left hers and worked their way down to her throat. She nearly laughed at the sound of tearing as he shredded her shirt instead of relinquishing her long enough to take it off. Oh well, it was ruined anyway, but she decided she would gladly let him destroy any of her clothing as his mouth found her breasts.
A loud knock on the door broke into their moment.
“Carissa?” Tilly’s voice called through the door. The handle wiggled as her best friend tried to let herself in.
Carissa thanked God that she had locked it on her way in.
“I know you’re in there.” The knock sounded again.
Michael closed his teeth on her nipple and growled his frustration at the interruption. He rubbed his swollen length against her core.
Carissa let out a sigh. Tilly had the worst timing. Should she stop this and let her best friend in?
Michael’s hands slipped around, loosening the zipper on her jeans before slipping down the back of her pants and caressing her ass. He rubbed her against him again as his mouth moved to feast on the other breast.
The knock sounded on the door again as Tilly called to them.
No, Tilly could wait. Carissa was not going to let anything else interrupt them again. She was going to have him. Now. The world could wait—for days if need be. And once she’d had her fill, once they had explored each other thoroughly in human form, she would convince him to shift to dragon for a whole new realm of pleasures. And then, only then, would she let the world back in.
Acknowledgements
Welcome all of you that have made it to the end of the book. I truly hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing. This story started out as something else to keep my sister entertained during her deployment. It hadn’t occurred to me that anyone else would be interested in it until Marya asked for dragon book. As a fellow lover of dragons, she wanted the opportunity to do a cover with dragons on it. I wasn’t sure if the ladies at CTP would like it—it was different than my other books, but I sent it in hoping it would make the cut. I’m so glad I did.
A lot of people went into making this possible. I would like to thank my friends and family for supporting me as I toiled away at all hours to finish the original manuscript, Marya for making the request for the book, Sherry for loving it enough to let it into the girls, and everyone that put hours into getting it ready to be published. You are all loved. Thank you.