Chapter Ten

He slept for a while, worn out both by the need to continue recovering and by the spontaneous and intense passion that had sprung between them. Though Brenna had done most of the work, it had still taken a lot out of him, and he was dismayed to realize he had slept for several hours.

He woke to moonlight shining into the room, and it felt like it blinded him, since no one had thought to pull the drapes. His vision was more sensitive as a dragon-shifter, and he quickly looked away from the light provided by the moon. That drew his gaze to her instead, and Brenna laid beside him, her eyes closed and her breathing even.

Each inhalation made her breasts sink, and then every exhalation caused her breasts to rise, and she must be cold from the way her nipples were tipped to hardened little peaks. Briefly, he considered covering them with his hand or his mouth to warm her up, but he decided she probably needed her rest instead.

He maneuvered carefully, not wanting to wake her, so he could pull the blanket from underneath them to cover them with the fur-lined warmth. She sighed and curled closer to him, and he moved onto his side so he could put his hand on her hip as he stared down at her.

Just looking at her brought him such peace and happiness. It was a dizzying thought to know that he had spent twenty-eight years without her, not even aware of her existence, and he marveled that he had been able to survive on his own. Now that she was with him, he couldn’t imagine being without her again, and his gaze moved to her right shoulder, partially bared by the blanket, where it had fallen. He bent his head, licking the spot where he longed to bite her, moaning at the flood of pheromones that coursed through her broke over his senses when he did so.

She stiffened underneath him, and as he lifted his head, her eyes snapped open. She was alert and looked wary for a moment. “Cameron? Are we under attack?”

He shook his head. “I’m sorry. It was my own thoughtlessness that woke you. I wanted to smell and touch and taste you. When I licked the spot where I would leave a mating mark, it roused you. My apologies for my lack of control.” He made no promises about not doing it again, because he wasn’t one to make a promise he couldn’t keep.

Her eyes widened slightly, and she wriggled away from him enough to sit up partially. “Why were you doing that?”

His voice was husky when he leaned closer to her, propping his head upon one hand with his elbow on the bed. “I couldn’t resist. I wanted to smell your unique scent, and when I touched that spot, your pheromones nearly overwhelmed me.” He trailed his hand down her bare belly. “You are someone I could never live without again, Brenna. I want to mark you.”

Her eyes widened, and her lips trembled. “Mark me?”

Maybe she had no idea what he referred to, though he doubted English shifters did things much differently. “I want to bite you on your right shoulder. My mating mark will appear on you, and then yours will appear on my mark.”

She frowned. “I’m not a shifter. I do not have a mark.”

He shook his head. “All magical beings have a mark. Do they teach you anything in England?” He said that in a teasing fashion.

Her expression turned unexpectedly dark. “They taught me very little when I was enslaved as Walstone’s Seer, Cameron. I had some access to books and learned to read, for he didn’t expect me to fill all my time as his Seer, and he was grooming me to be his wife or consort at some point in the future, but I have never learned that. What is my mark?”

He shrugged a shoulder. “No one knows until it appears. As a shifter, mine is already visible, so when I bite you, you will develop a flaming golden dragon wing on your shoulder merged with whatever your symbol is. The only way to know is to find out. I will bite you, and then our magic blends, and we shall be united as mates.”

“That is an unbreakable bond,” she said softly.

He shrugged. “True. Breaking it afterward, other than by one of our deaths, could lead to madness for either of us. It is not a bond to undertake lightly, but I assure you, it is not one I have impulsively chosen. I wish to make you my mate, Brenna, because I have fallen in love with you. Will you accept my mating bite?” As he asked, he leaned closer, his voice low and seductive.

His lips brushed against her shoulder, and for a moment, one simple, blessed moment, she relaxed against him and arched her neck backward. It was clearly to allow him for better access, and he his fangs broke through of their own accord, preparing to seal their bond in the most primitive way possible.

As his lips skinned back to do so, she stiffened then, and letting out a cry of confusion and something else, she scrambled from the bed, shoving him away she did so.

“I can’t. You just don’t know. You don’t understand…” She reached for her arasaid, wrapping it around herself without bothering to search for her léine first. “I’m sorry, Cameron, but I cannot give you what you want. You would never forgive me if I agreed.”

His mouth dropped open as she rushed from the room, her decision plainly made. He was left to ponder why she had so harshly rejected him, and why she seemed so certain he would never forgive her for accepting the bond he so definitively wanted. He was dismayed, because he was certain she wanted it too, but something held her back. What could make her turn her back on this bond between them, his declaration of love, and his intention to claim her forever?