Page 40

Aurora

W e landed high on the mountain at the center of the main island. A vast panoramic view spread out before us, from down into the grasslands to the coast, miles and miles away. To the right, the sun was trending low toward the horizon, casting a golden shadow over the ocean waters.

And behind me was Damian, his arms around my waist, holding me tight against the hardness of his body. The pressure of his chest to my back, his hips to my waist, was all I wanted, all I craved. He was what I craved. Every part of him. My body cried out for it. My mind demanded it.

And my soul needed it. Needed him.

“This view is beautiful,” I whispered, trying not to melt into a puddle when his chin came to rest on the very top of my head.

“If you ask me, it’s the second most beautiful thing I can see,” he murmured, the vibrations of his deep voice filtering down over my skull, quickening my heart.

“Flatterer,” I teased.

“I only speak the truth. You’re the most wonderful vision my eyes have ever feasted upon,” he said. “Your voice is the most harmonious sound my ears have ever drank deep of. Your touch is the most heat-inciting experience I have ever felt. Your soul is the most wonderful thing to ever fill my heart.”

My knees were wobbly, but a thick arm snaked around my waist, keeping me up and pressed to his body. To his chest, his flat stomach, and the stirring hardness between his legs. It was all there.

And it’s all mine.

“Damian …”

“Aurora,” he echoed just as firmly.

“Are you sure this is okay?”

It wasn’t what I had meant to say, but the question had been nagging at the back of my mind ever since a part of me had clued in on the developing connection between us. I’d held back, kept parts of myself away, until I knew the answer. I had to hear him say it from his heart to know he wasn’t just trying to bed me or make me feel better.

I had to know he believed it.

“It is with me.” There was a pause, and his chest and arm rose then fell as he shrugged. “Others may not like it, but you’re not the only human on the island. Others have taken humans as mates. We would not be the first. I suspect we would not be the last either. I cannot pretend that none will bother us for our union, if such a thing is indeed what you desire as much as I do. But I can promise you two things.”

“What are they?” I turned in his arms to look at him as he spoke.

“First, I promise you that no matter what happens, that no matter what is said about you, or me, or us, that regardless of the prevailing feeling of the rest of my people, it will change absolutely nothing about the way I feel about you. I swear this to you. They will not persuade me to ever believe that caring for you is a mistake.”

My throat closed up, so I could only nod that I understood.

“The second thing I promise you, Aurora, is that I will always be there for you. If anyone tries to hurt you or take you away from me, I will ensure it never happens again. Whether it is as the magistrate who sees justice done or Damian protecting his mate, they will pay for it. Nobody will harm you. Ever.”

I bit my lip. He meant it, I could tell. There was an intensity to his promises, a certain gravity that told me he didn’t make them lightly, nor did he fear what it would cost him to follow through.

Because, to him, any cost was worth it if he kept me.

“You certainly know how to make a woman feel valued,” I whispered, resting my head on his chest, feeling the pounding rhythm of his heart. It was oddly fast, especially for him.

“Good.” His voice was deeper than usual. More grave. “I hope that will translate over to making a woman feel loved. A certain woman in particular.”

I jerked back so abruptly it broke his grip on me. I stared into his face, searching it for any sign of lies or trickery, while my brain worked to process what he’d just said. “W-what did you just say?”

Thick fingers came up, cupping my jaw, tilting it up and keeping it there while he gazed down upon me. The silvery glow in his eyes danced like flames on an open fire with a mixture of amusement, and behind it … uncertainty?

Of course. He wasn’t sure how I would respond to his statement. To his choice of words. Damian had gone out on a limb, throwing that word around, without knowing if I would reciprocate or if I even felt the same way.

“I said I want to make you feel loved,” he growled. “Because that’s just it, Rory. I love you.”

My lungs constricted, driving the air from them, making it impossible to breathe. I could only stare up into his face, his long dark hair falling on either side as he looked down on me, a restless worry gathering in the corners of those mysterious silver eyes of his. The more seconds passed, the worse it got.

“Oh, Damian.” I stroked his cheek. “My big, powerful dragon protector with a heart of gold. I love you, too.”

The sun was suddenly the second brightest thing as his face lit up with mixed glee and relief. “You do?”

I nodded, throwing myself at him. “I do. I am so incredibly in love with you.”

“I’m wildly in love with you,” he repeated, laughing lightly. “I thought I was insane, but my dragon has been telling me all along. It wasn’t until I was fighting my brother in the basement of Councilor Laurana’s estate that I realized it. That I became aware of how you had helped me become a different, better dragon.”

He leaned in and kissed me. I rose up on my tiptoes to meet him, flinging my arms around his neck and squeezing tight. The moment lingered, and for a second, I thought he would take me to the ground and proclaim his love right there on the mountaintop. But he held back, something stopping him.

“We can talk about that,” I said, stroking his face.

“About what?”

“Your brother.” I brushed his cheek with my thumb. “You need to get it out. If what happened is what I’m assuming, then that can’t have been easy. You’re not just hurting on the outside.”

“Those wounds have mostly healed,” he said, brushing my concern aside.

“If you love me, then you know me well enough to know I’m not going to let you bullshit your way out of that,” I said, poking his chest with an index finger. “Now, come sit over here and tell me about him. About the two of you and of what happened. Tell me everything.”

Reluctantly, Damian let me drag him over to where we could sit with our backs to a rocky outcropping while staring out over the ledge into the vast distance beyond. Slowly at first, he spoke to me about Evander. The more he talked, the more he had to say. The words poured out about their childhood and their eventual split. To Evander’s son, Tobias, who was out there somewhere and still had to be told about his father’s death.

We talked until the sun was low over the horizon. Damian’s head rested on my shoulder until he finally took a deep, shuddering breath and then let it all go. It was a cathartic, healing sigh that came from a place so deep within I swore I could see it exiting him.

“Thank you,” he whispered in my ear before kissing it softly. “For listening.”

“Thank you for talking,” I replied. “I know it couldn’t have been easy. But you did it. I’m proud of you.”

He kissed my cheek in response. I nuzzled against him, but he cupped my jaw and pulled me in to him for a kiss far fuller of warmth than expected.

After that, he took me to the ground and expressed his love, right there on the mountainside.

Twice.