Page 34 of Claimed By the Dragon

Alarm bells sounded in his head, but Grace’s voice snapped him back to the present. “Trahern? Are you all right?”

His gaze met hers again. Her eyes were beautiful, framed by dark lashes and full of concern—one of the emotions he’d learned about her—for him.

A rush of wanting coursed through Trahern, and his voice sounded husky to his own ears as he said, “Do you want the truth, even if it makes you uncomfortable?”

Frowning, she nodded. “The truth, always. Brutally honest is what you mentioned, right?”

Unable to resist, he raised his free hand and traced her cheek. Grace’s lips parted a fraction, and she sucked in a breath. Her pupils dilated, most likely from desire and lust. He didn’t think she was afraid of him.

“I stayed away to protect you, Grace. Because if I let myself spend time with you, talk with you, get to know you, then I would want to talk with you every day. To make you part of my routine. One that I would struggle to break or recover from.”

She searched his gaze. “I don’t understand.”

He continued tracing her cheek, her jaw, and even her lips. “You are beautiful, Grace.” He traced her bottom lip and then the top one. “I’ve never been drawn to another female before. To want and even touch her. And then you showed up, confusing me.”

“Confused you how?”

He studied her lips instead of her eyes, needing a second to gather his courage.

His dragon spoke up.Just tell her.

Returning his eyes to hers, he replied, “I want to be your mate in truth, Grace. But doing that means you may not like how much I will focus on you, how much and often I’ll want you.”

Her gaze softened, and she gingerly placed a hand on his chest. Her touch sent a rush of warmth through him, easing both man and beast a little.

He was still terrified that she’d reject him. However, he did his best to be patient and wait for her answer.

She murmured, “I want to try, but…” He waited, and she eventually continued, “I need to know you won’t pull or run away again. If you need a break, then tell me. If you need some time alone, tell me. But closing yourself off and shutting me out hurts, Trahern. It’ll be even worse if I finally share more of myself, only to have you reject me again.”

He wanted to proclaim he’d never do that, never shut her out, would be more normal for her, and everything would work out perfectly.

But Trahern was far from perfect. It would take work to do as she asked, to not close off and protect himself. And even then, he’d probably still fail sometimes.

His beast spoke up again.It will be difficult, but the prize is worth it.

Searching Grace’s eyes, he replied,She is worth it.

Then kiss her. No, it won’t start the frenzy. I’m stronger than other dragons, somewhat more independent out of necessity. A taste will be enough.

Maybe he should ask his dragon more about being independent out of necessity. And yet, all he could do was stare at Grace’s lips and ache to feel her skin against his, to learn hertaste, and ease some of the sadness in her eyes over the last few weeks.

Sadness probably caused by him.

But first, he needed to make a vow. Maybe the most important one of his life. “I vow to be honest and open with you, Grace. I will not reject you. Whilst I’m not perfect, and will probably make many mistakes, know this—I want you. Always. Will you be my mate in truth?”

Her other hand lifted and cupped his cheek. As her fingers stroked his skin, he leaned into her touch, and his beast hummed.

“Yes, Trahern. I will be your mate in truth. But just know I’m not perfect, either. And we’ll probably argue or disagree or maybe even shout at each other sometimes, and that’s normal. As long as we talk and don’t keep our feelings secret, we’ll be okay in the end.”

He frowned. “I’ll try. But this is new to me. All of it.”

She smiled. “I know.”

He blurted, “May I kiss you?”

Her eyebrows shot up. “Y-you want to kiss me?”

“I can wait, if you want. I won’t rush you. Especially since it will be my first time, and I won’t know what I’m doing.”