Page 60 of Claimed By the Dragon

It was getting harder and harder to keep his eyes open, and Trahern needed to rest.

However, as soon as Grace had told him again that she loved him and was glad he’d claimed her, he’d woken up a little. Especially as he tried to determine his feelings.

Unlike most of his ordered world, he didn’t have a guide to love.

His dragon spoke up.Even though I know we love her, just tell her what you treasure about her, how she makes thingsbetter, all the little things that helped us escape the tunnels to be with her again.

He hesitated before replying to his beast.But what if she doesn’t think that’s enough?

This is Grace. She will listen and talk with us and be honest. If you truly want to claim her fully once we’re well, you need to talk about this now.

With Grace’s heat at his side and her scent filling his nostrils, he tightened his hold around her. He wanted more, so much more, than to merely lie with her in his arms.

Not that he was well enough to do anything else.

But now that he desired her, wanted to claim her and have sex with her, he was impatient.

His dragon snorted.You’re starting to understand how I’ve felt all these years.

Yes. Honestly, I never really understood it before. I’m sorry.

His beast grunted.No worries. Talk with Grace. The longer you wait, the more she tenses up, as if bracing for bad news.

Trahern had been so lost in conversation with his dragon that he hadn’t noticed. However, when Grace tried to inch away, he tightened his grip on her. “Don’t leave.”

“I should go. You’re tired and need sleep, and I have no right to ask you to lay out your feelings right now.”

“No, Grace. It needs to be now. Look at me.” Once her eyes met his—was that a touch or wariness?—he blurted, “I always want to be with you. I want to touch you and kiss you and now even want to have sex with you. And it’s strange to me because I’ve never wanted to tell a person everything before. And yet, I want to be with you. I’ve told you about the humiliating parts of my past, what my father was like, and you even try to learn about what I’m researching, even when you’ve never heard of a certain topic before.

“But you also helped me learn how to get along with my dragon. That isn’t romantic, from what I’ve overheard from others talking about love, but it’s one of the most important things. My beast and I learned to work together so we could better know you. So we could help you and make you smile and ensure you were taken care of. To be more open and less reserved for Eddie and Eli, to be the father they need. In short, together we might be able to be the male you deserve.”

“Oh, Trahern.”

“It’s true. I will always be a bit different from other dragon-shifters, and that’s something I can’t change. But you’ve helped me understand that being different isn’t a bad thing. And whilst the world may always be a little confusing for me, you make sense to me, Grace. So much so that I want to keep you with me always. So would you call that love?”

Her eyes looked a little wet, but before he could ask if she was going to cry, she cupped his cheek and whispered, “Yes, Trahern. And after hearing all of that, I can say you’re one of the most romantic people I’ve ever met.”

“Don’t lie to me, Grace.”

“I’m not. I can ask as many people as you like, and almost all of them will agree with me. I love you, Trahern Lewis. And as soon as you’re well, I’m fully on board with deflowering you.”

“Deflowering?”

She kissed him gently and said, “Taking your virginity and claiming you as mine.”

His dragon roared.Yes. We’d better get healthy fast. I want to have her on my own, too.

“Both me and my dragon? Because he wants a turn, too.”

She brushed some hair off his forehead. “Yes. After talking with the other human women, I’m actually curious about your dragon half. But I want you, the human part, first.”

“I already made that agreement with my beast.”

“Good.” She kissed him again, and then snuggled against his side. “I love you, Trahern. But we both need to rest so you can get better.”

Exhaustion crashed over him, and he yawned. “Stay with me, Grace.”

“Always, Trahern. Always.”