Theo
“The best way for you to have my scent is for us to have sex,” Theo said casually as though it was no big deal.
“Sex,” she repeated as though she had never heard of the concept. “You and me have sex.”
“Yes, sex. You said you’ve watched television. I’m sure you’ve seen it a time or two,” he said. “People do it all the time.”
She slumped back in her seat, and he could see she was squeezing her hands tightly together.
“Am I so hideous to you that first kissing is an issue, and now sex is?” Theo said, trying to use his humor to draw her out.
“I’m a virgin,” she said softly.
“I think I figured that out, especially since you’ve never even kissed someone,” he said sarcastically.
“I don’t really know you. I just met you a couple of hours ago, and most of that time, I’ve been asleep. I always wanted—” she started to say and then blushed, her cheeks turning a fiery red.
Theo thought she looked downright adorable with her face pinkish like that. For someone who’d been around the world and fought to stay alive, she was so innocent as to the ways of men.
He wasn’t going to push her. He wanted to give her time to collect her thoughts, so he just looked at her and waited.
“I wanted my first time to be with my true mate,” she said, so quietly that he almost didn’t hear her.
“I understand, Gemma. But to save your life long enough for you to find your true mate, we have to pretend to be mates. And in order to do that, you have to have my scent on you. There is no other option,” he said gently. “If the other dragon shifters do not smell me on you, they will believe our relationship isn’t real, and I won’t be able to protect you.”
She nodded. She understood. “You’ll have to teach me,” she said.
“I can do that. I will take care of you,” he promised.
After a couple seconds, seeing the fear she tried to hide on her face, he thought of another way he could help her.
He said gently, “There is another way you can get my scent on you, but it is only temporary. We would only have to have sex a couple of times, but the second option would have to be a lot more – constant.”
She looked up at him. “You bottled yourself?” she asked, sounding hopeful.
He laughed. “No,” he said. “We have to have a lot of physical contact. And the more skin there is, the better it is. I literally have to rub off on you.”
“Physical contact? Like how?” she asked.
“Like this,” he said and pulled her off the chair and onto his lap.
Gemma looked as though in shock. Her eyes were wide as she stared into his. Her mouth worked as though she was going to say something, but no sound came out. This was probably one of the first times in her life she was speechless.
Theo felt a shock like a huge earthquake had jarred everything in his life. His reaction was instant. The blood running through his veins was suddenly boiling. His cock got instantly hard, pushing against the confines of his pants. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and pull her so close to him that a person couldn’t tell where one of them ended and the other began.
Her smell was intoxicating. He hadn’t liked anyone’s scent since – well – since Savannah.
The thought of his dead mate was like someone threw a bucket of ice water over his head. He wanted to push Gemma off him. He didn’t want to hunger for her. He just wanted to fulfill his vow and then go back to his life.
Theo swallowed the groan. He couldn’t push her away. They had to be close, almost constantly, if they were going to make anyone think they were mates. He was going to have to suffer.
He told himself they only had to carry on like this, pretending they were mates, until her twenty-fifth birthday. Then, they could go their separate ways.
Why couldn’t fulfilling my vow just be me going to battle with someone or avenging a wrong? Or throwing myself into a live volcano as a sacrifice? Any of those options would have been easier.
Once more, he breathed her in. Maybe it would be easier for him if he just went with his carnal instincts.
It’s just sex. Nothing more, nothing less. Just sex. It’s not a big deal.
