I should have asked Fallon how he went about courting Cinnamon. By the time I had met them, she had already taken his magic. The only other demon with a human mate that I knew of was Felix. He had mentioned that it wasn’t the same as courting another demon.
‘They don’t care if you’re a powerful dragon,’ he had warned. ‘They don’t even imprint. So, you’re going to have to actually speak to her and, let’s be honest here, niceties are not your strong point.’
Bah! What did he know? I could be nice. What other dragon could spend months cooped up on a ship with a bunch of insufferable idiots and not kill a single one? No one, that’s who.
Still… perhaps it was too soon. The plan was to quickly check up on Gideon then head back to my castle in Volsog. There, I could find a proper courting gift from my hoard. At the moment, I had nothing of the sort. I couldn’t approach her empty-handed. A dragoness would kill a man for such an offense.
“It’s settled,” I muttered to myself. Now that I knew where my mate was, there was no rule saying I had to claim her immediately. I could use my Hearthstone to send me back to Volsog and come back with a proper gift. Perhaps scry Fallon and Felix on the return trip for advice. As much as it would pain me to see the smug look on the werewolf’s face.
“What is settled?” A voice called from the entryway. That damnable scent spilled into the room, so potent in its intensity that my knees nearly gave way.
Dammit. Dammit all.I took a deep breath to calm my nerves and released my death grip on the counter.
Relax. Niceties. Just be kind.
I noticed her mouth first. Her upper lip was larger than her bottom. Shaped perfectly in a crescent moon, creating an irresistible pout. Her round face was adorned with deep dimples as she smiled at me. Long lashes danced against her dark skin. Wet strands of curly brown hair clung to her face, while the rest was neatly tied back in a bubble pattern. One look in her big brown eyes and the courting gift was completely forgotten.
Fuck. She was stunning. There is no hope in this land or the next that I’d be able to leave her side for a moment. The magic racing through my blood crackled at the thought and a loud boom of thunder sounded off overhead.
Great. Now I’m storming.I dug my nails into my palm and forced the erratic magic to still. It’d been centuries since I’d gained full control over my powers and I’d be damned if I let that slip now. The only thing to do was to claim her quickly. Give her my magic before she grew irritated with my constant pestering. Or noticed my lack of control.
My mate flinched and glanced up to the sky. Her voice strummed against my senses in the soft strings of a harp. “The weather today has been absolutely insane,” she said with a smile. “I’m surprised you could fly in this.”
“Yes, well, stormy weather has always been a favorite of mine.”
She nodded politely and dusted sand from her skirt. Water dripped from the tips of her hair. Innocent little drops of rain slid down her neck, guiding my gaze down to the elegant ridge of her collarbone. What I wouldn’t give to run my tongue against it.
“I know what you mean,” she said. “I always sleep better when it’s storming outside. Though the sudden uptick of wind nearly swept me out to sea while I was walking on the beach.”
Dread pooled into my gut until thunder roared loud enough to shake the tower. “Are you hurt anywhere?” I asked, rushing over to her.Dammit all. I had barely met the woman, and I had already put her in danger.
She let out a small laugh and held up a hand to stop me. “No, no. I’m fine.” She closed the door behind her and stepped around me to kick off her shoes, then turned to me again and held out her hand. “I’m Cherry, by the way, you must be a friend of Gideon’s?”
“Friends might be a little too strong of a word. My name is Dante Remnac of the Mirrored Summit.” I took her hand in mine, delighting in the thrill of pleasure that raced up my arm. Her lips parted in a soft gasp and immediately I knew she felt it too. A satisfied grin tugged at the corner of my mouth. Perhaps this wouldn’t be so difficult after all.
She cleared her throat and pulled away. The absence of her touch left a gnawing ache in my hand and I fisted it at my side to avoid reaching out again.
“Oh. Well, it’s nice to meet you. Gideon’s out right now, but I’ll put on some tea for us until he gets back.” Without waiting for a response, Cherry rushed into the kitchen and pulled a silver tea kettle from the cabinets.
I made my way over to the table and took a seat. “Tea would be lovely, thank you.” My mate gave a shaky nod in my direction, then busied herself with preparing tea. She uncorked a glass jar and put two scoops of the foulest smelling tea I’d ever had the misfortune of being near into the kettle. The stone hearth at the end of the kitchen still had small embers dancing under charred wood. She placed a few more logs on top and blew until it lit up again. Unfortunately, the smell only grew worse once the kettle was over the flames.
My eyes watered, and I rubbed my nose to keep from reacting to the scent. What kind of tea had Gideon been forcing on the poor woman? This wouldn’t do. As soon as I stole her away, she’d need to be reintroduced to some proper food. As skinny as she was, I doubted she’d been eating well. Not that it mattered, Cherry would be in my care soon.
After a few minutes, a bubbling cup of questionable liquid was placed in front of me, along with a large bowl of assorted fruits. It was poor form to deny hospitality, and the last thing I wanted to do was offend her. I held my breath and lifted the cup.
Choke it down. You’ve done worse for less.
“I have to ask,” I began. “When I flew overhead, there was no human settlement on this island. What are you doing here?” I took a sip of the tea and nearly gagged. It tasted like bark that was fermented in a mushroom for no less than a century before it was filtered through the dirty toes of depressed cyclops.
Cherry sat across from me on the table and set her own cup down. She leaned against her hand. A string of braided hair kissed the slope of her neck before it fell past her shoulder. Suddenly my entire existence revolved around following the action with my hand. I wanted to tilt her chin back, kiss my way down her neck and run a trail along her shoulder until she cried out.
“Well, I’m a bit stuck at the moment. I washed up here a while back and haven’t found a way home yet.”
So, her home isn’t in Gideon’s territory. Excellent. I won’t have to challenge him for it.“Why hasn’t he just taken you home?”
Her eyes widened as if my suggestion surprised her. She recovered quickly and laughed. “He isn’t too keen on moving about. To take me home or, well, anything else really.”
He just let her rot here?Perhaps I’d end up challenging him after all. I hummed and took another sip of the terrible drink. The sooner I got her away from Gideon the better. It didn’t seem like he wanted to take her as a mate, but I couldn’t be too careful. “It must be your lucky day then. I happen to be quite fond of moving about. If you can grab your things we can leave whenever you’re ready.”
