“I don’t want you to have regrets.”
“So wewerehaving trouble with our marriage. You told me we hadn’t been married for long, so that doesn’t bode well.”
“There are difficulties,” he agreed. “But they’re not with us. Outside problems. My parents, for instance. They wanted me to marry another dragon. They’d arranged the marriage without any consultation with me.”
Truth rang in his words. “So, it was external difficulties that left this strain between us?”
“Yes.” Leo stripped off his clothes and turned off the lantern before she could study the lines of his massive body. He slipped into bed but didn’t reach for her.
A spurt of temper flashed through Gwenyth. This would never do, and especially not since she feared her jitters might shake her free from her skin. “Leo, I’ll make this clear, so there is no misunderstanding,” she stated, surprised her voice lacked a tremor. This asking for what she wanted seemed uncharacteristic.
“What?” he asked, and caution screamed in his tone.
“I want you. I want to celebrate our love.”
“But you’re injured.”
“I’ve lost my memory. Physically, I’m fine.” She ignored the twinge at her eye and the accompanying thud of her head. She was confident she’d feel one hundred percent once their marriage stood on more solid ground. “Please.”
“If we do this, you’re mine,” he stated. “I’m keeping you.”
His words cut and dug at her temper. “That’s what I want, but I’m already yours. We’re married, remember, so we should act like a wedded couple.”
He rolled without warning, his solid frame caging her against the mattress. “Be certain.”
“I want this.” Gwenyth meant every word.
Leo sought her mouth, their lips crashing together before he gentled the contact and seduced rather than took. Not that he had to worry because she was a sure thing. Her hands curled around his shoulders, then she ran one down his back. A puckered scar interrupted the smooth glide of her fingers, and she hesitated before telling herself this dragon-man held immense strength and the skills to survive aerial battles. Her husband showed intelligence, and one day, he’d retire and let another take his place.
She was safe.
He would keep her safe.
Her brow puckered at the anxiety that crept into her, the sense of danger.
Leo lifted his head. “Have you changed your mind?”
“What?” She stared at him, her pulse racing. “No. I touched one of your scars, and it pushed my thoughts in a weird direction. Was I in danger? Had someone threatened me?”
“You hadn’t mentioned anything of that nature.” His features tightened, his green gaze bleeding into red. “Have you remembered something?”
Her flash of fear passed, yet it left her unsettled. “No, I’m solidly here in the present and naked with my husband. If I promise not to let my mind wander again, can we make love?”
“Anything, my lodestone.”
He rolled without warning, and she found herself draped over his massive chest. “You explore me. No more mind-traveling.”
“Hey!” She pinched one of his flat nipples. “That was rude of me. I hope I don’t make a habit of drifting in the middle of our sexy times.”
He laughed, and Gwenyth gaped at his sparkling eyes, his kissable lips, and warm expression. “Next time you do that, I promise to put you across my knee and spank you.”
“Let’s not do that,” she murmured. “Now changing the subject. Is your dragon ticklish? If I wriggle my fingers over your tattoo like this.” She skimmed her fingers over his skin and tried not to grin when she spotted the way Leo’s tattoo shifted and cocked his dragon head. He jumped at the tickle of her fingers and retreated, stretching away from her touch.
Leo chuckled, even as he wriggled to escape her teasing caress.
“Ah!” She made tickly motions in the air with her fingers.
“We are ticklish,” Leo admitted, his mouth wreathed in a grin. “Please stop.”
