“Look at her, honey. She’s the picture of normalcy. He’s been using her as a meal ticket.”
When I pulled them in here, I didn’t mean to trash Jeremy or his reputation, but I don’t stop them from drawing their own conclusions. Everything I’ve told them is true, and I’m sick of being hounded by that watchdog.
I text William to pick me up and give both my parents a firm hug.
“I’ll take care of everything,” Dad says. “Don’t worry about Jeremy.”
“I love you guys. Happy Beltane.”
They walk me to the door, where they see that William is waiting, holding the door open for me. I promise to call before slipping into the back seat. Only when the door is closed do I see a Jeremy-shaped silhouette in the front room window. His dark face follows us as William pulls away.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
SEB
I’m not sure how many episodes of Schitt’s Creek I’ve binged, but I’m starting to hear David’s voice in my head. I am suffering romantically right now. “You and me both, David,” I say to the screen. It’s late. So late, one could call it early. But I won’t be able to sleep until she’s home. Fuck, I might not be able to sleep anyway. My mating sickness is in overdrive. A few minutes ago, I filled a bag with ice for my head. It isn’t cutting it.
Mine, my dragon growls. Find her.
“No,” I mumble to myself. “Not mine. She rejected us, you fucking pain in the ass. We didn’t explain to her what she was getting into in a way she could understand because you hijacked my brain and went all caveman in the shower.”
Zoe in shower, he growls needily.
I move the already melting bag of ice from my head to my dick.
The sound of the front door opening has me tossing the bag aside and springing from the bed. Technically, Zoe could walk around the side of the house to get to the cottage, but cutting through the big house is the fastest way—and the best lit, considering the time of night. I walk to the end of the hall and peek around the side, feeling her psychic energy as she nears.
“Did you wait up for me?” She stops and turns to face me.
All I can do is nod. I’m capable of shifting into a two-ton dragon, and I’m twice her size in this form. But when I look at her, I feel like a child on my knees in front of a god. She probably doesn’t even realize how powerless I am when it comes to her. Under any other circumstances, I could take out my frustrations on another woman, anyone who would have me. But as a bonded male, it will be a long time before my dragon will stomach another. I mated her. And if she were a dragon, she’d be mated to me. I could look at her and crook my finger, and she’d happily allow me to take her in any way I wished. But she’s not a dragon, and she doesn’t know the significance of what passed between us. And when I tried to explain it to her, she pushed me away. She rejected what we had together. I have no power in this scenario.
Like a dream, she turns and walks right up to me. “I’m fine, Seb. It went really well. I cleared up the lie without revealing the truth. Everything is fine.”
“I’m sorry to put you in that position.”
“You were just trying to help.” Her eyes meet mine, and I see something in them I hadn’t dared hope to see. Openness, softness, attraction.
Don’t mess this up, my dragon growls.
“To be clear, if you’d been awake, I wouldn’t have taken the liberties I did without your permission. I hope you know that I do respect your boundaries.” I wipe sweat from my forehead. Fuck, I’m burning up. “My dragon is possessive. Even now, it’s taking everything in me to keep my hands off you. And he’s protective too. It almost killed me to allow you to go without me tonight, not because I wanted to control you, but because I wanted to act as your guard dog. But I can control myself…most of the time.”
“Jesus, you look like you’re feverish.” She comes closer and puts her hand on my forehead, and I moan at the feel of her touch. “You’re burning up.”
“It’s the appetency. Mating sickness.” Shit. I have to address this with her so that she understands. “I took you as my mate. I thought you wanted it too. I thought you understood what it meant.” A muscle in my jaw clenches, and I rub it to ease the pain.
“Mate. What does that mean to you?” Her hand is still on my face and I try to look directly at her, but it’s like looking into the sun. I have to look away.
“It means that my dragon wants you and only you. It means that if he can’t have you, he’ll burn hotter and hotter until I’m out of my alignment or we both go up in flames. It means that I’ve handed you the leash to my soul, and while I understand now that you didn’t want it, I can’t take it back.”
She blows out a huffed breath. “I have a leash to your soul?”
“More like a chain. You can break a leash. I’m dragon chained.”
She arches an eyebrow. “And you’re saying that sex with me is the only thing that will cure this fever that’s burning you alive?”
I nod.
“Frankly, Seb, it sounds like a line to get me into bed.”
