“No one’s ever said that to me before,” Alaric admitted hoarsely.
Possessive jealousy licked at my insides. “That’s for the best. I doubt anybody else would’ve meant it as viciously as I do.”
He let out a wet chuckle. “You love me viciously?”
“Absolutely. I am a dragon, remember?”
He tilted his head, regarding me curiously. “I’ve never actually seen your dragon form, except once a long time ago. All I know is that it’s green.”
I winced as I recalled the ‘dragon reveal’ during the first season’s closing ceremonies. My brothers and I had assumed our dragon forms at the final moment of the first season. It was my suggestion, to drum up interest in our show and to prove the fact that dragons were real, but now I regretted it. Revealing my dragon was intimate. It wasn’t that I was secretive about it, but I shouldn’t have performed it as a cheap carnival trick.
For Alaric, however... my dragon practically begged to be released.
“Would you like to see it now?” I asked.
He pondered for a second before replying, “No. I want this to bemymoment.” He tossed back his hair for a dash of tongue-in-cheek drama.
I smiled, falling deeper in love with him and his quirks by the second. “I understand.”
Suddenly Alaric blanched, his eyes widening with terror. “The cameras aren’t here right now, are they?”
“No,” I promised. “I ordered all cameras and mics off after dinner. I couldn’t have the whole world witnessing our little scene, could I?”
Alaric heaved a sigh of relief. “Thank gods. I didn’t want everyone to know... all of that,” he mumbled, waving a hand.Then he met my gaze with warm, trusting eyes. “You’re the only person I’ve ever told about my past, Jade.”
My heart clenched with affection. “I appreciate your belief in me. And in turn, know I’ll do everything in my power to make myself worthy of you.”
Alaric blushed. For a moment my heartfelt words seemed to catch him off guard.
“Hmph... You sure know the perfect things to say, don’t you?” His tone was a lightly snarky return to form, but he wore a genuine smile.
“Idoread a lot of books,” I teased.
The conversation lapsed into comfortable silence sprinkled with the calming sounds of the sea. Alaric leaned against my shoulder and I hooked my arm around him. The bond between us was an invisible tether, stronger and deeper than ever.
In the silence, my mind floated to the previous Dragonfate Games. How many times had my brothers claimed their mates? It was no secret that the omegas were often pregnant before the third challenge even began. Yet Alaric and I hadn’t had penetrative sex.
In my old state of mind, I might have blamed myself. It would’ve been easy to assume the fault, thinking I was abnormal, or unworthy, or wrong.
But now, cuddling on this hidden beach with Alaric, my mind didn’t travel down those dark paths. My ingrained doubts released their hold and fizzled out. Right now, I lived here in the moment with my fated mate. We’d take our relationship at our own pace, whatever that may be.
14
Alaric
Jade performeda monumental crime that night: he broke the rules and let me sleep over in his room.
Both of us were so drained that a second round of sex never even crossed our minds. It was late, and we were spent, physically and emotionally. We fell unconscious the second our heads hit the pillows.
The next thing I knew, my sleep was shattered by a furious pounding at the door.
I jolted awake, instinctively clinging to Jade.
He groaned and pushed himself up on his elbows. He was so tired last night that he didn’t even loose his hair from its tie.
“What is that racket?” he grumbled. Suddenly, he froze and his eyes widened in panic. “Oh, dear.”
“What?” I asked, still frazzled from the incessant knocking.
