“So, I'm immune to Fire? Normal fire, I mean.”
“Yes. Well.” I grimaced. “I'm not certain. It's different with each non-Dragon mate. But you should at least have a resistance to fire.”
“What else? Tell me. I want to know everything.”
I smiled at my mate and told him everything I'd been longing to say. Everything and more.
Chapter Thirty-Four
“Ly,” Aras murmured as he stroked a hand down my chest. No, not a hand—claws. Just the tips, scraping gently.
I sighed and closed my eyes. It enhanced the feeling of fur against my skin when he pressed his face into the curve of my neck and kissed me there. The tickle of his whiskers. The velvet of his tongue. The rough pads of his fingertips. My mate was a tapestry woven of many yarns. It made all other men boring by comparison. I could never be satisfied with the feel of skin after having all this.
My mate clenched his hand on my waist, his claws drawing blood, and I sucked in an excited and shocked breath.
This too, I couldn't give up. The sharp mix of pleasure and pain. The sting with his kiss. The taste of his blood on my lips as he enjoyed mine. Fiendish? To some. To us, this was love and anyone who didn't understand it could fuck off. This was ours. We didn't have to explain it or even tell anyone about it. That would be the motto of our love. We would do as we pleased.
Speaking of which.
“Oh, there's one last thing I didn't tell you,” I said as my mate slid between my legs.
Aras looked up at me, his eyes bright in the light of the lanterns. It was late, but we weren't ready to sleep yet.
“You're a duke now.”
Aras smirked. “I'm a duke?”
“Yes. Normally, there's a presentation ceremony for a Dragon king's mate, and if the entire dread doesn't accept the mate, the King must reject them or step down.”
“What?” Aras snarled.
“But I'm changing the rules.” I cupped his cheek. “Fuck them. They're already coming for me. It's not as if we can present you now. Even if we could, they'd only use it as an opportunity to get rid of me. So, I have the perfect excuse to do away with that law. At least for my kingdom.”
“So, I'm a duke? Just like that?”
“Yes.” I lifted my head to brush a kiss across his lips. “Duke Aras of Gavemor. You'll have to limit your sea journeys now.”
Aras frowned and sat up.
My chest clenched. Oh, fuck. I sat up too. “Is that all right?”
“I will give up my position as captain and hire someone to replace me under one condition.”
“What?” I whispered.
“It starts now. I am here with you now, and this is where I'll stay. I'm your mate. I stand at your side no matter what. No matter who comes against us.”
I groaned. “Oh, you wicked man. You turned that against me.”
“I won't leave you now, Ly. You can't expect me to.”
“Aras, please. You've proved your bravery and loyalty beyond a doubt. Don't make me watch you risk yourself again. Seeing you hurt, hurt me. Can't you see what that would do to me on a battlefield? Just the possibility of it is enough to cripple me.”
Aras paused. “I don't want to . . . Ly, I can't just leave.” He rolled off me and landed hard on the pillow beside me. “I can't. Imagine if you had to leave me to face enemies alone.” He turned his head to look at me. “Could you do it?”
“Well, fuck,” I muttered.
Aras chuckled. “Exactly. So, what do we do?”
