“Oh, Ryan, I love you too, so much it scares me sometimes,” she said, tears shining in her eyes. “I never thought I’d be lucky enough to find someone as perfect for me as you are, and I’m going to spend every day of my life trying to make you happy.”
“Sweetheart, all you have to do to make me happy is stay right by my side,” he said. “As long as you’re with me, there’s nothing that can stand in our way. Not my mother, not the council, we’re meant for each other.”
He lowered his mouth to hers in a kiss that instantly ignited the passion between them and only moments later, their clothes were flying in all directions as they crossed the room toward the bed. Growling deep in his throat when he finally had Paula naked in his arms, he let his hands roam over her body, anticipation thundering through him and making him instantly hard.
Throwing her down onto the bed, he slipped between Paula’s legs, suddenly so desperate to have her, he almost lost control. He managed to reel himself in at the last second and sat back on his heels to take a deep breath, then made the mistake of looking into Paula’s desire-filled eyes, and the driving need to take her erupted inside him again. Determined to give her as much pleasure as she gave him, he pushed her legs open further, but instead of driving himself deeply inside her, he lowered his head and with one swipe of his tongue sent her soaring.
Paula cried out his name over and over as he lavished attention on her, then drove her up and over the top, her body bucking and trembling with the power of her release. It was several minutes before she opened her eyes and looked down at him, but she didn’t need to say a word; he knew what she needed as if she’d spoken aloud. Sliding up her body, he grabbed her by the hips and flipped her over onto her stomach, then pulled her up onto her hands and knees.
“You belong to me and you always will,” he growled, slipping between her legs. “You’re mine from now until the end of time.”
When he hesitated for just a little too long, Paula whimpered. “I’m yours. I’ll be yours forever, please, Ryan, I need you now.”
He wouldn’t have been able to resist her even if he’d wanted to; her words triggered the dragon inside him, and, grabbing her by the hips, he drove himself deeply inside her. Paula called out his name, her body greedily accepted him, muscles closing around him and making him want to stay right where he was forever, but need began to grow again, and he found himself moving inside her. Each stroke of his powerful hips brought them both closer to the edge, but he took his time drawing it out until Paula was whimpering and begging him again.
Hands gripping her hips, he buried himself inside her over and over until her whimpers changed to cries of pleasure, then took them both over the edge with one last thrust that drove deeper than ever. Paula’s entire body shook with the power of her climax, and he rode the waves as his own body soared. The waves of pleasure got stronger than anything he’d ever experienced before slowly beginning to fade, leaving him breathless and weak as a baby.
He collapsed onto his side, taking Paula with him, then lay there floating on a cloud of pure sensation still buried deeply inside her and held on for a long time, unwilling to let go right then. Paula’s shivers finally got him moving, and he pulled a blanket up over them, then settled her back in his arms, giving her a kiss on the top of the head.
“I love you,” he said. “More than anything in the world.”
“I love you too,” she said, then sighed. “More than I ever thought possible.”
They were both asleep in minutes, leaving the fire to burn low as they slept, but the cabin stayed warm thanks to the power of the bond they shared. In the morning, they woke well rested and ready to face the council and his mother. Leaving a note behind for the cabin's owner, they stepped out into a world covered in white. After only a few seconds, they were soaringthrough the morning sunshine, headed back to the meeting house.
He spotted the crowd waiting in front of the meeting house miles before they got there and heard them cheering as he swept along the top of the trees, Paula firmly on his back. His friends all ran to meet them when he finally touched down and crouched to let her slide off to the ground, then he shut down his magic and with a whoosh, regained his human form.
“Are you okay?” Jackson asked. “Are either of you hurt? Do we need a doctor?”
“We’re just fine,” Paula said, a big grin on her face. “We found a cabin to spend the night in, and it was actually very romantic.”
“Just like a second honeymoon,” he said, stepping up beside Paula and putting his arm around her. “Now, where is my mother? She and I need to have words.”
“She’s inside trying to rush the council into declaring your marriage to Paula void,” Malcolm said. “Taylor’s in there fighting for you, but you’d better get in there and put an end to this once and for all.”
“We’ll all be right behind you,” Aaron said. “Go get this settled…then we’ll celebrate. Hattie was already cooking up a storm when we left this morning.”
***Paula***
It felt much different following Ryan into the meeting house this time, and Paula realized she was no longer scared. She knew that no matter what happened, she and Ryan would be together. The council would have no choice but to support their marriage and her membership in the clan. It would all finally be over; she would be safe. It was hard to believe that just a few short weeksago, she was ignorant of the magic that existed in the world. Although some of it had been scary, it still left her with a deep sense of wonder.
“I told you it was all a lie! They’re not bonded. There’s no such thing as a bond, and this proves it,” Ryan’s mother was saying when they walked through the door. “I demand you invalidate their marriage, block that woman from joining the clan, and punish her for interfering where she doesn’t belong.”
“Mrs. Bellamy, as we’ve already explained, the dawn deadline has been moved up,” Zane was saying, but then he saw them. “But apparently it doesn’t matter because here is the happy couple, safe and sound, and looking very bonded.”
“That can’t be…she was supposed to die…I paid those men to take her way farther than…” Her words died away. “Ummm…never mind…but this doesn’t prove anything.”
“Actually, Mother, it does, and I’m going to ignore the fact that you tried to kill my wife this time,” Ryan said, striding up to his mother. “I want you out of my life. I’m done with your meddling and trying to run my life. I should have done this a long time ago. You’re dead to me! Don’t ever contact me again, and before you start going off about your money, I don’t want anything to do with that either. It’s over, you lost. Go home and leave us alone. We just want to live our lives without all your drama.”
The woman’s face turned red and it looked like she was about to explode, but Ryan’s dad stepped up next to her. “Honey, it’s over. You did your best, but the children want to have their own lives,” he said. “I think we should go home now. I’ll draw you a nice bath and we can have the cook make that yummy soup that you like so much.”
“I just wanted them to be happy, I just wanted good things for our family,” Ryan’s mother said, looking around the meeting house a bit stunned. “I thought I was doing the right thing.”
“I know, I know,” Mr. Bellamy said, leading her away, shooting them an apologetic look as he went by. “Let’s not think about it right now, let’s think about something happy.”
They watched his parents leave together, then looked at each other, “I guess he loves her,” Ryan said. “As hard as it is to believe, there really is someone for everyone.”
“And you’re my someone,” Paula said. “Can we go home now?”
