“You don’t know how long I’ve waited to meet you, Echo, my mate,” he says in his gravelly voice. He then gives me this look that’s equal parts yearning and happiness all in one confusing mix and my heart hurts for him. I want to ask him a million questions. I want to know how old he is and how long he’s been waiting to find a mate and how long dragons live for and what his star sign is and his favorite food.
Maybe we should sit down together and play twenty questions between the four of us. Or two hundred questions, since twenty doesn’t seem anywhere near enough. Because right now, it’s a strange feeling to know your soul is connected to someone that you know nothing about.
“I like your house,” I tell him, because I don’t know what else to say. Is it even a house? Should I call it a cave? A den? A lair? I don’t know. But Finn doesn’t seem to mind as he gives me a blinding smile and pulls me into a hug, squishing my face up against his hot, hard chest.
“Thank you, little treasure. I have something for you before we do the introductions.” He then leads me past what looks like an entire wall of… radiators, hundreds of them, all of different styles and ages. He just nods to them as we pass. “Part of my hoard.”
Well, okay then. It doesn’t seem the most normal thing to collect, but what the heck do I know about dragons and their hoards? Considering I wasn’t even sure they existed until yesterday, I don’t know much at all.
Finn stops us in the middle of the hallway between his living area and what looks to be his bedroom, in front of a clawfoot bathtub filled with gems. He then roots around in the tub for a few minutes and makes a victorious sound in his throat that’s super cute on a man that’s nearly as tall as a doorway. He holds something out in his palm to me.
“For you.”
It’s a necklace. An emerald and, if I’m not mistaken, diamond necklace on a thick golden rope with the most intricate pattern of lines making up each thread of the rope. It’s the most exquisite piece of jewelry I’ve ever seen.
“It matches your eyes,” I say, and Finn grins, looking suddenly boyish and a little bashful. Holy smoke show, is this massive manblushing?
My heart and my vagina battle for which can quiver the most. So long panties. It was nice knowing you.
“Will you wear it for me?”
Will I wander around in Brogan’s t-shirt and my own jeans plus my old favorite coat, and a necklace that must cost more than a car?
Okay. Sure I will. How can I say no to that face?
When I nod, I’m instantly rewarded with another blinding smile, and I know it was the right decision. He helps me to clasp it around my neck and then stares down proudly, running his finger down the line of my neck and making my entire upper body breakout with goose pimples.
What is this man, this dragon, doing to me?
“You honor me by wearing a piece from my hoard,” he says.
“Th-thank you.”
“Now I hope you’ll honor me further by coming with me to see the gate I have stood guard over for so many years.”
“Yep, sure, sure,” I squeak and am blessed with yet another massive grin.
Good golly gravy, he's a handsome man. I’ve somehow been lucky enough to bag three men that are absolute stop-you-in-your-tracks stunners.
Finn re-laces our fingers back together again and continues further down the hallway until we stop at an alcove and the gate.
“Until now, this has been my purpose in life, to guard the gate and to fight against anything that might aim to sneak through and gain an unearned place in the afterlife.”
It’s massive. Black and shining like polished obsidian, standing maybe twelve feet by ten feet. It sparkles in the dim light of the lamps scattered around the place, the gate itself seeming almost to glow with a faint golden light.
I step closer. I feel a whole vibe coming off it, almost like the gate has its own aura. I look at Finn, who is watching me closely.
“Touch it?” he rasps.
I press my fingers to one of the smooth iron railings. As I make contact, a surge of sensation goes through my fingertips. It’s warm and welcoming.
“You feel it?”
“It feels nice,” I say. I feel a strange sense of familiarity deep in my gut, like I’m holding the hand of a friend.
“I knew you belonged here.” Finn pulls me into his arms. “And the gate. She likes your presence here too. She’ll work extra hard to protect us, to protect you and our future hatchlings.”
Oh. Oh wow, that’s… he’s already planning on me living here forever and filling the place with babies, apparently.
