As if feeling the heat of my stare, Daphne’s whiskey-colored eyes found me and crinkled in the corners as she shot me a quick smile.
“I’m almost done,” she called with a wave before she made a clicking noise with her tongue. For someone with little practical farm experience, Daphne had taken to everything like a duck to water.
Cocoa couldn’t tolerate me on her best days, but she was like a puppy with Daphne, following close on her heels as she was led back to the barn and into the stable without any fuss.
Upon her entrance, Marshmallow greeted Cocoa with a pleased nicker and the two got to work on the hanging feeder in the corner of their stall.
“Do you think we’ll be able to saddle her soon?” Daphne asked, coming to stand next to me. The scent of her strawberry shampoo wafted up into my nostrils and my tail gave a frustrated lash as I turned to answer her.
“Maybe, though I wouldn’t be surprised if she never takes to a saddle again,” I told her honestly. Marshmallow was a couple of years younger and would probably be all right, but Cocoa would always be an unknown variable.
Daphne sighed, resting her chin on the top of the stall door. “At least she’s not trying to take me out with her hooves any chance she gets.”
I didn’t tell her that there had been more than once that Cocoa had started to lift said hooves, but one look from me had made the mare think twice about kicking my mate.
Without thinking, I ducked down to steal a kiss from her, my entire body humming with anticipation when a little noise leaked from the gap in our lips.
“Out here?” Her question was muffled as I began to kiss my way along her jaw and down the side of her neck, inhaling her scent deep into my lungs.
“Just a little bit,” I purred against the thrum of her pulse, feeling it jump against my lips. She left her tattoo uncovered all of the time now, but it was still faded.
“Are you ever going to let me touch up your neck, dragonfly?” I asked, giving the spot a light nip with my teeth. I always had to remind myself to be careful because my teeth were sharp. My claws I could trim, but I couldn’t do the same to my teeth.
“Whenever you have time,” Daphne gasped, her hands gripping my horns. It was hard to describe what having someone touch my horns—especially at the base—felt like. It felt almost as good as if she’d reached down to stroke the length that was already hardening in my jeans.
Sliding a hand underneath the hem of her shirt, I was just inching towards the lining of her bra when we were once again interrupted by the ringing of a cell phone.
“Fucking hell, it’s like they can sense a disturbance in the universe whenever we kiss,” I growled, straightening and patting at my pockets looking for my phone.
“It’s mine,” Daphne said, pulling her cell out of her pocket and reading the caller ID. “Hi, Liam.”
Liam Donovan was the divorce lawyer handling Daphne’s case. He was a wizened old werewolf that worked in an office uptown and the only person who was willing to go toe-to-toe with Arsenio.
Not that Arsenio was doing anything to prevent Mike Campbell’s divorce at this point.
I’d heard through the grapevine that Arsenio had judged Mike to be not worth the effort. Apparently, he was still letting the asshole stay in his mansion, but there wasn’t going to be anymore throwing his weight around.
Or that’s what they wanted us to believe at least. Arsenio had been too quiet, which made me half-believe he was cooking something up behind the scenes to separate me and Daphne.
We needed to seal the mating bond as soon as possible, but I also wanted it to be special for both of us. We would only seal a mating bond once in our, thankfully, long lives and I wanted it to be memorable.
“Uh-huh, yes I understand,” Daphne said, her expression strange. “Yes, thank you, Liam, just let me know when you fax the papers over to me and I will sign them. Okay, you have a wonderful rest of your afternoon.”
“What?” I asked as soon as she’d hung up.
Daphne just shook her head. Her lips, still rosy from our earlier kissing, pulled down into a confused frown as she finally looked up at me. “Mike signed the divorce papers.”
I blinked once, then twice, trying to process her words.
“Come again?” I asked, afraid I hadn’t heard her correctly the first time.
Daphne held her arms open, her face lighting up. “He signed the papers. I’m free.”
I scooped her up and twirled her around the barn, listening to her laughter and noises of the very confused animals watching us.
She was still smiling when her feet reached the floor again, but worry was already creeping back into her eyes. “What are the chances that this is some kind of a diversion or ploy?”
I leaned down to press a kiss to her forehead. “Probably pretty high, but either way, you’ve got a set of signed papers and that’s step one, dragonfly. Don’t let what could happen ruin this moment.”
