Dragon Joined (12 page)
She raised her hips, meeting him thrust for thrust, wanting
to tell him with her body how much she had needed him for the last few months,
how glad she was to be back with him. But then rational thought left her mind. There
was nothing but Dean and her, the noises they made, the sounds of their bodies
coming together.
Dean reached between them, stroking her clit again. It was
the pressure she needed to send her over the edge. Her body convulsed beneath
Dean. He moved for two more strokes before he yelled her name. She had no idea
what she said. Colors dotted the room and a peace she hadn’t known ever, even
before she’d been taken away, settled in her soul.
He pulled her into his arms and she cuddled up against him. His
heart beat fast, as if they’d just run a race, which she supposed they kind of
had.
“Dean.” Her mouth was dry and she didn’t care one bit. “How
could you have put yourself at risk? The kids told me about what you did. Not
okay, Dean.”
“Anything for you, Amanda.” His eyes were closed, his face
easy. Dean would never look anything but hard. He had too many well-earned
lines around his eyes, too many memories to go with those lines. But at that
moment, he seemed…free.
“No.” She elbowed him and he groaned, opening his eyes.
“Ouch.” Dean rubbed his side. “Those elbows are weapons. Be
careful with them.”
“You weren’t listening to me.”
He sat up. “I’d failed you over and over again. Anything to
get you back. Don’t you get it?”
“No. I don’t think I do.” She wanted to wring his neck. “I
never thought of you as being at fault for anything. None of this was your
fault. None of it. Get it? Let that thought go.”
“Amanda. You belong to me. All right?”
She shook her head. “Yes. I get it. Okay. You’re the leader
of New Strauss. You even led in the dragon lair. We all belong to you. That’s
just the reason you shouldn’t be risking yourself.”
“No.” He shook his head. “Amanda.
You
belong to
me.
Above anything else. I knew the moment I saw you—the real you, not Princess—in
the showers. I’ve waited my whole life for you and I know you’re young. I’ll
wait, or whatever you need. But
you
are
mine
.”
“Oh Dean.” She hadn’t understood that he felt the same way,
that the level of his feelings had reached what hers were. She crawled her way
over to him, taking his beloved face in her hands. “I’m not so young. I know I
technically am, but I’ve never really gotten to be. Sometimes I feel like an
old lady. And one thing I’m very certain of considering the amount of time I’ve
gotten to spend in my own company lately is my heart.”
“And?” The muscles in his throat visibly clenched.
“What I know is that
you
belong to
me
too.” She
kissed him. “So you’d better be ready to marry me because I’m not living here
with you and the kids like some kind of leader’s live-in girlfriend or
whatever.”
He interrupted her by kissing her nose. “I’ll go and get the
judge. How’s that? I’ll go right now.”
She pushed her forehead against him. “I think we can wait
until morning. The kids might want to be awake for it.”
“You’re right. They’d probably object to sleeping through
the whole thing.”
Dean leaned back and she cuddled up against him again. All
those years later she’d finally come home to Dean Andrews. Things were just as
they should be. With that thought, the dragon alarm went off. Just as they
should be, but never ever dull.
As a teenager, I would hide in my room to read my favorite
romance novels when I was supposed to be doing my homework. I hope, these days,
that my parents think it was worth it.
I am the mother of three adorable boys and I am fortunate to
be married to my best friend. We’ve just moved from New Jersey to Texas where I
am learning to love Barbecue!
I am in love with science fiction, fantasy and the
paranormal and try to use all these elements in my writing. I've been told I'm
a little bloodthirsty so I hope that when you read my work you'll enjoy the
action-packed ride that always ends in romance. I love to write series because
I love to see characters develop over time and it always makes me happy to see
my favorite characters make guest appearances in other books. In my world
anything is possible, anything can happen, and you should suspect that it will.
Rebecca welcomes comments from readers. You can find her
website and email addresses on her
author bio page
at
www.ellorascave.com
.
Tell Us What You Think
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Rebecca
Royce
Ellora’s Cave Publishing
Dragon Joined
ISBN 9781419948022
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Dragon Joined Copyright © 2013 Rebecca Royce
Edited by Rebecca Hill
Cover design and photography by Syneca
Additional cover photography by conrado,
YorkBerlin/shutterstock.com
Model: deAngelo
Electronic book publication November 2013
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