His Breath of Fire

Chapter Eighteen

    The meeting adjourned, and everyone in the room filed out.  I turned to Easton only to find him always gazing at me, his hazel eyes bright and a slight smirk on his full lips. “What?” I question, wondering if there is something on my face.

    “You’re beautiful,” he whispered, palm cupping my cheek in a gentle embrace.  After another moment of staring into each other’s eyes he asks, “Are you ready for our date?”

    “Can I go home and change first?  I’m not wearing the best outfit for a date and—”

    “You always look beautiful, Bren,” Easton interrupted, smiling at me. “Besides, your outfit is perfect for what I have planned.”

    Nodding, I stand up, followed by Easton, who grabs my hand and pulls me toward the entrance to the packhouse.  Opening the passenger door, he makes a show of bowing and motioning to the waiting chair, causing me to giggle at his antics.  Once I was seated and buckled in, Easton jogged to his side, got in and started the car but not before grabbing my hand and kissing my knuckles.  The intimate act caused tingles to shoot up from my hand and went straight to my heart, causing it to soften even more so that it already has.  How could I have doubted this?  Him?

    I asked him where we were going to which he replied, “It’s a surprise,” which caused me to grumble in annoyance but let it go to get to know Easton more.  The ease in which we moved, how we responded to one another, it was clear that Tiamat and the Moon Goddess knew what they were doing when they paired us together.  It makes we question how anyone could reject their mate, or abuse them?  How did my father forget those first moments with my mother, just because greed reared its ugly head?

    Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I came back to the present when Easton shut off his car.  Excitedly, I looked around, but saw nothing too exciting around.  Eyebrows furrowed, I got out of the car after he opened the door for me.

    “So impatient,” he murmurs, causing me to smile slightly at his jest.  We start walking, fingers intertwined as we delve deeper into the forest.  If I wasn’t a dragon-wolf hybrid and Easton’s mate, I’d be afraid of him trying to hurt me, but I put my trust in the bond and allowed him to lead me deep into the forest.  After about five more minutes, we came across a clearing.

    My breath caught in the back of my throat as I took in the scenery around me.  There was a lake filled with lily pads, so clear I could see the fish and tadpoles swimming around in its shallow depths.  The break in the trees allowed us to gaze up at the stars, and the night was so clear it felt like we could see every star in the galaxy from here.  Off to the right of where we emerged from was a blanket, neatly laid out with a basket and candles set up for us to sit and eat.

    “How—”

    “I asked an omega to set up the blanket for us,” Easton answered my unspoken question, and I turned to meet his golden gaze.  He seemed nervous, like he didn’t know how I was going to react or even like the date idea he had.

    Bringing up my hand, I cupped his cheek and ran a thumb across the skin there.  Easton’s eyes closed as he leaned his head closer into my palm as we both just embraced the sparks we feel when we touch.  “Thank you,” I whispered, not wanting to disturb the intimate environment we’d inadvertently created.  “This is beautiful.”

    “I’m glad you like it,” he smiled, keeping his voice low to match my tone.  His eyes slowly lowered to my lips and I subconsciously licked them at the attention.  His eyes darkened slightly as his gaze watched my tongue peek out, and he took a small step closer to me.  One of his arms snaked around my waist, tugging me that much closer to him as the other hand cupped the back of my head.

    My breath caught again as we met in the middle and our lips touched for the first time.  My body felt warm all over, but the sparks flying soothed the warmth like ice, creating such a delicious contradiction warring for attention in my body.  The hand that was previously on my mate’s cheek slid to the back, tangling itself in his long strands before holding his head captive against mine.  His tongue licked my bottom lip, asking for entrance but I denied him, smiling against his lips as he groaned in frustration.

    I pulled back after a while needing some air, and Easton rested his forehead on mine as we shared our breaths, both of us not moving so we didn’t break the moment.  My body seemed to calm down from the war of fire and ice, and I gave Easton a sheepish smile.  “We should probably eat the food that was prepared,” he suggested, grabbing my hand before leading me over to the blanket.

    We spent hours sitting on the blanket, eating and talking, becoming more comfortable with one another and just plain getting to know the other like an extension of yourself.  It’ll take a while before we’re one hundred percent comfortable with each other, but the honeymoon phase is incredible.  Ever since our first kiss, Easton’s hands have had a hard time straying from my body.  I’m not sure if it’s because of my hybrid mate bond or if this is just how it goes for anyone with a mate bond, however I’m not complaining. I love the feeling of his skin on mine, though I definitely have had to be the one to put some space between us.

    “So tell me more about being part dragon,” Easton asks, fingers trailing down my arm slightly as we laid on the blanket, looking up at the stars.  My head rested on his strong chest, and I had a hand on his thigh as well tracing circles on his jeans.

    “Well,” I started, trying to find the best words to describe what I know.  “Prepare for some awkwardness.”

    “What does that mean?” he asks.

    “You’ll see in a minute,” I answered, before clearing my throat and continuing, “We’re a dying species, and female dragons are even more rare than dragons.  So sometimes Tiamat would assign two male mates to one female dragon.”

    A low growl came from deep in his chest and I laughed at his possessiveness.  “Dragons can sense their mate from any age, which is why I know you’re my mate at seventeen.  However because we’re a dying breed,” I feel a slight blush form on my cheeks and I push on, “being with your mate becomes very...addictive.  We’re pregnant less time than wolves, and we age slower, allowing us to be able to conceive for longer than other species—that I’m aware of.  However, since being with dragons is more addictive, our bodies will push to have more of each other as our relationship progresses.  For example, since we’ve already kissed, the bond will pull us to mark and mate with each other sooner rather than later.”

    Easton was silent for a moment while he processed my words.  I was a little afraid of looking at him, so I kept my head on his chest as I gazed at the stars.  “So, what about marking each other and mating?”

    “Well, to be honest, if we were too supers just trying to have a relationship, I wouldn’t want to wait too long,” I answer, turning my body so that I can lean up and see his expression as I say what comes next.  “However with my father and this war about to happen, I don’t know if I could handle being pregnant now, plus I’m only seventeen.”

    “It seems that both of our species tend to be together younger and start families younger,” he responds, golden gaze guarded.  “If we weren’t in the middle of a prophesied war, would you want to have kids?”

    “Yes, at some point,” I say, leaning down so my head rested on my hands which were on his chest.  “Probably around twenty-three once we had a couple years of leading the pack by ourselves under our belt.”

    “What if I want kids sooner?”

    “Do you?” I ask, tilting my head.

    “I’ve always wanted to be a younger father, being able to see my grandchildren and maybe even great-grandchildren.”

    “Maybe we can revisit the idea once the war is over?” I compromise.  I mean, this is our first real day together as mates, I’m not really sure we’re ready to go straight into having children like my mother and Paul.

    “That sounds fair,” he says, smiling at me.  “Your mother got knocked up pretty fast.”

    “Side effect of being a dragon,” I smile.  “And that’s why I want to be careful moving forward.”

    Easton nodded, seeming to get lost in his thoughts for a moment.  He lowered his eyes, avoiding eye contact with me while a small blush formed on his cheeks.  “But I want the other males to know you’re mine.”

    I smiled softly at the small growl that escaped him.  “So you want to mark each other but not mate—yet?”

    He nodded hesitantly at me, cheeks slightly red still as he finally raised his eyes up to me.  I’ve always known that males are more possessive and aggressive when it comes to their mates, I just never knew what it would feel like to have those energies directed towards me. 

    “Okay,” I whisper, and in a flash our positions are reversed with me on my back and Easton settled between my legs.  I wanted to blush at the compromising position, but the heat in Easton’s eyes stopped any insecurities from arising.  Easton peppered kisses along my jaw, rising up to my cheek, pecking my nose, before moving his assault to my neck, right above the spot where his mark would soon lay.  He nipped and sucked at the spot, causing my breaths to become harsher and come in short bursts.  “Easton,” I groaned, frustrated and flustered by his assault.

    In one swift movement, Easton’s fangs were extended and he bit down into my soft flesh.  At first, there was a flash of pain from the bite, but after a moment the pain was replaced with pleasure as the bond took to the mark.  Easton’s tongue cleaned up any blood from the bite and he pushed back to see me clearly.  I smirked before flipping us back over so that Easton was laying flat on the ground and I was straddling his hips. 

    Easton’s eyes widened at the sudden switch, but soon darkened as I mimicked his movements as I kissed my way down to his neck.  Instead of wasting time, my own fangs extended and I marked my mate.  We both sighed as we felt the bond become that much stronger since meeting.  After fully marking each other, we stayed under the stars, gazing up at the universe as we hoped for a better future for us.