“Well, what if it is a deal breaker?” she asked, raising an eyebrow at him but unable to keep from smiling.
“Well, then you’re too late,” he retorted, coming up to give her a kiss on the forehead. “You’re stuck with me.”
“I know. And I couldn’t be happier,” she said, wrapping her arms around his midsection and nuzzling into him. A second later, she perked her head, though, as if remembering something. “Oh, the mate mark, where is it?” she asked, looking over her body.
Oh yeah, he almost forgot about that.
“You’ll just have to see for yourself,” he said, though he was curious to see it too, since he hadn’t really thought it out. The tiger in him just took over that part.
Sofia looked down at her leg with a little gasp as she found it. Kel peered down as well and saw a small tiger’s eye right above the bump of her ankle, which made him think of the color of his tiger.
Damn, what had his tiger been thinking?
He was about to groan in humiliation when he heard Sofia’s exclamation.
“Wow, that’s really cool,” she said.
“I guess my tiger was trying to make a statement about always having its eye on you or something stupid,” Kel mumbled, going back to making pancakes before his mate changed her mind about being his mate. But he was interrupted by arms being thrown around him from behind.
“Where are you going, big guy?” she said, holding him tight.
“Going to die. Of embarrassment,” he replied.
“Stop it, Kel. It’s sweet, because you’ve always seen me differently from anyone else. I love it. And more importantly, I love you. I always will, honey,” she said, her soft, warm body against his like heaven.
He turned around and wrapped his arms around her. “And I love you, too, Sofia. Thank you for making me the luckiest tiger on the planet.”
“And making me the luckiest jaguar on the planet, though I guess that’s a given,” she said cheerily.
Kel returned to making pancakes, and the two of them spent the evening eating, watching TV, sharing stories from their childhoods, and then topping the day off with a repeat of the heated passion from earlier. And all throughout, Kel couldn’t help but wonder what had brought them together and given them more happiness in three days than either had been given their entire lives.
He supposed he’d just have to blame destiny.
Epilogue
Three months later
Kel was apprehensive as he walked up the front walk to the dragon’s mansion with Sofia on his arm. He’d been here more often lately, but he still felt a little off about it every time. He just had such mixed emotions about the place and what had happened here.
Or maybe he was just feeling extra protective, now that his mate was pregnant. Yeah, that was probably it.
Sofia was practically glowing, despite the morning sickness she’d had, and was now about 12 weeks along with their cub. Tiger or Jaguar, Kel would love it no matter what. Sofia was wearing a blue jacket and her curls lifted gently in the breeze as they waited for the door to open.
Kel’s breath caught at her beauty. He didn’t know how she seemed to keep getting more beautiful to him every day, despite already being the most beautiful woman he’d met from the start.
Finally, the lock on the door clicked and swung open, and Perry opened the door, looking dressed up in slacks and a white button up shirt, but no tie. He wore reading glasses over his silver eyes and his hair was pulled back in a braid. Kel didn’t know how he dealt with having such long hair all the time, but he suspected the dragon had a vain spot about it.
“Rude,” Perry said, reading his thoughts as he led them inside.
“Whoops,” Kel said, as Sofia hit his arm playfully. “So what are we doing here? I got your text, but—”
He stopped talking as he saw Tor waiting just inside, also in slacks and a white button up shirt, leaning on a table in the entry way. Beside him were Kel’s brothers, Jace and Carter, and their mates.
Jace and Carter both had dark hair, but Jace’s was longer and more unruly, and he had piercing orange eyes. Carter on the other hand had green eyes and very short, dark hair. They were built similarly, but Jace still dressed in all leather like he had as a bounty hunter and Carter looked very much like a detective, always in a suit. Both of his brothers seemed to be glowing with happiness as they stood there with their arms around their mates.
Kel had to admit things had worked out pretty well for them. Far better than he could have imagined when they were younger. Carter walked forward and pulled Kel into a hug and then hugged Sofia, and his mate Amy came to do the same, followed by Jace and his mate Amber.
Carter and Amy were partners in the police, and Jace had met Amber when she’d been kidnapped by a bounty he’d been collecting.
It was interesting that somehow their jobs had all played a part in finding their mates. But as introductions finished, and Kel wrapped his mate’s hand in his own, he was just glad it had all worked out.
“Shall we adjourn to the dining room?” Perry asked, waving a hand.
The brothers looked at each other curiously, none of them knowing why they were there, but followed the dragons anyway.
Kel and Tor sat at the head of the table, and the tigers and their mates spread out down the sides. The table was too big for the amount that was gathered, but that was usual. Looking around, Kel realized how lonely the huge house must be, despite its luxury.
He noticed for the first time that Tor’s hair was actually done, combed to the side so that his handsome face was more striking, his blue eyes thoughtful. Perry also looked well.
What was going on?
Perry called for dinner to be served, and still didn’t tell them why they were there, even as multiple courses went by. So Kel just relaxed and enjoyed the company of his mate, his brothers and the dragons who he had gotten along much better with ever since meeting Sofia.
For the first time in his life, it really felt like he had a complete family, and hadn’t lost out on anything.
When dinner was wrapping up, Perry called for wine to be served with dessert, but then his eyes flicked to Sofia and he waved it away, calling for sparkling cider instead.
Kel had told his brothers about the pregnancy, but not the dragons yet. His brother’s mates were all pregnant as well, so presumably tigers had pretty strong reproductive capacity. His eyes narrowed.
Was this why the dragons wanted them here?
“Before Kel gets any more paranoid thoughts, we should probably explain why we invited you here,” Perry said, with a nod from Tor. “Not that the pleasure of your company wasn’t enough, but we did have a purpose.”
“Of course,” Jace mused, his arm around his very pregnant mate. Kel suspected there were twins in there, but he kept it to himself. He figured remarking on the size of a pregnant woman could never go well.
Sofia’s hand squeezed his and he squeezed it back. Three times, to signal ‘I love you’.
Then they waited.
Perry stood and paced at the head of the table, arms behind his back. “Now that the three of you are settled, with wonderful women at your sides, Tor and I face a bit of a conundrum,” he said, looking down at them with sparkling gray eyes. “Not that we aren’t happy for you, but we have more work than before, and we also have the issue of looking for a mate to deal with.”
Kel’s eyes opened in shock and he darted glances around at his brothers. Did any of them know how dragons really found mates?
“It’s quite hard to find the mate of a dragon pair,” Perry said. “And we haven’t been in any rush, due to wanting things to calm down first. But now that those in our charge are taken care of, it seems to be the right time.”
Tor nodded again, looking stern.
Shouldn’t either of them look more excited about this whole dating thing? Then again, if this was the first time they’d looked, despite being around a couple hundred years, they were probably bound to be rusty.
Carter’s hand closed protectively around his mate, as if he was anticipating the dragons asking them to do something dangerous. “I’m afraid it’s not a good time to help with more dragon work,” Carter said. “Not with the state our mates our in.”
Tor laughed and Perry shook his head. “No, you don’t understand. We can find help with dragon work, and we can do more of it ourselves. No, what we need is your help looking out for something called a dragon heart.”
“A what?” Jace spat. “A who?”
Tor folded his arms. “We can’t mate with just anyone. Only a human who displays extreme, sacrificial bravery. So keep your eyes on the news. And let us know if you see anything.”
Carter grinned. “So you want us to set you up.”
“No,” Perry snapped. “But we’d be willing to pay highly for any info you find. One million dollars to any of you who can find us a mate.”
Jace laughed and Kel nearly dropped the pistachio he was cracking. Then he looked at the dragons in disbelief. “No offense, Per, but I’m not sure a million dollars is worth it,” he teased.
Perry looked confused, but Tor just gave Kel a glare to tell him to cut it out.
Carter sat back in his chair, still looking shocked. “But why now? I still don’t get it.”
Perry sat back down and rested his elbows on the table, looking pensive. “Things are getting out of control in our world. If we find the right mate, a dragon heart, then when we mate her, she’ll gain one of the dragon powers. It’s essentially almost like having another dragon.”
Kel sighed. “So some poor woman you can use to be stronger?” He pulled a pistachio from his pocket. “Should have figured that was it.”
Tor stood indignantly but Perry pulled him back down. “So, what do you all think? It shouldn’t be dangerous work, finding someone brave, bringing them in for an interview. And it should free up our time to work on catching criminals, now that you three are all too busy being lovey dovey to do so.”
Carter barked out a laugh and Amy sat forward, tucking her hair behind her ears. “Perhaps this is something that we as mates could do?” she asked, looking at Sofia and then at Amber.
Amber nodded, pursing her lips. “I think so. But wait, are you two partners?” she asked, pointing at Perry and Tor.
Tor sputtered and Perry just grinned. “Only in work. When we mate, we focus entirely on the woman. Become one in pleasing her. Dragons do…everything together.”
Amber’s jaw dropped. “Um. Okay. That’s hot.” Jace raised an eyebrow, and she put up her hands. “Not for me, just in general I mean.” She leaned against his shoulder. “You’re more than enough for me.”
Amy tilted her head thoughtfully. “I think we can do this. I don’t mind helping. The dragons called backup for us, after all.”
Sofia spoke up from beside him. “They did a lot for us as well.” Kel wanted to protest, not wanting to give his mate any work, but she held up a hand, silencing him. “Stop it. I’m pregnant, not disabled. A little bit of internet searching or watching the news won’t hurt me.”
Kel grumbled but let it go. When Sofia put her mind to something, she did it.
He supposed he and his brothers should just be grateful that they all found such caring, kind mates.
“So that’s it then,” Perry said, standing and raising a glass for them to toast. “We’ll all work together?”
The others raised their glasses, grinning at one another. “Together.”
Then they drank, talked, and had an amazing evening together.
Later, after they’d said their goodbyes and left, Kel walked out onto the grounds with Sofia. His brothers were ahead of him, disappearing into the night toward their cars, and the night was lit with moonlight.
Sofia turned to him and he lifted her up against him for a kiss, loving the quiet stillness of the night.
When he let her go, she was breathless. He loved that he could do that to her. She put a hand up to run it through his hair. He sighed at the feel of it, and then started thinking of all the things he could do to her when they got home.
She wound her arms around his waist as they started to walk again. “I think it’ll be good to help them,” she said. “I think it’s nice to try and give them the happiness we have.”
He pulled her close, making her laugh. “Well, I don’t know that they can shoot that high, I mean, we’re pretty unbelievably happy.”
“Yeah,” she said. “But it’s not a competition.”
“True,” he growled. “But I won, if it was.”
She giggled and put her arm through his. “Only if I won too.”
“Fair enough.” He reached into his pocket and she heard the rustle of nut shells.
“I was meaning to ask you, and I keep forgetting. What’s the story with the pistachios?”
“Oh that?” he asked. “Just a calorie thing. I always needed to eat more than my brothers, because of my size and muscle or whatever. So I got in the habit of carrying them around. Plus it’s something to do with my hands.”
“Ah,” she said.
He opened the door to their car and helped her in, and then came around the other side. “You know, I don’t find myself doing it that much anymore though.” He winked as he started the car and waited for her to buckle up. “I’ve found better things to do with my hands.”
She blushed and looked ahead at the road. “In that case, we better get home as soon as possible.”
He threw back his head in a hearty laugh and then pulled out onto the drive.
He was one lucky tiger.
* * *
* * *
Thanks so much for reading Kel and Sofia’s story! If you liked it, please consider leaving me a review, it really helps me as an author and keeps me going! Let me know if you’re wanting Tor and Perry’s book as well! I love to hear what fans want next!
If you didn’t read Jace or Carter’s story, you can get them here:
A Tiger’s Bounty
A Tiger’s Treasure
If I get enough readers asking for Perry and Tor, then we might have some more dragons soon!
The dragon world is a little different, and after some feedback from fans, I decided to do something special and include a FREE BONUS book at the back of this one, to remind readers of how things work in the dragon world!
Then you can know everything you need to know about my dragons before the next book comes out!
Turn over to enjoy your free copy of Double Dragons!
Bonus Book: Double Dragons
They're hot as fire, and if you mess with their mate, you're bound to get burned.
Draven and Ran are dragon shifters, the fire-breathing enforcers of the shifter world. The ones they call when things go wrong. Strong, sexy and wealthy, the only thing the two partners are missing is a mate to share it all with. But that's tricky in the dragon world and after years of searching, the dragons have basically given up. That is, until a sexy, reckless human librarian lands in their path during a mission.
Melissa knows she would have been in hot water had the two handsome, powerful and mysterious men not showed up to save her butt from a group of violent men. Still, when her rescuers take her back to their New York loft, she's confronted by a mystery she never expected. Dragons and other shapeshifting creatures exist. And these dragons are definitely hotblooded.
But as the sexy dragons show Melissa all the perks of being their mate, Melissa is also uncovering the dangerous secrets of the dragon world. If she isn't willing to risk everything, their chances at a happily ever after might just go up in flames.
Warning: Double Dragons is a standalone novel with no cliffhangers and two sexy, stubborn dragons who might just light your fire. However, it also contains adult-level sexiness and some intense action scenes and is meant for mature readers only. Enjoy!
Turn over to read the complete book, free with your copy!
Chapter 1
“Just put her in the bag.”
The frightening
words jolted Melissa Jones out of the book she was reading.
Just who was trying to put whom in a bag?
The library was eerily dark all around her. She’d stayed late, reading, as she often did after work, because she tended to get caught up in books and because there was no one waiting at home for her.
Being assistant librarian with a key to all the books in the world was truly the perfect job.
Until a bunch of thugs had to come along and ruin it.
Her heart pounded as she plastered herself to the wall and risked a look out the side window.
A large group of the some of the biggest, meanest-looking men she’d ever seen was partially blocking the window. As she moved to the other side to get a better look, she realized there were at least a dozen. All angry, all fierce. All twice her size or more.
And they were looking down at something in the center that she couldn’t make out. Something that was whimpering in a heart-wrenching way. They’d said words like “kidnapping,” “slavery,” and “valuable.” And the growls and mewls she heard seemed to be coming from a human child—girl, she thought, though she couldn’t see properly.
Human traffickers. And even though she was woefully unequipped to take them on, she would sooner cut out her own heart than walk away without trying to stop them. No child deserved something like this. No human for that matter.
Melissa took a deep breath and considered her options.
At 5’4” with an amply curvaceous figure and no athletic ability to speak of, she knew she wasn’t the best option for a hero. But she also knew with the slow response of police in the little town, the group could be gone and untraceable by the time they arrived.
She heard another yelp from outside and felt her heart thump hard inside her.
Despite her fear, her heart hammered in approval as she walked stubbornly to the door and opened it wide, drawing the men’s attention to her instead of their prey.
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