by Chant, Zoe
Ginny inclined her head, even though she remained silent. But there was a warm smile on her face as she looked at Naomi.
For a moment, Naomi wondered whether they’d explore the gardens in silence—but then she shrugged inwardly. She’d been a quiet girl before she grew out of it as a teenager, and if there was one thing she’d inherited from her mom, it was the ability to make conversation for two. Anyway, it wasn’t as if roses demanded a lot of conversation to enjoy.
“I look forward to it, Ginny,” Naomi said brightly. “Sheriff Banner, I’m glad I got to meet you. Gregory told me so much about this town, but it’s better than anything I could’ve imagined. It’s a beautiful town!”
“A town you’d be happy to call home?” Aunt Jess asked slyly. “All the nursery needs is a touch of fresh paint, and—”
“Aunt Jess!” Gregory groaned and shook his head in amusement. “Please, we’ve only just arrived.”
“People these days don’t know how to court properly anymore,” the old woman sighed. “Fine, I’ll leave you to it, my boy. But I want you to know that if you don’t step up your game, my Ginny will just have to give her a tour of the house...”
Quietly laughing, Gregory shook his head in defeat. “I see I’m fighting a losing battle here.”
Naomi couldn’t hide her amusement. In a way, it was a relief to see Gregory teased by friends and family. He wasn’t just a powerful, intimidating dragon shifter—and he wasn’t at all the eccentric billionaire she’d thought would wait for her at the gallery.
Gregory was... Gregory was proud. And protective. And his eyes lit up with warmth at his friends’ teasing.
Gregory was the sort of man who’d unhesitatingly risk his own life for hers. And he was the sort of guy who’d patiently suffer through the town’s opinions on flower arrangements for the square, she had no doubt.
Deep within her, a different warmth began to kindle. How would he be with children?
Just as warm and patient, she thought, feeling an aching pull in her chest.
He’d be the sort of dad who’d be proud of every accomplishment, and who’d untiringly play hide and seek in those large corridors. He’d be the sort of dad who’d never forget to come and tuck a child in at night.
Was it weird that she knew all of these things? She’d never seen him hold a child. But now that this strange connection had been forged between their hearts, it was like she could see right to the bottom of him.
She didn’t quite understand how it worked. And it wasn’t like she could read his thoughts. But she could feel his patience, and the loving warmth that filled his heart. It came through the bond like a slow, steady river. There was an ocean of love at the heart of him, mixed with all the fierce protectiveness of his dragon.
It was a sexy combination. He was nothing at all like her previous boyfriends, but he was just right. He flooded her senses with a single look or touch—and she wouldn’t want it any different.
This was the freedom she’d thought lost to her forever. It didn’t mean running away from the shambles of her life, or starting over in a yoga retreat in the Himalaya. She could be free just settling down with him, making pancakes together in the morning and watching the stars at night from their patio—because he knew her. He understood her, right down to the secret places of her heart. It felt like he was the only one who’d ever truly seen her.
He made her feel like she truly was a dragon’s mate, wild and free—even when they were watching his aunt quarrel with the sheriff over small-town gardening prizes.
***
There was a lot to see in Mountain View. It took a while until they’d made it out of the town square—there were so many people eager to meet Naomi that by the end, she had a hard time keeping all those new faces and names and stories apart. Still, everyone she met had been quite obviously delighted to meet her. And not a single person had been taken aback to hear that Naomi wasn’t a shifter, and that she hadn’t even known they existed until she met Gregory.
It was all a bit overwhelming—but the good sort of overwhelming. It was the sort of friendly, quiet town where she’d always hoped to settle down one day. And if it also came with dragon and cheetah shifters, well, she’d learn to deal.
From what she’d seen so far, she was starting to believe that even a werewolf would make a far more polite and respectful neighbor than the awful neighbors in the apartment next door who’d kept waking her up with their shouting at 2am.
But there was more to Mountain View than just the town with its beautiful, small houses.
Once they left the road behind, Gregory showed her valleys full of wildflowers, a secret waterfall with a rainbow rising from the rushing water, and a pond hidden at the end of a deep gorge. The pond’s aquamarine water was so clear that she could look straight to the bottom, watching the fishes flit back and forth below.
Once they wandered back towards the road from the gorge, they saw a mountain lion with two cubs come racing over the rocks. Once the large cat spied them, it didn’t turn to hide. Instead it came forward, the cubs following as they circled Naomi and Gregory at full speed. The cubs made small, excited sounds—and then, as quickly as that, the small family of shifters raced off towards the pool.
Because that’s what this has to be, Naomi thought, unable to stop grinning as she looked at Gregory. A shifter parent taking the kids out for a run.
“I bet those kids will be tired tonight. No complaining about bedtimes,” she murmured.
If she and Gregory had kids—would they be dragons?
Perhaps the thought should scare her. But instead, it felt exciting. She couldn’t forget the rush of freedom she’d felt, flying on Gregory’s back. Any child of hers that was born to that same freedom would be a gift.
Dragon or not, she was sure that Gregory would love any child. And here in Mountain View, they’d have the sort of childhood she’d always hoped she’d be able to give a child.
Shifter or not, they’d be loved, and that was what mattered.
Chapter Twelve: Gregory
Gregory woke to Naomi’s arm slung across his chest, her breath warm and regular against his cheek. As he watched, her nose scrunched up a little. When he leaned forward to press a kiss to it, she made a tired sound; a second later, she’d settled back into sleep.
Silently, Gregory slipped from the bed without waking her.
It was still early; the sun had risen a while ago, but they’d stayed up late, having wine on the balcony that overlooked the town below—and then tiring each other out by making love until Naomi was trembling in his arms, her gorgeous body limp with pleasure and flushed all over.
He’d always been told that making love with his mate would feel better than anything he’d ever experienced—but nothing had prepared him for the actual experience of it.
Even now, a new jolt of hot, hard desire raced through him as he thought of the soft curve of Naomi’s breasts rising from the blanket she’d drawn around her, the dusky rose of the soft nipples he’d sucked to hard little peaks yesterday while Naomi had arched against him.
The thought was enough to make his body harden with need for her once more. Still, he was determined to wake Naomi with a cup of coffee and a tower of pancakes with butter and syrup and fruit.
But once they’d finished breakfast...
Gregory added another generous helping of syrup. Perhaps, if he was especially clumsy, they might just have to use the large bathtub to clean each other up...
***
They didn’t even make it into the bathtub.
As soon as the pancakes were gone, Gregory dipped his finger into the leftover maple syrup and teasingly held it up to Naomi’s lips. When Naomi laughed and leaned forward to catch the golden liquid with her mouth, he smirked and drew his finger back just in time.
As he watched, the syrup dripped from his finger, leaving a golden drizzle all over her gorgeous, soft skin, just barely missing a nipple that hadn’t yet hardened.
A soft gasp esc
aped Naomi when he leaned over her, tracing along the trail of syrup with his tongue.
“Mm, you taste so good,” he said roughly.
In response, Naomi giggled breathlessly. “That’s because you got maple syrup all over me,” she chided. “Come on, we should shower.”
“Wait,” he said, giving her a wicked grin as he took hold of her hips with his hands.
He held her pressed down into the bed as she giggled again. He could feel her delight coming through the mate bond.
With another smirk, he bent down and licked straight over a nipple. This time, it won him a soft moan.
“No syrup there,” she protested breathlessly. “Seriously, you got it all.”
“Are you sure?” He drew her nipple into his mouth once more, his fingers drawing up and down her sides. Her nipple was hard now, and he gently tormented the little bud with his tongue until she was squirming beneath him, her skin warm and flushed.
“Very sure,” she gasped, looking up at him with her hair adorably tousled and her eyes wide with pleasure.
“I think there’s some more here,” he teased, and then licked downward, releasing her nipple at last.
Naomi exhaled a trembling breath. He could feel her fingers in his hair, gently petting—and then he licked down even further south, and Naomi tensed.
Her fingers released his hair, grabbing hold of the sheet just in time before he’d reached her wet folds. As he licked slowly and teasingly at the hot, dripping skin, she arched against him with a desperate whimper.
“Gregory,” she moaned.
He laughed softly. “Hold still. Let me do this. Let me see you as you come apart. You’ve no idea how gorgeous you are.”
Her thighs spread wide for him. The scent of her desire was heady, rousing the dragon inside him. This was his mate, his treasure, his one and only. He wanted to give her pleasure until she was moaning his name continuously, until the bond between them was overflowing with her ecstasy.
Slowly, he slipped a finger inside her. She was so wet he could have easily added a second. Instead, he crooked it a little, gently sliding in and out while her thighs began to tremble against his shoulders.
More liquid was dripping from her, and her fingers were clenching around the sheets as she moaned his name.
She sounded completely overwhelmed—but Gregory wasn’t done yet.
Hungrily, he licked around the little pearl of her clit, laving it with attention while Naomi squirmed, tightening around his fingers.
Now, at last, he added a second finger, feeling her open for him easily. Her entire body was as taut as a bow as he kept sliding in and out, keeping the pressure focused on the spot that made her moan so deliriously.
Her skin was damp with perspiration. He could feel the pulse of her heart, a steady throb that came through the bond between them, filled with a need that threatened to overwhelm him.
Still he resisted. This wasn’t about him. His own need could wait. First—first he wanted to pleasure his mate until she fell apart at his touch, flooding the mate bond with her ecstasy.
“Gregory—please,” she gasped, arching towards him.
Gregory’s dragon spread his wings inside him, power, need and desire rushing through him with irresistible force.
He fastened his mouth over Naomi’s clit—and then he sucked, his fingers still stroking her, right there at the burning, innermost core of her.
Her orgasm rushed through them both like an explosion.
He could hear her cry out, her inner walls tightening around his fingers with pulse after pulse of pleasure. Through the bond, ecstasy flooded, a pleasure so strong that it almost hurt.
It came with the force of a hurricane, washing all thought away until the only thing left was the awareness of his mate: the heat of her skin, the honey-warm scent of her desire, the overwhelming love and pleasure that came rushing through the bond in wave after wave.
Dimly, he was still aware of his own, throbbing erection—but there’d be time for that later. They had all the time in the world now.
And for now, there was nothing more satisfying than to feel Naomi tremble in his arms, and know that it was he who’d made her feel this way.
***
They ended up in the bathtub after all, once they’d recovered a little.
In fact, bathing, tasting every last delicious inch of Naomi’s skin with his tongue, and finally giving his own need for her free rein took so much time that for the first time in his life, he was running late for his meeting with Sheriff Banner.
And by the little sniff and smirk the werewolf gave him, the sheriff knew what exactly had kept him so long. Although at least he had sense enough not to mention it.
“I’m here for business,” Gregory said firmly, before the sheriff could change his mind. “Let’s get this over with quickly. I’m officially not supposed to tell anyone yet, but I’ll be damned if I leave my own home in the dark about this threat. There’s a fire dragon on the loose, sheriff.”
The werewolf drew in a shocked breath. “Impossible. Aren’t they supposed to be extinct? Gone with the Middle Ages?”
“That’s what we’ve always thought,” Gregory said darkly. “Until just a few days ago, when a fire dragon appeared out of nowhere and kidnapped Naomi. He staked her out like bait—he’d obviously sensed that she was my mate.”
Banner’s expression immediately turned serious. “He wanted to draw you out.”
“He was waiting for me. He attacked, and I fought him. I needed to protect my mate.” Gregory grimaced. “I’m not proud to admit it, but I lost. He didn’t kill me though. He simply left.”
“Which means there’s a fire dragon still out there somewhere—with motives we don’t know. We only know that he seems to harbor a grudge against you.” The sheriff frowned. “Is it personal though? Or would he have attacked the first dragon he saw? Did he perhaps just move to the area and thought you were attacking his new territory?”
“We don’t know,” Gregory said. “But it felt... personal. Why attack my mate to get to me, but then don’t finish me off?”
Banner made a thoughtful sound. “Gone mad, perhaps? No offense, but we know how it is for dragons...”
“No. He seemed too focused for someone taken by madness.”
Gregory turned. They’d met in the room he’d claimed as his office, at least while he was spending time in Mountain View. The room offered a generous balcony—and through the large window, he could see the colorful roofs of the small town.
“Mountain View has always been the safest place I know,” Gregory continued quietly. “That’s why I’m telling you. There’s no need to panic yet—but I want you to know. So you can be prepared. If he’s still after me and Naomi...”
The werewolf nodded slowly. “I’ll try to get us prepared, boss. I won’t tell everyone—we don’t need a panic. But I’ll have a few of the dogs and lions be more watchful—and the birds. Perhaps just regularly scheduled flights around the mountain tops, so we’ll have an early warning if anything approaches?”
Gregory gave the sheriff a relieved sigh. “I knew I could rely on you, Banner. Regular patrols sound very sensible. And if you catch a whiff of just the smallest things that seems out of the ordinary—”
“I’ll let you know straight away, boss.” The werewolf gave him a toothy grin. “Wouldn’t want to fight a dragon on my own.”
“Earth and Water are hunting for him,” Gregory said. “The griffin joined them, too. But I couldn’t—not with Naomi needing me.”
“As it should be,” the werewolf growled. “You’re a good man, boss, but your place is here, with your pack. Sorry—your clan.”
“I hope we’ll have a real clan here soon enough,” Gregory murmured, imagining the small wings of a young dragonet reflecting the rays of the sun as they chased each other around the pool. “I know I’ve been gone a lot, sheriff—but I think I’ve come home at last. This time I’ll stay.”
The werewolf’s grin widened. “Glad to
hear it—not only because it’ll make my job easier to have the dragon himself back home. But it’ll do you good to settle down. And the town’s already in a mad fever about the alpha ceremony.”
Gregory sighed, although he couldn’t help the smile tugging at his lips. He’d never been big on ceremony himself—but the people of Mountain View had always prided themselves on their little fairs and festivals.
And in truth, he was curious to see what they’d come up with. Also, this time it wouldn’t just be him opening the spring fair—this time, it would be Naomi by his side for the alpha ceremony. And she deserved to have the best his town could come up with. He wanted her dazzled and breathless with joy. He wanted her to love Mountain View as much as he did.
He wanted it to be a home, a real home, for both of them.
Gregory turned to firmly clasp the werewolf’s hand. They’d stepped out onto the balcony. It was around noon; the sun stood high in the sky, which was cloudless and blue. It promised to be a gorgeous day—the sort of day that should be spent playing in the hidden pool, and then coming back to the mansion, exploring the garden until they found a sunny spot for a picnic outdoors.
“Thanks for all your help, sheriff,” Gregory said firmly. “I appreciate it. And if anything—”
He broke off. From the corner of his eye, he could see the werewolf tilt his head in puzzlement, the sheriff’s hand still held in his own.
A second later, the tiny black spot in the sky that had caught Gregory’s attention continued to grow in size. Simultaneously, Gregory felt a familiar presence brushing against his dragon’s senses.
“A griffin,” the sheriff said next to him when his sharp eyes finally could make out what Gregory had seen moments earlier.
“It’s Jared,” Gregory agreed. “But why’s he here?”
Tense, they both waited until they could hear the roar of the giant eagle’s wings beating the sky. A heartbeat later, the majestic griffin had shifted in the air, Jared’s human body landing next to them on the balcony with a thump.