last of his beer then stared at the crowd. A small voice in the audience said something, and the old man jumped up from his seat. “What ‘appened to the treasure, ye ask? What ‘appened to the treasure?” His arms lifted into the air, and he took a dramatic pause before leaning forward and stage whispering, “Nobody knows.”
“Treasure hunters have been scouting this island for hundreds of years, only finding a gold coin here and there. It disappeared. Poof. Gone. Some say the volcano ate it. Sucked it up so no one would ever find it. Some say dragons carried it away to their coffers.” He shrugged.
The pirate smiled, showing missing teeth. “Dragons, you say? Oh, yes. What’s a treasure without a dragon nearby? But that, maties, is another story for another day.” He folded his chair and TV tray and walked back through the crowd to disappear in the night.
Ash scrambled to his feet, lifting his mate also, giving a standing ovation. She looked astonished.
“That was amazing,” she gushed. “Is the story real?”
Good question. “Some of it is. You could say this was inspired by a true story.”
“So, there is a treasure?” Her jaw hung open in disbelief.
He snuggled her to him and laughed. “The likelihood of there being treasure is about the same as dragons being here.” He winked at her. If she only knew. Which she would. He needed to talk to his beta about this. And maybe Isadora. The old woman seemed to know more about dragons than he did.
The couples and families around the bonfire gathered their things and headed back toward their resorts. Which left just them.
He rocked back on his heels, staring down at his loafers. “So, can I walk you home?” And stay the night in your bed and…Ash mentally growled at his dragon for putting that thought in his head. He’d gladly do that, but his mate was human and had to make that decision when she was ready. In the meantime, she wouldn’t be far from him.
Her shy smile set his heart thumping. “I’d like that.” He grabbed her hand in his, mixing their fingers around each other. “That was definitely fun,” she said. “Are there other plays?”
“No,” he replied, “but maybe that’s something you can take on.”
“Me?” She laughed. “I’m not the ‘get in front of people’ kind of person.” Her head tilted. “Well, usually. I did this thing for the animal shelter, but I try to avoid that as much as possible.”
He could understand that. Many people hated speaking to a room full of critics. “We don’t have much like that here, so you’re safe.” He winked again.
She smiled shyly again as they reached the back of her bungalow. The light above the door wasn’t on, which didn’t make him happy for her security, but it made him giddy with the thought of stealing a kiss with no one seeing.
“So, here we are,” he said, feeling as awkward as a teen on his first date. He hadn’t let go of her hand. He lifted it to his lips and watched her eyes light up. Goddess, she was so beautiful.
“Yes, here we are.” Her eyes lingered on his lips. That was all the confirmation he needed to swoop in and kiss her. Suddenly, he was devouring her. His tongue prying her lips apart. She moaned, a low throaty sound that tore him up inside.
She shuddered in his arms again, the sensation moving from her body to his. He deepened the kiss and trailed his hands up her body. His lips became more demanding as he backed her against the wall, taking all that he wanted. His tongue plunged farther into her mouth, trying to fully possess her whole being. He wanted her to feel exactly what he thought of her sexy, beautiful body.
He and his dragon could not get enough of this luscious woman. He would never get enough of her. He continued exploring her mouth, her lips, and stroking her tongue with his. She was their mate, now he just had to convince her of that fact.
Her arousal only made his mouth press harder, deeper, more demanding. She gave back to him with all the passion he desperately wanted and it only made it that much more difficult for him to control the dragon.
Finally, they broke apart.
“Holy wow,” she exclaimed. “I can honestly say that’s a first. I’ve never been kissed like that.”
“That’s because no one else was your mate.” He sucked in his breath when he realized