The Platinum Dragon's Mate - Zoe Chant Page 0,40

Jeremiah.”

Sage sighed, turning away to stare out the window. “Father has a—a lot of influence on the clan,” she said. “He’s been our leader for over twenty years. Any of the other clan members would hesitate, facing him in battle. And he doesn’t hesitate.”

Reid came over to wrap his arms around her from behind. Gratefully, she held onto his hands with hers.

“It would be so hard to even convince everyone that a rebellion is a good idea, and I know not everyone would agree to join forces against him. Alaric, for example—I can’t imagine him agreeing to anything other than an honorable challenge, and there’s a reason Father’s ruled us for twenty years. He’s the best fighter by far. He just is.”

“Hmm,” Reid said, the sound vibrating through him and into her. “I see the problem.”

“We’re just not strong enough,” Sage said, feeling tears prick at her eyes. “Which is the whole problem! If we were a better, a more united clan, we could do this. But if we were a better and more united clan, we wouldn’t need to do this. It’s—a snake eating its own tail.”

“But why not tell Shiloh we’re mates, then?” Reid asked. “If that would strengthen the bond with Oak Ridge, and give you more reason to ask for help?”

“Oh,” Sage said. “He’s already afraid that you’re going to swoop in and absorb us. If he knew that both of the female members of our clan are now essentially part of Oak Ridge as well...” She shook her head. “I think he’d just panic. Maybe after he’s had some more time to think about it, he’ll be able to see the logic behind it. I’ll try tomorrow morning.”

“All right. I trust your judgment.”

Sage shivered again, but this time in pleasure at his words. She didn’t know why I trust your judgment hit her in such a primal, physical place, but it did.

Reid kissed the back of her neck. “Do you think he’ll come back tonight?”

Smiling slightly, Sage turned around in his arms. “No, I told him to talk to me tomorrow morning.”

Reid kissed her lips this time, soft and lovely. “So we can sleep together all night?”

That...had not been what Sage had been expecting him to ask. But the words seemed to fill her with light. She felt like she might be able to just float off the ground at any moment. “We can.”

The smile that spread over his face was almost blinding. Sage had to kiss him to keep from being overwhelmed.

Which turned out to be poor strategy, because he kissed her back with so much love, so much feeling, that she had to close her eyes and let herself be carried away.

Mates. It was more than she’d ever thought she’d have, and she was going to let it overwhelm her whenever it could. For as long as they were together.

***

Going to bed together was its own revelation. It had been so long since Sage had experienced the little intimacies of washing up, changing into pajamas, brushing teeth, all alongside another adult—a man, at that, with all of his masculine presence infringing on this space that had just been hers and her daughter’s for so long.

It made the house feel—cozy, instead of small. Safe instead of vulnerable. Homey, instead of dingy.

Sage had intended to ask Reid if he wanted to take advantage of having an actual bed and relative privacy, and maybe revisit a few of the things that they’d been exploring earlier, but more slowly this time...but somehow they both ended up in pajamas, and then under the covers, without the subject coming up. And then all she wanted was to snuggle up in his arms and actually, for once, relax.

The feeling of having strong arms around her as she drifted off to sleep was incomparable. And even better was the knowledge that this was her mate. She could feel him with more than her body—feel his fierce protectiveness, his joy at having her in his arms, his tenderness towards her as she curled up with him and closed her eyes.

Sage usually had to lie awake for a long time before she could fall asleep, thinking about everything that she’d done throughout the day and how she might’ve done it better, and everything that might happen tomorrow and how she could deal with it. But tonight, she closed her eyes and sleep carried her away within two minutes.

Her last thought was that whatever happened tomorrow, she knew that together, she and Reid would