Total pages in book: 44
Estimated words: 41518 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 208(@200wpm)___ 166(@250wpm)___ 138(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 41518 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 208(@200wpm)___ 166(@250wpm)___ 138(@300wpm)
“You are so quiet, Little one. Are you okay?”
“Something’s happening to me. Inside.”
“You feel the heat building. Look at your hand.” He watched her lift her hand. Her eyes narrowed as she turned her hand to several angles before meeting his gaze with a surprised expression.
“What is this?” Ciel asked, waving her hand.
“It is the mate mark.”
“Mate mark? What’s that? It looks like a dragon,” she murmured, touching it with her fingertip.
The low moan that Argenis allowed to escape his lips brought her attention back to him. “You felt that?” Ciel tried it again.
Clenching his teeth, Argenis controlled his body’s reaction with the strength of his dragon. Wrapping his hand around her hand, he tugged her finger away. “Little one, you are testing my control.” He stroked a fingertip across the image to return the temptation.
“Oh. My. Goodness.” Her staccato words underlined the impact of his touch.
He gave her a few seconds to recover. When she could finally meet his gaze, Argenis kept himself from smiling. The heat between them was quite remarkable.
“That’s the mate heat. It will continue to grow until our union to prevent us from being stubborn and failing to heed its importance.”
“Union. Like sex?” she hissed at him.
“Our bond is eons long in the making. Dragons do not choose a partner casually, as humans do. We wait for our mate to appear. It is impossible to deny one’s fated mate.”
“Argenis, this is crazy. I can’t be your mate. I mean… Not that anything is wrong with you. You’re very handsome in both forms. But I never expected to meet a guy who’s a dragon.”
“You will need to be close to me.”
“I don’t understand what you are talking about, Argenis. Thank you for rescuing me and Silly. I’ll head home now so my mom doesn’t worry,” Ciel informed him.
“It was my pleasure, Little one.”
He watched her grab her suitcase handle and wheel it toward the corner. Her first couple of steps were at a quick pace. The next few were slower and more deliberate. Then Argenis watched her determination kicked in as she struggled to take another step.
When she looked over her shoulder, he could see the pain written on her face. Immediately, he started forward. “You’re hurting yourself, Ciel.”
“What is happening here?” she asked, on the brink of tears as he joined her.
Argenis gathered her into his arms and held her close. She melted against him. Enchanted, he pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “I am sorry you’re fighting this, Little one. I will do what I can to help you, but our bond cannot be broken even if I wanted it gone. Which I do not.” That final phrase he emphasized to make sure she understood.
“Why do you call me Little one? I mean, I know you’re bigger than me—especially in your dragon form.”
“The dragons that protect Wyvern are of a special breed. We take care of our mates completely. You could compare it to the Daddy Dom books you read.”
She reacted strongly to his guess. “How do you know what I read? Can you read my mind?”
“Not unless you allow me into your thoughts, Ciel. We’ll discuss that later.” She looked very skeptical about that idea, but he continued, “I do not believe the mate bond would occur if your desires did not mesh completely with mine.”
“You’re a Daddy?” she whispered.
“Not a Daddy. Your Daddy.”
Chapter 4
Staring at him, Ciel struggled to figure out what to say or do. She’d become fascinated by that type of relationship in the last year when she’d found the first book. Instantly enthralled by the dynamics of a Daddy Dom and his Little, she’d devoured all the books she could find and had done her research.
As if her eyes opened for the first time, Ciel started noticing small things about couples around her. Her chemistry professor and his teaching assistant. Could they be? The way the quarterback of the football team fastened his girlfriend’s seatbelt. Just control—or something else. Something more.
Her mind whirled inside her skull. Ciel could feel her head starting to hurt. She shook her head slightly, trying to fend it off.
“Stop thinking so hard, Ciel. We have a lifetime to figure everything out. You need water, food, and rest. The rest will wait. Okay?” he asked, with an expression that told her she didn’t have another choice.
He was right. She was completely exhausted and overwhelmed. “Thank you.” Ciel sagged against his strength.
“Come here, my Little Sky. Arms around my neck.”
“Sky?” she asked before laughing at herself. “Because of my name. Ciel means sky in French. Do dragons speak French?”
“I’ve picked up a few things over the years.” Argenis scooped her up in his arms and held her in place with one supporting arm as he grabbed her suitcase handle. “Tell me where your home is?”