Soul Scorched

She nodded.

 

Warrick smiled and looked up at the ceiling. His greatest fear was that she didn’t love him. Now that he knew she did, the hardest part was over.

 

“That’s good news, since I love you.”

 

She jerked out of his arms to stand against the far wall of the shower. Her brow was puckered as she stared at him. “What?”

 

“I love you,” he said slowly, wondering if he had said it wrong.

 

Darcy shook her head. “No. That can’t be. You’re a Dragon King. You’re not supposed to love me. I’m the one that started all of this crap by unbinding Ulrik’s magic. I’m to blame.”

 

“We’re all to blame.” Warrick reached for her, nonplussed when she batted his hand away.

 

She shook her head. “You might forgive me, but the others won’t. And I can’t forgive myself. I released evil, Warrick. I can’t even light a candle,” she said and snapped her fingers.

 

Warrick glanced at the candles on the windowsill and saw all of them flicker for a moment, but none of them remained lit.

 

“Everyone makes mistakes,” he told her. “You can help us stop Ulrik. With your knowledge of him and his memories, we can beat him.”

 

She dropped her head to his chest.

 

Warrick kept her under the hot water because he didn’t want her getting ill. “You asked me earlier why I was with you. I couldna tell you then that you were my mate. I’ve been denying it. I never wanted a mate. Until you.”

 

“So you have no choice,” came her muffled reply.

 

Warrick chuckled and lifted her chin so that she was looking at him. “I have a choice, Darcy. I didna have to tell you that I loved you. I didna have to tell you that I know you’re my mate, but I did. I told you because I want you in my life.”

 

“You’ve no idea how hard this will be, Warrick. What the others will do to us and how they will treat you.”

 

“You’ll be a part of Dreagan,” he told her. “Besides, I already had a little talk with the Kings.”

 

She blinked. “You did?”

 

“Of course. I willna stand for my woman to be treated badly.”

 

Darcy licked her lips, her chest rising as she took in a deep breath.

 

“Make up your mind, because I doona know how much longer I can stand here without taking you,” he said as he looked down at her breasts. Water was running to the tip of her nipples before falling down. It was driving him mad with lust.

 

Her smile was slow, but grew quickly. “Is that right?”

 

“Aye,” he said and brought her close enough to feel his hard cock.

 

“Impressive.” Her smiled died. “What if you regret it? We haven’t spent that much time together.”

 

“No one says we have to do the ceremony immediately. What about next week?” he teased.

 

That had her laughing. “Smart ass.”

 

“Laith and Iona have no’ done the ceremony either. I’d do it right this minute if I could so that I didna have to worry about Ulrik attacking you again, but I’d rather wait so you know for sure. There’s no divorcing a Dragon King, Darcy. Once we’re mated, we’re mated for eternity.”

 

“I know,” she said with a nod. “I don’t see any children around. Is it forbidden?”

 

Warrick turned her so that her back was against the wall. “It’s no’ forbidden. Unfortunately, a mortal can no’ carry a child from us to term. Most miscarry early in the pregnancy. A few have delivered babies, but they were all stillborn.”

 

“Oh.”

 

“Did you want children?”

 

Darcy shrugged. “I hadn’t thought about it. I always figured it would come after I got married, but since I never expected to find someone I would want to spend my life with, I never saw myself with children.” She swallowed and rose up on her toes to wrap her arms around his neck. “The answer is yes, Warrick.”

 

He didn’t let out a whoop, because he saw that she wasn’t finished talking.

 

“However, if you don’t mind, I’d rather take it slow. I want to give each of us time to figure out if this will work. I want you to make sure you can love a woman who might have begun the downfall of your race. And I need to come to grips with the fact that I’m in love with a Dragon King.”

 

“I’ll give you as much time as you want. Just tell me you love me again,” Warrick said as he nuzzled her neck.

 

Her hands smoothed over his back. “I love you, Warrick. I love you, I love you, I love you.”

 

“You’re mine,” he whispered right before he took her mouth in a savage kiss.

 

 

 

 

 

EPILOGUE

 

Two weeks later …

 

“Admit it,” Warrick pressed.

 

Darcy rolled her eyes as they crossed the bridge to get to the Isle of Skye.

 

“Come on. You said if everyone treated you as if nothing happened that you would admit you were wrong,” Warrick said as he glanced at her while he drove.

 

She laughed and threw up her hands. “All right. I admit it. You were right.”

 

“Exactly,” he said with a satisfied smile. “Then again, it might have helped that we spent an entire week at the cottage.”