It was stupid, as she barely knew him, but she wanted to lay like this forever with Tristan’s weight and heat a comforting blanket. Despite being out in the open and completely exposed, she felt safer than she had in a long time. On an instinctual level she understood that her dragonman would protect both her and their child with his life.
She hugged him closer to her. They would have to uncouple, get dressed, and return to the main living community soon. But for right now, she wanted to pretend they were the only two people in the world. And that maybe, just maybe, she could have more of this, both the sex and the teasing, again in the future.
~~~
Tristan lay on top of Melanie and finally released the rein on his inner dragon. He expected the beast to demand they flip the human over and take her from behind, rough and hard like during the week of the mate claim frenzy when his dragon had been in charge. But to his surprise, the dragon merely stretched out and hummed in contentment at the feel of the female’s skin next to theirs.
Tristan resisted a frown. He’d had his fair share of women over the years, but never had his dragon been so calm and content after fucking a female in the “human way”. His dragon liked it rough, hard, and often. His inner beast’s new behavior had to be a result of his dragon’s nearly complete attachment to Melanie Hall.
He should be worried by that realization since fully attached dragons rarely looked for another female, even if the female the beast had grown attached to refused them. But on the contrary, Tristan’s human-half was starting to want her too. Partly because he thought she’d make a brilliant mother, but mainly because he couldn’t stand the thought of another male’s hands on her.
In that instant, he wanted to cradle her close against him and stroke her soft skin. He rolled over onto his back, taking Melanie with him until she lay against his chest, and he squeezed her tightly.
Our female. Keep her. Hold her tight.
Tristan was starting to agree more and more with his dragon.
He caressed up and down her back, taking the time to learn the dips and curves of her body. He had yet to kiss every inch of her skin, but he would.
His hand stilled for a second before he resumed stroking his human. Yes, he would have her naked and willing in his bed every night, if he had anything to say about it.
Melanie snuggled into his chest and said, “This is nice.”
He laid his cheek against her hair. “I would say it was better than ‘nice’.”
Melanie laughed, the sound making his dragon preen. They should make her do it again.
But instead of teasing her, he said what he really wanted to know, “Come live with me. I don’t want you living with Samira any longer. I will take care of you.”
She lifted her head and gave him an assessing look. “Is this your dragon, your dick, or your human-half talking?”
I like her, his dragon crooned.
Tristan agreed. “All three, little human.” He moved his hand to her arse and took a possessive grip on her right, squishy cheek. “You belong to me, and I want the entire clan to know it.”
She battled a smile. “I should be offended at ‘belonging’ to anyone, but somehow, I’m not adverse to the idea.”
He growled and slapped her arse. “So is that a yes?”
Before she could answer, his mobile phone started ringing and he growled. Fucking fantastic timing, that.
Since it could be Bram calling about his sister, he reluctantly rolled Melanie onto her back, sat up, and took his mobile phone from where he’d placed it inside his boot. He saw the call was from Ella, another Stonefire teacher, and frowned. While they sometimes took their classes together on trips, she had no real reason to call him.
Curious to see what she wanted, he clicked the receive button and said, “Hello?”
Ella’s voice was filled with worry when she answered, “Tristan, thank goodness I got a hold of you. One of the teenagers had a run in with the dragon hunters and we need your help.”
~~~
End Part Three
~~~
PART FOUR
Chapter One
At the ring of Tristan’s cell phone, Melanie just stopped herself from swearing out loud. She knew the sound meant the end of their little bubble of sex and teasing. Even if it was only a short call, it didn’t matter. Interacting with the other dragon-shifters might snap Tristan back into his grumpy self.
Her fear was only made worse when she heard him say, “Dragon hunters?
She stopped breathing, sat up, and listened with every cell in her body to Tristan’s side of the conversation. Would talking about the dragon hunters bring back his hatred of humans? Or, his initial hatred of her? After all, he’d been familiar with his hatred for far longer than he’d known her.