Beaufort Creek Shifters (10 book series)
The Dragon’s Pretend Marriage Chapter 16

Brandi

I had to admit that seeing Milton kneel in front of me was satisfying.

Sitting in the middle of a clearing with a pond at my back and the trees surrounding me had me feeling like a goddess. Milton was a lonely creature from town trying to offer me a gift. And not just any gift.

A ring.

The gold band caught the fading rays of the sun, winking at me. A red gem no bigger than someone's pupil sat on top. It too caught the glittering rays that shone around us. Something about its simplicity made me pause. It was so pretty. It was so small. It was unlike anything Milton owned.

I studied the ring. "Tell me about it."

"This?" He held it out to me. "It was my grandmother's."

"Yeah?"

He looked me up and down. While I was naked, I didn't feel any shame in my natural body. I was at ease in the woods. I knew he wasn't checking me out. He was just trying to find a focal point.

He lowered his hand and then started picking at his thumbnail.

"You'll ruin the nail bed," I warned. "What will your manicurist think of you?"

He chuckled and shook his head, reminding me of our last limo ride.

My features sank. That had been so embarrassing.

Milton smiled weakly. "She was a darling woman."

"Yeah?"

"Mm-hmm. She had an eye for gold. But rubies?" He huffed with amusement. "Those were the stars of her eye."

The way he spoke of her made me smile.

"She didn't like being away from me. But..." He shrugged. "She didn't get along with my mother. They never resolved anything before she passed away."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

He scooted toward me. "It's not your fault. She was supposed to live for a long time. But she had a complication."

"What was the complication?"

"Her mate died."

Those words were a spear that landed in my heart.

Was he serious?

Was that something that could happen?

Thousands of inquiries exploded in my soul at once. "Blake's mother..."

He frowned. "No, I think wolves are usually fine. They can live without each other." He scratched his head. "It's the madness..."

"Madness?"

"It makes us sick."

I glanced at the soil between us. Rich black earth sprouted blades of emerald green. The urge to shuck my fingers through them was strong. But Milton had a much stronger hold on me.

I took a shaky breath. "You're saying she died of a broken heart. Is that it?"

"Something like that." He held the ring back up. "She left a box of stuff. I got the feeling you would like this."

"No greater story than giving me a family heirloom."

He chuckled lightly. "My mother hated the ring. But maybe if she saw it on you, then..." He squinted at the ground. "Sorry, I don't mean to make it sound like that. It's just that my mother really likes you."

"I don't think anyone's parents have ever liked me."

He grinned. "Well, you can have mine."

The gesture was sweet. The story, too. Everything about what he was doing made my heart open up. The vise eased. I was able to ground back into my skin. My stomach wasn't flipping.

At least, not too hard.

Still, something didn't make sense.

"Why did you change your mind?" I asked.

Milton blinked a few times. It almost looked like his brain had short-circuited. He lowered the ring and then held it with both hands, exposing it to as much light as possible. The way it sang to me was otherworldly-much like the way I felt about him. I basically told him that I love him, I thought. Do I mean that?

He scooted closer. "This last day without you has been total hell."

"You don't mean that."

"I do, Brandi. I really do. I missed an important meeting."

I chuckled. "A meeting, seriously?"

"I never miss meetings. I never miss calls or emails." He kept scooting until our knees touched. The abrupt contact shocked my system. "I never miss a damn detail of anything. When you're around, I'm my best dragon self."

I gazed into his eyes like I hadn't seen him in ages. "I don't believe you."

"If you don't believe me when I say it," he whispered, leaning dangerously close, "then, pay attention to how it feels."

Protests formed on my lips. A litany of excuses burst forth, fighting at once to make an appearance in the air. My hand flew between us to touch his chest, to stop him.

But I didn't stop him.

I grabbed the back of his neck and yanked him into me. Our lips crashed together in a joyous collision that inspired us both to moan. Our lips vibrated with the utterance as the tinder of lust inside me exploded to life. Flames consumed me, a fierce passion that coaxed me to yank him to the ground.

Pay attention to how it feels.

We were magnetic. We were totally magnificent.

His hands floated over my skin, brushing away every hurtful feeling he had inspired. His lips cleaned away his mocking laughter. His body healed me of the judgment he had cast in my direction.

A hunger grew in my belly, one that I knew couldn't be sated unless we sealed our fate.

Together.

He nuzzled my earlobe and then sank to my neck. I raised my knees to my chest as he drifted south, grazing my collarbone as he passed it. Wet lips sank to my right nipple, coaxing it to stand at attention. While he massaged my thighs, I unbuttoned his pants, plucking his c**k from his jeans without a second thought.

He licked my n****e.

I arched into him, begging him to give me more. As I angled him toward my entrance, he rose to peck my lips, broken groans signaling his desire for me.

"How does that feel?" he posed with a mischievous grin. "Do you believe me now, moonbeam?"

I shucked his jeans to his knees. "Not yet."

"Then I'll make you believe me."

Beautiful agony took over when he pierced me. He sank to my breasts again, lapping my nipple with long strokes that left me weak. As he reared back, he switched to my other n****e, giving it ample attention.

Pressure ballooned in my center. My limbs loosened and tightened at once, a confusing medley of reactions forcing me to dig my nails into his shoulders. Somehow, the way my eyes disappeared made sense. And yet it didn't.

A sharp buck plunged him deeper. My soul practically sang with the movement, nerves so raw from being without his touch that having it made me feel like I was exploding to pieces. I pried open my eyes. I gazed up at him as surrender swelled in my chest, amplifying every sensation that zapped my body.

Greek fire sat in his eyes. In the center was my reflection, my mouth wide from pure pleasure and my eyes drunk with lust. He held my gaze with a commanding energy that made me feel safe, warm, beholden.

All the things I had always wanted.

All the things that he made me feel.

The way I responded to his influence was because we belonged together. It wasn't a matter of skill. It was a matter of fate.

True fate-that would bind us forever.

With my heart fluttering and my head spinning, I arched my hips to meet his thrusts, eager to have more of him inside me. He cupped my hips as he leaned back and rolled into me with slow, urgent pumps that threatened to annihilate my understanding of reality. He had a c**k that could make me drool. And the way he used it destroyed my ability to think.

Sensations were the only thing that mattered at this point. It wasn't even about the pleasure anymore. It was just about the way he made me feel.

And right now, he made me feel like I was the only one left in the world for him.

Was it true? Would he say it?

I should say it.

My inner wolf alarmed me. She was brash and drastic at times, and impulsive at others. But this wasn't some hookup from the bar. This was my mate. This was the man who was tied to my soul.

"I love you," I croaked. "I really do."

Compassion split his features. He held equal parts fear and devotion. As he bowed over me, he thrust faster, widening my legs so I could take more of him. Sweat dotted his brows. His mouth slacked open, eyelids weighing heavy with desire.

"I love you too, moonbeam."

Everything blurred as I tilted my head back. My throat burned when he buried himself into it, twin pins of pain radiating through my trachea. Light assaulted my vision as my body convulsed, a chorus of bliss ripping me open.

I must have had three orgasms back to back.

It took me a few minutes to come down. I couldn't see much, but I could sense Milton, his warmth a comfort that kept me steady as he pierced me sweetly. Within seconds, he went rigid and unloaded inside me, stealing my lips with a bruising kiss. And then, he collapsed.

Our hearts raced as one. Our breathing synchronized. Our gasps for air seemed to align, inspired by one another.

Or so it seemed.

Milton lifted his head. "So?"

"So?"

"How do you feel?"

I smiled lazily up at him. "Like a million bucks."

"Brandi, that's not what I mean."

"What do you mean?"

The ring appeared. I had nearly forgotten about it during my haze to become one with him. And it made sense. And it didn't make sense.

And it didn't matter.

I smiled while taking the ring. "Yeah, I guess I feel fine about this."

"Brandi, really?"

I cackled. "Come on, you deserve that after the way you left me hanging."

"I'll admit I left you hanging."

"And that you deserve it?"

He groaned. But there was no denying the smile on his lips. "Maybe."

"Admit it."

"What if I don't?"

I hummed while rolling out from beneath him. As I wandered to the pond, I heard him release a dramatic gasp. I chuckled as I slid the ring over my left ring finger. It looked lovely in the light of dusk. I couldn't wait to see what it looked like in the morning. And midday. And at night.

For the rest of my life.

Cool water greeted my feet. I waded into the pond, relaxing in the soothing water as Milton inched his way toward me. Ripples echoed from where he stepped. His calves disappeared and then his thighs, his hips, his waist. His deviant smile lit me aflame all over again, revving an engine that simply wouldn't quit.

"If you don't," I teased, "I'll tell everyone about how you begged for me to come back. On your knees."

He blanched. "Alright, don't get carried away, moonbeam."

"There's one way you can fix that."

"Fine. I deserved it. Your ire is justified, sweet goddess." He sank the rest of the way into the water and floated toward me. "That good enough?"

I wrapped my limbs around him with a giggle. "More than good enough."

"I'll always be good enough for you, moonbeam. That's a promise."

What a brilliant promise it was to hear. Of all the things I had hoped for in this lifetime, I never imagined a man like Milton would have chosen me. Sure, our fate was entwined. It was written in the stars.

But at the end of the day, it was up to us to accept that.

I tilted my head back, exposing my throat to my fiancé.

My partner.

My mate.

"Mark me, Milton," I whispered. "Make me yours forever." "Anything for you, moonbeam..."