Jane laughed and lightly tapped Kai’s cheek. “Then how about we go home and you make me happy in other ways. I think you like screaming, if I remember right.”
Jane ignored Bram’s chuckle, but Kai glared at Stonefire’s leader before looking back to Jane. “Let’s go home. And I’m impatient, so I’m carrying you.”
“Don’t you—”
Kai stood up with Jane in his arms. “This way is faster.”
Jane clutched her arms around Kai’s neck not a second too soon. Her dragonman was running out of Bram’s house and toward their own within seconds.
Laying her head over his heart, she listened to the steady rhythm and couldn’t help but smile. Kai was hers as much as she was his. And there was no bloody way she was giving him up. Even if Maggie Jones showed up, Jane believed Kai would choose Jane over the Welsh dragonwoman. Bram’s words about actions speaking volumes were true. Kai would always hold her close and never let her go.
Not even a dragon’s bloody instinct was going to change that.
Epilogue
Three weeks later
Jane eyed the seven-foot wide and four-foot tall basket with large metal ring handles and then back to Kai standing beside her. “Have any of those rings given out before? They’re only attached to the basket with a few scraps of fabric.”
The corner of Kai’s mouth ticked up. “That’s excuse number fifteen as to why you don’t want to go up for a flight. You’re running out of excuses.”
She straightened her shoulders. “I’m not making up excuses. I’m trying to ensure quality control.”
Kai crossed his arms over his chest. “I don’t bloody care what you call it. If you want to meet my sister, mum, and stepfather, then you need to get into that damn basket.”
“I still don’t understand why we can’t drive.”
“They live in the mountains near Snowdonia National Park in Wales. It’s extremely difficult to drive there. Flying is easier.”
“Ah, but driving isn’t impossible.”
Kai sighed. “You’re the one who wants to go. I’m content to have them come here.”
Jane eyed the basket again. The trip was much more than Kai getting to see his family, and she knew it. Bram and Evie were pinning their hopes on the visit going well. If it did, it opened up further talks of alliances and cooperation.
Jane refusing to crawl into the basket would be extremely selfish.
Looking up at Kai, she reached out and placed a hand on his chest. “You promise to catch me if the basket falls?”
He placed his hand over hers and grunted. “It won’t bloody happen. But if it does, I will always catch you, Jane. Even if it means breaking every bone in my body.”
She smiled. “You’re turning into quite the romantic. Are you still the strong, fierce Protector I first met in Newcastle?”
“Of course.” He tugged her close. “Even a soldier can have a soft spot for his mate.”
“I’m not your mate, yet.”
Kai’s pupils flashed to slits and back. “Only because you haven’t decided on a date yet.”
She placed a gentle kiss on his lips and murmured, “Be patient, Kai. The best things are worth waiting for.”
His look turned heated and Jane knew if she didn’t run to the basket in the next ten seconds, their trip would be postponed yet again.
She pushed against Kai’s chest and he reluctantly let her go. Walking toward the basket, she said over her shoulder, “Aren’t you coming? We don’t want to keep your mum and sister waiting.”
Kai merely shook his head as he shucked his clothes and tossed them into the basket. “If we’re late, it’s your fault, not mine.”
Jane paused and then leaned against the woven basket. “I thought that a dragon in love bent over backwards for his or her mate.”