"Good. Then I'm off to fill out paperwork with Ms. Swift. Welcome to Clan PineRock, Victoria Lewis. I hope you'll think of it as home soon enough."
Once Wes and Ashley were gone, Jose hugged her against his side. He said to the other dragon-shifters, "Text me the appointments and I'll make sure Tori gets there on time."
Before either could say a word, he whisked her out of the room and back toward the entrance. He whispered into her ear, "I'll show you to our new place before you meet anyone else."
"Our place?" she echoed. "I thought it was my own place."
"It is, but if you think I'm going to live apart from you after the last two weeks, then I didn't try hard enough to convince you how much I want you."
Her cheeks heated a fraction. She wanted Jose nearby, but she couldn't resist teasing him. "Maybe you do need to try harder."
His pupils flashed. "If you didn't need a small break to recover, I'd show you at the first opportunity. But just know that I'm going to be planning a mind-blowing night for tomorrow. Maybe then you'll finally understand how much I want you."
Her heart rate kicked up at the same time heat surged through her body. Despite the fact she was sore, tired, and hungry from the frenzy, she still wanted more of her dragonman.
She probably always would.
Not now, Tori. She needed to focus on fitting in with the clan, too. "Until then, show me as much of the clan as possible." She paused and added, "And your dragon, too."
"A demanding female." His voice dropped a fraction. "I like it."
Holy crap, this man was almost too perfect for words.
Maybe she needed to meet his family after all, to make him more real and reveal some flaws. After all, families often had embarrassing stories, ones she couldn't wait to hear.
But as he steered her toward her new home, she studied every little thing about her surroundings, from the houses to the paths and streetlamp. For some reason, most Americans had a medieval vision of dragon-shifter living, but they were as modern as a human’s.
To ensure she didn't forget anything, Victoria would need to start taking notes. She had no aspirations about writing a book, but if any other human came to PineRock, it could help.
Chapter Eight
It took every bit of restraint Jose possessed not to find some dark, hidden corner and take his female again.
Even without the frenzy, he wanted her constantly.
His inner dragon spoke up. Let her rest a little. And remember, she was curious about dragon-shifters from the moment we met her. Indulge that, and she'll adore us more.
It seemed his dragon wanted to please their human, too.
They stepped outside the building into the afternoon sunshine. He'd just turned them toward the cabin meant to be hers when he heard a familiar female voice behind him. "Woo-hoo, Jose."
His sister.
Turning around, sure enough, there stood Gaby, her highlighted hair loose around her shoulders and wearing a grin as she darted her dark brown eyes between him and Victoria. He growled, "What do you want, Gaby?"
"To meet your human." She studied them a second. "It seems you owe me a huge debt for making you go through with the lottery."
"What is she talking about?" Victoria asked.
He decided the truth was best. "This is my younger sister, Gabriella, although everyone calls her Gaby. She's the one who entered us into the lottery, without my permission, I might add."
"Your sister?" The faint surprise in her voice was expected as he and his sister didn't look much alike. Victoria walked forward and put out a hand. "I'm glad to meet you. Call me Tori."
With a bemused look, Gaby took her hand and shook. "Not as much as I am. And judging by my brother's growly, protective demeanor, I assume you’re going to stay on PineRock with us long-term?"
He narrowed his eyes. "Don't put her on the spot, Gabriella."
His sister ignored him. "Are you? If so, then we should definitely get acquainted in the next week or so, to plot and conspire against my brother. I leave for my own lottery stint in less than two weeks, but I'm sure there's a lot we can do before then."