The Dragon's Choice (Tahoe Dragon Mates 1)

He took a quick, rough kiss and said, "I love you, Victoria Lewis."

This time, a chime sounded, a reminder that someone was at the door. She stroked his cheek and then maneuvered off his lap. "That's probably Dr. Carter."

After checking via the peephole and confirming it was, he let the doctor in.

And even though Victoria answered the doctor's questions and did whatever he asked, her gaze kept darting back to Jose. At the love and wanting there, he managed to pace a little less and he could better control the urge to leave the room to find the bastards who'd attacked his home.

It was his job to stay with his mate. He'd trust Wes and Cris to find the culprits.

Chapter Eleven

Wes Dalton had always wondered when his first real test as clan leader would come. And of course, when it rained, it fucking poured.

As Cris finished telling him what had happened to Jose and Victoria's cabin and then left him to deal with the ADDA employee, his dragon growled. We should be going with Cris, not dealing with her.

The sooner we get her away without raising suspicion, the quicker we can help Cris find the ones who dared risk the wrath of ADDA.

His beast grunted. Then just tell the human to go away and come back later. Having her around only makes it hard for the pull to fade.

Ah, yes. The true mate pull. The female didn't know she was his true mate, but he sure as hell did.

Until Victoria had shown up on PineRock, he hadn't seen Ashley Swift in over three years. He'd thought maybe that had been enough time to allow the constant need to kiss her fade. The ability to move on happened with some dragon-shifters, given enough time.

Just not him.

Of course both man and beast still noticed how damn beautiful she was, loving her dark hair and curvy yet tall body. However, her position within ADDA and the law against ADDA employees fucking—let alone mating—dragon-shifters hadn't changed. He couldn't have her, or he’d risk his clan and all the goodwill they'd earned in recent years.

So he'd stayed away. Even his inner dragon had accepted they'd never have her. Or, at least his beast had until the human female had reappeared in their life.

If Ashley kept coming around, Wes wasn't sure what would happen. Inner dragons didn't see the need to hold back as much as the human halves. Constant contact may even put this fairly well-trained dragon to the test.

Pushing thoughts of the female out of his head, he replied to his beast, The meeting with Ashley will go faster if I put you in a mental prison. That way, your lust won't make it hard to concentrate.

Fine. But bring me out as soon as she's gone, or next time, I'll fight it.

As much as Wes hated to do it, he constructed a complex prison inside his head and locked his dragon inside.

Maybe now he could solely focus on protecting his clan and not notice the human female.

He pressed a button on his desk, letting his assistant know he was ready for the human. A minute later, Ashley walked into his office at the Protectors' security building.

As her long, dark hair swished behind her as her lush hips swayed, he barely kept his jaw from dropping. Without even trying, she was the sexiest female in the world.

Then her scent bombarded his nose, and he resisted a groan at the clean female scent with only the slightest hint of something flowery.

Even though he wished it wasn't the case, in a room full of people, he'd be able to pick out Ashley in a heartbeat.

The mate he'd never be able to have.

Forget her, he reminded himself.

Somehow he kept his expression free of emotion and stood in greeting. "Since I knew you'd make a fuss if someone else told you my message, I figured I'd just do it myself. You're going to have to come back later, Ms. Swift."

Unfazed as she'd been the first day he'd met her, she raised her brows. "Just because you say something in a dominant tone and treat it as an order doesn't mean I have to follow it, Wes."

Even just hearing his name on her lips made his dragon beat against the mental prison.

Wes needed to get the human away from him, and quickly. He stated, "Victoria isn't feeling well, that's all. She can call you to let you know when she's better."