The Dragon's Need (Tahoe Dragon Mates 2)

He, of course, put the plates really close together.

When she raised her brows, he said, "I was thinking you could sit in my lap."

She snorted. "Right, because that won't lead to other things."

He crossed his heart. "I promise you'll keep your robe on."

She shook her head. But after he sat, she jumped into his lap and leaned against his chest. "I'm feeding myself, though. And that's not up for discussion."

"Ah, and here I thought to 'accidentally' miss your mouth and get yogurt on your lips. Which then I'd have to lick clean, of course."

She lightly hit his chest but grinned as she did it. "Are you sure you're not part dragon-shifter?"

"Since I can't shift, nope, I'm not. Just a guy wanting to be as close as possible to his woman."

Maybe it should bristle her feathers—it probably would've coming from anyone else—but she liked being "his woman."

Putting a finger into the yogurt, she dabbed it on his lips. "Well, look at that. I guess I'll need to keep my male clean, huh?"

He grinned, but lowered his head down, not quite touching her lips. Gaby licked once, twice, three times until the yogurt was gone.

But to tease him, she stayed where she was and didn't close the distance between their lips.

Ryan growled. "Woman, you drive me crazy."

"That's the plan."

With another growl, he kissed her and held her tighter against his body. Gaby immediately parted her lips, loving his strong tongue against hers, branding his taste with her own.

All too soon, he pulled away. "Eat, love. You need food more than kisses right now."

As if conspiring with him, her belly rumbled.

With a sigh, she picked up her plate and fork. "I used to like eating, but now it just irritates me because it's stealing time away from our happy bubble."

"I want this happy bubble to last a long, long time, Gaby. Possibly forever. So enjoy your meal and know I want to have this every day with you, no matter where we are."

She paused with the fork partway to her mouth as her heart skipped a beat.

Gaby wanted that, too. And if he kept it up, she'd be in love with him in a matter of weeks, if not days.

Not yet, Gaby. Since he was a human male, he didn't have to live on PineRock after getting her pregnant. He could leave at any time.

And so she needed to ensure he wanted to stay, root up his entire life, and be with her forever before any mention of love or feelings.

So she ate her breakfast, talking about nothing and everything with her human, and hoped her clan would welcome the male into their fold.

Chapter Six

Later the same day, Ryan sat next to Gaby inside an SUV, with his arm around her shoulders. He'd lost track of how long they'd driven by mountains, pine trees, and various forms of water, but he finally spotted a huge metal gate covering some kind of tunnel up ahead.

Gaby murmured, "That's the entrance to PineRock."

The gate opened and as they drove through the tunnel, Gaby leaned against his side. He wanted to stare down at her face, to memorize the last few moments they had nearly alone, but as they exited the tunnel, he couldn't tear his gaze from a giant black dragon launching into the sky, joining another purple one hovering in the air, waiting for their friend.

"Damn, they're big," he whispered.

Gaby laughed. "Those are two females. Males are even bigger."