He held her closer against his body. "I'll keep you warm."
With any other man, she'd roll her eyes. However, Wes radiated delicious heat to the point she inadvertently snuggled against him.
His chuckle rolled over her. "I think you agree."
She muttered, "I still like to be asked."
"Next time, I will." He kissed her forehead, and her heart skipped a beat. His firm yet soft lips against her skin made her belly flip and her core pulse.
What would happen when he actually kissed her on the lips?
Reminded of being his true mate at that, she found her voice again. "Fine. Then you'd better run before I freeze to death."
The corner of his mouth ticked up. "Just remember—you asked for it."
He stepped out, shut the door, and dashed down a pathway with tall hedges on either side.
Not that she could tell more than that they were hedges since everything became blurry super quickly.
As the wind chilled her skin, she leaned more into Wes, which he took as his cue to hold her even closer against his chest. His speed picked up even more until they soon reached another house and entered before she could tell more than it was a dark brown color.
Not even out of breath, Wes shut the door and asked, "Was that fast enough?"
She snorted. "Maybe. I'm sure you're even faster in your dragon form."
His pupils flashed a few times before he replied, "Don't encourage my beast. Now he'll think of nothing but shifting so he can show off."
Ashley had seen Wes's dragon once before and only remembered he was a black dragon. "Maybe he can come out later. I never really got a chance to study your dragon up close and personal."
Wes's pupils turned slitted a few beats before returning to round. "Great, now I'll have to keep negotiating to stay human for the foreseeable future."
He slid her down his body, and whatever retort she had on her lips was forgotten.
As soon as she was o
n her feet, she instinctively leaned against him. Wes wrapped his arms around her and whispered, "Let me warm you up, and then we'll talk."
Her body was already on fire thanks to being surrounded by a tall, muscled dragonman, but she merely nodded and leaned her head on his shoulder.
While he could no doubt feel the hard points of her nipples and smell her arousal, Ashley didn't care. Right here, right now, she was surrounded in heat, security, and something else she couldn't quite define.
She wondered how the hell she'd resisted him for all these years.
Wes finally broke the silence. "I wish I could hold you all day, but you know I can't. If you want to talk, we need to do it soon."
Hugging him close a second longer, she reveled in the mixture of feelings he provoked before raising her head. "Okay, so let's talk, starting with the complete change in your demeanor. Why is that?"
He shrugged one shoulder. "I decided to stop fighting it. I want you as my mate, Ashley Swift. And I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make it happen."
Chapter Eight
Maybe Wes should've eased into his declaration of intent, but he had a limited amount of time to spend with his female and didn't want to waste it.
If she also wanted him, then only part of their time together this morning would be about talking.
His dragon grunted. I say less talking and more kissing, licking and lapping.
Ignoring his beast, Wes waited for Ashley's response to his statement.