“Ross Anderson, you are an old fool.”
He frowned. “I’m trying to spill my heart out to you, and you call me a fool. Maybe I’ve been dreaming all this time.”
“Stop joking for a minute and be serious. I’ve been dreaming about you for several months, too.”
“Then why didn’t you do anything, love? A hint would’ve been nice.”
She ignored his joke. If she didn’t get the truth out soon, she might put it off. “I’m a bit old-fashioned, aye? I know the lasses chase the lads these days, but in my time, it was rarely done. Female dragon-shifters are rare, and the males used to have to compete to woo their hearts and claim them as a mate. Add that to not wanting to let go of my Jamie, and I used both excuses as a wall around my heart. I believed it would make my life easier to keep my distance from love.”
“And now?”
“And now, I’m grateful for my excuses and my wall because it meant I waited for you, Ross.”
“Lorna,” he rasped out before taking her lips.
He slipped his tongue between her lips and pulled her tighter against him. With each stroke of his tongue, she forgot about the pain in her back and all of the time wasted between the pair of them. She had a male she cared for in front of her, and she was going to make sure he knew how much he meant to her.
Because despite her excuses and her unwillingness to believe it could happen so quickly, she loved Ross and she wasn’t going to allow anything apart from death to take him away from her. And even then, she might find a way to bring him back and scold him for leaving her.
Her dragon snarled. Don’t think about death. Kiss him and get him inside. I want sex. Now.
For once, Lorna didn’t argue with her dragon. Breaking the kiss, she whispered, “Let’s go inside. I want you to make love to me.”
“You don’t have to ask me twice.”
After one last kiss, Ross took her hand and tugged her toward the cottage. The second they were inside, Shay appeared. One look at Lorna and Ross, and he motioned toward the door. “I’ll be outside.”
“Go farther,” Lorna hissed. She didn’t want him to hear her and her human.
“No, Lorna. I’m here to protect you, and that’s what I’m going to do,” Shay stated.
Ross spoke up. “He’ll do the right thing and pretend not to listen. Won’t you, lad?”
“Aye. Believe me, the last thing I want to hear is Aunt Lorna having sex. It’s as bad as hearing my own parents.”
She opened her mouth to scold Shay, but he was out the door in the next second. Ross murmured, “Forget him,” before nibbling her earlobe. “Show me where the bedroom is.”
Yes, show him or I’ll take control, her dragon said.
There was no way she was going to allow her dragon to steal this moment from her, so Lorna motioned up the stair. “Up here.”
As she guided her male up the stairs, her heart thudded in her chest. She might have had sex with Ross several times over, but this time would be different.
Lorna was about to share her body with the man she loved.
Chapter Eleven
Ross and Lorna didn’t waste time shedding their clothes. The instant his dragonwoman was naked, Ross laid her down on the bed. Hitching her leg around his waist, he pressed his groin against her swollen folds. Lorna moaned at the contact.
Leaning down to nip her shoulder, Ross murmured, “Foreplay will have to wait. I want to claim my mate and the woman I love.”
Lorna’s breath hitched. “What are you talking about?”
Cupping her cheek, Ross answered, “You heard me. I love you, Lorna MacKenzie. I suspect I have for months now, although I always found a way to deny it. As soon as we get back to Lochguard, we’re going to find a way to have a mating ceremony. Even if it means I have to bloody stand up in front of cameras for some PR stunt.”
She smiled. “Do I get a say in this?”
“In hypotheticals, aye. In real life, no.”