19. Chapter Nineteen

The next morning I woke up with a start.

It was the first time I'd woken when the sun was up in ages. It started a panic in me until I remembered where I was. With Dorran. Sitting up straight, I glanced around the bed, noticing Dorran lying beside me on his stomach.

His ebony-colored wings were folded against his back, and my fingers itched to touch them. Slowly, I ran my fingertips against the smooth velvet and bit my lip at their size.

Everything about Dorran was ... large.

Reality slammed into my chest, and my fingers snapped to my collarbone. I shifted in the bed to go look at myself in the mirror and a sharp pain hit between my legs.

Not that I needed a reminder of the night before, but I knew with each step I took that I would think of Dorran. He'd taken my virginity. We were mated—bound—together forever.

I jolted toward the bathroom adjoined to the bedroom and stopped in front of the counter. I almost didn't recognize the person looking back at me.

My hair was wavy from going to bed with the ends wet. My body looked flushed, and his mark was on my skin.

He'd been right about the baby blue color of the moon with the silhouette of a dragon flying through it. I couldn't turn my eyes away. It was perfect.

"You like it?"

My gaze caught Dorran's in the mirror. The corner of his mouth pulled into a smirk, but I couldn't look away from his body. The ridges of his abdomen that tapered off into a deep V had my heart gaining speed.

Then he had on those ungodly gray sweatpants Sasha always talked about. Memories from the night before surfaced, and I reimagined all he"d done to me. My body ached for him again, though I knew the throbbing between my legs meant I needed a break.

"No good morning?" he asked, stepping forward. "You're just going to ignore my question and ogle me? We need to work on your manners," he whispered, stepping up behind me.

Slowly, he trapped me between his arms, bracing one hand on each side of my hips, and dipped down to kiss my collarbone. "I think you dreamed of me last night. I heard you moaning and squirming all night."

A blush heated my neck. "I'd tell you if I remembered."

Dorran nuzzled his nose into my neck, lifted the edge of my t-shirt, and fingered the hem of my panties. "How are you feeling?"

"Sore."

"As expected," he said. "You fell asleep last night in the bath, so I dressed you and put you to bed."

"I vaguely remember it," I chuckled. "You put me out, I guess."

"You were amazing," he whispered before he stood up, and caught my gaze again in the mirror. "But I have to warn you. That's nothing. We"re just testing the waters, but we have forever to delve into any of my fantasies. Are you hungry?"

I nibbled my lip. "I need some coffee first."

Dorran looped his arm around my waist and tossed me over his shoulder.

He dropped me in the kitchen, while he dug out the coffee.

"Sasha told me that I was the talk of the town. She texted me last night," I said, sliding open the balcony doors, I picked up the cushions and the overturned plant from the storm. "I hope they never find us here," I whispered more to myself.

Dorran's lack of a response turned my attention to the kitchen where he stood watching me. "I guess I should probably warn you that I hear everything. If you get the nerve to mumble something, just say it in your head if you don't want me to hear it."

I laughed. "So no talking crap about you out loud, right?"

Dorran stirred a bit of honey into the mug in his hand and carried it over to me. "Thank you."

Dorran stepped out onto the balcony with me. "I hope that you never have to talk crap about me, but I understand if you do. My mother says I can be quite annoying at times."

I took a sip and closed my eyes. "I need to check my email today. I have classwork to do."

Dorran sat down on the sofa. "I meant to ask you why you were hiding your laptop. Did you steal it, Little Mouse?"

"No," I said playfully. "It's mine. I paid for it. My step-monster didn't want me to go to college, because I needed to learn the business so I could take care of it. I love fashion, so I secretly applied online and I've been hiding it for three years. I'm almost finished with my degree."

"Your stepmother is a real pain in the ass," he said.

"Tell me about it."

Dorran grabbed my wrist and pulled me down onto his lap.

"Dorran?"

"Yeah?"

"I have a question to ask you."

"Ask it."

I turned to look at his eyes in the early morning sun and finger the curl that fell onto his forehead. "You said we have forever to do ... ya know, earlier. What's going to happen when I die early, and you live for three or four hundred years?"

Dorran's face softened and he ran his thumb against my bottom lip. "That's not something you need to worry about. We will live this life we've been given to its fullest. I'll take care of you every day, and make sure that you get everything you deserve. We all die, but I'll make sure you're protected so I can spend your entire life with you."

I nodded quickly, taking a sip of coffee to divert his attention from the sadness on my face. Not sadness for me, but for him.

Rain began to sprinkle down on us and I chuckled at the feeling. Helena always wanted me to stay out of it growing up. She said I got ear infections easily.

I never remembered an ear infection.

Feeling the water made my body warm despite the cool wind. It was oddly relaxing

Dorran sat up straight several minutes later, and his gaze shot toward the house. "Stay here."

He sat me to the side.

To satisfy my curiosity, I followed his route to the front door, but it flung open before I made it there.

Dorran looked pissed when he waltzed inside.

I didn't know why until I noticed someone behind him. I cringed. I was still in his T-shirt from the night before.

His mother stopped in front of the door. She looked younger than my stepmother did and I knew that wasn't the case. She was beautiful, dressed in a full gown, her hair twisted on top of her head, and her hands clasped in front of her as if I were under examination.

Which was probably the case.

"Mother," Dorran said, stopping in front of me, he angled his face to look over his shoulder at her. "This is Amara. We just woke up and weren't expecting anyone the morning after the ball."

She laughed in a singsong voice that rubbed me the wrong way. "Don't worry. I understand—,"

She moved to get closer and stopped when she noticed my neck. It looked like all the blood drained from her body. A small gasp left her throat, and she folded her arms over her stomach.

"You wasted no time, I see."

"What do you need, Mother?" Dorran asked sharply from beside me.

"I gave you the night. Now I need you to come to meet with The East Kingdom—,"

"Mother," he snapped, raising the hair on the back of my neck. "You tell me now. I'm having alone time with my new queen, and I won't be bothered with this."

She turned her face to the side and looked out the window. "Your father met with The East Kingdom's royal family. They are sinking due to the war with The West Kingdom, and he's agreed to become a dual monarchy. The kingdom, what"s left of it, will move in gradually, but the royals will be staying in the west wing of the castle, and they are moving in now. What's left of their kingdom will occupy the condos built on the lake."

Dorran looked unreadable for several seconds until he laughed humorlessly and ran his palm down his face. "Dad agreed to that? I don't trust them for a second—,"

"Well, if you would have met with them last night, you could have voiced your opinion, now couldn't you? The royals are dead-set on expanding their dragons with ours, and moving back once they rebuild their kingdom."

Dorran stiffened. I followed his gaze to his mother who looked at him just as begrudgingly. "I am not impregnating one of their dragons."

My spine stiffened.

"No one asked you to," she said.

Dorran slid his tongue across his teeth and gestured toward the door. "You need to leave, and do not come back unannounced."

His mother turned and left us both standing in the living room. I felt out of place amid their conversation, and suddenly, I felt unwanted.

"Your mother hates me."

Dorran looked down at me, caringly dragging his knuckle against my jaw and chin. "Don't you spend any of your time worrying about her. I'm pretty sure she was birthed by Satan himself."

"They want you to be with a dragon?"

"My mother does. No one else gives a damn about it but her. She was behind this. She whispered into my father's ear, and they accepted the plea for help. The only pro to this is that she could get a dragon grandchild out of it since I showed no interest in any of the dragons in our kingdom. My mate is human, and I don't give a damn what our child comes out looking like."

A child. That seemed light-years away for me. I was only in my mid-twenties.

Dorran seemed to sense my unease and chuckled. "There is plenty of time for talk about that later." Dorran glanced back at the door. "What do you want?"

It creaked open, and Damien, his brother, formed in the doorframe. He wore a snarky smile and seemed to enjoy that I was standing there half-dressed with his brother's mark.

"You have two seconds to speak your peace before I remove you from this mountain."

"It's a letter from your stepmother, Darling. She's worried sick about you."

He flicked the letter between his fingers and outstretched his arm. Dorran snagged it before I had a chance to grab it. "Out."

Dorran handed me the letter.

I opened it once Damien left the doorway. I pulled out the tri-folded piece of paper and stared at it. It was from the family's lawyer.

A request to return me to her because she had guardianship over me. I was twenty-five years old.

Then I read lower.

It stated that I was unable to make decisions for myself because of my mental capacity and that Dorran was to return me immediately.

"Oh my God," I whispered, covering my mouth with my hand. This made me look like I wasn't fit to be in society.

Dorran took the letter from my hand and read it swiftly. His gaze lowered to mine, and he nodded. "I expected as much. You let me take care of this. I'm one second away from tossing your stepmother out of the kingdom."

I watched as he stormed the kitchen and began to heat up what looked like a breakfast casserole. He pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed a number.

"I need your help. Yeah, yeah, she's here with me. Her stepmother has guardianship over her because of some illness she claims Amara has. What do we do? Well, she's demanding I bring her back."

"Okay. Okay. Yeah, I'll send you a picture of it. Can you take care of it today? Yes. Thank you."

Dorran hung up the phone, took a picture of the letter, and sent it. He looked over at me with both hands braced on the kitchen island. "I'm going to go speak with your stepmother, while my lawyer takes care of this."

I folded my arms over my chest. "Do you want me to go with you?"

"No," he said sharply. "I'm going to text Toby to come up here and stay with you while I go. I'm ending this madness. She has two choices. Do what I say or be kicked out of the kingdom. I don't need a reason."

I walked over to stand in front of him, craning my neck to look up at his face. "This isn't a good start to our relationship, ya know."

Dorran chuckled and lifted me to the kitchen counter. "On the contrary, Amara. I think we've had an eventful start. I just need to weed out the bad, and we'll be left with so much good that you'll get tired of me."

"I doubt that," I whispered. "When are you going to see my stepmother?"

He leaned forward and kissed me softly. "After breakfast and a shower. What do I have to do for you to join me?"

My fingers laced around the edge of the counter. The pulse between my legs wrecked down my body. "Look at me like that, Mr. Dragon Prince, and I'm at your mercy."

He pulled my bottom lip down with his thumb. "You'll probably regret saying that, Little Mouse."