Chapter 3
“Jasper?”August demanded from the other side of the door.
“I’m here.” I didn’t take my eyes off Miranda.
I couldn’t take my eyes off of her.
Fuck me, I’d been staring at her all day.
During the rehearsal.
Through the wedding.
While she fought her irritation at Eli and Vi’s arguing.
When she smiled at anyone who wasn’t me.
It took everything I had to stay in my chair, away from her scent and touch, but she found me anyway.
I’d wanted her so badly, I wasn’t even sure it had been an accident when I lifted her glass to my mouth and tasted her.
She’d triggered my heat.
But I’d already realized what she was to me, and would’ve triggered it myself if she’d so much as smiled at another unmated male at that party other than Eli.
I didn’t want a mate.
But I couldn’t have watched her go home with another man.
“Are you sane?” August asked.
“For the moment.”
I didn’t know how long that moment would last, considering I’d almost mouth-fucked my female a few heartbeats earlier.
“That doesn’t sound good,” Elodie murmured. “Are you okay in there, Randa?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” my mate managed, still breathing fast. “You’re supposed to be going on your honeymoon, though.”
“It can wait.”
Miranda squeezed her eyes shut.
The expression on her face was one of guilt.
“Open the door for the damn sanity check already,” August said.
I looked down at my mate.
Her dress was short, and tight.
I’d seen first-hand how high it could ride up.
My shirt went over my head—then over hers—before I had a moment to consider what I was doing.
I guided her arms into the shirt, and tugged it down. It was longer than her dress by a few inches. Better than nothing. And it covered her breasts better. Those were mine to see.
Plus, she’d smell like me afterward.
I shouldn’t have cared about any of that shit, but I did. I’d blame it on heat.
August knocked one more time while I pulled the hem of the shirt lower on those sexy little thighs.
Finally, I opened it.
My brother had his mate tucked against him, and neither of them looked thrilled by the turn of events.
My arm went around Miranda of its own volition, and I found myself pulling her against my chest, holding her there.
Was it just me, or did she lean in?
It had to just be me.
Elodie’s expression was wary as she looked between the two of us. “How did this even happen?”
“We were just talking,” Miranda said. “Well, I was just talking. He was just ignoring me for the most part.”
Trying not to tell her she was my fucking mate, not ignoring her.
It seemed pointless to voice that, though.
She glanced back, as if waiting for me to finish the story. Our gazes met, and my cock throbbed against her. Her face reddened adorably, and she jerked back toward my brother and her friend.
I couldn’t resist the urge to give her what she wanted, and finished the explanation. “I tasted her, and it ignited heat.”
August coughed. Elodie bit her lip, looking up at the ceiling.
“It was not as dirty as he just made it sound,” Miranda threw out there, flashing me a warning look.
I didn’t know what I was supposed to do with that look.
Shut up?
I’d go with that.
“He accidentally drank from my wine glass, and it started whatever this is. Which you clearly lied about, by the way, because there is so much going on in here that doesn’t make sense.” Miranda gestured vaguely to her body. “And Jasper is pretty much useless as far as explanations go. I ask him what’s happening, and he just tells me to call you.”
Elodie’s expression grew sheepish. “I was going to tell you guys the truth about the mate stuff after August and I parted ways. Dragons are picky about their secrets. But then this happened.” She lifted her left hand, showing the ring.
“Not parting ways isn’t an excuse to lie to us,” Miranda said.
“It wasn’t completely a lie. Heat is a temporary mate bond. There’s just more to it than that.” Elodie glanced at me before looking back at my female. “Let’s go for a walk and I’ll tell you more.”
“No.” I didn’t so much as consider the possibility of letting her leave.
I was barely maintaining my hold on my sanity as it was. Watching her walk away from me would immediately end that.
Miranda glowered at me over her shoulder.
“You said you were only sane for the moment,” August said, coming to my aid.
“What?” Elodie looked at me.
Miranda looked at my brother and his mate, frowning.
“Male dragons are affected by heat to different degrees. Our beastly instincts affect us all differently. Most of us retain the majority of our self-control. Some don’t,” August said. “How is it treating you, Jas?”
“I have moments of sanity.” Biting her had helped tremendously, though I could still feel my beastly instincts threatening to take over.
“Moments of sanity?” Elodie checked.
“It’s been like talking to a brick wall most of the time,” Miranda said. “An extremely horny one.”
August snorted.
Elodie bit her lip again, fighting a grin.
“A wild animal in heat,” August suggested.
“I guess…” Miranda trailed off. “Wait, you’re telling me that’s what he is when he gets all brick wall? A wild animal in mate mode?”
“Mate mode? Classic.” Elodie lifted her fingers in the okay symbol. “I love it.”
“It’s a little more complicated than that, but basically,” August agreed.
Miranda’s nostrils flared. “How long does this last?”
“That’s the complicated part.” Elodie’s smile faded. “Is there a living room or something in the mountain where we can sit? The dining hall, maybe?”
“No.” I spoke up again. Though I was fighting my instincts too much to actively participate in most of the conversation, I couldn’t allow my female to leave the room.
I’d lose my damn mind again, even more than I currently had.
“Anywhere that smells like anyone else will set him off,” August said, studying me. “They stay right here.”
Miranda’s eyes widened. “Wait, what? I have to stay here?”
“Just until heat’s over,” Elodie said quickly.
“Which is…”
“Until you seal the bond, or ride out the pain,” Elodie said sheepishly. “If you have sex, the bond becomes permanent, and you’re mated. Forever. Which has pros, obviously.” She gestured between herself and August. “Heat only lasts two weeks if you go that route, and it’s basically just a marathon of life-altering sex that you’ll enjoy tremendously.”
“Two weeks?” Miranda demanded.
Elodie grimaced.
“What if we don’t seal it?”
“Then you’ve got four weeks of physical pain. It’s agony. I survived it, but there were times I wished I didn’t. The pain got so bad, I was literally begging August to take it away for days on end. If Jas isn’t totally sane, I don’t know if you really have the option to go that route.” Her eyes flicked to me, then to August.
“It’s unlikely,” August said. “You know I only resisted because your life was at risk.”
Unlikelywas an understatement.
“Holy shit.” Miranda dragged a hand through her hair, pulling it away from her face and sending her scent through the air.
I drank it in like I’d been drowning.
“I can’t take four weeks off work, Elodie. I can’t even take two weeks off.” She shook her head, visibly upset.
The rein I had on my instincts pulled tight as the beast in me threatened to take over.
I lowered my nose to her hair and breathed her scent in again, slower.
Counting through it.
“The dragons have money,” Elodie said.
“It’s not about money. If I’m not on top of my work, the company will drop me. You know how many other people want my job.”
“We’ll bring your iPad here,” Elodie said, not missing a beat. “Some of your clothes, too, and whatever else you want. You won’t have to quit. You might have to tell them the situation, but I’m sure they’ll understand.”
“But does Jasper even have a house in Scale Ridge?” Miranda asked.
Elodie grimaced. “He can get one.”
“He can, but he leads the thunder,” August said. “His life will never be in Scale Ridge. They won’t accept it after I toed the line in his position for so long.”
Elodie’s grimace deepened. “We’ll figure it out.”
“I can’t spend the rest of my life living away from Vi,” Miranda said. “If he stays here, we can’t seal the bond.”
My instincts yanked against the tethers holding them again, and again.
My hold grew thinner, and thinner.
“That’s your choice to make,” Elodie agreed. “But it won’t be easy.”
“You need to get Jas inside and close the door,” August said. “He won’t be sane for much longer. Even in his worst state, if you say no, he’ll accept that the answer’s no. It’s impossible for him to hurt you.”
My control snapped.
Miranda stepped back, and August slammed the door between us.
All rational thoughts fled my mind.
I lowered my nose to my mate’s neck and inhaled.
She was with me, she was safe, but she smelled wrong.
Upset.
She was upset.
A growl vibrated my chest.
“We’ll be back with your stuff soon! Text me if you have more questions!” Elodie yelled through the door. “And remember, you used to want to be mated to a dragon.”
“Screw you,” Miranda yelled back.
Elodie laughed. “Screw him.”
Miranda snorted, and I breathed her scent in as her sadness and worry eased.
She was okay.
And she was mine.
That was what mattered.