And just like that, he said screw keeping his feelings to himself until he was better. "I love you so much, Gabriela Santos. Don't ever change."
She smiled. "I won't, but we're still having that date, even if Cris and Wes have to stand guard ten feet away, to ensure we're protected, we're doing it."
What he wouldn't give to lift her hand to his mouth and kiss it. "We can have as many dates as you like. But I'll let you know now that at the end of the first one, I'm a sure thing. So there's no need to wear any underwear."
She snorted. "Good to know. Make sure you do the same."
As visions of him tossing up her skirt and claiming her while they were both mostly still clothed rushed through his mind, his cock started to stir. "Don't tempt me so early."
Leaning down, she kissed him. "Let's call it an incentive for you to get better faster."
"Maybe some more dragon's blood will help? Your flashing eyes tell me you're eager for me to get the all-clear, too."
She laughed. "We'll see, my human. We'll see."
As he tried to memorize every inch of his woman's face, his eyes started to droop. He didn't want to go back to sleep, but his body was reaching its limit.
Gaby kissed him again and murmured, "Sleep, Ryan. I'll be here to watch over you. And then you can dream about whether I'll still be wearing panties or not when you wake up."
He tried to groan, but it died quickly when pain shot through his body. "Tease."
"And you love it. Now, sleep."
Even though rationally he knew Gaby didn't possess any special magic to make him follow orders, his eyelids slid closed. The last thing he heard was her humming an unfamiliar tune before he passed out.
Chapter Eleven
Wes Dalton leaned against his desk and crossed his arms over his chest, readying himself for what he needed to do, no matter how much he didn't want to do it.
He was about to ask Ashley Swift for another fucking favor.
His dragon grunted. Don't be so surly. She grows closer to PineRock and our people with each visit. She'll help us out.
I hope you know that just because she likes the clan doesn't mean she'll ever be ours.
Wes and his dragon had known for over three years that Ashley was their true mate. However, she'd have to give up her position in ADDA and everything she'd ever worked toward to be his mate.
Not to mention Wes would face backlash from ADDA not only for himself, but possibly his clan as well. Which he could never risk.
It was a no-win situation.
His inner beast huffed. I know you won't try to claim her, even though I don't understand why you hold back—surely two smart people could put their heads together and figure out a solution.
There isn't one.
I would say you're wrong, but you won't listen to me on this. However, I won't stop looking at her or commenting on how much I want her. It's not my fault if you give up too easily.
He resisted growling at the insult, knowing his dragon did it on purpose.
Even a year ago, Wes would've tried to convince his inner dragon to forget about Ashley. Sometimes a dragon-shifter could move on and the true mate pull would fade with time.
However, three years apart had done nothing. The first time he'd seen her again a couple months ago, the pounding need to kiss and fuck her had reappeared, just like with their original meeting. And it'd taken every iota of strength he'd possessed not to pull her close and claim her.
Wes was fairly sure the pull would never fade for him. Which meant he'd never get his own mate-claim frenzy or to enjoy the female fate had thought his best chance at happiness.
Stop it, he reminded himself. He had a lot of work left to do for PineRock. The needs of over a thousand people were more important than his own.
His beast harrumphed at that thought, no doubt thinking it merely an excuse. Wes was about to warn his beast to be quiet when the female in question strode through the door.