"Is that a yes or no?"
"Of course I'll be your damn mate. And in case you're wondering, I love you, too, you impossible dragonman."
Both man and beast mentally roared at her admission.
Ashley was going to be their mate. Not only that, but she loved them.
His dragon said, I dare the police to try and take her away now.
Ignoring his beast, he kissed Ashley's cheek before saying, "I will treat you like a queen and worship every inch of your body later. But for now, I think we'll celebrate by printing out that stupid letter."
She snorted. "It's probably the most original engagement story ever. A proposal celebrated with paperwork."
He nipped her jaw, loving how her breath hitched. "I don't want ordinary, let alone boring, which is why I want a life with you."
Ashley tried to think of a witty reply, but her knees were jelly, and she was having a hard time merely standing up.
Wes loved her. The strong, teasing, sometimes irritating sexy man loved her and was going to be her mate.
But despite all that, she couldn't even kiss him on the lips.
Which meant she was going to have to charm the ADDA police—something she'd done many times before—and get everything cleared up so she could officially mate Wes and start her new life.
She traced his jaw and replied, "Good, because I don't think I could do boring if I tried. Even if things turn peaceful, I'm always out to learn something new."
His pupils flashed before he said, "My dragon wants to take you up into the air at the first opportunity. That should be new for you."
Even though it was technically illegal for a dragon-shifter to take a human up into the air—barring some extreme circumstance like saving humans from a natural disaster or as part of a coordinated rescue effort—her heart rate kicked up. "I've always wanted to try it. But it'll mean lots of safety harnesses, even with those baskets some dragons use in other parts of the world."
He raised his brows. "For someone who's supposed to make sure dragons don't take humans flying, you sure know a lot about it."
She tilted her head. "Knowing as much as possible about dragon-shifters is my job. That means the good, the bad, and even the ugly."
A door chime interrupted any sort of reply. And even though Ashley knew this would be her life going forward—one full of constant interruptions—she hoped that one day they could have an entire conversation in one go. Maybe she'd have to see if PineRock’s head Protector would help Wes out with downtime and vice versa.
Wes kissed her cheek one last time before motioning her to move behind him. Since she wasn't mated to him yet, let alone knew what all of PineRock's clan members thought of her, she followed his order.
He opened the door revealing the brown-skinned, black-haired Protector named Andre. The other dragonman said, "They're here and wanting to talk with both of you."
Wes nodded. "We'll be there in a few minutes. I just need to print out one last thing for the meeting."
Once Andre went back down the hallway, he tugged Ashley over to his computer. "Print out your letter, love. We might need it."
She did as told and took a few deep breaths to wash away any nervousness. Oh, she had plenty of experience with the ADDA police, but a lot more was at stake this time. And Ashley was determined to be as charming, witty, and convincing as she'd ever been in her life.
So as she picked up her letter, she nodded at Wes. "Let's go and sort out the beginning of the rest of our lives."
He took her hand a brief second before releasing it. However, the flitting contact calmed her further.
Ashley and her dragonman would make this all work out.
They had to.
Chapter Twelve
Wes did his best to push away his concerns about Ashley. She could handle herself, and he knew it, but it was still hard for a dragonman to completely ignore his instinct to protect what was his.
His beast growled. Don't worry, we'll do whatever it takes to keep her here with us.