Billionaire Dragon's Bride(19)

“How’s that going to hap… oh.” Devon chuckled at her curiosity and then the face she made at the realization. He wasn’t going to correct her guess. He didn’t mind her imagining him in whatever way she was imagining him right then and there. If anything, he preferred knowing that her mind could wander down that path, though he’d guessed as much from the way she’d kissed him back.

The distance between them was scarce at best, and on an impulse, Devon slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her into him, pressing her against his hard body. She squirmed a little, and his fingers spread on the small of her back, letting his heat travel through her. Her green eyes shimmered as she looked at him, and for a moment, they seemed to be shining brighter than all the gold in the caverns. Gemma’s hands were resting on his chest, and she pushed against him just a little, enough to make him want to pin those wrists down and ravage her right on the roof.

Behave, the annoying little voice reminded him. He was beginning to hate that voice. He would have much rather gone with the ancient rites – just spread her on a pile of gold and ram into her until she couldn’t help but love him. That’s how the forefathers had done it. Every time he had to deal with her petulant personality, he saw more and more worth in following tradition rather than forging his own painful path.

“Now, how about you stop toying around with the dragon stone and tell me what it is that you want, Gem? There must be a reason why you keep making me run after you, searching through the house and worrying sick for you several times a day. What is it that you desire?” he asked, trying to keep his voice level, though it was hard to do when his cock stiffened and his urges roared ever louder, right along with his dragon.

“I want you to let me go,” she said defiantly, as he’d expected. He scoffed.

“I thought we talked about that, Gem. If I let you go, I’m just going to have to burn down Gold Valley, and then no one’s going to be happy. Not you, not me. And hell, I’d probably just marry you anyway, seeing as I’m getting so accustomed to having you around.” He flashed one of his predatory grins at her, and she didn’t seem to appreciate it. No matter, she’d learn. Gemma pouted a little, and his eyes traced the contours of her plush lips before peeking lower at her delicious cleavage. The things he would have given to have her naked and moaning in his arms right now.

“Fine. Then tell me why me?” she asked, her tone insistent, though a scarlet blush was creeping along her cheeks. He’d learned by now that if he stayed close enough to her, he could make that lovely blush appear that travelled all the way down to her chest. It had become a bit of a game to see if he could make her gasp and blush before she could drive him to the brink of rage. So far, they were roughly even.

“How could it be anyone else?” he asked simply, letting the gold seep out of his eyes and the brilliant blue take its place. She glowered at him, but seeing as she relaxed the slightest bit, he knew his words had to have carried some weight. Gemma was so small and delicate in his arms, though she was a woman with just the kind of curves he lusted after. He towered above her, but unlike any other woman before her, he really did not want to go wrong with this one. “And I doubt it’s just that. I think you like having me go a bit crazy because of you.” He leant in closer, whispering into her ear now, his hot breath on her silken skin. “I think you can’t get enough of me, princess.” She shuddered a little.

With a sigh, he let go of her, and he thought he almost saw some disappointment in her. He knew he couldn’t overplay his hand, but damn was it hard to keep himself from throwing caution to the wind. Devon would much rather have been reenacting that night on the path than being good – a concept dragons barely grasped to begin with. He fished the bracelet out of his pocket, remembering the heaviness of it now that he was no longer entangled with her.

“It made me think of you,” he said, placing it in her palm without expecting her to reach for it. He brought her something gorgeous every day, and every day she would barely accept it, never wearing it. His heart thudded even louder in his chest now that he was handing her the bracelet than when he had been holding her, the action of giving her something from his hoard so intimate that he might just as well have been signing the deed to his heart over to her. The sapphire sparkled in the sunlight, fitting perfectly with her complexion. Without another word, he stalked off, his guts twisting inside him.

She’s going to drive you mad, Devon, he told himself. But to his own surprise, he smiled at the thought. Would it really be such a bad way to go, driven to insanity by a woman unlike any other?