He restrained himself from fist pumping the air while his dragon roared his own pleasure at her comment in his head. All he could do was nod and agree as he watched just the touch of a blush highlight her cheeks.
“So we’re good right?” she asked.
“Yes, mo chroi. We’re good.”
She pointed at him and rushed to ask, “That’s one of the things I wanted to ask. That language…what you just called me. You used it last night, too. What is it?”
He chuckled, not surprised she had noticed it, and explained. “It is a form of Gaelic. It’s the language our ancestors, the dragons used. Out of respect for their faith in us, the first shifters chose to continue its use. My parents were fluent and made sure my brothers and I knew how to read, write, and speak it. I’m ashamed to say that over time, we became used to speaking the native language of wherever we happened to live at the time to maintain our cover, and our Gaelic, at least mine, became rusty. With you, it just seems natural to use it.”
“And what did you just call me?”
“My heart.”
Charlie sat across the table staring at him like he’d grown an extra head while he worked hard not to laugh. She’d asked that he hold nothing back and he’d been as straight as he could be. He watched as she composed herself and had to give her credit for never breaking eye contact. When she spoke again, he heard a little waver, but for the most part, she kept it together. His mate was truly outstanding.
“Okay, we’ll get back to that.
She asked a lot of question he knew for a fact Samantha had answered, and some that seemed trivial. He wondered if she was comparing their answers, but from the thoughts she was letting fly around, it seemed she was only interested in what he had to say. There were a few long pauses in their conversation where he was sure she was trying to get up her nerve for something. Charlie chewed on her lip when she was deep in thought or less than confidant about something. It was the one tell he’d been able to pick up while they talked.
Aaron watched one such bout of lip chewing, then saw resolve enter her eyes. When she spoke, it was a little more rushed than it had previously been, but still straight to the point. “Last night, was there a time when I could hear your thoughts or you could hear mine? I…”
“Yes, there most definitely was,” he immediately answered, cutting off her next comment.
Finally, we’re getting somewhere.
“How is that even possible? Are you psychic or something? Can dragons read minds?” she questioned, speaking more rapidly, tapping her nails against the table and furrowing her brows. “Does that happen every time you make love?”
“No, it does not and it has never happened before. And no, dragons cannot read minds, per say. We can share thoughts with people we’re connected to. Those bonds are forged through fealty, or blood, or those that mates share. In our world, we call it mindspeak. It’s a really useful tool for us in battle or to pick on each other without anyone else knowing.” He chuckled, adding the latter in hopes of lessening the stress he could feel in her.
She snickered, making him feel a little better and then he said, “And I’m not psychic, although sometimes I truly wish I was. It would make things so much easier to know what was coming.”
“So based on what you just said, we share a connection? Am I getting this right?”
“Yes, you are.”
He could see the wheels of her mind turning, all the pieces clicking into place. He gave her the time she needed to reason through it. This was one discovery he was sure she had to make on her own.
“Not one of blood…I know that. And I haven’t pledged my fealty to you or anyone for that matter. Hell, I don’t even know how to do that.”
He grinned but said nothing. Just watching her was fascinating, something he could do for days on end and never get bored.
“More than just based on the fact that I’m Sam’s friend and you are a dragon like Lance, right?”
“Right.”
She stood and paced. He could hear her mumbling to herself, recanting everything he’d told her, checking off one item after another. It was after her fifth pass across the kitchen that she spun on her heel, planted her hands on her hips, and glared at him.
“Well, hell, I’m your mate aren’t I?”
Not exactly the sentiment I’d hoped for…
CHAPTER EIGHT
“I mean you think I’m your mate, right?”
“I know you’re my mate,” he said with all the confidence of a king and the calmness of a scholar.
I’m not gonna freak out. I’m not gonna freak out.
“How do you know? Did a bell go off? You got a sign from above? What tells you that we are meant to be together…forever? I mean Sam says that you guys’ forever is really like…forever. A thousand years alive and then in the Heavens after that, right?”
“Yep, that’s right. To answer your questions, no a bell didn’t go off and there was no literal sign from above. I just know. In here.” He pounded his fist to his chest hard enough that she thought about checking for broken bones.
“Before I go any further I have to ask you a question. I want you to give the first answer that pops into your mind. No thinking about what is politically correct or any of that BS, just say the first thing that you think, okay?
“Yeah. Okay. I can do that,” she answered, taking a deep breath and clearing her mind.
He studied her for a moment. She stared him straight in the eye to reassure him that she would do just as he asked. Nodding once, he said, “What did you feel the first time you saw me?”
“Like I already knew you,” she blurted out, surprised even though it came out of her own mouth.
“I have another. You ready?”
“Hit me, tough guy.”
“Ever been able to hear anyone else in your mind before? During sex, walking down the street holding hands, anytime?”
“Nope, never.”
“Ever felt what you feel when we’re together with anyone else?”
“Nope.”
“How do you know we’re not mates?”
“I don’t,” was out of her mouth before she could stop it, closely followed by a mumbled, “Oh shit!”
Aaron grinned that damn cocky grin and she felt the need to pace again. As she recounted everything she’d felt, thought, even imagined and dreamt since meeting him, Charlie had to agree that their connection defied explanation and logic. Her heart said to go for it while her brain said what about your free will? And of course, her body said, grab that man and never let him go.
While she continued to pace and think, Aaron chimed in, “I think I can help you understand. Will you take a walk with me…outside? Watching you pace is making me dizzy.”
She had to laugh. Pacing had always been her coping mechanism, it helped her think, got her blood pumping, and worked off the nerves, but she could see where sitting and watching might get a bit annoying after a while.
“Sure,” she answered, unconsciously reaching for his hand and then shaking her head when he chuckled as he threaded his fingers through hers. He tugged her hand until she leaned into him. Placing a kiss on the top of her head, he started out the door.
Jerk! Just couldn’t let it go, could he?
Taking a path she’d never been on, Aaron began to explain, “You see, all our lives we’re told that there’s one woman in the entire world destined to be our mate. That the Universe has fashioned one woman who will be our perfect complement and that we, in turn, will complete her. She brings the light to our souls and that of our beast. It is the job of the man and dragon to keep her safe, provide for her, and to make sure that she wants for nothing.”
She started to speak, but he held up his index finger and continued. “I know these are old-fashioned ideas, but remember, we’re part of a very old race. In my experience, each couple makes it work in their own way. God knows the women mated to my brethren are some of the strongest, most out-spoken, independent women I’ve ever had the honor of knowing.” He paused, kissed the back of her hand, and added, “And you, Dr. Charlene Gallagher, are no different.”
A stray ray of sunshine touched his face just as he laughed. Charlie had to look away to keep from telling him just how handsome he was. She shook her head, wondering when she’d lost her mind and focused on what Aaron was saying.
“There are stories told around the campfires, older drakes, male dragons, sharing their life experiences, lessons taught to ensure we know the signs, even our Holy Book talks about it. There’s a passage that all dragon shifters learn at a young age…
‘When the two halves of the same whole meet, there will be instant recognition. Their souls will merge, and only then will the man and dragon know complete peace, they will have found their true home. It will be as if the time before they met their mate does not exist. All that will matter will be that they become one in body, mind, and soul with the One the Universe made for them.’”
“Of course this was written when female dragons still existed. You see, later on, when the dragons entrusted their souls to the knights, almost all the female dragons had been destroyed by the wizards and their cohorts, the hunters. The ones that remained either followed their mates to the Heavens or succumbed to a sickness that swept through the clans. The Kings of all the Clans had been searching for answers. I mean without a way to reproduce, extinction was knocking at their door.”