The Dragon Billionaire's Secret Mate(14)

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They ended the evening with a drink on the couch again, looking down at the glittering lights of the city below them.

"Will you tell me why you're here?" Samuel asked. The question had plagued him more and more all day. "You don't really seem like someone who'd care about money that much. There's some reason you need that check, isn't there?"

"Yeah," Theresa said, looking down. "There is."

Samuel listened as she told him about her nephew and his illness, and the bargain with the devil her sister had made to pay his medical bills.

"I'm so sorry. That's horrible," he said quietly.

"It really was," Theresa said. She stroked the edge of her thumb over her purse, which still held the check Samuel had given her. "But it's gonna be okay now. Joey's healthy, and I'm gonna take care of Carolyn."

"If there's anything I can do to help—" Samuel said. "You said she's struggling with her mortgage, too—"

Theresa shook her head. "That's incredibly generous of you, but she wouldn't accept that. But as long as I can get the Grigorieff brothers off her back, we can manage everything else."

She touched her purse again, smiling.

Samuel looked at her. It seemed like such a small sum to him. He'd grown up with all the wealth a family of dragons could hoard over generations. But for Theresa, it was a life-changing amount of money.

And yet, Theresa had something that he could only dream of. Samuel had felt a pang in his chest, listening to her talk about her sister, about how close the two of them were. Severin was the only remaining member of his family. They'd been close, as children, until Samuel had grown up and started to see who Severin really was: his ruthlessness and his hunger for power. Even after that, there'd been a time when they'd gotten along all right. He'd used to be his brother's conscience, once. But at some point Severin had stopped listening to him. They'd grown apart after that. These days, every interaction was strained politeness and veiled hostility. Samuel still missed the friend he'd had in his brother when they were kids.

Theresa had let her head sink back against the sofa cushions, her eyes falling shut. Samuel gently nudged her arm. "Go to bed. You're falling asleep," he said.

Theresa made a tired sound and cuddled deeper into the cushions.

Samuel smiled. "Hey, wake up. You'll regret it tomorrow if you fall asleep here. This couch is comfortable but it's not that comfortable." He gave her another gentle nudge, but she only grumbled something indistinct, hiding her face against a cushion. A wave of protectiveness swamped him at the sight of her. His dragon wanted to place itself between her and the rest of the world, to keep her safe and protected for the rest of her life. "Come on, then. I'll take you to bed," he said, giving in to impulse. He picked her up in his arms, as carefully a she could. Theresa startled, blinking her eyes open sleepily.

"It's okay, keep sleeping," Samuel said. She leaned her head against his shoulder and let her eyes fall closed again. She was most of the way asleep, Samuel reminded himself, but still, the gesture of trust made the dragon inside him roar protectively.

He carried her to her bedroom and laid her gently down n the mattress. She'd already taken her shoes off earlier, but apart from that, she was fully clothed. He was sure as hell not going to start undressing her while she was sleeping, though, so he just pulled the blanket up around her. Theresa snuggled into it, curling in on herself and making a sleepy sound. Samuel smiled, helplessly charmed.

He closed the door between them, and finally let himself give in to the impulse to shift. His reflection in the dark windows blurred and changed, the shadow of wings spreading out towards the ceiling of the room. Samuel looked at himself in the blurry mirror of the windows. Only a mated dragon could shift all the way, so it was still his human body looking back at him from his reflection, unchanged but for the pair of wings emerging from his back and the golden glow of his eyes.

His dragon's eyes were perfectly suited to the dim light of the room. Colors seemed to sharpen with the shift, scents grew stronger, sounds louder. Samuel could smell Theresa's lingering scent on the couch cushions. If he concentrated, he could hear the steady sound of her heartbeat, the slow, soothing rhythm of her breath. She was deeply asleep.

The dragon inside him purred contentedly. She was safe here, he'd make sure of that. Nothing human could get through him to her.

Samuel curled up on the couch. He should go to bed soon, but for now, he could allow himself a little more time spent guarding Theresa's sleep.



***



The next few days were some of the best days of Samuel's life. He took Theresa out sailing again, showed her around the city and took her to all of his favorite restaurants.