Once more she called his name, and he responded by saying hers so the universe could know and acknowledge the gold dragon’s mate as forever his.
For what seemed like eternity, both of them were wrapped up together in the same unified experience, until slowly they both returned to normal. But even when the incredible throbbing stopped, Dante could feel a pleasing lightheadedness in the back of his mind. A sort of heady elation that left him excited.
This was it. The start of forever.
And Dante couldn’t possibly be happier.
He felt Ella’s hand on his cheek, and she watched him with her beautiful brown eyes, the look of satisfaction on her face so perfect he could break.
“So now you’re mine,” she said.
“Yes,” he said. “And you’re mine.”
The truth of it sank in as he stared into her eyes, which were relaxed and heavy with pleasure now. Gazing at him with the love she’d expressed earlier.
He’d been born the gold dragon, been brought up in unimaginable wealth. But it was only lying there with his mate in his arms, listening to her breathe softly, that he felt truly rich.
Epilogue
“So, you finally decided to come back from your honeymoon and rescue me from these turds, is that it?”
Ella’s eyes widened at Robbie’s words and she turned around to look at the dragons, who were circled around Dante, eagerly questioning him about his mate and their vacation together.
“It wasn’t so much a honeymoon,” Ella said. “It was more just us going out to my sister’s destination wedding that she wanted the whole time because Dante sort of…crashed hers.”
“I see,” Robbie said, eyes glinting. “And she was happy?”
“Yes,” Ella said. “Thanks to Dante’s untold riches she was able to have the wedding she always wanted. And Dante has promised me a honeymoon of our own a little later. Although, frolicking on white sand beaches with him wasn’t too bad.”
Robbie’s dark eyes twinkled as she raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Well, I suppose these guys do have their charms. Although there is a lot I don’t understand about them. Like why they are doing this when they seem to have plenty of money without it. And why they’re so…sexy. I swear, I haven’t seen even shifters this sexy.”
Ella bit her lip, wishing she could tell her friend the dragon’s secrets.
Ella had suggested Robbie for the job because of all her contacts, she was sure that fierce, confident, wolf-shifter Robbie was best to keep these guys in line.
But now they were all in a funny situation, because neither Robbie nor the dragons seemed to know about the other’s shifter status.
And it wasn’t Ella’s secret to tell. She’d found out about it when she and Robbie had been in college together, and she’d seen Robbie fighting a shift. She’d told Robbie it was fine, that she’d grown up in a town with shifters. The two women had been fast friends ever since.
Ella folded her arms and turned to look at the men with Robbie, from the edge of the room where they stood. “So, are they whipped into shape?”
Robbie shook her head. “Nowhere near as much as I’d like them to be. Adrien has been much easier to deal with than I thought. In fact, I think we’re kindred spirits. It’s Citrine I’m having a hard time with.”
Ella had to fight the urge to laugh. “Citrine?” she asked disbelievingly. “You’re having trouble with Citrine?”
“Yes,” Robbie said. “Weird name and all.”
“That’s odd,” Ella said. “When I met him he was the nicest.”
“Maybe he doesn’t like that I put him to work on the floor. But with Dante gone, the men needed someone to guide them. Now that Adrian is a little more polished, and we have no more open houses and much better guidelines for guest behavior, we don’t need him as much.”
“And yet, he’s still there,” Ella said.
“And why shouldn’t he be?” Robbie asked. “It’s just more revenue and a better rep for the company having him on the floor as an option. He’s not really open for being hired though. He told me he gets to pick his clients.”
“Interesting,” Ella said, looking over at him, leaning back with a calm yet repressed expression as he looked up at Dante. He’d gotten a haircut, and his dark hair now framed his face a little better and fell to just mid neck, rather than brushing his shoulders and falling over his back.
His golden eyes, almost orange and a much warmer color than Dante’s, were focused and vaguely irritated.
Dressed in a black suit that matched his dark hair, she had to admit he looked rather exotic and was a good addition to the group.