Mated by the Dragon by Vivienne Savage

over his rugged features a moment later. The chimichanga burger received the dragon seal of approval.
    “No, he’ll only demand for us to come over and see him right now, and it’s kind of late. Besides, after that drive, I feel like shit.”
    Saul immediately became apologetic. “I should have allowed Mahasti to bring us, or even let Leiv drive.”
    “No,” Chloe insisted. “Being pregnant doesn’t mean I’m a delicate flower to be tended, Saul. I just need a li’l time to adapt.” She grinned at him.
    Saul’s dramatic sigh brought a big smile to her face. She’d won the verbal match without a struggle. “You’re correct,” he agreed.
    At the conclusion of their meal, Chloe treated Saul to a romantic walk down the Las Vegas strip. They held hands and occasionally kissed beneath the glittering lights. Exploring the city with her mate was like a dream, too surreal to be true. Was it possible to fall so completely in love with a man who had been a stranger to her no more than three months ago? The old Chloe of a year past would have said no, but every time he turned his ochre eyes toward her, she tingled all of the way to the bottom of her toes.
    I deserve this. I deserve to be happy with a man who treats me as an equal instead of a servant. I deserve every single second of happiness with him, she realized. The niggling thought had been at the back of her mind all along, but it wasn’t until she gazed up at him, and saw his features all aglow with the light from the casino, that the vast reality set in. Saul belonged to her as much as she belonged to him.
    Saul had told her that she’d never have to see Freddy again. The decision to reveal her pregnancy to him would remain hers and hers alone, but it was too early to make such a lasting decision without pondering the probable consequences.
    She shivered.
    “Are you cold?” Saul asked. Their joined hands disconnected in favor of Saul sliding his arm around her shoulders. He brought her close and smiled down at her. One smile melted her knees and turned them to jelly.
    “No. No, I’m fine,” she assured him. “Let’s turn and walk back to our hotel. I think I’m ready for bed now.”
    “As you wish.” Saul extended his arm to her, ever the classic gentleman, and together they returned to retrieve their vehicle from the diner and check into their hotel. She leaned against him during the elevator ride up and placed her ear against his chest. As a dragon, his slower heart rhythm continued in his human form, strong but powerful beneath his muscular chest.
    “I love you,” Chloe whispered.
    “You are the air I breathe,” Saul replied.
    His words struck her as genuine, and yet the hilarity made her giggle against his shirt collar. “We sound like a terrible romantic comedy.”
    Saul chuckled. “I may or may not have borrowed the line.”
    Chloe parted from him and stepped from the elevator. “It’s the thought that counts. C’mon. Let’s see what fancy room your money got us at this place.”
    Sometimes when she looked at her rugged, nature-loving boyfriend, she forgot that he was accustomed to lavish accommodations. His choice of lodging reflected his expensive preferences and tendency to spend great sums of money on a whim. Their suite at the Venetian was the most opulent hotel room Chloe had ever seen. She walked into the room and stared.
    “It’s as big as Marcy’s apartment,” she marveled. The king-sized bed lured her over, fluffy pillows and memory foam cradling her travel-weary body. She tried not think about the large collection of relatives, or that her many single cousins would descend like a cloud of piranha the moment Saul stepped into view.
    By the next afternoon, Chloe had developed full-blown doubts about introducing her boyfriend to the family.
    “Are you really going to be able to pretend to be human?”
    “Did I not convince Marceline?”
    Chloe tightened her fingers around the steering wheel and stared through the