Water Dragon (The Bride Hunt Book 2) by Charlene Hartnady Page B

fucking bad.
    Torrent squeezed his eyes shut and clutched the back of his neck, which felt like it had gone into instant spasm. He willed calm to come but it didn’t. “You are my mate.” He released his neck. “Mates should sleep together. I won’t try anything.” He held up his hands. “I swear.” He never thought he would ever say such a thing but here it was.
    “If you want me in your space then I need to sleep alone.”
    Fuck!
    The question was how badly he wanted her here. He could sense that this would be a deal breaker. Candy had made up her mind. He couldn’t move in a second bed because everyone would know that his mate didn’t want him in their bed. The best he would be able to do was sneak in an extra blanket. It was a no brainer. He would deal. He had to. Torrent nodded. “Fine, but this is my private chamber. I need to feel comfortable and to be myself in this space. Do you agree to that?”
    She widened her eyes, seeming to contemplate what he had just said. Then she frowned looking confused. Candy finally shrugged. “I suppose that’s reasonable. So… let me get this straight… no sex.”
    “No sex initiated by me. You on the other hand…” He couldn’t wait until that day came. It would be soon if he had anything to do with it.
    Her pupils dilated. This female did want him whether she liked it or not. “Yeah, that.” She breathed in and out a few times. “I get to sleep in the bed... alone,” she quickly added.
    “Lastly…” She smiled. This female was spectacular. “We need to make a concerted effort to get to know one another. Did I miss anything?”
    Torrent shook his head. “That sounds about right.”
    “I would appreciate it if we could get out. I want to explore this place. I want to walk on the beach and swim and meet some of your people.” She looked animated, excited even. He wished he could give her everything she asked for and more. It would certainly help them get to know each other. It was a pity it couldn’t happen.
    Dammit! He’d expected this to come up but not so soon. “Let’s first concentrate on getting you settled. We’ll enjoy an evening meal together here in my chamber and then, we’ll see.”
    Candy nodded. “That’s fair but we’re going out tomorrow.”
    “It depends,” he blurted. He needed to be completely honest with her and although he’d mentioned this in passing, it seemed, he needed to spell things out for her. Torrent couldn’t allow himself to forget that she wasn’t a she-dragon. They were very different.
    She frowned. “What do you mean?”
    “I told you that although we are mated, we still need to make it official.” He raised his brows.
    Her frown deepened. “I think I remember you saying something along those lines. I don’t know what it means though.”
    “I pretended to fully claim you but I never actually did it.”
    She had no idea what he was talking about.
    “I believe you humans call it to consummate the relationship.” He registered shock on her face. He’d already come so far may as well go the whole hog. “In order for our mating to be binding, we need to rut.”
    Candy laughed. There was a whole lot of shock, mingled with humor. It registered on her face, clear as day. “Are you telling me that there is a way out of this, that we’re not technically bound together?”
    Torrent shook his head. “We are bound female. I told you that I consider you to be mine. All that is left is to claim you.”
    “What you are saying is that the whole ceremony hasn’t been completed. It’s not done yet. We can still back out.”
    Torrent felt anger course through him. The need to throw her down on the bed and to make her his rode him hard. He knew that he could have her begging him to take her and in no time, but he couldn’t do such a thing. Candy would regret it. She would grow to hate him.
    “We openly chose one another. According to our lores, the bond between us has begun to take hold. I know that you can feel