The Spirit Dragon (6 page)

Jasmine ate slowly, trying to draw out the inevitable. She didn’t want to answer his question. She was afraid that if Ryuu found out that she had begun to care for him, he would push the issue and she couldn’t have that.

“It’s time to answer my question.” Ryuu hated acting heavy-handed with her, but he could see she wouldn’t willingly tell him what he needed to hear. He gestured to her leaf, which was almost empty. “You’ve eaten. Now, it’s time you finally answered my question.”

He stared at her, while she refused to meet his gaze. She stared down at the remains of her dinner for a moment, before saying, “Wow. You get straight to the point, don’t you?”

“I’m anxious to know why you refused me. If it’s a mistake I have made that has driven you from me, I would like to know what it is, so that I might avoid making the same mistake in the future.”

“It’s not you.” She cleared her throat and shook her head. She set what was left of her dinner aside with a sigh before she met his gaze with reluctance. “It’s me.”

“I don’t believe that, little one.
You
are perfect.”

“No one is perfect, Ryuu.” Jasmine laughed and shook her head. “I don’t even know anyone who comes close.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “I hope you weren’t fishing for compliments because it’s beneath you.” How could she explain the way she felt without giving away the fact that she was slowly falling in love with him?

“Then tell me your answer and spare me the embarrassment of trying to be so.” His sliver eyes twinkled at her and Jasmine wondered if the man was even half serious.

“I like you, Ryuu, and I don’t want to see you hurt.”
That
was an understatement.

“You like me?” He frowned. “Is that the reason you rejected me?” He snorted. “That makes no sense.”

“It makes perfect sense.” Jasmine scowled at him. He didn’t have to make things so difficult. She wondered if he was really slow, or if he was being deliberately obtuse. “It means it is easy to say yes—too easy. I want to be sure I’m saying
yes
for the right reasons.”

“Are there wrong reasons?” He leaned against a large boulder across from the flat rock where she sat to eat her dinner. Crossing his arms, he tilted his head and stared at her, obviously awaiting her answer. “From where I’m standing, there are none.”

“Don’t kid yourself, Ryuu. There are plenty.” She held up a finger. “One. You are the hottest thing I have ever seen since lava.” A second finger followed the first. “Two. You are charming—quite possibly too charming and it would be too easy for me to fall for you.” She didn’t tell him she was already more than half in love with him. What he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him. At least it wouldn’t hurt him as much as her accepting his proposal, then finding out later they didn’t suit. She held up a third finger. “Three, and possibly the most damning, is that I wouldn’t know if I accepted you because it was the right thing to do and not because you can bring my parents back from the dead.” Tears filled her eyes. She could do nothing to keep them from sliding down her cheeks. “I’m not sure if I could live with myself if I let you bind us together under false pretenses, then later, you found your
true
mate.”

Ryuu moved closer, pulled her into his arms, and kissed her temple. “Listen to you, little one. You worry yourself for nothing.” He pulled her tighter and rested his chin on the top of her head. “It is true that I can travel to the spirit world. I can also take my bound mate with me. However, I cannot guarantee we would find your parents.”

He set her away from him a bit, then kissed her forehead. “And I most certainly cannot bring them back to life. The best I could do is bind their souls to yours, and in turn, mine. If I did that, they would never rest. I don’t think you want that for them.”

All
that
worrying
for
nothing!

Jasmine stepped closer and looked up at him. She didn’t know her heart could swell so much more. She actually felt it expand in her chest as feelings she kept denying herself flooded into her very soul. How could she fall so deeply in love with a man she had just met only a few short hours ago?

“I—I don’t know what to say.”

“Say that you’ll be my mate.”

“You still want me? Even after all the trouble I have caused?” She flicked a glance toward fur ball. He, she, it stood staring up at them, what was left of its tail wagging, its butt shaking right along with it, making her laugh through her tears. “Even with fur ball? I don’t think I want to get rid of him. He’s cute.” She tilted her head and stared at the creature for a moment. “I think it’s a
he
. Do you think there’s a way to find out?”

“I’m sure there is a way to find out, just as I am certain you will be able to control your ability as soon as we are completely bound.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” Jasmine grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the cave. Now that Jasmine knew that she was truly meant to be his mate, she didn’t want to give him time to change his mind. “It’s time we did whatever it is that will bind us together. One thing was certain. Now that she knew fate meant for them to be together, Jasmine couldn’t wait to be dragon-bound.

“You did what?” Lance glowered at Jasmine as though marrying a man without his consent was a mortal sin. “He was supposed to ask
me
for your hand first.”

Jasmine scowled at her brother. “From what I recall, April and Drake didn’t ask you either, yet you
like
him.” She looked at Ryuu. “I’m sorry I insisted you bring me back here. If I would have known
he
was here pointing fingers, I never would have let you bring me back, let alone begged you to do it.” She grinned. “Wait a minute. This
is
your house. Can we throw him out?”

“No you can’t throw me out. It’s rude. And I wasn’t around for them to ask.”

“Well, you weren’t around for Ryuu to ask, either. We were on a deserted island, which was a good thing, considering the fact that I had corpses following me all over the place when I was here.” She leaned closer and whispered, “Do you have
any
idea how many dead bodies there are in Europe? We could have had the zombie apocalypse right here while we waited for you to give your consent.” She crossed her arms with a glower. “Besides, I’m a big girl and don’t need your permission to do anything. The only reason the dragons ask you is out of respect, anyway.” She elbowed Ryuu. He’d missed his cue.

“Oh! And I have the greatest respect for you, brother. We just thought our binding should take place with the utmost expediency.”

Lance rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, yeah, I know. The zombies were closing in.”

“Don’t be an ass, Lance,” Drake said as he and April entered the study.

“Right,” Tansy agreed as she and her mate followed the first pair into the room. “They did what they thought was best.” She looked around. “Wow, everyone is here. I didn’t know we all cared so much for Emily.”

“Why not?” Summer said as she sat down on Adrian’s lap and kissed his cheek. “She was like a grandmother to all of us. What I want to know is how we’re going to find her.”

Drake sat in a wing chair, then reached up and pulled April down onto his lap. “We will search all of Europe if we need to, though something tells me that we won’t find them until they want to be found.”

“Don’t worry.” Jasmine smiled at Summer. “He may want to hold her prisoner, but you know as well as I do, that they aren’t happy unless we are.” She glanced around at the others before she kissed Ryuu on the tip of his nose. “Just think, all of our unmated sisters have this to look forward to.”

Daisy sighed and rolled her eyes. “Heaven help us all.”

Dear Reader:

If you’re reading this, I hope it means that you have just enjoyed reading one of my books. Always a romantic, I started weaving little fantasies for my friends at the tender age of fifteen. Never once did I think that writing would be my dream until about ten years ago. After complaining to my husband that my favorite authors didn’t write fast enough, my husband asked a fateful question. “Why don’t you write one of your own while you’re waiting?”

Once I started, he couldn’t stop me. Now, I write in the morning before work. I write during my breaks at the day job, I write at night when I should be relaxing. Heck, I’ve even been known to write in my sleep. Every member of my family has had the dubious honor of witnessing my fingers moving over the keys while I’m off in dreamland. Sometimes it even makes sense!

I grew up in Southwest Florida where I met and married. My husband was in the Navy for twenty years, so if you wonder where I have gotten some of my ideas, I blame him. I suggest you do the same. He’s always saying he has wide shoulders. Let’s load them up, shall we?

Currently, I live in a small town in Michigan, seven miles from the nearest grocery store. I love living out here in the country. It gives me the peace and quiet I need to continue to write these stories for you. It also shows me a lot of natural beauty that I try to share with you in my books. While my titles may be dedicated to certain individuals who have touched my life in differing ways, please remember, every one of them is written for you.

My most recent dream is to continue what I do—to share more stories with anyone willing to read them. My new dream is to be able to pursue both my writing and my husband fulltime. Do you think he’ll run?

More of Tianna’s Books

The Golden Dragon

The Ice Dragon

The Fire Dragon

The Earth Dragon

The Water Dragon

Brianna’s Prophecy

Thor’s Hammer

Time Temptress

Other series by Tianna at eXtasy Books:

The Paradise Series:

A Stranger In Paradise

Gates Of Paradise

Return To Paradise

Trouble In Paradise

Road To Paradise

Another Day In Paradise

Naked In Paradise

Seduction In Paradise

Looking For Paradise

Healing In Paradise

Melody In Paradise

Summer In Paradise

Memories Of Paradise

The Endowed Series:

The Endowed

Sinful Heat

Getting Physical

The Chosen Series:

Virgin’s Blood

Alicia: The Awakening

Afraid To Dream

Hidden Breeds:

Bastien

Kalen

Co-authored series books

Ruby DARE

Emerald DARE

Topaz DARE

Opalite DARE

Solar DARE

Holiday Stories

Return to Paradise

Sexy Santa Dreams

The Ornament

The Broken Ornament

Beary Merry Xmas

Polar Bear S-express

Where to find Tianna:

www.tiannaxander.com

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