Page 22 of The Dragon’s Accidental Manny

I pulled back and studied his expression. “I’m impressed you can say that word.” It described how I’d been feeling since the morning at the studio.

“Dis-com-BOB-u-la-ted.” He grinned. It wasn’t his usual smile but a cheeky one. “I have another. Anemone. Uh-NEM-uh-nee.”

I giggled. “What’s that got to do with the serious discussion we’re having?” I tapped his chest. “Unless you have a sea creature in here too.”

“Were we? I had no idea.” He trailed a finger along my jaw.

Damn, this man trying to distract me.

“There’s just one fiery dragon.”

“You’re being MIS-chiv-us.”

“Mmmm.” He rested his chin on my head.

“You don’t get to do this.” I untangled myself from his grip. There couldn’t be any skin-to-skin contact when I asked him the next question. And not with the kids close by. “Am I your fated mate?”

The laughter vanished from his face, and he appeared to be in pain. But I didn’t know the remedy for a dragon shifter… in love? Was that what it was? Or was I overthinking this? Perhaps he just had a tummy ache.

“You, Cam, my children’s manny, owner of a crappy car, whose parking skills are even crappier, and the person who encourages my kids to eat better, are my happy ever after.” He took a breath. “And yes, you are my fated mate.”

He caught me as I slid downward and pulled me close so my face was smushed on his shirt. “But you don’t have to accept that as your fate. You can leave and follow your dreams.”

With my eyes closed and his scent hovering around me, I gulped in mouthfuls of oxygen. I had options and didn’t have to accept that the universe told Price I was his fate. That was his destiny despite me being his endgame.

But as we stood swaying with the fountain gurgling in the background, I slid my arms around his hips. I refused to accept fate and was choosing my future. It just so happened that Price was in it. He was the alpha main character, and by picking him, I was picking the kids too.

I didn’t understand it all, but my world had tilted at the studio and I couldn’t see straight, but now, I sensed a change, and it was beginning to tilt back.

“Kiss me.”

TWELVE

PRICE

“All I got was a peck on the mouth.” I raised a brow and grinned.

Cam’s back was against my locked bedroom door and his chest was heaving, making the door rattle. That and our ragged breathing were the only sounds that disturbed the quiet, though my pulse was racing and my heart was hammering against my ribs

He got on tiptoes and whispered, “The kids were in the playroom.”

A lamp I’d made bathed the room in a warm glow, and I leaned in close so his minty breath wafted over my cheeks.

I was so greedy for this man, and I’d waited hours until we could be alone. With one hand on his hip, I pulled him against me and inhaled his intoxicating wild-honey scent.

“And now it’s just us.”

Needing to brace myself, I rested my other hand on the door above his head so my lips were almost touching his. My instinct was to slam my lips on his and claim him. But I closed my eyes and took deep breaths to calm myself.

“Mmmm.” He glanced down, but I lifted his chin so he was staring into my eyes.

“If this is too fast or not what you want, tell me, and I’ll back off.”

He grabbed a fistful of my shirt and brought me closer. “Don’t you dare.”

I grinned. That was my Cam, though he wasn’t really mine yet.

“Then where were we?” I rested my brow on his, but as I stared into his eyes, nerves gripped my belly. What if I didn’t do this right and he was disappointed?