He wanted her to approach him like that all the time, making his inner dragon happy. Something about her determination and fascination had made him more curious about the human female.
However, as they entered the building and headed upstairs toward the head Protector’s office, Brad pushed aside anything that could distract him.
If he couldn’t protect Tasha and keep her on StoneRiver, then there would be no chance of a future with her at all.
Maya knocked on the head Protector’s door. A few beats later, Jon Bell opened it. His usually smiling face not only had a frown, but irritation also shone in his eyes. Brad didn’t wait to ask, “What the hell’s going on?”
Jon ignored him and looked at Tasha. “Quickly, I’m Jon Bell, the head of security here. We can get to know each other a little bit better later, but for now, come in.”
Brad and Tasha entered the room. The younger dragonwoman who’d escorted them stayed outside and closed the door to give them privacy.
David was there, sitting in the chair in front of Jon’s desk. But at their arrival, the clan leader turned around to face them. “We have a situation. Several lawyers and police officers are in one of the meeting rooms here, claiming Tasha is being held on StoneRiver against her will.”
Tasha rolled her eyes. “They assume this without actually asking me?”
David bobbed his head. “One of the lawyers is a suspected League sympathizer, so, yes. To him, no human would want to be on a dragon clan voluntarily.”
Brad asked, “And the police? Why’re they here?”
Jon answered, “They won’t tell us until they speak with Tasha. But according to Ashley Swift and a lawyer friend she has, they want to take Tasha away. Something about an old law where no humans are allowed on a dragon’s land without express written permission by ADDA. Usually no one bothers if a human is here for a few hours or even a day, but if the League wants her out and vulnerable, they’ll use any and every tool in their arsenal.”
So much for the League staying away from dragon clans. Apparently, they were getting bolder. Brad suspected there had been some recent changes to their leadership. It was something he’d have to investigate further, only after he could ensure Tasha’s safety.
Tasha asked, “So what do we do? Maya mentioned mating Brad ASAP. Will that allow me to stay here?”
David stood and nodded. “Yes, according to Ashley, it will be. She already filed the paperwork this morning before anyone showed up here. And even though it’s not approved just yet, she promised it would be. I have no idea how she could guarantee that, but I also didn’t ask.”
Brad looked at Tasha. Her expression was determined, and maybe a little irritated, but definitely not scared. He asked softly, “Are you okay with that?”
She met his gaze and smiled, the action helping to ease his anger a tiny bit. “I love that you asked me. That’s a huge improvement already.”
“Tasha,” he growled.
She put up a hand. “Sorry, but in tense situations, I sometimes pretend like it’s not happening. Teasing helps me.” She looked at David, Jon, and back at Brad. “I’m fine with mating Brad right now. However, I can’t guarantee I’ll go through the whole frenzy thing. I still need time for my new reality to sink in.”
Brad grunted. “That’s fine.”
What he left unsaid was that he planned to win her over anyway, so it wasn’t really a concern at all.
His dragon snorted. You’ve changed your tune quickly. I like it, though. So I’ll help once we deal with the bastards wanting to take away our mate.
David took something out of his pocket. Opening his fingers, he revealed two simple gold bands. “I had to guess sizes, but they’ll work for now.”
Seeing the two mating rings made it crystal clear to Brad—he wanted this. It didn’t matter if Tasha was human, or if there was no guarantee everything would work out. The rings and ceremony would give him the chance to pursue that future.
And considering Brad had dreaded any thoughts of the future for months, it gave him hope that maybe finding his true mate wasn’t such a bad thing after all.
Seeing the two rings lying on David’s palm made Tasha even more aware of how similar the dragon-shifters were to humans. They might call it a mating instead of a marriage, but it was basically the same thing.
On top of that, the light glinting off the rings also signaled that her mating was going forward at lightning speed.
Maybe she should be nervous, or wary, or more cautious. But in reality, she looked forward to seeing what could happen with Brad. The time in the landing area had shown her a different side to the dragonman, and not just because of his dragon half. She wanted to know more about him.
Besides liking Brad more, she’d also enjoy giving the middle finger to the lawyers and police officers who wanted to assume what she wanted, or what was best for her.
So she asked David, “Okay, so what do I do now? They didn’t give us any sort of mate ceremony training during my previous ADDA sessions.”
The corner of David’s mouth ticked up. “I doubt it. But in all seriousness, Brad will go first, and you can just mimic him, okay?”