For the first time in their acquaintance, Wes swore respect flashed in Garcia's eyes. "I like that answer." He reached into his pocket, took out a card, and held it out. "This is my private number. If something goes wrong and Ashley is in danger, call me. I'll help how I can."
Doing his best not to let his surprise show, Wes took the card and nodded. "Thank you."
Ashley clapped her hands. "Are you two done discussing me as if I'm some sort of wilting flower that will be crushed in a light breeze?"
Garcia stood. "Yes, we're done. I'll make sure the charges are dropped. But maybe the pair of you could stay on PineRock for a while and not go into the city? Just to give everyone some space and a chance for cooler heads later on."
Wes stood. "My mate will keep me busy. Although there have been some humans trespassing around the edges of our land lately. So I may need to call you sooner than I'd like to protect Ashley."
With one last bob of his head, Garcia exited the room, and his two other officers followed suit.
As soon as they were alone, Wes hauled Ashley up against his front and cupped her cheek. "Do you know how hard it was for me to let you flirt with them and not do anything?"
"There's a difference between flirting and being charming, Wes. I used the latter on them. From now on, I'll only use the former on you. Mostly."
"Mostly?" He growled.
She smiled. "Well, I don't want to throw away something I could use to better fit in here. Sometimes flirting with older men can be helpful, even when we both know it's harmless."
His dragon snorted. Let her charm the grandpas. That will only help the humans on PineRock anyway since most of the older generation are still a little biased.
Wes replied to his female, stroking her cheek as he said, "As much as I like your long-term strategies, I think we need to address our mating first." His eyes darted to her lips. "And making sure we can have our frenzy sooner rather than later." Ashley licked her lips, and Wes groaned. "You did that on purpose."
She moved a finger to where his neckline met his skin and gently rubbed back and forth, each pass making his cock harder. "No, I didn't. There's just something about you that turns me into all those things I thought were clichés—weak knees, racing heart, and throbbing lips." She leaned a fraction closer. "So I'm definitely on board for making our mating official and having our frenzy. I'm rather looking forward to the frenzy. After all, I've heard so much about it over the years. It'll be nice to have some firsthand experience."
He moved his hand from her cheek to thread it through her hair and tug her even closer until he could feel the heat of her breath on his skin. "Good, then it means I won't have to hold back or try not to scare you."
"You could never scare me, Wes. I love you and trust you to the moon and back."
"Despite your ever-growing list of clichés, I love you, too. And I'll always hold your trust close to my heart."
His dragon grunted. Stop with the pretty words. Kiss her cheek, her neck, even her hand, but something.
Not wanting to argue, he leaned over and took her earlobe between his teeth. After biting lightly, he moved to kiss down her neck until Ashley dug her nails into his back. Her breathless words might've been lost to a human, but Wes heard every word as she murmured, "I wish you could be inside me right now."
He replied, "Soon, love. Soon I'll be inside you, around you, kissing you everywhere, and then some." Wes leaned back and took her chin in his hand to lift her face toward his. "Although if you want me to strip you and tease you between those pretty thighs, just say the word."
Ashley groaned. "No. Because I have a feeling if I'm naked with you again, I'll want much more than that. It's best not to tempt either one of us."
He kissed her nose. "Then let's file the paperwork and get things in motion so that the next time you're naked with me, we won't have to stop."
She nodded before gently pushing against his chest. With herculean effort, Wes stepped back and moved to the door.
As they made their way to his office, Wes did his best to cool his libido and soften his dick. Because he needed as much blood to his brain as he could manage to make things happen quickly. He was impatient to claim his female completely.
Chapter Thirteen
The next three days flew by as Ashley filed some paperwork, talked with her ADDA superiors, and arranged for her things to be packed and moved from her apartment—Wes hadn't trusted her going alone, and she'd finally capitulated.
But as she looked in the mirror and straightened the dress Wes's mother had gifted for her mating ceremony, Ashley couldn't help but smile. The dark blue dress made her eyes pop, and she loved how it fitted tight around her chest and flared out, almost like some sort of fairy-tale dress.
Which meant she couldn't resist swirling one way and then the other, just because.
Although comparing her dress to a fairy tale wasn't that far off. After all, she was about to marry a mythical creature—a dragon-shifter—and move to his realm—his clan—for her happily ever after.
Not only had ADDA approved her application to mate, they'd also created a new post for her called "PineRock liaison officer." She would have he
r man and the career she loved so much. It looked like all her dreams were going to come true after all.