Part 20 (2/2)
”No!” It was Roxy's turn to yell. ”He's a s.h.i.+fter. When I tell you he knows, he knows. He is calling you his female. He's biting your neck, fighting for you, he's willing to throw everything away for you and probably will because he already sees you as his mate. It's not my place to tell you all this but someone has to before it's too late. Thunder loves you, you idiot!” She sucked in a breath through her nose and grimaced. Then she rubbed her belly. ”It's a Braxton hicks ... it's a fake contraction.” She took a couple more deep breaths before continuing. ”If the two of you mate, he will never stop loving you. He will never cheat on you.”
”You can't know that for sure.”
”I can and do.” She grimaced again. ”I swear, if you make me go into labor ...! It's s.h.i.+fter DNA. It's how they are wired. You can stop speaking for Thunder because you don't know what you're talking about.”
”Why didn't he tell me all this?”
Roxy rolled her eyes. ”Because he loves you. He doesn't want to scare you off. Blaze mentioned that you were with some d.i.c.khead who broke your heart and that it's part of the reason you are running scared. I get it. But Thunder loves you,” for the first time her voice softened, it sounded coaxing. ”He's completely smitten. He'd do just about anything for you, including going against his own instincts. In other words, he would've given you as much time and s.p.a.ce as you needed even if it killed him. He would've given you s.p.a.ce to figure things out.”
”Yes, s.p.a.ce,” Tammy said, another tear rolled down her cheek. ”That's exactly what we need.”
”No,” Roxy shook her head. ”It's what you need. Thunder would've taken some serious strain. It might've killed him not literally,” she rolled her eyes again. ”But close enough. You have no idea what agony it is for a s.h.i.+fter to go against his instincts.”
”Physical pain?” Thunder would've suffered, for her. He wouldn't have told her either. He would've waited because he was sweet like that.
Roxy nodded. ”Physical. Mental. All of it. In some ways, this whole thing has been a blessing in disguise.”
Right. Tammy didn't say it. She didn't feel it either ... not really. It killed her to think of Thunder suffering though. Especially if his suffering was because of her.
”So, this has nothing to do with Thunder. He loves you and he wants to mate with you yesterday. You need to decide what you want. What are your feelings for him? You need to set your fears aside, don't let bulls.h.i.+t clutter your thinking. Listen to your heart.”
”It's too late,” she whispered. ”I'm leaving in the morning. Thunder will come for me ... he has to.”
Roxy made a sound of disgust. ”You would let him destroy his life? He'll be banished. A dragon s.h.i.+fter cannot be complete without his tribe. He will suffer. You would allow for that to happen?”
It was so selfish, she felt guilty for saying it. ”I can't live without him.”
Roxy smiled, she put a hand on Tammy's arm. ”You have your answer then. You can't live without him. Thunder can't live without you. Surely you have your answer. Don't make me call you an idiot again.”
Tammy felt like she couldn't catch her breath. ”It's too late though. I do want Thunder. I can't live without him.” She rubbed her temples. It felt like the start of a serious headache. Then she rubbed her sternum and antic.i.p.ated some serious heartache too. ”It's too late to do anything about it.”
Roxy put a hand to her back and another anch.o.r.ed behind her, then she stood up slowly. ”My back is killing me.” Once she was fully upright, she gave another tired smile. ”Thunder is in the chamber next to you,” she pointed to the wall on the left.
Tammy gasped, clasping her hand to her mouth for a moment. ”So that's why I keep hearing banging?”
Roxy nodded. ”He's tried to escape a couple of times.”
Thunder was right next door but that didn't mean anything. ”But there are guards outside. They'd never let me ...”
”The guards have been instructed not to let Thunder leave. They have no orders to prevent someone from visiting him.” She feigned shock. ”I guess my darling husband forgot to tell them that part.”
Tammy jumped up and hugged Roxy. ”Thank you! Please thank Blaze for me.”
”You can invite me to the official mating ceremony when you take the plunge,” she grinned.
”Thunder has to forgive me first. I pretty much told him I didn't want him.”
Roxy's smile didn't waver. ”There's nothing to forgive. Love and forgiveness go hand-in-hand. Let me tell you a few more things about dragon s.h.i.+fters, they ...” Roxy sat back down on the bed.
Thunder's muscles bunched as he gazed out over the terrace. Three s.h.i.+fters paced out there, blocking his exit. Three more were outside the door. There was f.u.c.k all he could do about it. He wasn't sure what he would do if he managed to escape anyway.
Tammy wasn't ready to commit to him. He would be wasting his time but he had to try to talk to her. Maybe he could convince her. He strode towards the door, ready to tear it from its hinges yet again when it opened. Thunder stopped in his tracks. His mouth fell open.
One of the Fire dragons held the door so that Tammy could enter his room. He was tempted to rub his eyes. Had he hit his head? Maybe he had fallen asleep and he was dreaming. ”Tammy,” he whispered her name.
She thanked the Fire dragon and he growled. It couldn't be helped.
The Fire dragon smiled. f.u.c.ker! ”It is my pleasure, female. If there is anything that ...”
Thunder took a step towards the male, he rumbled low and extra deep. The lesser male's eyes bugged out of his skull and he lowered his gaze, backpedaling as quickly as his legs would take him. That's more like it!
Air filled his lungs again as soon as the door closed.
Thunder picked Tammy up and pulled her against him. ”I don't know how you managed to escape, but I'm so f.u.c.king glad you did. Although I'm not sure why that male let you in.”
”Me too.” She put her arms around his neck. ”I can't believe you even want to see me ... then again, I can believe it.”
”Of course I want to see you!” He lifted her so that they were eye to eye, only about an inch apart. ”When I said that I would never get enough, I meant it. I understand why you couldn't commit right now.” He clenched his jaw. It hurt but he understood. ”You aren't ready. I'm not angry. It's not either of our faults there are stupid lores. I guess no one could predict something like this happening. You need to know, I meant it when I said I was coming for you. They can't stop me. Can't watch me twenty-four seven indefinitely.” Tammy was his female. The last thing he wanted was to be banished, but what choice did he have?
”You really would give everything up for me?” Her voice was soft and timid, her eyes filled with tears. Her eyes were puffy and red-rimmed. He could see that she had been crying. It got his back up.
Thunder nodded. ”Most definitely.” He hugged her close for a moment. ”Please don't cry, I can't take it.”
She sniffed. He felt her head nod so he drew back, needing to look into her eyes. ”Do you remember when you said that that my a.s.shole ex didn't deserve me?”
His eyes darkened up. ”Yes, I do. You were far too good for him.”
Tammy cupped his cheeks, his stubble caught against her fingers. ”Well I don't deserve you. I'm the a.s.shole in this relations.h.i.+p.”
What? She had this all wrong. Just like when she thought she was a gold-digger. ”That's not true.”
”You are far too good for me, although ...” she narrowed her eyes on his. ”I do need to give you a piece of my mind for not telling me a few things.”
”Like what?” he blurted, frowning. ”And for the record you do deserve me, you're f.u.c.king perfect for me.”
Her stern look softened up a whole lot. ”Why didn't you tell me that s.h.i.+fters have this mating urge? Roxy spoke about it in our crash course training but I had no idea how bad it could get for you.”
”You weren't ready. I can wait. I'm a grown male.”
She ran a hand through his hair. ”It would've hurt you. Physically hurt you. Mentally hurt you. Pure torture.”
He nodded. ”It isn't easy to dismiss your instincts, but I would've been fine,” he tried to sound nonchalant.
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