Jamie stepped out of the house with a very excited Ethan in front of her, eager to go to the base. The night before, he'd informed her that Narchis had promised to show him how to take a computer apart and put it back together. Jamie didn't understand the fascination with doing so, but Ethan patiently explained that it would give him a chance to see bits and pieces that he'd only read about, besides being a cool experience. Jamie was reluctant, but she trusted Narchis, so she relented.

"Morning, Penum," she greeted as he stood at the bottom of their porch, guarding them.

"Good morning, Jamie," he responded happily. "Hey, Ethan. It's been a while since I told you one of my stories. How would you like to hear one later on?"

Ethan bounced on his toes, eager to get to the base. "Not today, Penum. Narchis is going to show me how to take a computer apart."

The way Penum's face fell tickled Jamie on the inside. It was like his child had just chosen the other parent in the divorce case.

Jamie walked to Penum and patted his shoulder. "We're all not as interesting as we used to be with all this knowledge available to him," she whispered.

Penum shook his head. "I just thought he liked my stories a lot more."

Jamie laughed. "Come on, you're supposed to protect us. Why don't you escort us to the base?"

Getting to know Penum was high on Jamie's list. Not because she wanted more information on how to get Corrus to overcome his fear of turning into his father and hurting his family one day. No. Jamie just wanted to understand how someone who dealt with so much abuse overcame it, and still managed to have such a positive outlook on life, albeit through what she heard was a cocky lens.

Jamie let Ethan walk a few steps ahead of them, keeping an eye on him. If anything happened, she was sure Penum would use his dragon speed to keep Ethan safe.

"So, Corrus told me about your childhood yesterday."

Penum looked pleasantly surprised by the news, which was yet another shock to Jamie. "It's about time. He's got a lot of hang-ups, but he'll get over them, eventually." Penum froze. "Wait, is that why you asked me to walk with you?"

Jamie laughed. "Not at all. I just wanted to know how you could go through all of that and still be so..."

"Impossibly charming?"

"Oh, my god! Your ego is something else."

Penum wiggled his eyebrows. "Everything about me is something else."

"Eww." Jamie pushed him away. "Don't even go there."

"I'm just stating the facts. Look, Corrus is more of an introspective type of guy. I prefer to deal with things head on and put them in two boxes. Either it doesn't matter, and I shove it aside and forget about it; or it matters, and I do something about it. Our childhood doesn't matter. I have the scars, but I ignore them. I'm just that type of person. I always have been."

Jamie nodded. "Wow. That's interesting. Are you sure you're not holding it in?"

"I am," Penum took a deep breath. "You may not know this, but I had, well, still have, a hair-trigger temper. Emily has helped me work on it, along with my etiquette. Anyway, the only reason I tell you that is so that you understand that I let all my emotion out at that moment. Everything that happened with my uncle, I let out at that moment. Heck, I fought back every single time, either physically or verbally. That wasn't Corrus' style, which is why he is the way he is. Who has a better approach? Neither of us does. It's just how we deal with things. So, even though you didn't ask me for advice on how to deal with Corrus, I'd encourage you to be patient, but push him a little. He's a strong person. He built himself into one, and, whether he knows it or not, he's ready to confront his demons."

Jamie was speechless. She'd only ever seen the joking side of Penum and heard a little about his ‘rebel without a cause’ attitude. She hadn't expected him to be so eloquent or emotionally intelligent. Then she felt sorry for having judged him and blushed.

"Didn't expect that, did you?" Penum teased.

Jamie gasped. "Did you read my mind?"

"No, it was written all over your face. I'll let it slide because we might be in-laws one day." Penum winked. "Okay, here we are."

Ethan ran into the house once Penum opened the door and bumped into Narchis, ignoring Jamie's warning to walk instead of run.

"Hello, Jamie," Narchis said, standing in the open-plan kitchen.

"Hi. Someone is very eager to see you take a computer apart."

Penum scoffed. "That's what he turned down story time with me for? A boring old computer?"

Jamie shrugged. "He's eager to try new things, I guess."

"It sounds to me like he's two-timing us. No, it's more than that." Penum counted his fingers. "Four-timing us. Attention everyone, our young charge is pitting us against each other," Penum announced to the entire house.

Jamie locked eyes with Emily who sat on the living room couch with her laptop and laughed at Penum's exuberance. He was a curious mix of dramatic, sensitive, hard, and funny. Jamie liked him and thought that if she and Corrus got together one day, Penum would do everything in his power to make himself Ethan's favorite, spoiling him silly. For the first time, the thought of someone doing that didn't fill Jamie with anxiety.

Narchis shook his head and took a confused Ethan's hand. "We'll be in the basement, Jamie."

"Be careful," she said.

Jamie walked into the living room and sat beside Emily on the couch. "Hi."

"Hi, yourself. How's the reading going?" Emily asked, excitement in her tone.

"Good! I've actually been reading it more as a story instead of memorizing facts," Jamie smiled sheepishly.

"That's a good thing. The most important thing is that you get familiar with the different planets and the parts they played in each other’s history. The finer details will come over time."

Jamie released the breath she'd been holding. "Perfect. That means I'm doing well."

"I'm sure you are. How did your dinner date go yesterday?" Emily asked, placing her laptop on the coffee table in front of her.

"It ended up being a lunch date, and it went well, then bad, then good."

"What? How is that possible?"

Jamie laughed. "Well, it was good because I learned more about Corrus' time at the academy. Then it was terrible because I took a comment he made in the wrong way and thought it meant he wouldn't want to be with me because of Ethan."

Emily shook her head. "Corrus would never feel that way."

"I know, but at that moment I thought he might. Anyway, things got good again because he told me about his childhood."

Emily gasped. "Oh, gods! Tell me everything."

"I can't." Jamie shook her head. "He shared that with me in confidence and, to be honest, it's not that pretty."

Emily nodded somberly. "You're right. I wouldn't want to violate Corrus' trust." Emily perked up again. "So, what happened after that? Did he tell you that you're his mate?"

Jamie scoffed. "No. That's something you say when you're ready to get married, right? Well, the shifter version of marriage, anyway."

"Not at all." Emily furrowed her brows. "I'm surprised Corrus hasn't said anything. From what I understand, shifters know their mates when they meet them. Either immediately, or within a short time of knowing them."

Jamie cocked her head. "Maybe he doesn't know yet."

Emily laughed. "It's his dragon that knows and confirms it. I don't want to stir the pot here, but, if you're Corrus' mate, then he should already know that."

"Then why hasn't he said anything?" Jamie raised her hands in question.

"Beats me. Maybe he wants to tell you those words when he's ready."

Jamie laughed. "I have a feeling that won't be for a while, and that dragon is going to be captured any day. You know what, Emily? It's time for me to take matters into my own hands. I have it on good authority that Corrus can handle a little pressure. It's time for me to make my move. Tradition be damned."

"Whoo-hoo!" Emily yelled. "I'm so proud of you, Jamie. You go ahead and do what you need to do."

"I will. I just hope I don't mess this up. Sometimes, he turns those green eyes on me, and my brain turns to mush."

Emily grinned. "I know the feeling, but part of being a diplomat is having composure under all circumstances. Try this. Whenever you feel yourself chickening out, picture the result you want. That will help you refocus and push on."

"Sounds good," Jamie said. Although picturing the result I want might lead to us both naked, she thought, smiling on the inside.

* * *

Later that night, after Ethan was fast asleep in his room, Jamie crept downstairs and joined Corrus on the couch once more.

"Hey," he greeted.

"Hey."

"Is everything with Ethan okay? I know he said he wanted to go back to his room, but I wasn't sure if he was ready."

"Ethan's fine. We have other matters to discuss. Am I your mate?"

Corrus blanched, and Jamie knew that he knew the answer and had chosen to keep it from her.

"Where did you hear about that?" Corrus asked.

"From Emily. She said shifters know pretty soon if someone is their mate. That means I'm yours, right?" Jamie got on her knees and moved closer to Corrus. "If I weren't, you wouldn't bother with trying to keep away. You'd just tell me I wasn't."

Corrus' chest heaved as he warily watched Jamie approach. Jamie chuckled on the inside. She'd never felt more powerful than she did at that moment, and all she was wearing was sweatpants and a t-shirt!

"Jamie, can we talk about this tomorrow?"

Jamie settled against Corrus' side, balancing on her knees. "No," she whispered in his ear.

Corrus drew a sharp breath and swallowed thickly, his hands shaking as he reached up to pull Jamie's hand from his chest, rubbing it gently.

"Just say it," Jamie encouraged. "We're meant to be together, aren't we? That's why I've felt this pull to you, isn't it?"

Corrus sighed and nodded. "You're my mate." He turned and faced her, his green eyes full of so much emotion it made Jamie's body relax and contract at the same time. "You are my mate, and I already love you, which is why you need to stay away from me until I'm sure I'll never hurt you."

"No." Jamie cupped his cheek. "I'm not going to let you push Ethan and me away. We can work through this together."

Corrus pulled away and stood up. "It's not that simple, okay. I've been having nightmares, Jamie. And dark thoughts. I've had them before, but not this much or close together. I'm not sure if it's the fact that I'm confronting things in my past or whether I'm turning into my father. Either way, I don't want to get close to you, then hurt you one day."

Jamie stood and took Corrus' hands in hers, eager to carry the conversation forward now that he had admitted that he loved her. "You say you love me, right?"

Corrus nodded.

"And that you want to protect me from something you might do in the future?"

He nodded again.

"You want to protect me from pain, right?"

Corrus shuffled. "Yes. I already told you that."

"Then why are you hurting me right now? You're hurting me by pushing me away in the name of something that may or not happen in the future. I've been alone for so long, Corrus." Jamie felt her throat tighten. "And now I've found you, and you want me to continue to be alone. I can't do it. Not when you're right here. Not when you make everything easier and brighter. So please, stop pushing me away. I can't take it anymore."

Jamie's eyes were glued to the floor by the time she finished. Yes, she was a single mom who could raise her son on her own if she chose to. But it was hard, ridiculously hard. And Corrus had just spent the last couple of weeks showing her what life with an excellent partner could be like. It wasn't that she couldn't go back to doing it alone, it was that she didn't want to. And all Corrus had to do was open up, and they both would never be alone again.

Corrus tilted Jamie's chin upwards, and she saw the tears in her eyes mirrored in his. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize." He ran both hands down her back.

"I thought because you were human, your feelings would develop more slowly. I don't want to hurt you. I just want to make you happy, and I'm ready to try."

Corrus wrapped his arms around Jamie's waist and nestled his face close to her neck. "I can't promise you forever right now, even though you are my mate, but I want to make you happy. I'd like to spend the night with you."

He pulled back slightly, separating himself. "Will you allow me to do that?"

Jamie nodded and blinked back the tears that quivered on her eyelids as she took Corrus' hand and followed him up to her bedroom. When she realized what might happen, she froze mid-step. It had been years since Jamie’d had sex, and, while her body wanted it bad enough, she still had insecurities about her post-baby curves and her rusty skills in the bedroom.

Corrus turned and kissed Jamie gently. "Don't worry, tonight won't be our mating night. I want us both to be ready for that when it happens. I just want to hold you. Is that okay with you?"

Jamie nodded. "Cuddling sounds nice."

"What about kissing?" Corrus asked.

Jamie grinned. "Kissing would make things even nicer."

"Great. From now on, I only want to make you feel good."

When they got to her bedroom, Corrus took his shirt off and pulled the bedcovers back for Jamie to get in. Jamie ignored his invitation and let her eyes drink him in. Everything about Corrus was seriously sexy to her, from the tattoos on his chest to the faint scars on his back, which spoke of his resilience, to the six-pack that flexed with every breath he drew.

You're one lucky girl, Jamie thought as she got into bed.

Corrus smiled and pulled her to him. She lay her head on his chest and let his warmth calm her. After a few seconds, her limbs felt light, like she could take off and fly at any moment. When Corrus leaned over to kiss her, Jamie yawned, much to her embarrassment.

Corrus laughed. "Ouch. Should I be offended?"

Jamie's eyes widened. "Oh, my god! That was a complete accident."

Corrus smiled, then pecked her lips chastely. "I know. You're a young mother. You deserve your rest. We'll have more nights like this."

Jamie smiled and shut her eyes as she allowed Corrus' gentle stroking of her arm to lull her into sleep. More nights with Corrus sounded like heaven.