I can’t wait to get back to Rebecca. Being away from her is a physical ache in my chest, an itch under my skin, like when my scales are shedding only worse.

I’d probably be completely off my firefighting game if it wasn’t for the fact that containing the fire also keeps Rebecca safe. My lair is warded by charms so there’s some measure of protection. For example, nobody can get into the house unless they’re invited by me. In fact, the driveway can’t even be see. Not by anyone but me. And Rebecca. As my mate, she is able to see it.

But, no amount of warding will protect Rebecca or my lair from a forest fire. So, I concentrate and focus on doing my job, no matter how much I want to turn around and rush straight back to her.

Vyn and Malek can tell that I’m a bit distracted. I know they’re smirking at me through our bond, even if physically we can’t see one another because of our helmets and the amount of smoke. The fire is being stubborn and the chief sure wasn’t lying when he said that it’d be impossible to travel the roads to town.

At least for now Rebecca’s in a safe place. I’ll be able to smell her almost everywhere in my lair by the time I return. Our lair.

When my shift is finally over and I can get back to her, my first thoughts are how to woo her. I’ve got to do something big, something traditional, something romantic. That way she’ll understand how serious I am. How strongly I feel about her. More presents will help to strengthen the mating bond. They’ll make her happy and bring us closer.

Another part of me is suggesting that I show her just how much I want her by grabbing her, pulling her against my body, and ravishing her with kisses, but that’s more likely to get me a knee to the groin than anything else. No, no, I need to impress her first. Then she might even invite me to kiss her.

The forest isn’t exactly in the best shape right now and I can’t get into town, but I manage to find and pick a pretty nice bouquet of wildflowers. It’s not a dozen roses, but I’m in a tight spot here.

I have a lovely antique pearl ring. I’ve got some twine somewhere I can use to tie the flowers together and to tie the ring to the bouquet. Then, I will prepare a steak dinner, light some candles, put on some appropriate music… I’d get the fire going but it’s way too hot out for that, and we’ve probably both had about all the fire we can stand today.

When I get back to the house, my heart nearly stops as I cross the threshold. Her scent. I almost drop the flowers as tingles travel through my body. It’s incredible having her here, knowing that she’s safe. Her heartbeat is slow and steady, and I can smell the telltale thick-slow scent of sleep on her.

I peer in the library. She’s curled up on the window seat, a blanket flung over her legs. She looks so beautiful I have to grip the doorframe to keep myself under control.

At least while she’s asleep, I have time to enact my plan. I close the library door and start preparing.

I take care of the flowers, then put them in water. While I wait for her to wake up, I start grilling up some steaks, and prepping some vegetables. I don’t have much by way of dessert, but ice cream will have to do. There’s wine, and I set out the candles.

Oh, and I take off my shirt. I might think Vyn’s ideas are over the top, but he does know how to get women to sleep with him, and I remember how Rebecca looked at me when she saw me stepping out of the bathroom after my shower. She desired me in that moment. This’ll remind her how strong I am, how well I can protect her.

A part of me feels kind of stupid with all of this. I’m not exactly the romantic type, or I haven’t been until now. But I don’t know how else to win her over. This is all tradition, and it must be tradition for a reason. My instincts are telling me to woo her.

I’ve just finished preparing the meal when I hear the library door open and Rebecca enters. She’s blinking blearily, running her hand through her hair to get it out of her face.

I grab the bouquet with the ring tied to it and walk over to her. “Hello,” I say, holding the flowers out for her to take. “Did you enjoy your nap?” I do work with other humans, I know how to be considerate in a general sense.

Rebecca stares at the bouquet. “What the hell?”

“They’re for you,” I explain. “I picked them.”

She takes the pearl ring between her fingers, then holds it up to me. “And this?”

“That’s for you as well. You seemed like the kind of person who likes pearls rather than diamonds.”

Rebecca blinks at me. “Right.” Then her eyes widen and her gaze drops from my eyes to my chest. “Why aren’t you wearing a shirt?”

Her voice is a bit shaky and I can smell the beginnings of arousal in her. I stifle a moan, but I want badly to stir that lust higher, preferably with my hands, tongue, and other parts. Instead, I try to hand her the flowers again. “It’s hot out, and I was cooking. Do you not like the flowers?” I ask. This is the third time I’ve tried to hand them to her and she hasn’t taken them.

“There are an awful lot of candles around here,” Rebecca notes instead, folding her arms. “Okay, buster. Flowers, candles, dinner, you’re shirtless, a ring, a necklace earlier… what the hell is this? Did you watch too many movies on the Hallmark Channel?”

“I don’t have a television.”

“Neither do I. It’s amazing what movies and TV shows you can get online.” Rebecca raises an eyebrow at me and I can tell that she’s unimpressed by my gestures. “So, are you going to fess up to whatever bullcrap is going on here?”

I can feel my blood pressure going up a little. “It’s not bullcrap. I’m just trying to…” I don’t even know how to say it without sounding like a complete idiot. “Isn’t this the sort of thing that women like?”

“Maybe some women, but last I checked we weren’t all identical,” Rebecca shoots back.

“They’re romantic gestures, aren’t they?”

“Yeah, sure, if we’re in a cheesy Hollywood film.” Rebecca seems to realize that I’m honestly not trying to be a jerk here, and she sighs. “Look, these are all nice gestures if you take them at face value. But they feel hollow. Does that make any sense?”

I think about it. These are nice gestures. Why else would there be cheesy Hollywood films about giving your love roses and cooking for them? I’d like it if someone cooked for me and gave me gifts. It’s why birthdays are awesome.

But if she says the gestures are hollow… maybe it’s not the gesture itself that matters to her. Maybe it’s the sentiment behind it. Rebecca’s a scientist and researcher who lives out in the woods. Not the kind of person who wears jewelry, and probably not the kind who wants flowers.

She also doesn’t have family or friends.

That’s when the lightbulb clicks on. She doesn’t want a gesture that’s typically romantic. She wants something tailored to her, specifically. That’ll show that I’m truly thinking about what she likes, what’ll be helpful to her.

“Oh look, he gets it,” Rebecca says, deadpan. “Congratulations, you now understand why women get pissed at their boyfriends. While we’re on the subject, don’t only ever give gifts as an apology, they’ll start to associate gifts with you screwing up and then the gifts won’t be fun anymore.”

She walks over into the kitchen, leaving me standing there with the flowers and ring. “Now that we’ve finished Romance 101, I need to get going. And put a goddamn shirt on. Are the roads still closed?”

“Unfortunately. They won’t be cleared for a couple of days.” I’m lying through my teeth about the ‘unfortunately’ part. Now I have a chance to fix things and do this wooing right, before Rebecca can turn tail and run. She certainly seems capable of it. I wouldn’t put it past her to just skip town.

“Fantastic,” Rebecca says, in a tone that suggests the opposite. “I’ll take the couch, I guess.”

There’s no way I’m letting her take the couch. “You can sleep with me.”

Rebecca stares at me. “Excuse me?”

“You can share my bed. It’s big enough.”

Rebecca doesn’t look at all pleased with this idea. “Right, like I’d trust that you won’t try anything. We’ve just met. You took me to your home instead of taking me into town like I told you to, and I can tell you’re hiding something from me. Not to mention it’s pretty damn suspicious how you managed to just stumble across me. So, forgive me if I’m a little skeptical about this whole ‘we can share the bed’ deal.”

“Maybe it was fate that I found you.” Fate and a mating bond but, tomayto, tomahto. “And I’m sorry about bringing you here but we couldn’t have gotten into town anyway. The fire had already spread to block the roads. You’d have ended up here either way. I promise you, I promise on my honor, that I won’t do anything you don’t want me to do. You’re completely safe here with me.”

Sometimes, humans get the wrong idea about this whole mating business and think a dragon is going to have his or her mate, one way or another. As though we’d force ourselves or something. It’s against our very natures to hurt our mates. To hurt one’s mate is to hurt oneself. The idea of forcing Rebecca do anything that she doesn’t want to do makes me nauseous.

No, I want her to come to me. I want her to beg me to touch her.

Rebecca still looks skeptical, but I can see her resistance waning. It’s a very nice bed, after all. And because of the mating bond her instincts should be assuring her that she’s safe with me, even if she doesn’t fully understand why.

“Fine,” she says at last. “We’ll share the bed. But if you try anything, I’ll ruin that handsome face of yours. Understood?”

I grin. I love how compliments keep slipping out of her, without her meaning for them to. “I’m handsome, huh?”

Rebecca scowls at me. “Just serve me this damn steak. And put a shirt on, for crying out loud, are you a nudist or something?”

I put a t-shirt on, but I’m smiling the whole time. She’s warming up to me. Now I just have to think of some proper romantic gestures tailored specifically to her. Something that fits who Rebecca is, something that she’ll truly appreciate.

Then, she’ll fall for me and accept me as her mate.