Angel stretched luxuriously against him, making a pleased little sound when he nuzzled against her neck.

It had taken a few minutes to recover from the intensity of his climax. But although the need for her was less intense now, there was still a fierce, wild part of him, buried deep inside his heart, that wouldn’t find rest until they were truly bonded.

The bond between them had already grown. It had been faint before. But now that they were resting skin to skin, her heart against his, he could feel a faint echo of her own pleasure and happiness that ran through him like liquid, golden honey.

“Mmm, so what’s next?” she sighed at last.

With a playful growl, he nibbled her shoulder. “Next, we do this all over again.”

She giggled and batted lazily at his head, although she didn’t resist. “Not that, silly. I mean, what are we going to do next?”

“See if Henrik has any news about the dire wolf,” Jonathan said. “Though I wouldn’t be surprised if he ran off, now that another dragon got involved. And I suppose you should go check your emails to see if the Mitchells got your message about what happened.”

“Ugh.” Angel grimaced. “And the insurance wanted to call back as soon as they can send someone out here.”

“Either way, plenty to do, and none of it as much fun as what we just did.” He traced one of her breasts with his hands, loving the weight of it against his palm, and the way she arched when he flicked his thumb against her nipple.

“Nngh, stop distracting me.” She didn’t sound as if she really wanted him to stop. “And I meant, what are we going to do about your family? You need to find your sister. Maya hasn’t seen you in ages!”

Jonathan stiffened, then rolled away from Angel. “No. I can’t. I made a deal. I need to stay dead to the dragon world. It was already a mistake to involve Henrik—but that couldn’t be helped.”

“Don’t be stupid.” Angel rolled against him, wrapping an arm around him as she rested her shoulder on his chin. “Men. Did no one ever teach you that the only way to solve a problem is by talking? Running away isn’t going to fix this.”

“It did before,” he pointed out. “That was the deal.”

She snorted. “Fixed it for Vincent’s dad, maybe. But what about you? You miss your family. Don’t pretend you don’t. This is going to sound weird, but—I can feel it, inside you. Like a little cloud of darkness.”

“The mate bond,” he said tonelessly.

Of course. It wasn’t just he who could feel her happiness. Now that their mate bond was growing in strength, she’d also be able to see the secrets he’d hidden away from the world.

Which was exactly how he wanted it to be. He didn’t want to have secrets from his mate, not ever.

But in this one thing, he was right, even if she couldn’t understand.

He’d caused his family enough harm. If pretending that he was dead was the only way to make up for it, then that was what he’d do.

“Mate bond,” she repeated thoughtfully. “That’s why I sometimes feel like I know what you’re thinking?”

Jonathan nodded again. “It’s what happens when we find our mates. And once we are truly mated, no one will ever be able to destroy the bond between us."

"Mates," she repeated thoughtfully. "Like soul mates?"

"Exactly like that."

"So how exactly does it work?" She thoughtfully wound one of her tight, dark curls around her finger, then released the strand. "Is there, I don't know—a ceremony? Do we have to wait for the full moon? Do we cut our fingers and let our blood mingle?"

Jonathan couldn't help the laugh that broke free. "No," he said, grinning, "but I'm starting to see why you'd make an excellent museum educator for children. It's much easier than that. And less exciting. And also less child-appropriate."

"Oh," she said, her eyes widening when she seemed to realize at last what he was talking about. "You mean—"

"I'd have to claim you. Truly claim you. If that’s what you want,” he added hastily. “You can’t trick someone into it. We both need to want it.”

"You mean, it will always feel like this? Like there's a part of me that knows you?"

"Always," he said hoarsely. "Even when we're apart, you'd carry a part of my soul in your heart. And you would always be with me."

Her eyes were still so wide that he could barely see the rim of brown around the black circle of her pupils.

"Incredible," she breathed. One of her hands came up and pressed against Jonathan's chest, who could feel his heart pounding.

Even now, he could sense the developing bond. And he knew that she could feel it too.

He could feel her wonder faintly come through it. Her wonder—and her love.

He could feel her need for him, which fed into his own need for her, until the urge to pull her against him and kiss her breathless grew almost overwhelming.

She licked her lips, and he couldn't look away from her petal-soft mouth. Then, behind her joy, he felt another truth through the bond—her bone-deep exhaustion.

He smiled wryly when he realized that he was just as tired.

As much as he ached to hold her in his arms and truly claim her as his mate, now was perhaps not the best of times. Not with both of them barely able to keep their eyes open.

“It sounds beautiful.” She smiled as she ran her fingers down his arm, then winked. “And useful. Especially if you’re going to keep dealing with your problems like most men.”

“Hey,” he protested, “I dealt with my problems like any dragon from an honorable family would.”

“Same thing.” She grinned at him, then yawned, tugging at his shoulder until he settled down again. She snuggled into his embrace. “Anyway, let’s make another deal. We’ll deal with it all tomorrow. Because I don’t know about you, but I’m utterly exhausted.”

“It’s been a few very long days,” he said softly and pressed his lips to the warm curls of her hair. “Goodnight, love.”

“Night, my stubborn dragon.”

***

In the morning, they took the dogs for a quick walk. One of the local kids helping out at Snow Castle had volunteered to dog-sit for them, and so they left Diego and Lola with the girl before they made their way to the resort’s lavish breakfast.

“Over here.” Dara waved at them from a door. “We thought that we could have breakfast together and catch up before Henrik has to head out again.”

“He’s a busy man.” Angel laughed, eagerly piling her plate high with eggs, bacon, and yogurt with fresh fruit.

Jonathan followed suit, adding a tower of pancakes as the dragon inside him unfolded his wings in greedy approval.

He felt better already. The day and night of rest had begun to restore his energies. Right now, he’d probably even be able to shift without killing himself.

Another week of rest, and he’d be back to where he’d been before he’d gone into the ice.

Henrik looked busy indeed, hastily hiding a letter with a guilty look at his mate when they entered the small, separate room where he and Dara had prepared a table for them.

“Sorry. No business during breakfast, I know.”

“Not unless it’s important,” Dara said, shaking her head at Henrik as she closed the door behind them. “Is it?”

“No. Just our supplier asking to change a delivery date.”

With a grin, Dara grabbed the letter from his lap and shoved it into her pocket. “Then it can wait half an hour.”

Laughing as well, Henrik raised his hands in surrender. “All right, all right. Breakfast first.”

“I’m just as much of a workaholic as he is,” Dara explained to Jonathan and Angel, “at least when it comes to Snow Castle. But some things are sacred.”

“Like having breakfast together every day,” Henrik agreed, stealing a piece of bacon from his mate’s plate.

“We always try to eat together, no matter how busy our days are.”

“Usually Leo is with us as well,” Henrik said, “and we’re eating out there together with our guests. But I think we need some privacy today, and I don’t want Leo to get scared of wolves.”

Jonathan nodded. “Any news of that dire wolf?”

In response, Henrik shook his head. “If he’s still around, he must have gone into hiding. I went out again at night to circle the mountains, but couldn’t pick up anything unusual.”

“And there was a call from the insurance of those people you were house-sitting for,” Dara added. “It’ll take another two days before they can have someone out here to look at the damage, thanks to all the snow.”

That was a relief. Another day or two of rest was just what they needed.

“Anything from the Mitchells yet?” Angel asked with obvious worry.

Dara nodded. “A quick email that said that they were glad you and the dogs were fine, and not to worry about the house.”

Angel closed her eyes and slumped back in her chair. “Oh, that is the best news. Thanks! I was terrified they were going to sue me for destroying their house and nearly getting their dogs killed.”

“Hey, you nearly got yourself killed to keep their dogs safe.” Jonathan reached out for her hand. “And I’m willing to testify in court if I have to.”

Angel gave him a warm look. “Thanks. I really hope it won’t come to that.”

“I’m going to fly out again after breakfast,” Henrik said. “I don’t like the thought of a dire wolf so close to Snow Castle. Hopefully he just ran off. But if he didn’t...”

“I should go with you.” Jonathan felt guilt well up inside him. It wasn’t right to have a stranger protect his mate.

“You’ve just come out of the ice. You’re staying where I can keep an eye on you.” Angel frowned at him. “Anyway, you should eat your pancakes. Because I’m not watching you nearly kill yourself for me again.”

“She’s right, you know.” Henrik gave him a serious look as well. “You know I’m not your enemy. But someone out there is. You need to use this chance to recover, for your mate’s sake as well as your own.”

“And I’ll need someone to hold my hand when I call the Mitchells later.” Angel grimaced. “I can’t believe I destroyed the house of two of the most influential people in the movie business. Maybe I’ll end up as inspiration for the new villain in Millennium Woman Six: Mountain Disaster. Or, wait: Ice Apocalypse. Children all over the world will hate me and my terrible powers that destroy beautiful homes.”

Jonathan laughed. “You mean, your powers that draw dragon shifters to you?”

“And dire wolves.” Angel shuddered. “What a horrible beast. I hope he’s gone for good. What did he even want?”

“I’ll take another look at the house on my patrol,” Henrik promised. “If that dire wolf was searching for something, or stealing their valuables, maybe he left a trail.”

“And I’ll call the Mitchells. Hopefully they won’t shout at me.” Angel poked at her eggs with a worried look.

Jonathan nudged his stack of pancakes towards her.

As far as he could see, Angel had done absolutely nothing wrong. Surely the insurance would agree with that. And hopefully, once she had all of that in writing, she’d stop beating herself up about it.

Until then, he’d just have to find new ways to distract her...