“You’re going to cook?”

If she weren’t my sister, I’d be insulted. Also, if she hadn’t already tasted my cooking, I’d be really insulted. Regretfully, she’s been the recipient of my attempts.

“That was a long time ago, Sharnaz; I’ve gotten better.”

She rolls her eyes at me and sips at her milkshake. “Yeah, I wouldn’t put money on that. Some people just don’t have a cooking bone in their body.”

“Are you going to help me or continue to critique my culinary skills?”

“I am definitely going to help,” she says with a definitive snap of her cup on the table top. “I damn sure don’t want you scaring off your fated mate when he realizes just what he’s taking on with you.”

“Is that supposed to be helping?”

“Yes, whether you see it or not. All right. I’ll send you some links to look at for specific Red Skull rituals that should be easy to pull off. Make sure to read them and before you start making creative substitutions, call.”

I was never one for tradition. Not that I don’t love family, but it’s never been my strong suit. I let my mother and sister handle all that for family get togethers. I never really paid them much attention. Thinking about them too hard always brought back the haunting ache of missing my brother. So I put them out of my head as much as I could.

Now it’s different.

I want to do something for Kuras, to celebrate us. I want to honor both our heritage as Red Skulls. Fated mates. Tradition now takes on a whole different meaning for me.

I look over my sister’s links and pull out a few things that ring true for me, things that will resonate well for the both of us.

Then I start my list. When I’m done, the night I claim Kuras as mine will be one neither of us forget.

The aroma of dinner fills my home. It’s a nice smell. It’s the smell of delicious.

Lamb on the Pike is what it’s called. The lamb is a tradition of courtship, at least according to the website my sister sent me. The pike is a hewn limb from an oak tree on my family’s property, inserted through the center of the cut. Supposedly, it’s a talisman that represents when our descendants first found they could walk among people. They needed the magic then to keep from being discovered.

Now, we have the ability to shift when we desire.

The spices are a mix of herbs we used to build our nests to attract mates to us.

The vegetables, all round and left whole, potatoes, onions, peas, radishes, represent our ability to procreate and continue our line.

Wine with dinner to represent our introduction into human society.

Yellow and gold flowers to acknowledge our origins in human mythology as hoarders of wealth.

Keys to my place on a golden ring, to signify the sharing of our wealth when we bond. When we become official mates, our legacies will combine. Due to our nature, it will be substantial. Our children will never know lack, if they care for it.

I’m probably going overboard but I want everything perfect.

At exactly six pm, the doorbell rings.

I make sure I don’t have anything that dripped or splashed on my dress slacks or shirt. I didn’t have time to dick around with a tie. I’m not much of a tie-wearer anyway so maybe I’ll be forgiven that.

When I open the door, Kuras is standing there looking absolutely fantastic. He’s dressed similar to me and he’s also not wearing a tie.

Dodged the bullet there.

“Hey.”

Kuras smiles at me. “Hey. I was wondering if the wonderful smells were coming from your place. I guess it is.”

“Yeah. Dinner.”

“I suspected that considering you invited me over for it.”

“Right. Come on in.” I step back to give him room to come in before shutting the door. “I have wine, if you’d like some.”

“Love it, actually. And here I am bearing gifts as well.” He pulls a small box wrapped in dark purple paper with a gold bow and hands it to me. “Dessert.”

“Does it need refrigeration?”

“Nope. Room temperature is just fine.” He follows me into the kitchen. “Do you need help with anything?”

“Thanks, but actually, I think I got this.”

“You sound surprised.”

“More than you’ll know.” My confession brings a laugh and it helps me relax a little bit. “But I’m a bad host. You need your wine and I need a kiss hello.”

“Is that how it works?” Kuras strolls over to where I pour his glass and hold it out to him.

“In this house, it does.” When he grasps the wine glass, I don’t let go. I draw it back to force him to step close.

He smiles at me, accommodating my silent demand. His face tilts up and I cover his mouth in a kiss, searing this moment in my mind, like so many other memories I intend to remember.

How we make it through dinner will be the question for the ages. It turned out delicious, thanks in big part to my sister but I did my part, too. We both eat our fill, then move on to the chocolate dipped strawberries Kuras brought.

They’re not the wimpy ones, either. These are the huge gourmet ones. Worth every cent he paid for them.

He offers me the first bite and the explosion of chocolate and perfectly ripe strawberries melts in my mouth.

Mouthgasm. That’s what it is.

I lick at my lips and catch that he’s watching me intently. The dark of his eyes blown wide in desire is stunning and speaks directly to my inner dragon. It’s eager to get on with the mating.

I won’t lie, I am, too. Still, it’s something that will only happen once. I want to take my time with this.

His tongue slides between his lips, mimicking mine and that’s something I can’t resist. I chase his tongue, mouths crashing together to heat and need.

Kuras starts to unbutton his shirt and I catch his hand. “No. Not here.” Continuing to hold his hand, I pull him away from the table, leaving the dishes where they are. We head down the hallway, every step amping up the anticipation until my heart beats so heavily I fear it’ll break through my ribs.

We’ve had sex before, so it’s not like this is our first time together.

Yet in many ways, that’s exactly what it feels like. Because it is.

This will be our first time together as bonded mates.

I shut the bedroom door to close out the world. This is now all about us.

Gently, I start on his shirt, each button through the hole a deliberate motion. He watches my hands for a while before he reaches for me to start on mine. I shake my head. “Me first. I want to enjoy every aching second of you.”

Kuras blows out a shaky breath and tries to stay still until the shirt is parted from his body to land on the floor near our feet. “Now you,” I say.

He takes less time and his hands are shaking.

“Nervous?”

With a nod, he pushes my shirt off my shoulders. I catch it at my elbows before letting it drop next to his. His hands explore my entire body, setting my skin on fire with his touch. They descend slowly to my slacks which he unfastens with the same reckless impatience as my shirt. My cock juts prominently, trapped by my underwear.

He drops to his knees and with one motion, has my underwear down and his mouth on me. It brings a gasp and a buck of my hips. With the need pounding through me to claim him, my resistance is very low. He can finish me off before we have time to get started.

I grab a handful of his hair and jerk him off me. “On your feet.”

He complies quickly, breath coming in soft pants which I swallow with another kiss. He whimpers softly in his throat, his fingers scratching against my chest as they curl into fists.

“Trousers off.” I’m done with patience. He’s stripped it from me with a look. I have to claim him now. No other time will do.

We kick our clothing away, now standing naked before each other.

And I am as naked as I’ve ever been with him. He now sees everything that I am. I have opened my soul to show my fears to him and he has accepted me with patience and love. There are no more walls.

I take him to my bed. Despite the urging of my dragon to move ahead, I make love to this beautiful man with my mouth, showering him with the love I feel and the praise of someone who is so utterly perfect for me. His voice lifts in soft cries and gasps over my name as I take him up and then down until he’s begging for me.

“Turn over, my love,” I say softly against his swollen mouth.

With a nod, he complies. So sweetly, so completely.

His body is ready for me like it has never been and with a swift stroke, I find myself completely buried in him. I pause, more for myself to gather my wits than for his body to adjust to me. He has taken me in and we are now one and the same.

I keep my thrusts measured, even though I know that won’t last long. His body sucks me in again and again until every thrust is a bruising beat that matches my heart. I feel myself climbing the heights, my orgasm beginning its final climb to the peak. My knot starts to swell and press against his ass.

“Yes, Bronaz, please,” he whines softly. His fingers clutch the sheets, pulling them from the corners of the bed. He blindingly flails one hand out to hold the headboard. “Please.”

Hooking a hand on his shoulder, I pull back firmly and press until it pops into him with a gasp. I can’t stop it now.

I don’t want to stop it now.

I sit back on my heels and draw him with me. My arms are tight bands around his chest. “Show me your throat,” I whisper.

He shivers and obediently cants his head to the side. My teeth find the point that will seal our fate together into eternity and I bite down.

Kuras shudders violently with his climax, his body arching and clenching me as I find my final release in him, filling him full with my seed.

The connection hits me next, my vision going white. I hold on as I jerk and throb into him until my body is an empty shell and I’m completely and wholly entangled with my mate.

When it passes and we are back to ourselves again, Kuras slumps in my arms, his chest heaving with gulping breaths. I press a kiss to the bonding spot and he laughs lightly. “Amazing.”

“Yeah.” And I don’t just mean the bond.

We’ll be knotted together for a while, so I tip us over on our sides. With a foot, I manage to find the comforter and pull it up our bodies to ward off the chill as we start to cool off.

There, wrapped in my arms, I hold my mate close to me. “You’re mine now.”

“Works both ways.” Kuras stifles a yawn, but it is still contagious, making me yawn as well.

“Sleep, my mate.” If there’s anything that needs discussion, it will keep.

We have the rest of our lives to talk about it.

I don’t know what time it is when I wake but it’s dark. The only illumination in the room is the soft red light coming from my alarm clock. The air is chilled against our skin and Kuras snuggles against me.

Some time during our doze my knot went down and he turned so that he’s laying half on me, arm and leg draped over my body. “This was the most amazing night,” he finally says in the silence. “Thank you.”

“I wanted this to be something you remember. Something that you’ll tell the grandkids about how your clueless mate finally pulls his head out of his ass and figured out that if he didn’t have you in his life, it would have been a tragedy of the ages.”

“I think my mate did a fine job of head-from-ass removal. He’s in the wrong business.”

This easy banter between us feels good. I kiss the top of his head and inhale. His scent is strong and fills my senses until I’m dizzy. “I don’t know. I may need to try it again, just to be on the safe side.”

Kuras barks out a laugh. “Oh gods, again. How ever will I survive the night?”

“Think of it as a way to build stamina.”

“I’m not really sure who that benefits.” Kuras places a warm kiss on my shoulder, shifting to perch on me, straddling my hips.

“Me, of course.” My hands smooth up the firm muscle of his thighs. I draw my fingertips down his stomach. “I want to see this full of my baby.”

“I think you’ll get what you want.” Kuras covers my hand with his. He presses until my palm is flat against his body. “You knotted with me and my body was ready for you. There’s a very good chance I’m pregnant.”

That sounds perfect to me. Kuras is my mate now. I’ve claimed him and there’s no escaping this for us.

For a brief moment, the old panic is back.

We’re inseparable now. I’m a part of his life and he’s a part of mine. What if…?

I can’t let myself go down that dark place again. Kuras is here now. He’s alive and warm and willing to be in this with me for the long haul.

Instead, I focus on the pride that swells my heart, knowing that I will be a father. That I will have children with this captivating man.

That Kuras is in my life, just as much as I’m in his.

It fills me with hope. A renewed view on life.

“Well,” I say, my hand slipping from his. I reach for his cock. It’s not hard until I start to stroke it back to life. Kuras lets out a choked moan. “I think I need to make sure my baby is in there. I don’t want to leave it to chance.”

“You’re going to wear me out,” Kuras protests. It’s a weak protest considering he leans back and braces his hands on my thighs so he can rock into my hand.

“That’s the plan.”