“I think I love you,” she said.
Dillon’s brows shot toward the ceiling. His smile shone so bright, she had to blink away tears. She’d never known feelings like this before. Everything was new and scary, but also exciting in its own way.
“I know I love you,” he replied.
She fanned her eyes to keep herself from crying. They had a lot of work to do. Isabella had to learn how to be loved, and Dillon had to fend off a clan war. They had each other, though. No matter what ups and downs they experienced, they would have each other.
Dillon helped her down from the counter and gingerly pulled her shirt over her head. They formulated a plan to tell the doctor how a candle had fallen on the bed while she slept. The story didn’t cover the gashes in her skin, but she knew doctors wouldn’t pry too hard if you held to your story.
She no longer needed to be saved.
Well, except from being kicked out by Gavin.
Chapter Eighteen
The flight back to Zander’s territory took longer than Dillon expected. Perhaps it was the growing distance between him and his mate that bothered him. He yearned to rest his head on Isabella’s stomach and listen for the sounds of growth. Instead, he had to fly Nate back to Zander and drop him off as a warning.
Nate wriggled in his bindings, but Nellie had enchanted them so they would remain unbreakable until he was safely delivered. Dillon had begun to understand why dragons feared witches so long ago. Nellie was a force to be reckoned with.
He knew she had nothing to worry about with Dillon and his clanmates, though. If anything, she was safe with them.
Dillon saw the familiar shape of Zander’s mansion in the woods. Instead of swooping lower, he gleefully tossed Nate and let him plummet through the air. Dragons could withstand the hard landing. He would be fine until Zander found him and realized what a failure he was.
Gavin had opened an invitation to Nate, but the dragon man was too afraid of Gavin’s father to accept it. That gave them only one choice. Both he and Jake had to go back. Beside Dillon, Erik banked and flung Jake toward the ground.
They twisted in the air, all too ready to head back home. Dillon knew that no one in his new clan would betray him the way Nate and Jake had. Only months ago, they’d all been a part of the same clan. One would have thought there would be a kinship still lingering between them. Dillon knew that the two dragon men had acted out of fear of Zander, but that didn’t do much to lessen the sting of betrayal.
Especially when Dillon knew Isabella was nursing her wounds at home. She had second degree burns on her shoulder. A tattoo on her shoulder had been ruined by burns and scars.
Had Dillon carried Jake back to Zander’s territory, he would have dropped the man several times over. It was not nearly as much as he deserved.
Landing back home, on the mountain, Dillon should have been exhausted. Instead, excited energy pulsed within him. He had a mate now.
***
Isabella vibrated with excitement as she watched two dragon shapes coast overhead. She’d been sleeping on the couch the last few nights, as Gavin had warned her that he needed to do some renovations in her bedroom. She’d assumed he had some wiring to fix, so she hadn’t complained.
She’d kept up with her duties around the cabin while pretending to search for an apartment. The cabin was her home, and the thought of leaving filled her with dread, so she tried not to think about it most of the time. Instead, she thought of Dillon.
The small couch had only made her feel alone, though. Watching Dillon descend and land, her heart leapt into her throat. His dragon form shrank until a naked man walked toward her, a sight that stole her breath in so many ways. He paused before her, a gesture that they’d agreed would be a silent way to ask permission.
Isabella threw herself into his arms. Dillon caught her and held her tight. She couldn’t help but feel like he’d missed her as much as she’d missed him. She kissed his forehead, his cheeks, and finally, his lips. Dillon sank into her, and she realized this was their first real kiss.
It should have felt strange, knowing they’d already fooled around in her bed, but she was too wrapped up in Dillon’s touch to care. As her feet touched the ground again, his hands slithered down her waist. He growled into her mouth, a vibrating sensation that she adored.
“I never want to leave again,” Dillon whispered.
The front door slammed open. Isabella let out a yelp and shrank into Dillon. But it was only Gavin. He wiped his hands together as he walked past them.
“Your bedroom is ready.”
She scowled, confused. Dillon cocked his head. She fed him a quick explanation and then had to hold Dillon back from going after Gavin once he learned she’d been sleeping on the couch.
“You didn’t have to kick her into the living room!” Dillon shouted. “You could have given her my bed!”
Gavin stopped and half-turned. Isabella caught the small smile on the man’s lips. “No, I couldn’t. You’ll see why.”
Casey stepped through the front door and shook dust from his hair. Splatters of paint marred his face, but Evangeline appeared beside him with a big paint handprint on her ass. Isabella stifled a laugh.
“Go check it out,” Evangeline said.
Isabella took Dillon by the hand and led him toward her bedroom. Where there had been two doors, a set of double doors now stood. She cast a quizzical glance back at Dillon, and he shrugged, probably just as puzzled as she was.
The doors had no glass, so she couldn’t see into the room. She took one doorknob while Dillon took the other. It occurred to her that she should have noticed these doors being brought in. Gavin must have snuck them inside while she’d been at a doctor’s appointment. She didn’t understand what he had to hide, though.
They swung the doors open at the same time. Isabella gasped.
The room she had slept in for weeks was gone. Gavin and Casey had torn down the wall separating her room from Dillon’s. A king-sized bed sat to one side, flanked by new nightstands. Isabella slowly turned to take in the whole room and froze when she saw a crib at the other end. A mobile with crocheted dragons spun over the bedding.
“I overheard your confession the first day you moved in,” Gavin said from behind them.
Isabella whirled and embraced Gavin in a bold hug. He stiffened. She suspected Gavin had to look to Dillon before he hugged her back. She didn’t care. This was one of the nicest things anyone had done for her.
When she pulled back, Gavin leaned away from her, trying to be aloof and cold again.
“This is your home, too,” he said.
Home.
Isabella could barely believe her life. For the first time ever, she had everything she could have ever wanted. Surrounded by love, Isabella’s heart expanded. She put her hand over her breastbone like she could somehow hold back the wave of emotion about to run her over.
She could blame her hormones all she wanted, but she’d always been an emotional person. She felt deeply, and now it finally felt like she was giving her affection and attention to the right people.
“We didn’t know if you’re having a boy or a girl,” Evangeline said as she pulled Isabella into a hug. “So, we tried to keep the room gender neutral. Both boys and girls can like dragons.”
Isabella looked at Dillon. He sat on the edge of the bed and watched Isabella with pride written all over his face. He no longer looked as though he wanted to escape or like he was trapped inside his own mind. She didn’t know what wounds he’d had, but she had a feeling that she’d helped heal him, too.