Kiss of Frost (The Dragon Stone Saga Book 1)(24)

"And my mate mark… Will it always flash cold when you come inside me?" I blush at my bold words. I shouldn't. We'd just had sex and I'd given him a blow job first but still.

"I am not sure. I've heard of mates exchanging magic and forming a sort of conduit between each other, but if you are worried, there are places we stored ancient texts that no one but a dragon could get to. I could always go in search of them."

I frown at the thought of being parted from my dragon for longer than a few hours. "I'm sure it's fine. I'm just curious. Normally witches are lucky to find their true life mate. For it to be a dragon is something that is obviously not heard of."

"There aren't many of us left. But a long time ago, mated pairs often included both a dragon and a witch."

"That's so cool!" I read about dragons when I was younger. At least what little there was to read about them. But they'd gone into hiding so long ago I never thought that I'd have the chance to meet one, let alone love one.

Beck rubs his hand up and down my back, his rough palm sending shivers over my skin. "Are you cold, mate?"

I laugh, his question pulling me out of my thoughts. "Not at all. Why?"

"I can feel your nipples pressing into my stomach." He grazes each breast with his hands as he runs them back up my sides and I smirk.

"I can't help it. You turn me on." I press a kiss in the middle of his chest and smile up at him, contentment washing over me like a balm.

The doors to my room crash open, and Jem storms in, waving a sheet of paper in her hands as Beck and I scramble to cover up our naked bodies from her view. "You guys! You will not believe… Oh. Oh, shit." Jem covers her eyes with one hand. "Uh, how about I just wait outside?"





Chapter 10





After laughing so hard my stomach hurt, Beck and I quickly dressed and joined Jem outside of my bedroom.

"Hi, Jem. You were saying?" I try to keep a straight face but end up in another fit of laughter that results in Jem and me clutching at each other and Beck shaking his head at the both of us.

"What is taking so long?" Ann asks as she ascends the top of the stairs.

"Uh, nothing. They were sleeping. I had to wake them up," Jem fibs and I pray Ann will let it go despite the fact that I'm probably redder than a stop sign.

"Riiight. Did you tell them?"

"Tell us what?" I ask as the same time Jem shakes her head.

"Not yet." Jem shoves the pieces of paper at me and I pinch them between two fingers.

"What is it?" I scan the top paper, flipping to the second page. My breath whooshes out of me. It's a picture of a stunning ruby ring. The middle stone is large and round, and a golden filigree flower wraps around it. To add to the dramatic look of the piece, a half crown of garnet points frames the center stone. It's a work of art, but it's also a prison. "Holy shit. You found it."

"Where is it?" Beck reaches for the papers and I hand them over.

"So…that's the tricky part." Jem winces.

"What do you mean tricky?" I ask, dread coloring my tone. I knew the other shoe was going to drop at some point. I guess now is a good a time as ever.

"I'm the one who bought it."

"Come again? I'm not seeing the problem here, Jem. Get to the point." I wave a hand in a tight circle, expressing my frustration with my hands rather than shouting.

"I bought it for a friend for her birthday. She absolutely loves it. Wears it all the time. So I'm not sure how I'm going to get it off of her finger without her freaking out." Jem bares her teeth in a semblance of a smile-slash-oh-shit expression.

"I'm not really worried about her freaking out. Beck's brother could be in there! We need it back. Like, yesterday." I try to hold back my frustration. It's not Jem's fault that she gave the ring to her friend. She had no idea at the time that it was holding a dragon hostage and the object of desire for a bunch of nasty mages.

"I know. I've already called her and set up a coffee date. We're getting together tomorrow."

"And do you have a plan on how you're going to get the ring off her finger without her knowing?" I huff a breath, breathing through my nose to try and calm my nerves. This has to work. I won't let Beck down with this.

"I'm going to charm another ring and sleight of hand it."

"That's risky, Jem…"

"I know it is, but I've got no other choice."

"Do you need to brush up on your sleight of hand? It might be a good idea to get some practice in before you do it."

"I know. I'm going to ask Kay and Zoey to help me. I figure since teenagers fidget, if I can fool them, then I can fool my friend."

Back in the day, Jem did "magic" tricks and sleight of hand stuff as a side gig. She was incredibly talented. So much so that she drew attention from some not-so-nice criminals who wanted to use her services. She never really told us about how she'd gotten them off of her back, but there was a year that she'd been pretty distant, and both Ann and I had worried about her until suddenly she was back to her old self and goons in suits weren't banging down our door.

"Have we found the sales record for the bracelet yet?" I ask, changing the subject for now.