Free Scorch: M/M Gay Shifter Mpreg Romance (Dragon's Destiny: Fated Mates Book 2) by Wolf Specter, Angel Knots Page A

know what he was getting into, and what it meant, and make his own choice before I fully claimed him. I suddenly wanted him to say yes because he wanted me, not because he was driven by heat or fate or simple lust, but because hechoseme, too.
    And he would. He was my fated mate, after all. I was sure he wouldn’t say no. Well, pretty sure… even if nothing with Devin had been easy so far. But what if I told him the truth before he was bound to me, and he didn’t want it? Didn’t want me? Didn’t want to be plunged into a world where dragons were real and people were compelled to do things that they didn’t choose for themselves and, fuck, what if he only wanted me because my heat had touched him? What would I do if he only said yes because he couldn’t say no? Is that how fate worked?
    I started to feel that increasingly-familiar tension I’d had of late: insecurity. It really sucked. I’d have to ask Dane how he’d told Wes, and what his mate’s reaction had been. In fact, I should go find him right now—
    “Maks,” Ty said, waving a hand in front of my face to get my attention. “Fuck, man, seriously. Listen. This is important.”
    “What?” It came out too sharply. I liked Ty, but I’d almost forgotten he was there. Nothing was more important than finding a way to get my mate to say yes—and mean it—and at the moment Ty’s persistence was slowing me down.
    “Dude, chill. You’re steaming again. Did Dev ever tell you what happened to the father of Sarah’s children? No? Okay, well, I think it’s cool to share because, you know, fated mates and shit. It sounds like she got a really raw deal, and I thought maybe with your dragon voodoo you could get this fishing company to do the right thing by her. You know, take care of her and her kids.”
    “What are you talking about, Ty?” I asked, my irritation with him instantly forgotten. I was suddenly all ears.

10

~ Devin ~
    I was starting to get obsessed with the idea of Maks fucking me. The better I got to know him, the hotter my need for him burned. And he’d finally kissed me. His touch was like a drug, and now that I’d had a taste I craved more of it with a desperation that was almost painful. It had been all I could do in the hallway to stop myself from begging him to take things farther. For the rest of the day, I’d half expected him to push me for more, and a part of me wanted him to—even though I knew that wasn’t fair, since I was the one saying no.
    But he hadn’t.
    And when he’d dropped Sarah, Holly, and I off at the end of the day, he hadn’t lingered. I hadn’t been ready to be apart from him, but I had no right to be clingy and I tried not to let it bother me.
    I knew I was being ridiculous, and I appreciated the fact that he respected my need to honor the vows I’d made to Sarah, even though it was becoming harder and harder for me to remember why that was so important when it seemed like—between Maks, Sarah, and me—I was the only one who felt strongly about it.
    It was the principle of the thing, I reminded myself. I didn’t break promises.
    “Holly and I will be fine tonight, Dev, if you want to, um, go somewhere with Maks,” Sarah had whispered to me earlier in the car.
    And I probably would have, I admitted to myself, if he’d asked.
    Since he hadn’t, I spent the rest of the night playing with Holly. Sarah had had fun at Great Wolf Lodge, but the day had taken a lot out of her. She looked exhausted, and when I suggested she take a nap she didn’t even pretend to argue. I didn’t mind. I was happy—as always—to spend time with the cheerful toddler who I’d come to love.
    Before this thing with Sarah, I’d never really let myself think about having a family of my own. It had seemed so unlikely, if not downright impossible, that I just hadn’t let my mind go there. But after Sarah and I had gotten married—before Maks had come into my life—I’d found myself ridiculously content with it, even though I