“I’ve made up my mind,” Dragon said abruptly, breaking into her train of thought. “I don’t want you in the Marketplace—not until after we’re married.”
Bobbi’s heart sank—she’d been looking forward to getting out of the house for a breath of fresh air—even if it was extremely frigid air.
“But the tradition—” she began.
“Fuck tradition,” Dragon said harshly. Leaning forward, he cupped her cheek. “I can’t be apart from you so long unless I know you’re safe. You can buy me a wedding present after the wedding, all right?”
Bobbi wanted to argue, but she could tell it would do no good. Dragon was extremely stubborn and possessive when it came to protecting her and it was clear he wasn’t budging on this point.
“All right,” she agreed with a sigh. “I guess I’ll just gossip with Keelah all day then.” She shook her head and her throat got tight. “I just hope Zerlix hasn’t beaten her again, poor thing.”
Dragon gave her a serious look.
“I know you want your friend to be free, but there’s nothing I can do about her situation until after Zerlix gets tired of her.”
“I know.” Bobbi nodded. “But you promise to buy her as soon as he lets her go?”
He nodded.
“I promise, feela. I’ll pay her price and you can either keep her here with you as a companion, or I’ll fly her back to the Northern Continent to be with her family.”
“That choice is going to be up to Keelah,” Bobbi reminded him. “Just because you’re buying her for me, doesn’t mean I’m going to own her. She’s my friend, Dragon—I want her to be happy.”
“Just as I want you to be happy, little one.” He stroked her cheek lovingly.
“If you truly wanted that, you’d come back with me to the Mother Ship,” Bobbi said desperately, deciding to try one last time. “Even for a short visit—”
“Let’s not fight about this.” Dragon frowned sternly. “You know my Sire needs me here to help with the Clan. And you only want me to visit because you hope that I’ll decide to leave Saurous and go live on the Mother Ship with you—which is never going to happen.”
In fact, that was most definitely Bobbi’s hope and she hadn’t quite given it up yet.
“Just think about it,” she pleaded softly, though it hurt her pride to have to beg. But that was what she had been reduced to, because she was only a woman and women had no rights on Saurous.
It wasn’t lost on her that Dragon had the final say in their relationship—that the balance of power was shifted entirely and permanently to his side. It was certainly not a situation she’d ever expected to find herself in—she had been a strong, independent woman all her life and, left to her own devices, she never would have fallen for a man with such patriarchal views.
She didn’t entirely blame Dragon for his attitude towards women—(that they must be protected and didn’t have the right to make their own choices)—or his views on marriage—(that the man was the absolute head of the household and always had the final say in any situation.) In this case it was Nurture over Nature and he was very definitely a product of his environment. He had been raised by Saurians in the Saurian way—which was horribly misogynistic—so he was just acting the way he’d been taught.
It’s like I traveled back in time and I’m marrying a guy from the 1950s, she thought, looking up at the big Kindred. I wish there was a way to bring him into the present.
Still, things could be worse, she told herself. At least Dragon didn’t treat her as though she was disposable—a toy that could be mistreated and easily cast aside once he got tired of it. If he had treated her the way Zerlix treated women, she never would have fallen for him.
Maybe that would have been better, she thought. Maybe then I would have tried harder to get away instead of spending every night in his arms with his face between my legs!
Which, to be honest, was exactly how they had spent almost every night for the past 2 weeks, ever since Dragon had decided that Marking her was important to keep her safe from other males. The big Kindred was a wonderful lover—both tireless and selfless when it came to her pleasure. But Bobbi couldn’t help wondering if having an amazing sex life could compensate for living on Saurous the rest of her days.
“What are you thinking, feela?” Dragon looked at her intently. “You’re not going to be upset just because I can’t leave my duties here to go visit the Mother Ship, are you?”
“If you can’t leave your duties, what about letting me go visit for a while and then come back?” Bobbi suggested hopefully. “After we’re married and we form a bond, that shouldn’t be a problem—you know I’ll come back to you.”