“Damn it! I know. I fucking know what happened. I was there,” Kingston snapped. It wasn’t as if he had wanted to summon the clan or activate the covenant. His dragon did that.
“Then why, brother? Why not wait until the mating was done? That way, if something happened …”
“Do you think I had a choice? Or that I was in any way in control? Everything that happened from the moment I left here was pure instinct on the part of my dragon. I couldn’t have stopped him even if I had been in control. It’s like he had been waiting his whole life for that moment. That and finding his mate.
“Even now, I can feel him pushing to be free. He wants nothing more than to snatch Emmy out of this hotel and take her back to the lair. He would keep her there until she agreed to the mating if it was up to him, but I can’t let that happen.”
“No, brother. You really cannot let that happen. Call me crazy, but I’m pretty certain that’s no way to win over your mate.”
“No shit, Sherlock,” Kingston deadpanned. He was perfectly aware of what was considered appropriate behavior and what wasn’t. The problem was getting his dragon to know the difference.
“Heads up. Is that her? The woman with Malia?” Jace asked.
“That’s her.” Kingston’s heart pounded in his chest to the point that he thought his freaking rib cage might splinter into a million pieces.
“She’s …”
“The most beautiful woman that I’ve ever seen,” Kingston said. Once he found his mate, the sea of women who he’d once noticed so easily disappeared. Women he used to see as attractive became plain.
“I was going to say really short, but sure,” Jace agreed with a nod.
“Not short. Fun size.” Kingston had coined that term for her the second she stumbled into his arms.
“Hey, baby,” Jace said, pulling Malia into his arms. His mouth instantly closed over hers, not caring who the hell was watching.
That was exactly what Kingston wanted to do with Emmy, but he bit the side of his cheek and kept his ass planted on the barstool.
Emmy had the good sense to look away the longer his brother’s greeting with his mate went on.
“Are they always like this?” Emmy asked with a blush.
“Usually, it’s worse, but they’re in public, and at his place of employment, so they’re keeping it relatively calm. Did you give any thought to letting me take you out for a tour of the island?” he asked, hoping she would just say yes already.
“Umm. Not really. I don’t want it to be awkward, nor do I want to cut into your free time. I’m sure you have a million things you’d rather do than show me, a complete stranger, around,” she said.
“I wouldn’t have offered if I had something better to do or didn’t want to. It would be my honor to show you around. Why don’t we let these love birds be and take a walk down by the beach? That way, I can prove to you that I’m not a nutcase,” he said with a smile, hoping like hell that his offer for a walk on the beach would at least be accepted.
“Fine. A short walk on the beach, then I’ll decide about tomorrow.” She smiled up at him.
“Finally, a yes out of you.” Suddenly the weight on his chest over their future lifted. He realized in that second that it wasn’t that she had no interest in him. She had that whole stranger danger thing going on. All he had to do was find a way past that.
* * *
Emmy knewshe should have said no to the hunky Kingston, but she just couldn’t seem to make the word leave her mouth. He was so sweet and freaking hot. What would the downside be to accepting a short walk on the beach with him? It would be the perfect chance to find if their personalities meshed enough to spend an entire day together sightseeing.
“I’ll catch up with you later, brother. We’re going for a walk on the beach,” Kingston said. Though his message was completely ignored.
“They are too cute together,” Emmy said before turning away and following Kingston’s lead.
“They are. I am truly happy that my brother found his mate.”
“Mate?” What an odd word to use, she thought. She had only ever heard one other person use that term for a spouse or future spouse. She decided to keep her mouth shut on the subject for now.
“Yeah, it’s an island thing. It just means that she is his destiny.”
“That’s really sweet,” she said as they exited the hotel and made their way down a short sidewalk that led onto the sandy beach. Bending over, she slipped her sandals off so she could feel the sand on her bare feet. She was surprised when Kingston did the same thing. He kicked off his socks and shoes and rolled up his pants.
“We can just leave our shoes here for now. No one will bother them.” He placed their items next to each other off to the side of the main walkway.