Donna Grant - Dark Craving Read online

  Let them measure her, because the only one she cared about was Hal.

  Once she spotted him, she couldn’t take her eyes off him. The closer they drew together, the wider their smiles got. She barely noticed when Con handed her over to Hal.

  When Hal’s warm hand closed over hers, all the nervousness vanished. They followed Con into a cavern, the other Kings falling into step behind them.

  “There’s still time to change your mind,” Hal whispered.

  “Not on your life. You stole my heart, so I’m yours.”

  “For eternity.”

  “For eternity,” she said as they stopped before Con and she looked into Hal’s moonlight blue eyes.

  Con glanced at them before he said, “It’s been a long time since we’ve had a binding, but it’s something to celebrate. We welcome Cassandra Hunter to our family, as mate to Haldor Wilson.”

  There was a pause as Con looked to Hal. “Do you bind yourself to this human Cassie? Do you swear to love her, protect her, and cherish her above all others?”

  “Aye,” Hal said with a smile, his gaze never leaving hers.

  “And you, Cassie,” Con said. “Do you bind yourself to the Dragon King Haldor, lord of all Greens? Do you swear to love him, care for him, and cherish him above all others?”

  Cassie smiled as tears of joy filled her eyes. “Yes.”

  She expected to hear Con announce something like they were now bound, but there was nothing. And then she felt something sear her arm. She gasped in surprise and pain as Hal steadied her.

  “It’s all right,” he said softly, reassuringly. “It’s part of the ceremony. What you find will prove we are bound, Cassie. There’s no turning back now.”

  “As if there ever was,” she replied with a wink.

  She moved the gown off her left shoulder and down her arm where she saw a tattoo now inked on her skin. It was about the size of her fist, but with a design that made her catch her breath it was so beautiful.

  “It’s a dragon eye,” Hal said, and traced the pattern with one finger. “A dragon’s eye sees things a mortal eye never will. This mark with the eye and the flames coming out around it signifies you as one of us.”

  She stared in awe at the design, noting the way the eye seemed to be staring at everyone. It made her feel protected and a part of something. “It’s stunning.”

  “How does it feel to be immortal?” Hal asked.

  Cassie rearranged her gown over the tattoo and covered it with her hand. “That’s a perk, but one I don’t really know how to answer. I’ve never been immortal before. What’s really special is that I have you. I never thought I’d find someone like you, Hal, or that you’d want me to.”

  “Oh, I want you,” he whispered as seductively. “It’s too bad we now have to go to the wedding when I’d rather take you to bed.”

  She wanted nothing more, but thankfully the wedding went almost as quickly as the first ceremony. She briefly noticed Dan and his wife, the only people she knew, as she walked once more down an aisle to Hal.

  They had decided on an evening wedding with candles everywhere. Cassie hadn’t been sure about having the wedding outside, but Hal promised her she would be warm and it would be beautiful. And he hadn’t disappointed.

  She found her gaze trapped by his, saying the right things at the right time. And then something was slipped on her finger.

  A glance down gave her another surprise in an emerald that matched her necklace with a wide hammered platinum band that had small diamonds on either side all the way around the band.

  “Oh, my God,” she murmured.

  “I like surprising you. I need to do it often,” Hal said with a grin.

  She had chosen a ring for him as well, but since they hadn’t spoken about exchanging wedding rings, she had planned to give it to him later.

  Cassie pulled it from her thumb and took his left hand in hers. “You’re all mine, Hal.”

  She slid the wide band on his finger and then ran her thumb over the Celtic design etched into the platinum.

  “For eternity,” Hal whispered.

  “For eternity.”

  Applause erupted along with barking from Duke as Hal kissed her.

  The first day of her life as mate to a Dragon King had begun. And Cassie had never felt so blissful. She had the happily ever after she thought wouldn’t be hers.

  And with a man who was part dragon. Maybe the fairy tales really were true.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14