Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 44553 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 223(@200wpm)___ 178(@250wpm)___ 149(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44553 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 223(@200wpm)___ 178(@250wpm)___ 149(@300wpm)
“Keres! You’ll make me drop my crown!”
Relenting, he slowed and set her feet back on the floor. “Sorry, Snowflake. You do have to take it off at some point.”
“Not for a long time,” she decreed, straightening the beautiful tiara.
“Want to choose another?”
“No. This is the one,” she said without hesitating.
“Then, jewelry next.”
Rimi dripped with necklaces and bracelets and held a couple dozen sets of earrings in her hands after the next stop. She’d had so much fun picking out treasures, he’d had to bring her a carved wooden chest to store the extras she couldn’t wear. Unaccustomed to smiling, Keres’s cheeks ached from his enjoyment of watching her.
“I can carry that,” she said, reaching for the gorgeous box he held.
“I’ll give it back to you, Mate.”
“Promise?” Rimi stared at him hard.
“I promise.”
She smiled up at him, making Keres feel ten feet tall. “Thank you. What else do I need in my hoard?”
“Gold, of course.”
“Do I get that pile?” she asked, waving a hand back where they’d been.
“No,” Keres answered. The heap of coins had skyrocketed in value to him after their play there. He wouldn’t part with those. “I had something else in mind.”
Waving a hand toward another section of his collection, Keres said, “Go through that doorway.”
She winked and raced for the opening. Weighed down by the number of gems she still wore and holding the tiara, Rimi wasn’t fast. Keres gave her a head start before jogging after her. “Wow!” reached him as he stepped inside.
That cavern was huge. In it, a fairytale castle stood. Rimi stood on the footbridge over the sparkling moat. “There are huge goldfish swimming around.”
“Yes. Japanese koi. A couple of those are fifty years old.”
“Does someone live here?”
“No. This is a play castle. If we dig through those stones,” Keres pointed to the far wall, “it will connect to the east hallway. We can make a concealed entrance there into your secret hoard.”
“This can be my treasure spot?” she asked, looking at the gorgeous castle.
“Yes. If you like it here. Let’s go inside and you can see if you’d like to store your booty here.” Keres stepped around her and raised the creaking front gate by pulling a looped chain. “Your kingdom awaits.”
Rimi sped past him. “This is so neat.”
He entered the large center room and leaned against the wall, safely out of the way to watch her cute bottom disappear as she darted into each of the rooms. Her exclamations warmed his heart as she discovered the play kitchen, the toy room, and finally, the bedroom with a wall of mirrors and a huge makeup mirror.
“Daddy! Bring my jewelry in here,” she called.
Pushing away from the wall, he followed her voice. She knelt on the velvet stool in front of the large, gold-framed mirror. Gilded brushes and combs sat in front of her, as well as a padded head to hold her tiara.
“I love this room,” she gushed.
“I’m glad. Where would you like me to set your collection? It will fit in this niche perfectly.”
Rimi clapped her hands as he set it on the spot he’d created when he’d designed the castle. After his last mate had passed, Keres had worked on the castle as he dreamed of the future. When he failed to find a mate over and over, he’d spent more time in this area, determined to create something special for his fated match whenever he found them. Its vast size attested to the length of time he’d worked to create this.
In the last decade, he’d only visited to feed the fish and maintain the castle. Glancing at the sheer fabric draped over the small napping bed, he noted the bedding and curtains would need to be washed to rid them of the dust that had gathered. He’d wiped down all the horizontal hard surfaces the week before he’d left to search for Rimi. A quick visit while she slept last night had allowed him to be prepared for her first visit.
“Is this really for me?” Her smile faded slightly, and he guessed the cause of her waning excitement.
No one has ever played here before, Rimi. I created this for you. I filled it with love for my upcoming mate.
“Really? It’s all mine?”
“It’s yours. I’ll help you connect to my mansion and we’ll close the passage to my hoard.”
“Will you have access to my castle?” she asked suspiciously.
“You are my mate. I will always have emergency use of any barrier between us.”
Her face revealed her internal debate as she considered whether she wanted him to have the power to enter her hoard. “Will you take my stuff?”
“No. That would break the dragon code.”
“There’s a dragon code? They really should create a handbook for new dragons. We’ll have to tell Slate.”
“Slate already has figured that out,” Keres assured her.
“Did he try to steal your stuff?”