His whole face lights up as if I’ve given him the best present in the world, and I swallow hard. Then he kisses me. It’s gentle at first, his lips just skimming mine like a butterfly touching a flower, but then it deepens slowly until we’re eating at each other’s mouths. I struggle to get closer.
His big hands urge me up, and I find myself straddling him. I clutch onto his broad shoulders and look down at him. His eyes have twin flames burning in the golden depths, and the moonlight touches his broad Scandinavian cheekbones and that full mouth so soft amongst the sharp features.
“Ride me, Cary,” he whispers, his accent very strong. “I would see you naked atop me in the moonlight.”
“Here?” I say, scandalised. “What about the security cameras?”
“The land is protected with ancient charms that prevent cameras from seeing magic.”
“Well, I’m not magic, and I have no desire to feature on the local news.”
“You are with me, so you are cloaked in the same ancient charms that cover this place.”
“Why are they there?”
He cocks his head. “It is Arthur’s palace. None shall see him.”
“Well, not now. He’s long gone.”
“Ah, maybe he is not as gone as you think.” My mouth drops open, and he smiles. “Mayhap he slumbers, waiting for the call the same way I have done for centuries.”
“You mean he could wake up at any moment? What about Merlin? Did you know him?”
He rolls his eyes. “Pesky mage. Such a know-it-all.”
The affection is deep in his voice, but before I can ask him another question, he slides his thumb over my lower lip. “So full and pretty,” he breathes and gasps as I take it into my mouth and suck hard. His face is suddenly all angles, his breath coming quickly, and the passion roars back.
“Ride me,” he says hoarsely. “I want to be naked here, where a great castle once stood. So many nights I would stand on the battlements listening to the sounds of revelry while I yearned for someone for me. And now here you are, Cary.”
“I’m so glad I am.” The sincerity is very evident in my voice, and he smiles up at me as if I’m impossibly charming. Not an expression I usually get from the men I know.
I take off my coat and immediately shiver. “I’m not sure it’s the weather for nakedness. Not when you’re human, anyway.”
He cocks his head and then straightens and snaps his fingers. Pink and gold sparks explode into the air, and I tip my head back, watching them shoot up into the night sky. Then I feel a decidedly warm, gentle breeze.
“Sigurd?” I say.
He smiles. “You wished for heat, I believe.”
“Can you also deliver on the lottery?” I shake my head. “Don’t bother. This ismilesbetter.”
He chuckles, and soon heat surrounds me. So much heat, in fact, that I feel sweat beginning to run down my face.
“Sigurd,” I say warningly, and he chuckles.
“I am merely creating the ambient temperature for clothes removal.”
“What a philanthropist you are.” I pull off my jumper quickly, eager to get on with our plans, and he kindly ignores that I nearly remove my own eyebrows at the same time. Then I kick off my socks and shoes. I pause with my hand on my zipper. “You’re positive no one can see me?”
“No one will ever see you,” he replies, and there’s a hardness to his voice, like he’s making a decree. But then he blinks, and he’s back to the sweet, dragony man I know.
I nod and quickly strip off my jeans and my briefs, and there I am. Standing naked in Tintagel. Standing naked in front of adragonin Tintagel. His eyes are hot as he looks at me, and I gasp as I suddenly feel a hand on my back. It’s so real that I glance back thinking that someone is behind me. But no one is there. The hand moves, and I distinctly feel fingers trail down my spine. A wave of heat follows the touch, but there’s no pain—just a tickle. I look up at Sigurd, and he winks at me.
“Sometimes it isverygood to have magic.”
I consider leaping into his lap to hide myself from his gaze, but something stops me. Maybe it’s the honest admiration and lust in his eyes. Whatever it is, it makes me stand straight and shudder as I feel that invisible heat again. An invisible finger runs across my clavicle.
“I would like to bite you there,” he says, his voice low and growly. “Where the skin is soft as silk and close to the bone.”
