“That’s not exactly the speech a girl dreams about hearing,” she said, shaking her head, but her heart was fluttering with joy. “We’re going to have to work on your romantic side.”
“Hey, I made you breakfast,” Taylor defended himself. “I’ve never cooked breakfast for a woman before; that should count for something.”
“Well, I’d better be the first and the last,” she said, smiling at him. “I think I might be the jealous type.”
“I’ll make a note of that,” Taylor said, grinning back at her, then the smile slipped from his face. “Emily, there are things you should know before you get involved with me. That dragon inside me makes me different, and I want to make sure you understand what that means for both of us before we go any further.”
She took the last bite of her breakfast, then washed it down with the rest of her coffee, before getting up and taking both of their plates to the sink. After rinsing them with hot water, she stacked them neatly, then turned to face Taylor, who was watching her closely, a look of apprehension on his face.
“It doesn’t matter what you have to tell me, I don’t care,” she said. “Whatever it is, it won’t change my mind about us, you’re not the only one who’s been fighting this, but last night I was so sure we going to die and I realized that I didn’twant to miss out on something wonderful. No one has ever made me feel the way you do, Taylor, and I’m done trying to ignore it. I want to be with you, and that’s all there is to talk about right now.”
She walked over to him, pulled him out of the chair, slipped into his arms, then looked up at him. “This is when you’re supposed to kiss me,” she said, grinning up at him when she saw the shocked look on his face. “I haven’t done this very many times, but I think that’s how it starts.”
CHAPTER 21
***TAYLOR***
Heart pounding in anticipation, Taylor lowered his mouth to Emily’s and kissed her like he’d been dreaming of doing since the first time he saw her, ignoring the little voice reminding him that she didn’t know what she was doing. Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her closer, crushing her body to his, groaning at the way her breasts felt pressed against his chest. When her nipples hardened a few seconds later, his entire body began to tingle with need, and all he could think about was getting her clothes off as fast as possible.
Before he could act on the impulse, the little voice inside his head started talking to him again, and marshalling the last of his control, he pulled away from Emily. “Sweetheart, we need to talk before this goes any further. There are things you should know,” he said. There’s something happening between us, something that could change your entire future if we take this next step, and I want you to be sure this is what you want.”
Emily studied him for a second, then began to unbutton her shirt. “This is the only this I’m sure about right now,” shesaid, shrugging it off her shoulders, revealing a black lace bra. “I want you Taylor, more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my life, and not just for tonight or next week. I’m a for-keeps kind of girl; I’m talking about a forever kind of thing.”
“That’s what I’m trying to tell you,” he croaked, then groaned when Emily slowly unbuttoned her jeans and slipped them off. “We could be bonded forever if this goes any further.”
“Oh, it’s going further,” she said, closing the distance between them. “Are you going to take your clothes off, or do you want me to do it?”
“Emily, slow down,” he tried once more, but she was already reaching for the buttons on his shirt. “You need to think about this.”
“This is all I’ve thought about since we met,” she said, making quick work of the shirt, then running her hands up and down his chest before sliding them down and unbuttoning his pants. “I don’t need to think anymore, I want to be yours, Taylor. I want us to be together for as long as you’ll have me. I don’t know what else to say to convince you that I won’t change my mind or be sorry afterward. I’m a grown woman, quite capable of making up my own mind. Now it’s time for you to make a choice: do you want me or not?”
He didn’t even have to think about the answer. “More than anything in the world,” he said, pulling her into his arms. “You’re the most irritating, stubborn, frustrating woman in the world, but I can’t imagine my life without you.”
Emily laughed, but before she could say anything, he lowered his mouth to hers, cutting her off, and the only sound that came out of her mouth was a sigh of pleasure when he deepened the kiss. Her arms came up around his neck, and he swung her up into his arms, carried her over to the bed without breaking the kiss, then gently laid her downon the rumpled sheets. Stepping back, he looked down at her for a second, his body already throbbing with a need to take Emily unlike anything he’d ever felt before, but he wanted to go slowly, wanted to savor every second of the experience.
Sliding into the bed next to her, he leaned up on one elbow to look down at her, then reached down and unsnapped her bra and let it fall open. His mouth began to water when he saw her full breasts, the nipples slowly hardening as he watched and he leaned over sucking one into his mouth while his hand toyed with the other. Emily gasped and arched her back, one hand tangling into his hair the other gripping his shoulder as he sucked on the stiff peak, then teased it with his teeth and tongue.
Emily was trembling with pleasure by the time he finally picked up his head and let his hand trail down her stomach between her legs. She opened them willingly, gasping when he slipped his finger between her folds to stroke her swollen nib, then moaning softly when he slowly took her higher and higher, his body responding to her pleasure by growing almost uncomfortably hard.
He took her over the edge, the dragon inside him responding to her pleasure by releasing little bursts of magic that only heightened the sensations roaring through his body as he watched her. His control slowly slipping away, the urge to bury himself deeply inside her welcoming body became overpowering, but he waited, holding his breath as Emily came floating back down to Earth.
When she finally opened pleasure-filled eyes to look up at him, his breath caught in his throat, then came out with a whoosh when he saw the raw need in her eyes. “I need you inside me, Taylor,” she said, her eyes locking on his. “I’m yours, I’ll always be yours, take me now, make me yours forever.”
Her words triggered something ancient inside him,sending waves of power washing over him and making it impossible not to do exactly what she’d asked. Slipping between Emily’s legs, his eyes never leaving hers, aware that he was about to change both their lives, he grabbed her by the hips and drove himself into her welcoming warmth. Waves of pleasure took his breath away instantly, and he knew without a single doubt that this was the woman he was supposed to be with. The knowledge released a wave of warmth that flowed through him and into Emily.
She gasped, opening her legs wider for him and he drove himself into her over and over until they were both soaring, Emily moaning his name as his magic fed the fragile bond between them. All too soon, she tumbled over the edge again, her body squeezing him tightly as her muscles rippled with the force of her pleasure, and he couldn’t hold on any longer. Burying himself deeply inside her, he let his release take him, let the waves of sensation overwhelm him until he was only aware of the woman beneath him and the way her body felt wrapped around him.
It was several minutes before he collapsed on top of Emily, his chest heaving, unable to catch his breath, but he realized that she was in no better shape. He finally managed to roll off her, then gathered her up in his arms, still overwhelmed by the pleasure rushing through him.
When he looked up at the ceiling, he was surprised to see the room filled with little twinkling lights that slowly floated down and disappeared into the bed. “I didn’t expect a light show,” Emily said, looking up at him. “That’s a nice little bonus.”
“I’m not sure what that means, but it must be good,” he said, grinning down at her. “I guess we’ve got someone’s blessing.”
***Emily***
Emily pulled the chicken out of the oven just as the door opened and Taylor ushered his mom into the house. “Oh, something smells wonderful,” the older woman said, crossing the small space and peering over her shoulder. “And it looks even better.”
She set the pan on the stove and shucked off the oven mitts she’d been wearing, then turned to face Taylor’s mom, surprised when she found herself enveloped in a big hug. “I want grandchildren soon,” she said, then pulled back and looked at the shocked look on Emily’s face with a smile. “I just thought I’d get that out there, you know, put it on the table. You’ve always got a babysitter when I’m around.”
