“It felt like you were mine.”
I break.
Everything in me — dragon and man, ancient and new, all the centuries of waiting and wanting andaching— bows to that.
“I am yours, Kaia.” The words tear out of me, hoarse and desperate. “Every part of me. My body. My dragon. My past and my future.” I cup the back of her head, press my forehead to hers. “Then, now… always.”
She sighs. Soft and warm andcontent.
Then she snuggles closer and kisses my neck.
Not sleepy this time.
Deliberate.
Her teeth graze my pulse point and I shudder.
Fully awake now. Fully here. Fully aware of what she’s doing as her lips trace up my throat, as her tongue flicks against the sensitive spot beneath my ear, as her fingers slide under my shirt to rake across my chest.
She pulls back just enough to look at me. Her eyes clear. Violet eyes dark with want, sharp with certainty.
Then she pulls me down into a kiss.
Not tentative. Not asking permission.
Claiming.
I give her everything. My mouth opens against hers, and she makes a sound — a small, desperate sound that goes straight to my cock. Her tongue slides against mine and I’m already hard, already aching, already lost.
“Please,” she whispers against my lips. “I need you. I’ve needed you for so long and I didn’t even know—”
I roll her onto her back.
The furs slip down and she’s bare beneath them — golden skin warm from sleep, from the bath we gave her last night. I’ve seen her naked before, but not like this. Not spread out beneath me with that look in her eyes, the one that saystake me.
“Gods, Kaia.” I pull back just to look at her. Golden hair spread across dark fur. Flushed cheeks. Parted lips. The soft swell of her breasts rising and falling with each shallow breath. “You’re so beautiful it hurts.”
“Then stop looking.” She reaches for me. “And touch me.”
I lower my mouth to her throat.
She gasps when my lips find her pulse. Moans when I suck gently, tasting the salt of her skin. Her hands fly to my hair, fingers tangling, pulling me closer.
“Centuries,” I murmur against her skin. “I’ve waited centuries for you.”
“I know.” Her voice breaks. “I’m sorry it took me so long to remember.”
“Don’t.” I kiss lower. The ridge of her collarbone. The hollow between her breasts. “Don’t apologize. That’s mine to do. You’re here now. We’re here now. That’s what matters.”
I take my time.
I’ve waited too long to rush this.
My mouth traces the curve of her breast, and she arches into me, a whimper escaping her lips. I circle her nipple with my tongue — slow, teasing — and she makes a sound that’s almost a sob.
“Kieran—”
I draw her into my mouth and suck.
