Leo’s movements became more insistent, his hips driving upward as he held her tightly against him. Estelle could feelher release building again, a tight coil of pleasure threatening to consume her.
“Estelle,” he gasped, his voice rough with need. “I can’t—”
“Don’t stop,” she urged, her fingers digging into his shoulders. “Please, Leo.”
He groaned, the sound vibrating through her chest as he suddenly gripped her hips hard and thrust upward, burying himself as deeply as possible inside her. She felt him pulse within her, his release spilling hot and deep as his body shuddered beneath hers.
The sensation pushed her over the edge, her second climax washing through her in waves that left her trembling and clinging to him. For a moment, they stayed joined, foreheads resting together as they caught their breath.
Then a startling thought came to her. A new life. A sibling for Adara. The hope of another small dragon who would mean her daughter would never be alone in her uniqueness.
Someone who would understand what it meant to be a dragon in a world that no longer believed in them. Someone to fly with when the time came, to share the freedom of the open sky.
Leo held her close, his hand moving slowly up and down her spine as their breathing steadied. In his arms, Estelle felt something she had not known in years.
Safety.
Not borrowed. Not temporary. Not the brittle kind she built for herself out of caution and locked doors.
Something quieter. Something real.
She closed her eyes and let herself believe in it for one stolen moment. That here, with this man, she could stop running. Stop fighting. Stop being so terribly alone.
Chapter Eight – Leo
When he’d decided to head over to Estelle’s with food last night, he never dreamed this was where it would lead.
To her bed.
Don’t forget meeting her dragon,his bear said, sounding faintly aggrieved that he hadn’t been lucky enough to meet their mate in the scales.
Now that would be something,Leo replied as he shifted slightly, careful not to wake Estelle.
She was curled against his side, her dark hair spilling across his chest, one arm draped over his torso in sleep-heavy possession. The mate bond hummed between them, stronger and steadier than before, like something forged and settled overnight.
Complete,his bear murmured contentedly.That’s what this feels like. Complete.
Leo had to agree. He’d never felt anything like this—this bone-deep certainty that he was exactly where he belonged. The world outside this bedroom suddenly seemed far away, less real than the warmth of Estelle’s breath against his skin and the steady rhythm of her heartbeat.
His bear stretched lazily within him.We should wake her. With kisses. Everywhere.
Leo smiled at his bear’s eagerness but didn’t move. Instead, he took in the details of her bedroom in the soft morning light—the stack of books on the nightstand, her clothes still in her suitcase, and a framed child’s drawing on the dresser. Small glimpses into who she was and what mattered to her. He wantedto learn all of it, to map the shape of her life until he knew it by heart.
A soft sound from down the hall caught his attention—Adara stirring in her bedroom. His bear immediately perked up, alert and interested.
The cub is awake,his bear noted with surprising tenderness.Our cub now.
Not officially,Leo reminded him, though the thought sent a surge of protectiveness through him.But yes, in all the ways that matter.
Estelle shifted against him, her eyes fluttering open. For a moment, confusion clouded her expression, then recognition dawned, followed by a soft smile that made Leo’s heart stumble.
“Morning,” she murmured, her voice husky with sleep.
“Morning,” he replied, unable to keep the wonder from his voice.
She reached up to touch his face, fingers tracing the line of his jaw as if making sure he was real. “You stayed.”
The simple statement held a question, and Leo caught her hand, pressing a kiss to her palm. “Of course I stayed.”
