Asshole.
Ash frowned at Race’s tense, departing figure. What was wrong now?
She gripped the towel to her chest. After everything that just happened, she thought there was understanding between them, but he was shutting her out again.
Oh, the maddening dragon!She was having none of that.
Ash stomped after him through the spacious dressing room, the sound of splattering water growing louder. She entered the enormous, marble and chrome bathroom—beautiful yet unyielding, just like the man inside.
Water cascaded over Race in the shower, hitting the glass enclosure where he stood, his hands braced against the wall,every muscle drawn taut. His cock jutted out, thick, long, and impossible to ignore.
The sight stole her breath.
Dear lord.He was sheer perfection.
And it pained her that she couldn’t even give him release.
Sod this!Her body might not be able to handle his dragonfire cum for now, but surely she could use her hand?
She dropped her towel, opened the door, and yelped as the frigid water hit her skin. “Bloody hell, Race. Are you trying to freeze to death?”
He glanced over his shoulder, rivulets pouring down the hard planes of his face and back. He laughed, the sound strained. “Ash, get out.”
“No.” She reached past him for the temperature knob, sliding it to a reasonable warmth.
“I’m trying to get myself under control before I do something we’d both regret.”
“Like what?” She kissed his back, and he shuddered. “Taking what’s already yours?”
“Ash…” he groaned, the sound part warning, part plea. He hung his head, water streaming down his jaw. Beneath his lightly tanned skin, faint black scales shimmered, flickering and fading, his dragon close to the surface. “You don’t know what you’re asking.”
“It doesn’t have to be this way,” she whispered, sliding her hands up his chest, his heart thundering beneath her palms. “I know what you said about the venom, but you’re avoiding me?—”
He grasped her wrists and dragged her to his front, caging her against the tiled wall. His pupils slit, his claret irises bleeding crimson. She stared up at him, all the longing in her heart laid bare. “Race, whatever is happening, it’s beyond lust, beyond us…”
They were like the stars caught in each other’s gravity. If they didn’t align soon, the collision course would be devastating.
“Don’t you get it?” he rasped, voice raw. “I could kill you. Even my venom is fucking dangerous. Too much of it could stop your heart.”
She pushed back his drenched hair, making him meet her gaze. His cheekbones sharpened, the hint of dragon ridges flaring and receding. “Or it could save me,” she whispered. “You keep talking about risk, but what about choice? I choose you, Race. All of you—dragon, venom, all the broken parts—everything.”
Torment was etched in every line of his face. He wanted her, but he was breaking himself in half trying to protect her.
“Heart-fire, I just found you. You are mortal?—”
“That I am. And I’ll die, anyway.” She slipped her hands to his neck, her stare unwavering, aware that he kept his lower body away from hers. “The only choice is whether I live—really live—a lifetime in a few minutes with you, or live a lifetime in despair, beingsafe, with a broken heart.”
“Ash,” he groaned. “I’m returning to Lemuria, I’ll speak with Vargol—the hermit who sent Attor after me. Maybe he’ll know how we?—”
She gently touched his clenched jaw, held his tortured stare. “I trust you.”
For a moment, the silence stretched, except for his ragged breathing and the pounding of her heart.
With a dark groan, he lowered his forehead to hers. “My wily, reckless tempest,” he rasped. “A part of me wants to say no—but gods, I want you so damn much.” His big palms stroked her sides then anchored her hips, and she shivered, desire curling through her. “If we do this, we go slow. I need to…to…” his throat moved, “prepare your body first?—”
“Then prepare me,” she whispered. “Show me how to survive you.”
He shut his eyes, and Ash waited in trepidation as steam rose around them. They might have known each other for only a few weeks, yet it felt like a lifetime.
