The compatibility tests only confirmed what I already knew. Our biological markers aligned perfectly—her body temperature complementing my heat, her genetic structure compatible with mine despite our different species. The magical resonance test showed a harmony I’ve never witnessed in my years overseeing bondings. The soul-bond test merely formalized what fate had already decided.
She stirs now, stretching languidly beneath the silk. My tail tightens reflexively around her ankle, unwilling to break contact even for a moment. Her eyes flutter open, finding mine immediately as though drawn by magnetic force.
“How long have you been watching me?” she asks, voice husky with sleep.
“Since the first sun rose,” I admit, seeing no reason to hide my fascination.
A smile curves her lips. “Creepy,” she teases, but her scent tells a different story—notes of arousal already perfuming the air between us.
I move closer, my larger body creating a shadow over hers. “You are a gift I will never take for granted,” I tell her, tracing one claw delicately along her collarbone. “Every morning I wake to find you here seems impossible.”
Her pulse quickens beneath my touch. I can see it fluttering at the hollow of her throat, can smell the rush of blood beneath her thin human skin.
“May I have you?” I ask, the formal request of my people. Even bonded, consent is sacred.
Her answer is to reach for me, fingers finding the sensitive edges of my crest. “Yes,” she breathes. “Always yes.”
I growl with pleasure, lowering my mouth to hers. The kiss begins gently—I am always conscious of my size, my strength, the sharpness of my teeth against her soft lips. But Tamsin is no fragile thing. She opens to me, her tongue meeting mine, demanding more.
I oblige, deepening the kiss as my hands explore her body. Her skin is like silk beneath my rough palms, warming wherever I touch. This is the miracle of our physiology—her body responds to mine by generating more heat, while mine moderates to prevent burning her. A perfect exchange, a balance written into our very cells.
My mouth leaves hers to trace a path down her neck, tasting the salt of her skin. She arches beneath me, a soft moan escaping when I reach the sensitive juncture of neck and shoulder. I linger there, sucking gently, marking her in ways that will fadeby evening—a temporary claim I will renew each day until the permanent bonding marks appear.
“Solantus,” she gasps as my hand cups her breast, thumb circling the hardened peak. The sound of my name on her lips sends heat surging through me, my core temperature rising another degree.
I take her nipple into my mouth, careful to shield her from my sharper teeth. The sensation draws another moan from her, louder this time. Her hands clutch at my shoulders, nails digging into scales that give only slightly under the pressure.
“More,” she demands, hips rising to press against mine.
I slide lower, tasting my way down her body. The scent of her arousal grows stronger, a heady perfume that makes my head swim. When I reach the apex of her thighs, I pause, looking up the length of her body to meet her eyes.
“You were made for me,” I tell her, my voice rougher than intended. “From the first moment, I knew.”
She spreads her legs wider in silent invitation. I accept, burying my face in her heat. My tongue, longer and more flexible than a human male’s, explores her folds with deliberate precision. I’ve learned her body this past week, mapped every spot that makes her cry out, memorized the taste of her pleasure.
She’s wet already, her arousal coating my tongue as I delve deeper. The flavor is addictive—sweet and tangy and uniquely Tamsin. I focus on the sensitive bundle of nerves at her apex, circling and flicking until her thighs begin to tremble.
“Please,” she begs, hands now fisted in the silk sheets. “I need you inside me.”
I rise above her, positioning myself between her spread thighs. My cock strains against my lower plates, fully emerged and throbbing with need. The physiological changes that began with our bonding continue—I’m larger than before, the ridges more pronounced, the sensitive tip more flared. Eventually, the knot will develop, but for now, this is enough to claim her completely.
I press forward, watching her face as I enter her. The tight heat of her body grips me like a fist, squeezing with exquisite pressure as I sink deeper. Her inner walls stretch to accommodate me, a perfect fit despite our differences. This is what the compatibility tests saw—our bodies designed to join as one.
“So tight,” I growl, fighting for control as I seat myself fully within her. “So hot.”
And she is hot—her internal temperature rises to meet mine, her human body adapting to accommodate a mate whose natural state would burn most of her kind. The heat exchange between us creates a feedback loop of pleasure, each of us growing hotter in response to the other.
I begin to move, establishing a rhythm that starts slow and deep. Each thrust draws a gasp from her lips, her body arching to take me deeper still. Her hands roam my chest, tracing the patterns of my scales, finding the sensitive spots where scale meets skin.
“You feel so good,” she pants, eyes half-lidded with pleasure. “So deep.”
I increase my pace, driven by her words, by the sight of her beneath me. My tail wraps around her thigh, providing an anchor as I thrust harder. The den fills with the sounds of our coupling—her moans, my growls, the wet slide of our bodies joining.
“Mine,” I rumble, the word torn from somewhere primal within me. “Say it.”
“Yours,” she gasps as I hit a spot deep inside that makes her walls clench around me. “I’m yours, Solantus.”
I feel her approaching climax—the fluttering of her inner walls, the change in her scent, the tension in her thighs. Reaching between us, I find the sensitive bud that will push her over the edge, circling it with my thumb as I continue to thrust.
