“How?” I ask, a tear sliding down my cheek.
“Surprise,” Drew shouts as he comes in behind me. He and Bastian are carrying the red velvet chaise.
The box slips from my hands and Bastian disappears in a blink, reappearing at my feet to catch it. I stare down at him in wonder, my tears of joy so hot and unstoppable.
“We’re gonna go now,” Renee chirps. “See you later byeeee!”
The door slams shut, followed quickly by Renee hooting loudly. My head is light and I realize I’m not breathing. I wobble as I take a deep gasp. Bastian sets the box aside and steadies me, putting a hand on my hip. I hold on to his shoulders as I tremble. The flock of birds in my stomach are going berserk.
“Do you like it?” he asks. “Andrew described the images to me, and I did my best—”
I collapse against him, my face hitting his shoulder so hard I see stars for a second. He envelops me in a tight hug as he chuckles.
“I, love it,” I say in halting breaths. “I love it so much.”
My nerves are all on fire and I need to do something for him, anything just to show him how much this means.
And then it hits me.
I can introduce friends with benefits and show my gratitude at the same time.
“I want to fuck around,” I say, pulling back. “With you.”
He tilts his head, but there’s a knowing smirk on his lips and in his tone. “Oh? Elaborate.”
I am a sex goddess.
“I’m going to say thank you for all of this with my mouth,” I say, pushing him back. “Around your cock.”
He slides his legs out from under him and leans back against the shimmering polished wood. “Is that so?”
“I’m not trying to seduce you. I just want to fuck around, like the other night in the bathroom,” I say. “Do you want that?”
His expression flattens for a moment and my confidence wavers. He bites his lower lip and hooks his thumb in the band of his sweatpants.
“Just fucking around?”
I nod, eagerly, my mouth pooling with saliva.
He leans back on his elbow and pushes his pants down, stopping just shy of exposing himself.
“Finish,” he says, his expression sultry and his tone dark.
A thrill runs down my spine to my fingertips. I get on my knees and crawl over him, earning a pleased huff of breath from his smirking lips. My hands are shaking as I reach for the band of his pants. I run my fingers over the sharp lines of his pale hips, then stop.
“Change back?” I ask.
“You don’t like my pink flesh?” he asks in a teasing lilt.
“It’s gorgeous,” I say, and he grins smugly. “But I want to seeyou. Tasteyou.”
His smile fades to something hotter, needier, and hungry. Then his skin shimmers with black ink, washing across his body as he grows and changes, becoming the dragon when I first met him—well, second met.
“Is this really what you look like?” I ask.
He shakes his head.
“Then…keep changing,” I say, my heart thundering.
