Page 46 of Desired By the Dragon

Oh, fuck. “You shifted in town?” I winced. “The coven⁠—”

“Can kiss my fucking ass. You needed me.”

I swallowed hard, vaguely remembering fire and screaming, but it was mostly a blur after Derek had shot me and I’d fallen to the ground, busting my nose. Before any fear could rise up, a warmth eased my chest and I relaxed before narrowing my gaze.

“What was that?”

“What?” he said innocently. Too innocently. “Um, so I don’t know how to say this, but⁠—”

“We’re mates.”

His mouth opened and closed but heat sparked in the depths of his eyes. “Yes.”

“What I just felt… Was that our bond?”

“I guess so. I felt it before, when you were shot.” He looked away and I could tell by the set of his jaw that he was blaming himself for not getting there sooner. “I don’t know how it’s there already, I thought we had to like, accept it, or something, but if you don’t want this we can do research on how to break it⁠—”

Cutting him off, I stepped close and kissed him. “I want this.”

Hope flashed across his face, making his eyes bright, almost feverish. “You do?”

“Yes.” I kissed him again, unhappy when he pulled away to look at me. The bond surged forward, wanting to be as close to him as possible, and if I’d thought the heat was hard to navigate, it had nothing on the demands of a new mating bond. “I love you.” I said the words in a rush and they blurred together, so I repeated myself slower. “I love you, Max. I’m sorry I freaked out before⁠—”

“I understood⁠—”

“If you’ll still have me, I want this. Us. You.”

His smile was blinding, his dimple looking dark from the soot on his face. “Yes. Yes.” Max shuddered, a wince drawing my attention.

“What is it?”

“Nothing,” he said quickly and I growled. “It’s the bond. It wants us to… complete it? I think.” He shrugged. “I’ve read a little about mate bonds but since they’re so rare, I didn’t pay close attention.”

“I can feel it too,” I admitted, glancing down at my chest in slight amusement as my nipples hardened. I took a step toward him, my eyes on his mouth. “So why don’t we give it what it wants?”

Max kissed me, his mouth hungry, the stroke of his tongue demanding, before he pulled away again, panting. “We don’t have to do this now. You’ve just been through⁠—”

I shook my head, not wanting to waste another second on Derek. “Max,” I said breathily, leaning in to whisper in his ear, “I’m soaked for you right now.”

With a groan, he broke. Our mouths met, hungry and needy, and I clung to him as his hands lifted me up to hold me against his hips. My legs twined around his waist and I rocked against him as he backed us up against the stone wall.

“Are you… healed?” he breathed against my skin, trailing kisses up and over my neck and down to the tops of my breasts.

“Yes. Good as new.”

“I’m struggling,” he said and I frowned before I opened my eyes and realized what he meant. Purple scales flashed across his skin intermittently and I grinned at his loss of control. “I don’t know if I can stay like this.”

I bit my lip and then reached up to kiss him. He was sweet to worry about being with me in his dragon form. “I’m okay with that if you are.”

“I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Max, I’m a dragon. This is the most natural thing in the world for us. I’ll be fine.”

He looked unconvinced, but still kissed me when my head tilted up in a wordless request for more.

My breasts brushed his chest and he shuddered, so I did it again before trailing my hand up and over his back. My touch seemed to be having the same effect on him as his was on me. Like shooting sparks of intense pleasure being injected into me everywhere our skin touched.

“I can’t.” He groaned, a low, pained, sound. “If I shift right now, I don’t think I can hold myself back. I need you too badly.”