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His shaft jerked against her in response to her demand, wrenching a groan out of her. She had not forgotten how potent he was. After having tasted him on her tongue, she was eager to feel him inside her, filling her at last.

“Cariad, I’ve dreamed of this moment for so long, dreamed of having you in my arms and open for me for so long that I fear I’m not going to last long enough to satisfy your need for me.”

He sounded appalled by the idea but Johanna was not worried. After months of torture, she was not going to last either. Besides, it was not as if they didn’t have their whole lives ahead of them. Now that they had declared their love for one another, she knew nothing would ever come between them. Wherever they went, they would go together.

“I care not,” she rasped. “If you don’t last, I’m sure you’ll find some other way to please me while we wait for you to be ready to take me again.”

A low rumble answered her. “I’m sure I will be able to please you, my love. I have my mouth, my fingers, and my tongue. I can lick you all night if you wish, and I know I will not be sated after one release.”

“Yes. Oh yes.” Every scandalous promise was pushing her further toward madness. Why was he torturing her so? “Cadell, please, take me, now!”

He deposited her onto the bed, his actions gentle despite the need they both felt. Eyes locked, they started to get undressed, each helping the other. There was something deeply arousing in this ease they felt when they were together. His tunic disappeared, then his shirt. A flat stomach and two rounded shoulders replaced them. Perfection. Johanna’s mouth fell open at the same time as her shift fell to the floor, revealing her aching breasts. Her nipples tightened in the cool winter air and her toes curled in anticipation. The rest of their clothes fell away, revealing long, muscular legs, and a hard, masculine length, then soft, rounded buttocks and a slick feminine sheath when she shrugged her shift to the floor.

This was it, finally, they were both naked, Cadell standing at the foot of the bed, while she knelt on it. Slowly, Johanna lowered herself down onto the covers and lay on her back, before opening her thighs to expose herself to him. There was no shame, just pure desire.

Just as she’d hoped, Cadell took a moment to enjoy the shocking sight she presented. Had she had any doubt about her powers of attraction, they would have vanished there and then. For this man, she was the most beautiful woman who had ever lived. He took hold of his erect shaft, as if to prevent it from erupting. She felt the clenching of his fist deep into her core.

Oh Lord, this would be explosive. She covered her folds with her hand.

As if the move had inflamed him past reason, Cadell made to join her on the bed. Johanna stopped him with a raised hand.

“No. Stay where you are. I want you to be able to see everything when you take me,” she said in a breath. “I want you to see when you slide inside me, where you belong, and tell me what you think. What you feel.”

It would arouse her to hear his words and besides, he had earned that right a hundred times over, by loving her so unconditionally for so long.

Holy hell.

Cadell didn’t need any further invitation. Johanna wanted him to enjoy the view as he took her? Well, he would. She wanted him to tell her what he felt? Oh, he would tell her exactly how the sight of his cock pumping inside her made him feel. Glorious, he imagined, invincible.

Complete.

By now, he had made his peace with the idea of erupting before either of them was ready. It seemed inevitable. But it would not be such a problem. They had a lifetime of such exquisite joinings ahead of them, a lifetime of happiness.

“You want me to tell you how beautiful you look when you’re being filled with my cock, is that what it is?” he asked in a rasp, grabbing her with hooked arms under her knees, bringing her closer to the edge of the bed, ready for his possession.

“Yes. Anything. Just…now. Please, I’m dying.”

So was he.

The bed was exactly at the right height for him to slide into her molten heat without bending his knees, he noticed with what little was left of his reason. Had she planned it that way while repairing the room? The bed hadn’t seemed that high the day he’d brought her back to her chamber with a sprained wrist. In any case, planned or not, it was perfect, as it would allow him to do what she demanded, what he was craving.

Positioning himself at her entrance, he hesitated. This was what he’d been hoping for all these years and now that he was about to have it, he was overcome with emotion.

“Can I?” he asked, hearing the quiver in his voice and hating it. Damnation, what would she think? Wasn’t he supposed to be the man, and in control?

“Yes, you can.”

Cadell pushed in, slowly, savoring the feel of every inch of himself sliding in the silkiness that was his at last. “Ah. Johanna.”

He’d expected that he would be overwhelmed, he’d feared he would erupt as soon as he felt her tight heat encircle him. What he had not anticipated was that he would start crying. Well, not cry, exactly, but his eyes had started burning and, as he bent over to look at the woman spread open for him, he felt a single tear slide over his cheek.

“Marry me,” he said, forcing the words through the tightness in his throat. “You said yes once, but I’m asking you again. God, Johanna, please, marry me. As soon as we can. Next week. Tomorrow. Whenever we can. I don’t ever want to be without you.”

She smiled and when she spoke, he thought he detected the same emotion in her voice as in his.

“At least this time you are giving me the opportunity to answer.” Though she was smiling, he saw that a tear had slid down her cheek as well. “Yes. I’ll marry you, my dragon.”

Dragon.