Brittany was flipping mindlessly through channels when the front door opened and Simon walked in. He looked exhausted, which was to be expected, she supposed. It was nearly three in the morning, and from what he’d told her, he hadn’t slept the night before, either.

“Hey,” she said tentatively. She was trying to sound casual, but she wasn’t sure how good of a job she was doing. On the inside her heart was racing once again at the mere sight of him.

“Hey,” he said, then came to sit on the couch beside her. He flopped down with the weariness of a man who carried the weight of the world on his shoulders, but Brittany resisted the urge to reach over and give his arm a reassuring squeeze. Things between them had been left in such a confusing state, and she wasn’t feeling confident enough to make a move herself.

He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. He was silent for so long that Brittany was beginning to wonder if he had fallen asleep. But just when she was sure he had, he spoke, his voice startling her.

“Torch Lake is going to battle.”

Brittany frowned. “Um, I thought we were already in battle.”

“We are. But the High Council is sending the entire army, except for the City Guard and two dragons, to war. This is unprecedented. Usually High Councils don’t want to leave their cities so unprotected.”

Brittany mulled over this information. She wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. No one in her family had ever been a soldier, and the ways of war often seemed like a big mystery to her. “That sounds…like a strong response?”

He opened his eyes and looked at her with something bordering amusement. “Yes, a strong response. To put it mildly.”

Brittany frowned. “So, are you going with them?” She didn’t want to admit that she cared, but she had to know. Simon’s response to her question was much stronger than she anticipated.

“No. I got stuck with bloody guard duty. I’m staying in the city.”

This confused Brittany even more. “But that’s good, isn’t it? It’s safer here?”

“Exactly,” Simon said, sitting up straight and throwing his hands up in the air in exasperation. “It’s safe, and boring, and there will be no action of any kind, except maybe a few wizards to fry. After all I’ve been through with the Dark Warriors, you’d think the High Council would give me a chance to go after them. But no. I’m stuck here on babysitting duty.”

Brittany nodded slowly. She had never understood the inclination some people had to run toward danger. Her first response had always been to run away from it. But she’d heard enough about dragons to realize that she shouldn’t have been surprised that this was Simon’s response. She chewed her lower lip, wondering what else to say, and eventually decided on the truth.

“Well, I’m sorry you’re disappointed with your assignment. But if it makes you feel any better, I’m glad that you’re staying.”

Simon gave her a curious, hopeful look. “You are?”

Brittany fidgeted in her seat. “I am. I mean, I think you’re pretty cool, and I’m just getting to know you. I understand there’s a war going on, but it would really stink to be separated from you now.”

Simon seemed surprised by this. He turned to look at her, and the intensity in his eyes nearly took Brittany’s breath away. “You’re singing a different tune than you did the first night I talked to you at the bar.”

His voice had dropped to that same low, husky sound he’d used out on the lake. The earnest, sultry tone undid Brittany, and she almost looked away. It wasn’t easy to look into his eyes right now without trembling, and yet she couldn’t bear to look away. She wanted to see the hunger he felt, hunger she knew was for her. Her cheeks grew hot under his gaze, and she knew she was probably blushing. She was an open book, clearly displaying her feelings for him. She couldn’t deny with her words what was written across her face, and so she didn’t bother.

“A lot has changed since that first night,” she said with a shrug.

That seemed to be all the permission he needed. He leaned in toward her, until his face was inches from her own. But he didn’t kiss her. Not yet. Instead, he smiled, taking in all of her features up close.

“One thing hasn’t changed,” he said, reaching a finger up to trace a line down her cheek. “I’m still as attracted to you as ever.”

Brittany trembled. Her whole body felt like it was on fire under his touch, but it was a wonderful sort of heat. It was the sort of heat that made her heart beat faster and her stomach do flip-flops. The sort of heat that made a delicious, tingling pressure begin to build in her core. She could feel herself growing wet between her legs, and she didn’t even try to fight the feeling. She could think of nothing except how badly she wanted his lips on hers right now.

As if he could read her mind, he obliged. He leaned in the last few inches, placing his full, strong lips over hers. The fire in her body burned hotter, and she felt the room begin to spin. She instinctively reached out her hands to steady herself on him, and he let out a low growl when she touched him. She couldn’t blame him. Every time any part of their bodies touched, Brittany felt like she was being jolted with electricity. It was the most intense, most wonderful thing she’d ever felt.

With another growl, Simon pushed her back onto the couch. His body pressed against hers as he kissed her deeply, his tongue moving past her lips and dancing with her tongue. This kiss was more meaningful than anything they had shared before. This kiss, Brittany knew, was taking them to the edge and pushing them over it. There was no turning back from the passion they felt for each other.

Brittany had the fleeting thought that she shouldn’t be doing this. She was breaking her self-made policy of not getting intimate with bar customers, but, really, could she consider Simon a bar customer? In the last two days he had quickly become so much more than that? And even though Brittany usually took things slowly and this was moving at lightning speed, it just felt so right. She felt safe and cared for in Simon’s arms, and she also felt more turned on than she ever had before. That had to mean something, didn’t it?

The timing was all wrong, with a war going on and the ever present threat of Dark Warriors breaking into the city. Brittany should be worrying about keeping herself safe, not about making out with a dragon shifter. Then again, where was she safer than with a dragon shifter? The last two nights had made her completely eat her words about dragon shifters, and she realized now that if there was anywhere she could truly relax and feel protected, it was in the arms of a dragon.

And with that, her decision was made. If she was doing this, then she was doing this.

“More,” she whispered when Simon pulled away for a moment to catch his breath. He grinned down at her, and then reached up to clap his hands sharply two times. The lights in the room went off at this command, leaving the couch, and the two of them, bathed in nothing but moonlight. The silvery light made everything feel magical, and Brittany kept her eyes open for a moment to take it all in. She felt like she was in the middle of a fairy tale.

Simon turned his burning eyes toward her, and she felt herself willing him to kiss her again. But for the moment, at least, he didn’t. Instead, he reached out to caress the side of her face with his finger. Brittany trembled under his touch, her whole body responding to the arc of fiery heat he left behind on her skin.

“How much more do you want?” he asked. His voice was a low whisper, the very sound of it sending chills of pleasure up and down her spine.

All of you! Everything! Brittany wanted to scream. But instead, she just repeated: “More.”

That seemed to be answer enough for Simon, he leaned in to kiss her again, but this time, as he did, he reached down to push up the hem of her t-shirt. She had no bra or underwear on, because she hadn’t been home to get any of her own things. All she wore was a too-large t-shirt and pair of sweatpants that she’d borrowed from Simon, and in that moment she was acutely aware that there was not much separating her naked body from him.

He realized it too, as he pushed the shirt up and over her head. When he saw her bare breasts, glimmering silver like everything else in the room, he sucked in his breath and then let out a low whistle of appreciation. Hearing the wonder and admiration in his voice turned Brittany on even more. He wanted her! This strong, noble dragon wanted her.

And then, his lips were on her breasts. His tongue flicked against the hard nubs of her nipples, and his teeth closed over them, nibbling hungrily. Little explosions of delight ran through her whole body, starting in her breasts and radiating outward. Brittany closed her eyes and drank in the sensation. Two days ago, if you’d told her she would be half naked on a dragon shifter’s couch and happily making out with him, she would have told you that you were crazy. But a lot had changed in the last two days.

Being with Simon made Brittany feel like a bolder, better version of herself. She felt beautiful and important. He made her feel like she mattered, and she was grateful to him for that. Brittany had always tried to be self-confident in her own right, but it wasn’t always easy to keep up a strong front when you worked in a service industry job. Some people were nice, sure. But too many others weren’t, and the rude, dehumanizing comments could really wear you down.

Here, none of that could reach her. All that could reach her was Simon’s hands running across her body, and his lips on her breasts. Brittany thought that there wasn’t a feeling in the world better than this.

But Simon was only getting started. After paying attention to her breasts for several minutes, he moved his hands down and hooked his thumbs into the waistband of the oversized sweatpants she was wearing. He moved slowly, giving her plenty of time to stop him if she wasn’t comfortable. Brittany was completely comfortable, but she loved that he respected her enough to consider her feelings that way. She reached her own hands down to help him, pushing the shorts off quickly and then reaching for the hem of his t-shirt. If she was going to be naked, it was only fair that he was, too.

Undressing him felt like unwrapping a present. When his shirt was gone, she was rewarded with a view of a perfect male torso. His chest and shoulders were broad and strong, and his abs were sculpted into a perfect, chiseled six-pack. She’d seen glimpses of him naked before, when he’d shifted. And even though she hadn’t been able to see his chest and abs under the lake water when they’d been night swimming, she’d certainly felt them, and had had a pretty good idea of how muscular they were. Still, nothing had prepared her for this: for seeing his body in all its full, moonlit glory. Brittany was breathless, and she hadn’t even seen the lower half of him yet.

She was about to remedy that. With an excited huff, she reached for the button on his jeans and began to fumble with it. He shifted his weight to make it easier for her, and soon enough she was pushing his pants and underwear down and off.

His couch was oversized and wide, and he could lie beside her on it, which he did now, propping himself up on his right elbow and giving her a full view of his entire naked body. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the long, thick erection that pointed stiffly away from between his legs. Just the sight of it was enough to make Brittany’s knees feel weak. Shyly, she reached down to touch it. She moved slowly at first, barely grazing her fingers across it. But she felt him shudder in response to her touch, and that shuddering emboldened her. She wrapped her fist around the shaft firmly, and squeezed as hard as she could.

In response, he shuddered again. Then he moaned, and reached to pull her body toward his. She continued to hold onto his erection, rubbing firmly even as his legs intertwined with hers and the bare skin of his chest met her bare breasts. His lips found her neck, kissing and biting it with a hunger that could only come from a dragon. Brittany closed her eyes and drank in the sensation as his heat took over her whole body. She was soaking wet between her legs now, her body begging for him. In fact, every nerve ending in her body seemed to beg for him. Every fiber of her being was begging for him. She pulled his dick toward her, insistent on having him. There was no turning back now. This was what she wanted, and she was going to have it.

He growled, a low, satisfied growl. He was happy, knowing that she wanted him. And he was happy to oblige her wish to have him inside of her. With a swift, decisive movement, he pushed her onto her back and hovered right above her. Brittany couldn’t help giggling like a schoolgirl. Nothing had ever made her feel quite as giddy as Simon was making her feel right now.

And then, with one sudden, quick movement, he was inside of her. She gasped as he filled her, unable to believe how huge he was. She had known he was enormous, of course. She’d seen his erection, and felt it. But nothing had prepared her for the experience of his thick shaft pushing against her inner walls the way it was now. She moaned in pure delight as her dragon filled her. Heat rushed through her body, starting in her core and spreading to every extremity. Brittany had never felt this warm before, like she was burning up from the inside. It was a strangely satisfying sensation, though, and she never wanted it to end.

The heat only grew as Simon began to move back and forth inside of her. Brittany felt like this was all a dream. She still couldn’t wrap her mind around the fact that a dragon shifter was making love to her. It seemed surreal, and yet, she knew that this moment was actually happening. She was actually living out every Torch Lake girl’s fantasy, and sleeping with a dragon. Until tonight, Brittany hadn’t thought she cared about that fantasy. But now, with Simon moving in her, increasing the pressure with every passing second, she knew that nothing could be better than this.

She wrapped her arms around his back as he ground his hips against hers. His breathing was rapid and heavy, and she knew he was feeling the heat and pressure as well. Brittany loved how much having him inside of her made her feel like they were one person. It was crazy to feel this way about someone she barely knew, but then, she felt like she did know Simon. She had the crazy suspicion that he was the one she had been searching for her whole life, and this realization filled her with hope. Torch Lake might be in the middle of a war, but with Simon here, Brittany knew the future was bright.

Simon’s thrusts grew more urgent, as if he could read Brittany’s thoughts and wanted to assure her that he felt the same way about her. As he built up speed, the pressure and heat in Brittany’s core built up, too, until she could no long keep it all in.

With a long, wild scream of Simon’s name, Brittany let her release come. Her whole body trembled as wave after wave of tingling pleasure washed over her, and her inner muscles clenched around Simon, claiming him as her own. She lost herself in the purest ecstasy she had ever known, holding him close as her body responded to his.

He followed close behind her with his own release. With a long, loud roar, he thrust into her one last time, stiffening as his body began to pulse. He roared again as the passion of the moment overtook him, and for several long, perfect moments, they both lost themselves in the pleasure of each other.

When Simon finally slid out of her and onto the couch next to her, Brittany felt like her life had been forever changed. Perhaps that sounded overly dramatic, but it was true. She knew that she had never been truly cared for before now. And she realized that she had never truly wanted someone like she wanted Simon.

Whether it was because he was a dragon, drop-dead handsome, or just an amazing catch of a guy, Brittany was smitten. She snuggled up against Simon’s bare chest in the silvery moonlight and determined that, whatever it took, she was going to make things with him work. Neither of them said much, but that was okay. Their hearts had said enough. Whatever challenges lay ahead, they would face them together.

Little did Brittany know that some monumental challenges were coming.