VAAN

I lick at the puncture wound my teeth have left in Gwen's lovely neck as I wait for the fires to work through her. Already her scent is changing, melding with mine, and I stroke her springy hair back from her face and wait for her to return to me.

My mate.

I have waited so long for this day.

Pleasure coils in my belly, and it is a constant struggle with willpower not to thrust into her unconscious body. Instead, I remain still, because I will not take her while she is unconscious. I want her awake, her cunt gripping my length with her reaction to my invasion, her need. So I wait, kissing and licking at her soft, lovely brown skin.

Soon.

I press my thoughts against her mind, seeking entry. There is nothing yet, but I feel a gentle giving, a yielding, as if the walls that have kept me out are thinning even as I hold her against me. I want this more than I want release in her body—I want her mind touching mine, as closely and as intimately as I touch her flesh.

Gwen, I chant inwardly. Gwen. I am here, waiting. Gwen. Gwen.

No response.

Gwen. I run my nose along the elegant line of her nape. My Gwen. My human, fragile Gwen.

Vaan?

Joy, hot and fierce, bursts through my spirit. I am on fire with need for her, but I ignore it, focusing entirely on her thoughts. Her mind is gentle and confused but growing stronger by the moment. Gwen! I am here. It is your Vaan. We are one, finally. You have taken my fires.

Vaan, she murmurs again, and this time her lips move even as my name echoes in her mind. Her eyes open slowly and she blinks her long lashes before looking over at me. You…oh. You're still in me.

Of course. Amusement rumbles through me, and I am as giddy as an unblooded fledgling. I want to hold her against my chest and just drink in her scent for days, endless days. We are not done.

Oh, we're not? Her sweet shyness floods my mind. I thought I came so hard I passed out.

My own laughter rumbles in my chest, and I feel…hope. Hope for the first time for as long as I can remember. I brush her hair back from her skin and lightly run my lips against her shoulder—and feel the tremor of pleasure as it runs through her. Feeling her mind with mine…it is like coming home.

Gwen is my home now. My world might be gone, everything I knew before the madness…but I do not need it any longer. I have my mate.

How…how long was I out for? Gwen's thoughts grow stronger, and she looks up at me, then gasps when I lick her shoulder. I can feel her response, and it adds another layer to my joy.

Not long. The fires will take at least another day to finish burning through your system, but I am here with you, in flesh and in spirit.

You feel like fire inside me, she admits.

I feel like fire. It is as if the flame in my soul that was embers has surged back into the inferno of long ago. I feel whole.

And I want my mate. My cock throbs and aches with the need to spill, to fill her cunt with my seed. Do you hurt? I ask first, just to be certain. If she needs for me to wait, I will wait, though it might destroy me.

No, I'm all right. Her thoughts flicker, and I can sense her worry. She knows my seed is hot and she doesn't want to be scorched from within.

That is why a drakoni male must give you his fires first. I lick her shoulder again and then rock my hips against her, unable to resist the small movement. I can feel the tremor of pleasure as it ripples through her and repeat the gesture, moving with only the slightest gyrations of my hips. Just enough to grind our bodies against one another, to make the spark of desire flare back to life.

She moans. Drakoni. That's what you are.

It is.

Oh, Vaan. I'm so happy we're speaking! You have no idea how long I've waited to talk to you.

I sense nothing but joy in her thoughts and it fills me with wonder. I slide a hand to her breast, teasing one stiff nipple as I lightly thrust into her again. There is no joy greater than this, I tell her. So long, I have felt lost, alone in the storms. Alone in the silence.

Alone? She arches against me, her thoughts throbbing with need as she tries to concentrate on my words. But Rast spoke to you a few days ago.

Nothing stayed, I tell her, only vaguely aware of a “Rast” or any other dragon. I do not want to think about anything but Gwen right now. I lightly pinch her nipple, fascinated by the gasps that break from her throat even as I pump into her again, my cock sliding in and out of her wet heat. Nothing has ever, ever felt as good as this.

Have you…ever done this before?

Never. You are the only one that has ever pierced my spirit.

She moans again and rocks her hips back against mine, needing me deeper, harder.

I do just as she asks, gripping her tight even as I surge forward. Our gasps are mingled, and I let my mind pulse against hers as I pound into her slick, tight warmth. She feels so good, so right against me. Her cunt tightens around me, rippling with her body's response, and I know she is about to climax again. This time, I want to go with her when she does. I lose myself to the mating rhythm, letting it carry both of us away as I sink into her, over and over again.

The moment her body tightens in release, it is like my control disappears. With a snarl, I hammer into her, pumping furiously and feeding on the pleasure that ricochets in her mind. I'm not too rough with her—she loves it—and that realization tears through me with wonder and hunger both. With a snarl, I come, spearing deep inside her even as my seed pours forth from my body in a fiery torrent as every muscle in me strains against hers.

We are one in this moment, two minds entwined like our limbs are entwined.

And it is glorious.