Rose and peach-hued streaks cast across the horizon as the sun settled below it. Cao shifted on Ry’s back, anxious to make it in time.

They’d traveled an incredible distance and, damn, dragons sure could pack in the mileage, but he didn’t spot any floating islands. In truth, he didn’t even know what to search for. Would they be in the air? Above the sea? Under water? Anything was possible.

To his left, Ling gave a small cry. “There!” She waved a finger into the distance, upward.

He squinted, peering through the clouds, and caught a hint of something that shouldn’t be there. Dark gray rock. The clouds parted for an instant, revealing a glimpse of the formation, before closing around it again.

Streaks of orangey-red burned across the stone, blazing while the sun dropped.

“Hurry!” he urged Ry, who flapped harder and harder. Taelen’s wings whooshed beside him.

The clouds parted again and, this time, the formation’s surface began to fuzz, blurring against the skyline.

It was vanishing.

But they were getting closer.

A few more miles. They would make it.

They had to.

Ry zoomed through the air, jostling him so hard he had to cling to her. The clouds drifted across the rocks again, and the next time they parted, almost nothing remained.

Gods, no.

They were almost there. So close.

Wait, no. They were coming in too fast. What had first appeared too far way was now perilously near.

Cao slammed his eyes shut and braced for impact. They were going to make it in time, all right. If the collision didn’t kill them.

He held his breath, but nothing happened. Slowly, he peeled open his eyes. Ry beat her wings, lowering them to the ground.

“We made it!” Ling shouted from behind him. He leapt off Ry’s back and staggered toward her, dizzy from the ride. She stumbled into his arms and he held her tight, taking in this moment before the next disaster ripped them apart.

A long sigh escaped her and she wiggled from his embrace, surveying behind him. “This is incredible.”

He whirled around to confirm her proclamation. What had appeared as a solid rock cliff actually housed a large cavern. A landing field?

He glanced at the two dragons, who shifted into their human forms, both hunched over as though exhausted from the long flight. Not to mention their previous ordeals.

“Ah, Ling, how many people should we expect to encounter?” The dark tunnel ahead of them might produce some new problems.

“I’m not sure,” she murmured. “Not all of the islands are inhabited. There could be no one, or there might be…others.”

Right. No time to get comfortable. “Did anyone estimate how large this island is?”

“No more than half a mile wide,” Taelen offered.

Good. “Should we split up? Search it in pairs?” No one would be able to rest until they knew for sure they were alone.

“Nah, we can handle it. You stay here.” Taelen jerked his chin at Ry. “Shall we? They need a moment alone.”

Cao chuckled. “That obvious, huh.”

“Disgustingly obvious.” Ry rolled her eyes and sauntered to Cao’s side, pulling him aside to the far wall. “A word of advice, loverboy. Dominate her dragon. Or she’ll never respect you. Oh, and she’ll never climax, either.” Huffing, she nodded at Taelen and followed him through the tunnel.

“What was that about?” Ling intoned once those two were out of sight.

“Nothing important.” He shrugged off her question, spinning the knowledge around in his mind. What was he supposed to do with it? Should he even trust Ry was trying to help? Flinging off concerns about others, he faced Ling. “Would now be the appropriate time to thank you for saving my life?”

She perched her hands on her hips. “You’re immortal.”

“True, but spending the rest of eternity as a fishing lure doesn’t really appeal.”

“It doesn’t?” She curved her mouth and sashayed toward him. “Then what does?”

He lowered his head to hers and nipped at her lips. “This.” She laughed as he snaked an arm around her waist and hauled her closer. His mouth desperate for hers, he kissed her, taking in every single, sultry moan.

He’d earned them, after all.

* * *

Is that water I hear?” Ling tilted her head, listening for the trickling chimes in the distance.

“Sounds like it.” Cao clasped her hand and directed her toward the noise.

They treaded through an overgrown path—a good sign no one was around—toward the augmenting trills of water. The pathway opened into lush jungle and, sure enough, a rushing waterfall greeted them, flowing into a small, clear spring.

Cao didn’t hesitate, stripping off his clothes as he stomped forward, into the water.

Jolts of anticipation sang along her skin, increasing with every inch of flesh he bared. They’d been naked in front of each other in far too many wrong situations. This was finally the right one. She wiggled out of her pants and tugged her shirt over her head, tossed them aside, then waded into the water. Cao had gone underwater and was swimming toward the waterfall.

She copied him, soaking in the cool freshness of the pool. This was heaven. At last, they were alone. They were safe.

They were free.

And they were together.

She surfaced into the knee-deep water and wrung the moisture from her locks, searching for Cao. Rough yet tender masculine hands enclosed her from behind. Mmm. She rested against him, savoring his touch.

He pressed heated kisses along her neck, his hands slipping between her legs.

Oh, gods. She moaned as those strong fingers brushed her nub, stroking so sensually. The firm flesh of his erection pressed against the small of her back. He swept her wet locks to the side, and she leaned back deeper against him, letting him control her body. His fingers dipped lower, and he teased her, making her whimper in anticipation.

She’d waited so long for anyone to touch her like this. The actual experience was beyond any of her fantasies. Cao was firm, in command, determined in his movements. Weakness crept through her limbs, like she was getting tipsy from his caresses.

At the same time, jīng energy buzzed through her in a slow, pulsing rhythm. “What happens if my dra—”

Cao gripped her chin and crushed his mouth onto hers, silencing her concerns. He could handle her dragon—and everything else that came with her.

She was definitely over her aversion to immortals.

He continued thrusting along her bud with one hand, down to her opening, and back, while with his right, he found her breast and squeezed, rolling her nipple through his fingers.

Spikes of pleasure and pain mingled, giving her a heady buzz.

She was growing so wet, his fingers slicked her essence across her sex, making her even more swollen and ready. “How long are you going to torture me for?”

“As long as it takes,” he purred, his voice husky.

She thrashed her head, so close to climax. “As long as what takes?”

He applied more pressure, making her climb harder and undulate her hips, riding his hand. Deep masculine confidence in his tone, he rumbled, “You’ll find out soon enough.”

* * *

The writhing of Ling’s body was bloody beautiful. The sultry cries on her lips. How her body thrashed, sensually, without any attempt at being so.

Jīng energy sizzled along her skin, lighting it with a pale sapphire luminescence. The hint of scales flashed across her flesh, then a shockwave erupted from within her and sent him flying backward.

Fucking hell. He landed in the pool with a massive splash, hit the bottom, and floated to the surface. Shaking the water from his hair, he gaped at her.

Ling wasn’t a dragon. Not yet.

But she was aglow. Her back to him, she gawked at her outstretched arm and whirled about to peer at him. “Are you okay?”

“Immortal.”

“Right.” She bobbed her head and continued assessing her fading glow.

The jīng energy had been the right course, but there hadn’t been enough of it. While he craved nothing more than to listen to her screams all night long, he had an inkling she required something else.

Me.

Or rather, this fuckload of cum ready to burst from his ballocks.

Slapping the ringing from his ears, Cao waded toward Ling until he was a foot from her. Determination racing through him, he slid his hand around the back of her head and pulled her mouth onto his, kissing her breathless.

Yeah, he was having a little trouble breathing, too. The air between them grew heavy, heated, dense. As he pulled back, Ling gazed at him, those silver eyes molten, round and full of trust, desire, longing.

He seized her hand and drew it to his body, grazing her fingers first across his chest, letting her get the feel of him. Then he teased their hands downward, coming to rest on his rigid hard-on. Her breath hitched, her fingers hesitated, but he stood, patiently waiting for her lust to eradicate any shyness.

Slowly, it did. She closed her fingers around him, making him clench his jaw at the erotic pleasure. Ling’s caress was gentle and tender, as though she wasn’t certain how rough she should be with him.

The water ebbed around his calves, shallower. Her gentle explorations were going to kill him. Cao clamped his hands onto her shoulders and nudged her onto her knees. She tilted her face toward him, awaiting instruction. Looking so fucking gorgeous as she did so. Moonlight glinted off her damp, clinging locks, casting a shimmering glow across her bared flesh, an ethereal beauty.

Already, she was becoming more and more like a dragon.

“Open your mouth,” he rasped, gripping his erection in one hand, combing the fingers of his other through her hair, winding her locks until he had a firm hold.

Obediently, she parted those rosy lips.

He pushed the head of his cock inside, just a little, to give her a taste. A few beads of his essence escaped, pulsing from the tip onto her tongue.

Her shining eyes glinted and she mewled, licking her lips after he withdrew.

“Want more?” he demanded, his voice growing gruffer.

Eager, she bobbed her head.

“Open again.”

She did as he commanded and he guided himself inside her velvety mouth once again, this time deeper, with greater force, shoving his hips to give her a taste of how long and wide he was. He pushed to the back of her throat, and eased back, retreating to the tip, and again, before withdrawing once more.

The head popped from her mouth, wet and glistening, and she gasped in trembling breaths.

“When you suck me, you suck me like that, yeah?” He positioned himself at her mouth once more, waiting for her to open. The second those lips parted, he drove forward, stroking his tip inside her mouth. This time, she suctioned him off, her tongue rubbing along the bottom of his width, making him groan at the tight, wet, heat.

“Yeah, that’s it, baby,” he purred. She was getting the hang of it. Damn fast, too.

Suddenly, she slipped her hand between his legs, cupping his ballocks. She gave him a good, hard squeeze, and he was done for.

“I’m gonna cum.” He tipped her head and came inside her mouth, shooting thick bursts that filled her, growling low at the gratifying sight. “Take it, Ling.”

She gulped and swallowed, then her lashes fluttered and an electrifying sizzle sparked across her skin. This time, he knew better, and leapt backward, out of the path of her explosive contact.

* * *

Ling hunched forward and buckled, her body twisting in on itself in ways she couldn’t control. She yelped and collapsed. Cao’s hot essence spread through her, the sharing of jīng intoxicating. Making her light-headed and uninhibited.

But still not a dragon. She frowned at her human hands in dismay. Just what would it take? The taste of Cao’s cum lingered on her tongue, the salty spice of him like a drug she craved more of.

Shouldn’t that have been enough?

Gods knew, the male was potent, and the chemistry between them was beyond electrifying.

Splashing resounded toward her, and a strong hand snared her arm, hauling her to her feet. Cao’s concerned honey gaze swept over her. “You okay?”

“I’d be better if I were dragon right now.” She scoffed.

“You will be. I’m not out of ideas yet.” He pressed a hot kiss to her lips. She moaned and he deepened the kiss, his hands sliding around to her bottom. He plucked her off the ground, lifting her high enough to spread her legs around his waist. She whimpered a little as his thickness settled right beneath her, growing rock hard again. The man was insatiable.

Cao carried her to the waterfall, continuing to kiss her, and deposited her on a narrow rock shelf, wide enough for her to perch on. As he leaned forward and slanted his mouth across hers, his erection pressed against her opening, demanding and throbbing.

“Do you want this?” He wrenched his mouth off her neck, pulling back, and stared into her eyes.

“Yes.” She twined her fingers in his hair. “I think this is your best idea yet.”

His mouth quirked in a sinful manner, and he surged forward to nip at her lips.

If anything could awaken a dragon, it would be sex. Most definitely sex.

Hotter than hot sex with a gorgeous, intense man like Cao?

Oh, yeah. Ling’s body thrummed with excitement.

Cao placed his fingers beneath her ass and hoisted her to the edge, then he released one hand and gripped himself, guiding his hard, long ridge to her entrance and pushing just the head inside. He paused with the tip poised inside her to crush his mouth to hers.

Her core pulsed at the intrusion, clenching around him.

“Easy, love.” He feathered his lips across hers. “You’ve gotta relax and let me in.”

Of course, but the foreign sensation, combined with how thick and rigid he was, made her tense.

It was going to hurt, right? This was why waiting too long to do something was a bad idea. She’d spent most of her adult life pondering this moment.

At what point would her dragon emerge?

She shifted, but that augmented how hard he was inside her and made her clamp down tighter.

He exhaled a long sigh and planted his forehead against hers. “You can never do things the easy way, you know that.”

She snorted. “Nothing’s easy with you, big guy.”

He puffed and droned, “It will fit. You gotta trust me.”

She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and exhaled through her nose. “I bet that’s what all men say.”