It was the scent that hit him first.

Warm and spicy, welcoming and sweet. His cock went as hard as a tire iron as he breathed in and let her fill his senses.

Willa.

She murmured softly in her sleep and shimmied closer to him, wriggling her plump ass against his erection with a contented sigh.

Jesus, give me strength.

It had been like this all night long.

For hours on end.

For the past three days.

He hadn’t managed to string together thirty minutes of straight sleep. If the last time he’d touched her hadn’t ended the way it did, he might have almost thought it was intentional. But there was no way she would risk trying to torment him with her sexuality a second time. Not when her last attempt had nearly resulted in the loss of her virginity against the wall of his great room.

The memory of it assaulted him yet again. The way she felt, wet and hot, clutching at his fingers, making those catchy little sounds in the back of her throat as he took her higher.

He gritted his teeth and edged away as carefully as possible, but she wasn't having it. Like a homing pigeon, she found him, wriggling until her back was again plastered against his front.

"Fuck all," he growled under his breath, resisting the urge to dip his head a little closer until his face was buried in her hair.

It was ridiculous.

All of it.

He hadn’t even been inside her yet and he was salivating for more, wrapped up in her, aching for another taste. They'd spent only a couple of hours together before he'd started making ridiculous promises to her that were so far beneath the dignity of a dragon, it pissed him off just thinking about it.

Promising not to touch her, indeed.

What kind of masochist would say something like that, knowing she would need to be in his bed if he had any shot of protecting her from other dragons?

But he’d said it, and there was no taking it back.

Now, though, with her grinding against him like she knew he had exactly what she needed, he was regretting those words.

"Mmm," Willa murmured, flexing against him again until his cock was nestled between the cheeks of her ass.

Only the thin layer of his gym pants and her boxer shorts separated them, and the molten heat between them made it feel like nothing at all. In fact, if she just slid her leg forward a bit, and popped that ass out a little more, he could probably release his cock from its confines and slide deep into that warm, wet heat. He'd spent the entire night awake and stiff just thinking about it.

He pushed the thought out of his head and fisted his hand at his side. The only good news, as far as he could see it, was that it could hardly get any worse.

As if she'd heard his thoughts, she muttered softly and then flipped onto her back, slinging one leg over his. In the dim morning light, he had a perfect view of her spectacular breasts. Hard nipples pressed against the grey cotton t-shirt he’d loaned her, and he bit back a curse.

He hated to disturb her. She'd had a rough couple of nights. He’d heard her crying softly in the wee hours when she thought he was asleep, and it made his gut clench. Waking her now when she was finally resting so soundly seemed heartless, but this this was sheer torture. He needed to escape before he found himself tempted to take advantage of what she was sweetly—but unintentionally—offering.

"Willa?" he whispered, sliding his arm out from beneath her head.

She stirred, and her nose twitched before she went still again. He gently grasped her knee and slid her leg off him, but before he could release her, she covered his fingers with her own.

She made another appreciative humming sound in the back of her throat and dragged his hand upward. Past the silken skin of her thigh, over the swell of one hip and straight under that t-shirt to cup one, heavy breast.

He sucked in a breath through his nose and blew it out as his hand twitched. Surely, this was an invitation. Surely, she had to be awake by now. Could she possibly be this sound of a sleeper?

He was still wrestling with his conscience when her hand released his to snake between them and close over his distended cock.

“Jesus,” he grunted.

He was so thick with need, so impossibly hard, that her fingers didn't touch one another as she circled him. Then she began to move her hand up and down. The motion was lazy, slow and so inconsistent, it offered no relief. Only more torture as he arched his hips.

She shifted toward him, mumbling something incoherent.

Still asleep. Stone cold, dead asleep.

He lay there, entire body tense with need, as he struggled for self-control. "Willa," he repeated, this time more firmly.

She tightened her grip on his cock in response, palming the swollen head the way a car lover would the stick shift of a Mustang.

"Willa," he bit out again as the blood rushed in his ears. He gripped her wrist and, calling on every ounce of self-discipline he had, stilled her hand. "It's time to get up.”

She sat bolt upright, gaze flickering around the room wildly.

"What the--?"

Her hair was a tangle down her back, her eyes soft and sleepy, her cheeks a pretty pink. Until she saw him laying there next to her. Then, she let out a shocked gasp.

"Wh-what are you doing?"

He squeezed his eyes closed and said a silent prayer for patience. "I'm trying to keep you from molesting me in your sleep."

He saw the fire in her eyes, but right as she opened her mouth to protest, she realized her hand was still planted firmly on his dick.

She let out a squeak and jerked away. "I was having a dream. I didn't realize..."

"What in god's name were you dreaming about, milking a bull?"

Her pink cheeks flamed fire engine red and, in spite of the excruciating case of blue balls he was struggling with, a tiny smile quirked at his lips.

"Or were you dreaming about milking me, little wolf?"

She shot to her feet like she'd been snake-bit and glared down at him.

"Get over yourself, Blackbourne. The other night was nothing more than the unfortunate result of a very long, very hard day. Chalk it up to two near death experiences and total exhaustion. But I promise you this. It won't happen again."

Seeing her all riled up, breasts heaving, only made his situation worse, so he turned away.

"Good thing you aren't a dragon," he said, rolling to swing his legs over the other side of the mattress.

"Agreed," she snapped. She set her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him. "But why do you say that?"

"Well, like I told you," he said, keeping his tone conversational as he stood. "Dragons always keep their promises. And I can tell you right now, the one you just made? You stand no chance of keeping it. Because what happened the other night is definitely going to happen again."

"So, what? You're going to rape me?"

He let out a short laugh and shook his head. "Hardly. You and I both know that isn't necessary. You want me, Willa.”

"N-no. No I don't."

"You do. And if you keep pressing me like this, I'm going to start playing hard to get."

He lifted his arms over his head and stretched, the dragon in him appeased when her eyes instantly shot to the very prominent evidence of his arousal. His triumph was short-lived when she licked her lips and his cock wept at the unfairness of it all.

Time to cut bait and walk away, before he did something foolish that would set his progress with her back even further.

He could feel her gaze on him as he padded past her toward the bathroom, his cock leading the way like a divining rod.

"I'm going to take a shower. Plan to do the same when I'm done. Then, I'll take you into town for some clothes. I’ve let you sulk long enough." He paused and shot a look over his shoulder. "I trust I don't need to warn you not to leave the keep in the next few minutes?"

He hated the idea of locking her in one of the rooms, but if he sensed even a hint of hesitation on her part, he would have no choice. To his relief, she bit her lip and nodded swiftly.

"I won't try to escape again." He eyed her with one brow raised until she rolled her eyes and amended, "Right now, anyway. I'm not an idiot, Drake. If I'd known I was going to be dragon chum out there, I wouldn't have jumped out the window in the first place."

He'd never thought her an idiot, but desperate people did foolhardy things. Still, the odds of her risking another escape so soon after the failed first one were slim. Not without some more planning and forethought. Besides, Etienne was a creature of the night. She was safe enough for the time being. Hopefully, by the time it was a concern again, she'd have come to his way of thinking and the point would be moot.

"All right. Fifteen minutes. Feel free to head down to the kitchen and make some breakfast. I like my omelets with five eggs and loads of cheese, in case you want to try to step up your wife-ing game a little."

He stepped through the bathroom door, not even pausing as one of his boots sailed past his head and hit the wall in front of him with a thunk. He closed the door before allowing himself another grin.

Why couldn’t he stop himself from teasing her even when he knew it was going to piss her off? Then again, maybe that was exactly why he was doing it. It had been hell watching her sit and stare at the fire for hours on end, lost in her own thoughts and sad. He’d given her some time. Now it was time to see if he could draw her out of it, and he was pleased to see it was working.

She was back to being a hellion and, he had to admit, he kind of liked it. The last thing he wanted was to tame her.

So what do you want, Blackbourne?

When he'd first decided to accept the Stone's offer, he'd thought the answer was simple. He wanted a mate who could handle a dragon like him.

The wildness of it.

The intensity of the coupling.

The weight of his need. And, eventually, the bearing of his child.

Now, though, the answer was much more complex. He had all of the above at his fingertips now. He could sense the strength running through Willa like a vein of iron ore in the earth's crust. She might be a virgin, but she was innately sexual. If he chose, he could bend her to his will with a few heated words and a few well-placed touches. She might not like him for it, but she wouldn't long be able to deny her body's appreciation of his touch.

After meeting her face-to-face, though, that didn't seem like enough anymore. Now he wanted her unconditional surrender. For her to be as caught up as he was, wild, and totally free. He wanted her to come to him. And if she bent to his will, it would be because she wanted to do it.

He yanked his shirt overhead and tossed it to the side before stripping off his gym pants. He winced as his cock bobbed forward, swollen and aching.

He turned the shower faucet to cold and stepped into the icy spray with a growl. And when that did nothing to ease the situation, he took his cock in hand and worked himself to a quick, efficient orgasm, grunting as his hot seed spurted against the wet tiles.

Even then, the relief was short-lived. As he lathered his body, he couldn’t help but imagine what it would feel like to have Willa do the job for him. Need pooled to his loins again, hot blood rushing to fill his member, and he let out a low groan.

Aye, he would continue to wait until his little wolf came to him. Wide-awake and fully committed.

But Jesus, it was going to be a long, painful wait.