Max cradled a sleepy Vivienne in his arms, marveling at how she perfectly fit against him. She was soft where he was hard, and small whereas he was large, and yet, she was his other half.

He had planned to take his time, but she’d led the pace instead. A first for him, who usually took control in the bedroom. A smile curled up his lips at the memory of the fiery lovemaking that had taken place on his bed. Another first. Vivienne was the first woman to share his bedroom, and deservedly so, since she was his soulmate. Now it was their bedroom. Their bed. Their penthouse. He liked the idea.

Soon, his baby girl would be home, too, and he couldn’t wait for her to leave the hospital. Tomorrow, he and Vivienne would go shopping to buy baby stuff. Heck, they probably needed to baby-proof the apartment.

It was amazing how, in a matter of days, one’s priorities could change so drastically. Max had gone from planning threesomes to deciding which color to paint the nursery in less than a week. And he couldn’t be happier. He grinned when he realized he was now planning threesomes of an entirely different type.

“I can feel you smiling.” Vivienne turned to face him.

“I didn’t mean to wake you.” He kissed her red and swollen lips.

“I love to see you smile.” She snuggled closer, her soft curves pressing against him and waking his senses. Her hand traveled down between them, teasing his sensitive skin. “I love you.” She closed her hand around his already rock-hard length.

“I love you.” He returned the favor by kneading and pulling her nipples before lowering his hand to her soft curls, where he found her ready for his invasion. He entered her with one finger, feeling her tight channel closing around him already.

Panting, Vivienne straddled him, and this time, he let her. She would conduct their intimate dance either way, and she was heartbreakingly beautiful on top of him.

“I need you.” She guided his hardness inside her and took him all at once, making both of them gasp.

“You are my Goddess,” he whispered in broken words, his hands reaching for her full breasts. He filled his palms with her softness, teasing her nipples to hard peaks.

As she rode him, she arched her throat, sending her long locks swaying over her back, brushing his thighs. Even though he wanted to take his time to make her scream, he couldn’t resist her, and soon, he pumped into her, grabbing her waist to keep her in place. She came, grinding against him, and a moment later, he found his release, too.

Afterward, they cuddled, and he peppered her with small kisses all over her face. It was late in the afternoon when his stomach growled, and he realized they hadn’t eaten since the breakfast Wilson had delivered for them at the hospital.

“I’ll fix something for you,” he said, draping the silk sheet around Vivienne and taking her in his arms. Naked, and extremely satisfied, he walked into the kitchen where he laid Vivienne on the marble countertop.

“What if someone sees us?” She gestured toward the wall to wall windows.

“Nobody can see us,” he answered, kissing the corner of her mouth before leaning away.

“What if Hugo or, God forbid, my brother enters?” She gave him a raised brow.

“They have precise orders not to show up until the day after tomorrow.” He pressed a kiss above the swell of her breasts, dragging the silk sheet lower with his teeth.

Vivienne moaned when he took a nipple into his mouth and sucked. He was about to carry his kisses lower when his stomach growled again, louder.

“You need to eat,” she said, laughing and pushing him away.

“You, too.” He gave her one last kiss and moved around the counter. “I’m afraid I can only muster a sandwich at the moment.”

“A sandwich sounds about perfect.” She smiled, crossing her legs. The sheet moved, giving him a glimpse of her soft curls before she lowered the fabric to cover her thighs.

He groaned. “What about cereal straight out of the box?”

Vivienne laughed, and he couldn’t help but reach for her across the countertop and pull her against him for a kiss that left both of them breathless in a matter of seconds.

“Maybe we can order Chinese and eat in bed?” he proposed, his hand traveling down to her core.

“Yes,” she answered, pressing against his touch before abruptly stopping.

When he looked up at her, her eyes were wide open.

She pointed at something over his shoulder. “What—”

He turned to see a large shadow darkening the kitchen a moment before Louise’s she-dragon appeared on the other side of the glass wall. A horrific screech pierced his ears. The dragon bellowed, hatred showing in her cold eyes as she looked from Max to Vivienne.

“Run!” Max shouted over the infernal ruckus made by the dragon, trying to push Vivienne out of the kitchen as the creature opened her maw and blasted the glass with a volley of fire.

“I won’t leave you!” Vivienne shouted back before shifting into her wolf.

The kitchen was large, but there wasn’t enough space for Max to fully shift and open his wings. He only had one choice if he wanted to save Vivienne.

He waited for the window to finally crack and threw himself against the window with all his strength. The overheated glass burned his skin as the wall shattered and he fell forward. Vivienne’s wolf yelped in pain for him. For a moment, he dove headfirst into the abyss, gravity pulling him toward the asphalt below.

As he had hoped, Louise’s dragon followed him, forgetting about Vivienne. Max freefell for several seconds, waiting for the moment when the she-dragon was close enough to grab her.

Finally, Louise veered, catching a thermal to position herself at his level.

I’ll kill you and everyone you love, the she-dragon bellowed in his mind and sent him images of how she would torture Vivienne to death. Your parents, and your bastard daughter, too, she thought, raising her talon toward him.

Max shifted, his dragon mouth opening around the she-dragon’s long neck even before his transformation was complete. Before she could do anything, he closed his jaws, sinking his fangs into her flesh. Splaying his wings, he brought both of them to a halt as he jerked hard, breaking her neck. It wasn’t enough, though.

Max’s dragon sunk his fangs deeper, severing the dragon’s spine. He sawed until only the skin kept the head attached to the body. Finally, he fired from both his mouth and nostrils, burning the dragon. With her head completely severed, the she-dragon’s heart shriveled in her chest, and it became a black stone. The rest of her body dissolved into ashes that floated away, carried by the wind toward the sea.

Soon, Seattle Shifter Police would send the Fairy Control Squad to erase the memory of the dragon fight from the mortal witnesses staring at Max, but he had more pressing matters than to wait for the cavalry to arrive.

Frantic barks came from the street, guiding Max’s dragon to Vivienne’s wolf.

Max shifted back as soon as his talons hit the ground, and Vivienne morphed at the same time, too.

“It’s over,” he said, taking her in his arms. “It’s finally over.”