Noah laughed along with Izzy at whatever story she’d just told. He couldn’t have told you the punch line of the joke if his life depended on it. She’d been saying something about the time a visiting wizard in her old village had mistaken her for an animal doctor instead of a human doctor. One thing had led to another and Izzy had apparently ended up agreeing to stitch up an old hound’s foot.

Noah should have been paying better attention. He wanted to know everything that there possibly was to know about Izzy, and she was sitting here freely regaling him with tales from her various life adventures. But despite his curiosity, he found it hard to concentrate on the words coming out of her lips when what he really wanted to do was kiss those lips.

Noah was beginning to understand why his clanmates had been so willing to settle down with a lifemate. Izzy could have asked him for anything in that moment and he would have given it to her, including a promise to spend the rest of his life with her. She was a drug he couldn’t resist. He had no idea how she’d gotten past his defenses, but she had. He knew it was too late to resist. He was already gone. There was no turning back for him. The only question now was how long to hold off before showing her how deep his feelings were.

If he said something right now, would she think he was crazy? Was he crazy? They hadn’t spent much time together, and half of that time he’d been acting like a total jerk to her. He winced, thinking of how he’d called her a coward and told her she was unfit to be a soldier. He’d acted like an asshole, and he felt ashamed of himself. She was brave, deep down. And how could he blame her for not wanting to see Saul again? After being tortured by Saul and watching the evil dragon murder everyone she knew, one could hardly expect her to jump for joy at the prospect of facing off with the evil dragon.

“What’s wrong?” Izzy asked.

Noah quickly smoothed out his features, realizing that he’d allowed his face to show his emotions a bit too clearly. He smiled at Izzy, trying to give off an air of nonchalance.

“Nothing. Just a bit tired I suppose.”

Izzy glanced up at the clock on the wall, which had been stuck in the three o’clock position for who knew how long. But a clock wasn’t needed to know that it was late. Outside the cabin, the sky was a deep, velvet black. Tonight, there were no clouds, and hundreds of glittering stars were sprinkled across that velvet, along with one very bright full moon. That moonlight was all that lit up the leftover bits of their dinner on the table, and yet everything was easy to see in the dazzling silver light.

“We should go to sleep,” Izzy said, standing to start cleaning up the table. “With any luck, the Falcon Cross Wizards will arrive very early tomorrow morning.”

Noah nodded his agreement and stood to help Izzy clean, although sleep was the furthest thing from his mind right now. He wasn’t quite sure how he was going to manage to lie in bed next to Izzy tonight without kissing her. He considered sleeping on the couch, but he felt that trying to do so after insisting on being in the same bed last night would be inescapably awkward. So it was that, fifteen minutes later, he was lying in bed next to Izzy, desperately trying to regulate his breathing and willing her to fall asleep quickly so he could stop worrying that he was going to end up with a ridiculously obvious erection.

The room felt like it was full of static electricity. Noah could practically hear the air crackling, and he found it impossible to believe that Izzy couldn’t hear it, too. But when he chanced a look over at her, she seemed completely calm. She had her face turned slightly away from him so that she could look out the bedroom window. The window was facing directly toward the brilliant moon, and Noah allowed himself to admire for a moment how beautiful Izzy’s face was in its silver light. He felt a stiffening between his legs and quickly looked away, trying to think of something, anything, that would slow the flow of blood to his rapidly hardening dick.

His efforts were futile, however. Izzy must have sensed that he was looking at her, because she turned then, and her honey brown eyes met his gaze. She smiled at him, and then glanced down at where his erection was poking up against the blanket, forming an unmistakable peak. There was no denying it. His body betrayed the hunger in his heart. He wanted Izzy with a desperation unlike anything he’d known before. He held his breath, waiting for her to react. Would she pull away from him? Act disgusted that he’d so far overstepped the bounds of their professional relationship? Kissing her had been risky enough, but letting himself lie in bed next to her fully aroused was a whole different level.

She didn’t pull away. Far from it, in fact. Instead she slid her hands underneath the blanket, and reached across the bed to close one of her palms around his thick shaft. He closed his eyes and let out a small moan. Shivers ran up and down his spine, despite the warmth of the night and the blanket. He hated the fabric of his cotton pajama pants, which was the only thing separating the skin of her hand from the skin of his erection. She rubbed her thumb up and down, while the rest of her fingers kept a firm, steady grip. Every slight movement she made felt like it was leaving a trail of fire on his body. He felt himself trembling, something he’d never done at a woman’s touch before. But he could already tell that Izzy wasn’t just another woman. She was special. The real deal. His.

He couldn’t keep himself from letting out a low, guttural growl. Feelings of possessiveness surged unexpectedly through his body. Izzy was his. He knew that as surely as he knew his own name. And he was going to show her tonight how desperately he wanted to take care of her, and how completely he would love her.

He should have been frightened by the word love. But somehow, when it popped into his head, it just felt right. He wouldn’t say it aloud. Not yet. But he felt a peace, knowing deep down that he loved the woman lying next to him.

He also felt horrible for treating her the way that he had. He was usually an understanding man. He tried to give others grace and show them that he cared. But he had let himself get caught up in the stress and uncertainty of the war, and he had acted in ways that were not fitting for a noble dragon like himself. He couldn’t take back all the cruel things he’d said to Izzy, but he could apologize. He could man up and let her know that, at the very least, he recognized that what he’d done was wrong.

Noah sat up on his elbow, turning toward Izzy. She let her hand slip away from his shaft, and looked up at him with wide, questioning eyes. The silver light of the moon outlined her hair, making her look truly magical. He supposed that was fitting for a beautiful wizard like her. Her face was flushed with the passion of the moment, and her lips parted in an invitation to kiss her. He would kiss her soon enough. He would be happy to spend all night kissing her. But first, he had to clear the air between them.

“Izzy,” he said, his voice husky and catching with emotion. “I’m so sorry. I should never have said the things I said to you. You’re no coward, and, for someone with hardly any formal training, you make a damn good soldier.”

Izzy’s face softened into a smile. “You already said you were sorry. You don’t have to apologize again, Noah. All that’s in the past now.”

“But I do have to apologize,” he insisted. “You’ve saved a lot of lives in this war. I had no right to criticize you just because you show your bravery in a different way than I do. Will you forgive me, Izzy? Will you give me a fresh chance to show you just how special I think you are?”

Izzy nodded, with moisture glistening in the corners of her eyes. “Of course,” she said. “I’ve already forgiven you.”

Noah bent his head to kiss her lips softly. Then he pulled back to look into her eyes, searching her face to see if there was anything there that would indicate that she was feeling something as strong as he was. He had never fallen like this before, and he felt his chest tightening up with anxiety, like he might die if she wasn’t falling, too.

She met his eyes with an unflinching gaze of her own. “This is crazy,” she whispered.

“I know,” he said. He didn’t have to say what he knew they both were thinking. Crazy or not, tonight they would give themselves to each other. Perhaps they were crazy, but at least they would be happy. And happiness had become so hard to find these days. The war had taken much of the zest out of life. Noah was about to put a little bit of it back.

He put his lips on hers again, this time with force and urgency. He slipped his tongue into her mouth as he slid toward her under the blanket. She was lightly dressed in cotton shorts and a simple white t-shirt, but even that was far too much clothing. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, and he wanted to feel the bare skin of his chest against hers.

He told himself to be patient. He’d been waiting his whole life for this moment, it seemed. Surely, he could wait a few minutes more. He closed his eyes and let the sweetness of her kiss overwhelm him. Izzy seemed to melt into him, and he put his hands on the back of her head, running his fingers through her hair while his tongue danced with hers. Everything else faded away. There was only her, here in this moment.

When he couldn’t stand it any longer, he reached to pull her shirt up and over her head. She wasn’t wearing a bra, and he found himself with his mouth right in front of her bare nipple. He seized the opportunity to pull the hard nub into his mouth, chewing and sucking and relishing the taste of her. She arched her back, pressing her chest harder against his mouth. He welcomed the pressure, drinking her in. Between his legs, he was now stiff as a rod. His erection poked against the fabric of his pants, searching for a way out, and a way into her.

After several minutes of teasing Izzy’s breasts, Noah pulled himself up and threw the blanket back, intending to pull off the rest of Izzy’s clothes as well as his own. He quickly kicked out of his pants, and made quick work of pulling off Izzy’s shorts and underwear. Finally, they were both naked. Noah felt jolts of electricity every time his skin brushed against Izzy’s. He felt a deep, primal hunger overtaking him. His erection was throbbing now, and he knew he couldn’t hold back much longer. He pushed Izzy onto her back, and moved to hover over her.

Then, he stopped short at what he saw, feeling as though he’d been punched in the gut. He looked down at Izzy, and felt as though his heart might break for her. There, cutting across her perfect stomach, were at least a dozen long silvery-white scars. The lines were long, stretching completely from ribcage to hip and back again. The lines made Xs and other tangled marks, like pathways to nowhere. Noah felt anger burning in his heart as the full realization of what he was seeing hit him. Izzy must have mistaken his expression as some sort of judgment on the way she looked, because her cheeks flushed red and she reached to pull the blanket over her stomach.

“I know it looks awful,” she said, her voice thick with tears. “I don’t think I’ll ever wear a bikini again.”

With strong, forceful hands, Noah pulled the blanket away. “It doesn’t look awful,” he said, in a tone that said he would not let her argue. “You. are. perfect.”

He emphasized each word, looking deep into her eyes so that she would know that he damn well meant what he was saying. The tears that had been threatening her eyes did spill over then, leaving two wet trails down the sides of her face before disappearing into her hair. She took a deep breath, and shuddered. He could tell she was fighting hard to regain control of her emotions—and losing.

“Listen to me, Izzy. You are so brave. I never should have told you otherwise. And that bastard Saul might have been able to torture you and scar your body, but he can never take away from you the fact that you’ve fought for the side of good, and saved lives. You’re beautiful, and perfect. I mean that. And I swear to you, if it’s the last thing I do, I will kill Saul for how he hurt you. Not just for the physical scars, but for the emotional ones, too. As long as there is breath left in my body, I will fight to avenge you, and to protect you.”

Noah could feel himself shaking with rage. He couldn’t believe that anyone could have hurt Izzy like this. She deserved so much better. He’d had a bit of a rough start in his relationship with her, but he determined in that moment that, if she would let him, he would spend the rest of his life showing her how well she deserved to be treated.

Tenderly, he bent his head down to kiss her scars. He covered each scar with a trail of kisses, pressing on even when he felt her body shaking with tears.

“It’s alright, Baby,” he said. “You’re safe with me. I’ll take care of you. You’re beautiful, and perfect, and I’ll never let anyone treat you as less than the princess you are.”

Noah had never called anyone Baby before, let alone princess. But he’d also never felt desire this strong. He gave in fully to the emotion. Why would he have wanted to fight this feeling, anyway? It was the most wonderful, intoxicating feeling he’d ever had. He had a sneaking suspicion that it was, indeed, love.

“I feel so small,” Izzy choked out, her voice hardly more than a whisper. “I used to feel like I was an expert at what I did, and in control of my life. Now, I feel lost, and like I don’t fit anywhere. Falcon Cross has never felt like home, and, as hard as I try, it’s true that I’m not a very good soldier. I want you so badly, Noah, but I’m terrified that you’re going to realize that I’m not good enough for you.”

Noah slid up so that his face was right above Izzy’s. “You’re too good for me. And it isn’t true that you don’t fit anywhere. You fit with me. You’re braver than you know. You’re better than anyone has given you credit for being. Even I judged you too harshly, but I won’t make that mistake again. If you want a home, then stay with me. I’ll be your home. Your anchor. Your safe space.”

Noah could hardly believe the words that were coming out of his mouth. He’d never been good at the whole romance thing, so it surprised him that such sweet, romantic words came so easily when he was talking to Izzy. Maybe he’d just never found the right person before. Now that he had, it was easy to give her his whole heart. He wasn’t trying to come up with something swoon-worthy to say. He was merely giving voice to the deep emotions that filled him. He’d never thought of romance as a very manly thing, but he was surprised to find that he’d never felt like more of a man than he did in that moment. He figured that he might as well keep talking, as long as his heart was still giving him the right words to say.

“Izzy,” he whispered to her, his whole body tense as it hovered right above hers. “I want to make love to you.”

He watched her eyes as they found his once again. And then, she smiled, and he knew that she wanted him as badly as he wanted her. Without another word between them, he slid into her.

He groaned as her warm wetness enveloped him. Her inner walls were tight on his erection, and he loved how wet she was for him. Her heat felt like heaven on his dick, and he felt the pressure between his legs instantly ratcheting up to a nearly unbearable level. He forced himself to hold back, though. He must be patient, and pleasure her first. Although, damn, was it going to be hard to do that. He felt like he would explode if he moved even one centimeter against her perfect heat.

Before he could overthink things too much, instinct took over. He thrust himself deeper into her, squeezing his eyes closed in concentration to keep the fire within him from bursting forth. He rocked his hips against hers, thrusting in and out and listening to the sweet, sweet sounds of her moans as he brought her to the very edge of ecstasy. Her breathing grew rapid and labored as he continued to push deeper and deeper into her. His whole body burned and tingled with the effort of holding back his own release, but he refused to give in until he knew she was coming with him.

She didn’t make him wait long. After less than a minute of that delicious, tortuous pressure, she suddenly gasped and cried out his name. In the next instant, he felt her inner muscles clamping down hard around him. After that he could not have held back even if he’d wanted to. Her spasms drew him in, causing his own body to give in, pulsing and spasming into her. Fire rushed through his veins, starting from his extremities and running like hot lava through his bloodstream. The heat centered between his legs and came bursting out of him as he came into her, giving himself fully over to her.

The room was still only lit by the silvery moonlight, and yet everything appeared to Noah like it was drenched in full color. The air around him sparked, and he trembled as he finally collapsed against Izzy’s body. The sweat that glistened on both of their bodies intermingled, and he could feel her pounding heart beating against his chest in the same way that his heart beat against hers. Noah had been through a lot of highs and lows in his life, and had felt plenty of adrenaline rushes before. But he had never felt quite this alive. He pulled his head up to look at her, brushing back a strand of hair that was plastered across her sweaty forehead.

“This is crazy,” he whispered, unable to find any other words to describe how he felt.

“It is,” she whispered back. “The best kind of crazy.”

Noah wasn’t going to argue with that.