Action movies weren’t exactly Sunny’s thing, but she hadn’t protested when Clint chose the latest war movie for their evening entertainment. She had too many different thoughts swirling through her mind to pay much attention to anything with a plot, anyway, so she might as well let Clint revel in watching a bunch of ridiculous battle scenes.

As she sat on the hotel room’s bed and watched a bunch of ancient Greeks charging across the screen with spears, she tried to review in her mind the steps to performing the counter spell that she would need to do tomorrow. The spell was complicated, but she had brushed up on how to do it, and she felt reasonably confident that she could pull it off. She hoped she was right. And she hoped that whoever was performing the disappearing spell itself wouldn’t be able to tell where she was by her magical aura. There were some ancient magic locater spells that allowed you to locate someone within a certain radius when they were performing magic spells. If whoever was behind the disappearing spells knew how to use the locater spells, Sunny and Clint would be in trouble. Sunny tried not to worry too much about that, though. The locater spells were even more difficult than the disappearing spells, and the only wizard Sunny knew who could do them with consistently good results was her old mentor Barnabas.

Sunny frowned. She didn’t want to think about Barnabas. Doing so only made her sad. And she didn’t really want to think about the counter spell any more either. She would have enough time to worry about it tomorrow. After the scout left the dragon shifter’s house, Sunny would have to be on constant alert, waiting for the disturbance in the magical atmosphere that would tell her a strong spell was being used nearby. That would be her clue that someone was performing the disappearing spell, and she would then make her attempt at the counter spell. Even feeling the magical disturbance in the atmosphere required a knowledge of ancient magic spells. Sunny shook her head slightly thinking about how long it would have taken the High Council of Torch Lake to figure out how to train a wizard in ancient magic from scratch. They were lucky she had come to Torch Lake when she did. Otherwise it might have been a good five years at least before they could stop the Dark Warriors from thwarting their dragon recruiting efforts.

In an effort to stop thinking about spells and counter spells, Sunny let her mind wander to Clint. A small smile played at her lips as she remembered his kiss earlier today. He hadn’t said anything about it since, just like he still hadn’t said anything about their first kiss. But it didn’t take a genius to see that his feelings for her were growing. He would softly touch her arm, or the small of her back, at any opportunity. He held the door for her whenever possible, and she’d caught him gazing at her hungrily on more than one occasion. She liked the little game they seemed to be playing, of finding whatever excuse they could to touch each other. But she’d be lying if she said she didn’t want more.

She shouldn’t be thinking that way, she knew. But she’d thought he was gorgeous since the first night she met him, when he came out to help her unload the moving truck in the rain. The realization that he found her attractive too sent little thrills through her whenever she thought about it.

“Hey! Earth to Sunny!”

Clint’s voice cut through her little daydreams and brought her back to the present moment, where she realized to her disappointment that the credits were now playing for the movie. That meant Clint was going to go to his bed and she’d be here on this bed, alone. She hated to let him go, but she was too unsure of what was going on between them to insist that he stay.

Almost as if he could read her thoughts, and didn’t want to leave either, Clint propped himself up on his elbow and smiled at her. “Want to watch another movie?” he asked.

Sunny hesitated. She hadn’t even cared about watching the first movie, so she wasn’t exactly excited about watching a second one. But she did like the idea of having Clint lie next to her for the next two hours. A quick glance at the clock, though, told her that a second movie wasn’t really an option. It was nearly midnight, and she needed to be well-rested for tomorrow. She couldn’t afford to be performing at anything less than one hundred percent of her magical abilities.

“I better not,” she said. “It’s late.”

Clint glanced at the clock, and he nodded somewhat sadly before reaching for the remote and hitting the power button. The blue glow from the television screen disappeared, replaced instead by the warmer light streaming in the window from the moon. Clint sat up and looked over at her, his face illuminated beautifully by that moonlight.

“Well, good night then,” he said.

“Good night,” Sunny said softly. Her heart had started pounding for some reason, and her breathing was growing rapid and unsteady. Instead of getting up to go to his own bed, though, Clint sat watching her, his eyes intense and searching. Sunny felt like she should say something else, but she had no idea what. What she really wanted to do was to beg him to kiss her again, but that seemed a little too desperate.

In the end, though, she didn’t have to ask him. After looking at her for several long moments, he finally let out a long, exasperated sigh, and said, “Damn it, I can’t help myself around you.”

Then he leaned in and put his lips on hers. Sunny gladly melted into his kiss. She knew she should resist. She should tell him that she needed to focus on her mission, and that this wasn’t a good time to start some sort of love affair. But was there ever a good time? If the last several years had taught Sunny anything, it was that you better grab the good things in life while you could. You never knew what tomorrow would bring.

She was pretty sure that Clint was a good thing, and she was grabbing on to this.

His touch was gentle but firm, authoritative but loving. He ran his hands down the side of her body while he let his tongue dance in her mouth. It had been too long since Sunny had felt the touch of a loving human. She had craved this, like a drowning person craves air. She hadn’t realized until this moment just how much she’d felt like she was drowning in life itself, being pulled under by the weight of too much fear, too much uncertainty, and too much responsibility.

Clint was pulling her up for air.

Her body responded to his touch, just like her heart. She could feel a tingling warmth spreading all through her, and she closed her eyes to savor it. She forgot about tomorrow, about counter spells, and about the Dark Warriors. She forgot about everything except the dragon in her bed.

A dragon! How had she of all people been lucky enough to win the attention of a dragon? She was always a little awkward around men, but for some reason she felt at ease around Clint. He calmed her. And if the way he was running his hands over her body right now was any indication, he also found her quite attractive. Sunny giggled at the thought. A dragon actually found her attractive. She never would have thought that would happen.

“What’s so funny?” Clint asked, pulling back to look at her. His eyes were more intense than she had ever seen them. They almost seemed to be swirling, like green lava.

“I just never thought a dragon would end up liking me,” Sunny said. “But, uh, you seem to like me quite a bit.”

“Quite a bit, yes. I’m about to show you how much.”

Clint let out a low growl and then reached for the hem of her shirt. He pulled it off, then pulled her pants off as well. He moved with authority, like a man who knew what he wanted and wasn’t going to waste time getting it. Sunny felt a shiver of pleasure as he started pulling off her bra. It felt good to be wanted like that. She could feel the desire rushing through her body. The warm tingling sensation started in her core and seemed to explode like fireworks, spreading all the way to her fingertips and toes. She could feel herself growing wet between her legs as her body begged for more of Clint.

A little voice in the back of her head, somewhere in the rational part of her brain, tried to tell her that she was crazy. She hadn’t known Clint very long, after all. Was she really ready to sleep with him, because it looked like that was where this night was going. And even if she was ready, was it a good idea when they were on a work mission together? What if things got awkward between them?

But as the minutes passed by, and as Clint’s lips moved from her lips to her neck to her breasts, Sunny was finding it harder and harder to listen to any sort of rational thought. All she could think about was the fact that she wanted Clint. However ridiculous and rash this night might be, she wanted him. She wanted him inside of her.

He had fully taken off her clothes now, and he moved to take off his own clothes as well. He tugged off his shirt, his pajama pants, and finally, his underwear. His erection sprang free, long, stiff, and larger than anything Sunny had ever seen. She let out a soft moan, and felt a fresh wave of moisture between her legs. She wanted him so badly. She had never wanted anyone like she wanted Clint. It felt like a fire inside of her, a fire that would consume her if she didn’t give in to its power.

Clint seemed to feel the same. He let out a low growl, a primal sound of desire. And then he moved to hover over her.

“Sunny,” he whispered, his voice husky and thick.

“Clint,” she gasped. It was all she could say, but it was reassurance enough to him that she was on board with what they were doing. He closed his eyes, and slid into her.

Sunny closed her eyes too, even as her mouth flew open. He filled her perfectly, pushing against her inner walls in the most delightful way. His large dick reached deep into her, bringing heat and tingling pressure with it. Sunny moaned, and felt herself beginning to tremble. The cocktail of sensations she felt was almost too much to take. But damn, was it wonderful.

Clint let out another low growl, and then started to move his hips back and forth. Sunny could feel his hip bones pressing against her as he thrust in and out of her, and the feeling of his bare skin against hers gave her a fresh thrill. She kept her eyes closed as his movements intensified the sensations within her. She could feel everything building to a crescendo, but the moment it all came crashing into a release still took her off guard.

She threw back her head and screamed, thrashing beneath him as the waves of intense delight swept over her. Her body pulsed, clenching at Clint’s body inside of her. She felt his heat filling her, and she could smell his scent—a woodsy, fiery scent. He was burning for her, she knew. That was all she could think as the most wonderful pleasure she’d ever known continued to rock her body. Her trembling increased and she let herself just ride the waves. She never wanted this incredible feeling to end.

A few moments later, Clint joined her. He let out a long, loud roar, and then came into her. She could feel him stiffen as he let himself find the same pleasure she just had. His body did not tremble like hers, but Sunny opened her eyes for a moment and knew from the intense way he had scrunched up his face that he was feeling sensations just as strong as the sensations she was feeling.

As their bodies both slowly settled, Sunny let her eyes slide over Clint’s perfect, muscular form. The moonlight shimmered off his large biceps, which had a thin layer of perspiration on them from the exertion of lovemaking. His broad chest rose and fell with the deep breaths he took, his whole body gasping for air after what it had just experienced. Sunny knew the feeling. She herself felt completely spent, but in the best way possible.

Clint finally opened his eyes as he slid out of her. He smiled, and then settled beside her with a happy grunt, draping his arm over her torso. Sunny felt a deep warmth in her core, and she felt more at peace than she had even known was possible. For the moment, at least, she was safe and content. She would enjoy this feeling while she could.

Who knew what tomorrow would bring?