Mandy sat on the small back patio of her tiny house and watched as the last sliver of sun slipped behind the lake. She loved this house, and the view it gave her. Perched on one of the hillier portions of the town of Torch Lake, it gave her a beautiful vantage point from which to view the lake, and the beach. She had sat out here on many nights, drinking wine or tea, depending on her mood. The house would have been the sort of thing she never could have afforded in her old town, when her old clan still existed. But she had been one of the first wizards to trust the new High Council in Torch Lake and move here, and so they had given her a spectacular deal on this little plot of land. She’d spent the last of her savings to hire a builder to construct a house exactly to her specifications, and she’d never regretted the purchase. After the horrors of the war, the two-bedroom cottage had brought her enormous amounts of joy in a time when joy had been hard to find.

Tonight, she felt no joy, though. Only emptiness. She wondered if she would always feel this way now, or whether Russ would one day fade into the back of her memory, replaced by some new, better love. She wanted to believe that he would, but she wasn’t so sure. In the short time she had known him, Russ had completely taken over her heart. She had fallen so hard for him that she wasn’t sure she could ever love anyone but him.

She had been sure, the night that they made love, that he was her lifemate. She hadn’t said anything then, though, because she wanted to wait until things had settled down. She’d thought once the High Council had dealt with the Commander Hawkins’ case that she’d have time, but now the case was done, and Russ was leaving. He made it clear on their short beach walk tonight that he wouldn’t consider staying, and Mandy felt like her heart had broken into a million pieces when she realized he was serious. She had worried some about how they would work things out, true. But she had never imagined that she wouldn’t be able to convince him to stay in Torch Lake. She’d thought, once he saw how thrilling it was to fight against dark magic, that he would change his mind.

Mandy fingered at her magic ring. It had been a gift from her parents, who were now long since dead, victims of Saul’s attack on her old clan’s village. She loved the ring even more now, since it was one of the few things she had left of her parents. But she wondered more and more often these days about whether life would have been better if she’d been born a human, not a wizard. She loved magic, and she loved her new shifter friends, but she had lost so much, all because she was a wizard. She had lost her clan, her family, and now, she was losing the love of her life.

Mandy leaned her head back in her patio chair and closed her eyes, wishing there was some spell that could heal a broken heart. Wizards had tried to create one for centuries, but never had any luck. Some things, even magic couldn’t fix.

Mandy kept her eyes closed, enjoying the soft, warm breeze on her face. At least the weather was nice, even if everything else in her world was a mess right now. She tried to clear her mind and relax, and she might have fallen asleep right there on her patio if not for the faint sound of knocking. Mandy thought she imagined it at first, but then, she sat up straight and strained her ears. Someone was definitely knocking at her front door.

For a brief moment, she considered ignoring it. She’d had enough of people today, and she half-expected to check the door and find another person there just to congratulate her on taking down so many dark wizards. She’d was done with all the hero worship for today. In fact, she’d had enough of it to last her the rest of her life. She hoped all the buzz around Commander Hawkins and her part in his demise would die down soon.

Still, despite her misgivings, her curiosity got the better of her and she crept back through her house to peek through the peephole. Her eyes widened in shock when she saw Russ standing there, bouncing back and forth from one foot to another. If she’d stopped to consider things, she might have pretended that she wasn’t home. She didn’t want to hear him explain more about how great Chicago was, or how he didn’t want to live among shifters and wizards. She’d had quite enough of that.

But she didn’t stop to think. She reacted on her first instinct, which was to throw open the door and gawk at him.

“Russ?”

He responded by pulling her into a deep, urgent kiss. She was too shocked to do anything except kiss him back, but when he moved back a few seconds later, she started to feel angry. Who did he think he was, playing with her heart like this?”

“Russ,” she said, her voice sounding tense even to her own ears. But he shook his head and interrupted before she could continue.

“Wait, Mandy. Before you say anything, let me explain.”

Mandy looked around uneasily. In the soft light of twilight, she caught a glimpse of a curtain fluttering at the house across the street. She knew other eyes would be watching as well. Everyone would want the gossip about what the town’s most popular citizens of the moment were doing on Mandy’s porch together, but Mandy was tired of being a spectacle for everyone. She held up a hand to stop Russ.

“Before you say anything else, let’s go to the back porch where it’s a little more secluded. My neighbors are lovely people, but they’re some of the nosiest bunch you’ll ever meet.”

Russ looked over his shoulder, but the neighbors had hidden themselves carefully. They had seen Mandy glance at them, and were trying to act like they weren’t watching anymore. She knew better, though. They were always watching.

“Come on,” she said to Russ, who shrugged and followed her through her house to the back porch. She motioned to one of the patio chairs, but he didn’t sit right away. Instead, he walked slowly up to the porch railing and looked around like he was seeing the world for the first time.

“My god. This is beautiful.”

Mandy followed his gaze, looking across the scene that she saw almost every night of her life now. The sun was long gone by this point, but the moon and stars shone brightly in the cloudless sky tonight. “Beautiful” hardly even began to describe it. Maybe now that Russ had seen it, he would understand why she could never leave it. This view, like this town, got into your blood.

Mandy didn’t sit, either. She stood there, slowly rocking back and forth from foot to foot, waiting for Russ to speak. Her lips still burned with the fire of his kiss, and she reached up to touch them. Why had he come here? Her heart couldn’t take any more of this torment. If she’d been a stronger person, she would have slammed the door in his face. That’s what he deserved. But she wasn’t a stronger person, and she couldn’t help how weak she became around him. Her heart wanted him so badly, and she was powerless to change that. The force between them, drawing them together, was strong.

The lifemate bond, she thought. How could he not feel it? How could he ignore it? Did he even know about the lifemate bond? He’d been living among humans for so long.

“Mandy…” Russ turned, and Mandy focused her attention on him, willing her heart to slow down. She felt like it was pounding so loud that even her nosy neighbors must be able to hear it. She took a deep breath to steady herself, waiting for Russ to continue. Then, to her surprise, he walked right up to her and got down on one knee in front of her.

“Russ, what in the world are you doing?”

He grabbed her hands in his own and looked up at her, that gorgeous face of his practically glowing in the moonlight.

“I’m asking for your forgiveness. I’ve been such a fool, Mandy. I’ve spent my whole life running away from who I am, and I’ve only hurt myself in the process. But now, worse than that, I’ve hurt you. And I’m so sorry. The truth is, I’ve never loved like this before, and it scared me. But I realized tonight that I’m never going to be happy as long as I’m running. I’m a dragon, and dragons weren’t made to run away in fear. Dragons face fear head on. And so, as much as it scares me to stay in Torch Lake, I’m staying.”

Mandy’s eyes widened as Russ paused to take a breath. “Really?” she squeaked out.

Russ nodded. “Yes, really. As long as this is where you want to be, I’ll be here, too. You’re right. I never really got a chance to know this town. But from even the little bit I’ve seen, I can tell it’s a great place. It may not have all the big city amenities I’m used to, but it has some awesome people. It has a High Council who is working hard to hold back evil. And it has you. And really, you are all I could ever ask for in a town.”

Mandy could feel tears pricking at her eyelids. He was really going to stay! Her heart surged with joy and relief. He’d come back for her. He’d agreed to stay for her. He did care about her. The thought filled her with happy warmth.

“And that’s not all,” he said, drawing her attention back. “Not only am I staying, but I also want you to know that I’m committed to you for life. I believe you are my lifemate, and I hope you feel the same about me.”

“So you do know about lifemates. I was wondering…”

“I know about them as of about an hour ago. Jake explained it to me, and I knew right away that you are my lifemate. And I could not have asked fate to bring me a better person. I know this might sound crazy, but I know in my heart it’s the right thing to ask. Will you marry me, Mandy? I love you, and I promise I’ll never leave you. I’ll always protect you. I don’t have a ring right now. I didn’t have time to go get one, but I promise I’ll get you a beautiful ring, something dazzling. Lord knows I can afford it now. But I couldn’t wait to get a ring to tell you that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I hope you feel the same about me.”

Mandy clapped her hand over her mouth. A few minutes ago, she’d been trying to figure out how she was going to forget about Russ for good, and now, he was kneeling in front of her, offering her forever.

“Please say something, Mandy.”

She grinned down at him and nodded. “Yes. Of course. My answer is yes. I love you too, Russ.”

There was so much more to say, and so many more details to work out. But none of it mattered right now. All that mattered was the two of them together in this moment, with a promise of a future together.

He stood then, and kissed her again. This time, she felt no apprehension. She let the fire of his kiss rush over her, closing her eyes as he wrapped his strong arms around her. She had never been so glad for the privacy line of trees planted along her fence. Her neighbors would have loved this show, but, thankfully, they wouldn’t be able to see. This moment was special, meant only for her and Russ.

He kissed her deeper, his tongue dancing with her tongue. She could feel the stiffening between his legs as he pressed up against her, and knowing that she did that to him sent a little thrill through her. She felt wetness growing between her own legs. She wanted him as badly as he wanted her. And how wonderful it was to know that she could have him guilt-free now. No more worries about pretending. No more worries about what the future held. Both of them were all in.

“Mandy,” he panted out as he pulled back for a moment to look at her face. “I know this must all be a lot to take in and I don’t want to push things too fast, but, god, I want you so badly right now. Do you want to go inside and…”

He trailed off, but there was no mistaking his meaning. His eyes burned with desire, and his hands on her arms gripped tightly, hungrily. Mandy smiled at him.

“I want you, too. But there’s no need to waste time going inside. This porch is plenty private enough, and the outside air feels so good.”

He didn’t need to be told twice. With a roar, he reached for her t-shirt and tore it off of her, then started kissing her again as he reached for the clasp of her bra. She laughed with delight, and moved her hands to start unbuttoning his shirt, a short-sleeved button-down in a lovely cotton green that brought out subtle green hues in his brown eyes.

The next few moments were a blur of clothing. After tearing off her bra, he reached to make quick work of unbuttoning her jean shorts. She wasn’t going to be left behind, though, and kept up by unfastening and unzipping his jeans and pushing them down along with his underwear. His erection sprang free just as he pushed down her own underwear, leaving a wet trail down her leg from the juices of her desire. The night breeze hit her bare skin and made her shiver slightly, but she wasn’t truly cold. Not with her dragon here to warm her.

He let out another roar, not caring who heard him. Then he pushed Mandy up against the back wall of her house, kissing her hungrily. She wrapped her arms around his neck, holding on as tightly as she could while his tongue again danced with hers, and his erection poked at her stomach. The air between them crackled with energy. How could either of them have ever thought of being apart? It was undeniable. They were meant for each other, and the very atoms of their bodies seemed desperate to be together.

Russ groaned as he kissed her now, his movements becoming more urgent with every passing moment. Mandy knew that the pressure inside both of them was building. She could already feel the beginnings of warm, tingling waves in her core. She needed Russ now. Needed all of him.

He needed her, too. With one swift movement, he slid down slightly so that his rock hard dick was right in front of her dripping wet entrance. And then, he was inside of her. His erection and heat filled her completely. She felt herself trembling, and she continued to hold her arms around his neck, hanging on for dear life. Every thrust pushed her harder against the back of her house, but she barely noticed the rigid wall behind her. All she could think about was him inside of her, hitting every sensitive, yearning part of her inner walls.

Her breathing came faster and faster as the pressure and fire grew stronger. She felt like she was burning up from within, and finally, the fire exploded. Hot, tingling waves of pure ecstasy washed over her, and she cried out his name, not giving a damn if the neighbors could hear her. She was too lost in this moment to care about anything except how wonderful the release he had given her felt.

He followed close behind, stiffening and throbbing into her, claiming her as his own. Mandy felt again the burning of the lifemate bond in her core. He was meant for her, and she for him, and the whole world felt perfect in that moment. They stayed there together for a long time, their bodies connected as they reveled in the very fact that they belonged to each other. When, finally, Russ kissed her nose and pulled away, Mandy didn’t immediately reach for her clothes. Instead, she grabbed an oversized blanket that sat on her porch swing, and motioned for Russ to join her. They sat with their naked bodies pressed together, wrapped up in the coziness of the blanket. The night breeze caressed their faces, and the moon glittered brightly on the surface of the lake. The sky, now a deep black velvet, shimmered with stars.

“I can see why you love this place,” Russ said, reaching to grab her hand in his as he spoke. Their fingers intertwined. “This view takes your breath away. And it’s so peaceful here.”

“It is. I love this little house.”

“You know, I’m a millionaire now, so we could buy pretty much any house we want. But I think, if it’s alright with you, we should just keep this house. It’s perfect.”

Mandy smiled up at him. “I think that sounds wonderful.”

They fell into silence again, staring out at the lake together. Mandy thought about the strange events of the last several weeks. Things had been hard in many ways, but she knew she wouldn’t change a thing. Not when every moment had led her to this moment, where she was together with her dragon. Nothing else mattered.

She looked at Russ then, and he looked back at her with a bright smile.

“You know,” he said, leaning over to kiss her nose. “Torch Lake is already starting to feel like home.”

Mandy squeezed his hand in response. She could not have asked for a better ending to her first dragon recovery mission.