Sofia stood in the middle of her living room and surveyed her backpack.

“I think that’s everything,” she said, suppressing a sigh. She had sighed enough today to last her the rest of the year.

Leif picked up the bag, and looked at her with surprise. “This thing weighs half a ton. Are you sure you need everything in here? Your back is going to be killing you after about five minutes of lugging this around.”

Sofia grinned. “Nope. Not if I put a weightlessness spell on it. Watch this.”

She pointed her magic ring at the backpack and said “Magicae pluma.” Instantly, the muscles in Leif’s arms that had been flexed under the pressure of holding up the bag went from stiff to relaxed.

“Whoa,” he said. “That works pretty damn good. I feel like I’m holding a feather now.”

Sofia laughed. “Yeah. That spell is one of my favorites. When I was in college and had to lug around what felt like fifty pounds of textbooks, I just cast that spell and, poof! No more backaches.”

Leif laughed. “Yeah, I guess there are all kinds of good uses for that spell. But if you don’t have a backache, who is going to give you a back massage?”

He moved toward her and took her in his arms, rubbing the small of her back gently as she pressed her body against his. She did sigh now. She couldn’t help it.

“Well, since I’m about to be on the trail and away from you for months, or more, you won’t be around to give massages.”

Leif grunted in frustration, and then the air hung heavy with silence. Sofia bit her lip to bite back the tears that wanted to come. She didn’t want to cry now, on their last night together. She kept telling herself that this was temporary. It might be a long mission, yes. But Leif had promised to wait for her, and she knew he would.

She snuggled her face deeper into his chest and breathed in deeply, trying to memorize the scent of him. He responded by kissing the top of her head, and a little thrill went through her. It had been a long, exhausting week. She’d spent the last few days in meetings listening to other wizards and shifters hash out a plan for how to best search for Vincent, and she had contributed to the discussion as best she could. She knew a few places that Vincent might be, the most likely of which was the heart of the Gray Oasis Forest, where all the dark monsters lived. Vincent, and the others who did dark magic, did not fear the dark monsters. They felt confident they could control them with dark magic, and believed that the dark monsters would offer protection against unwanted visitors. In addition to several wizards, Seth and Evan would be coming on the mission, because they needed dragon shifters who could breathe fire to protect from the dark monsters. Sofia had tried to lobby for Leif to come, but even Leif himself had told her it wasn’t a realistic possibility. He was needed here in his role as the head of the Dragon Utilization Department. And so, tomorrow morning, Sofia would put on her feather light backpack and head off to Gray Oasis Forest to begin the search for Vincent. She hoped with all her heart that she was right and that Vincent had hidden by the dark monsters. If he hadn’t, the search was going to stretch on indefinitely.

But Sofia didn’t want to think about that now. She didn’t want to think about Vincent, or the Gray Oasis Forest, or even about her mission teammates. Tonight, all that mattered was that she was here with Leif. They had tried to spend as much time together as they could since arriving back in Torch Lake, but it hadn’t been easy with all of the meetings they had both needed to attend. The city was in an uproar after the break-in at headquarters. Tensions were running high as people questioned over and over how dark magic had managed to once again get a foothold in the city. The High Council had tried to assure them that the situation was under control, and that it was to be expected that the fight against evil would be an ongoing thing. But still, people fretted. And so, the heads of all the government bureaus which were even remotely related to defending against dark magic had been making a big show of working on plans to stop the Dark Warriors and to convince more dragon shifters to come live in Torch Lake.

Now, though, the meetings were over for the day. Sofia and Leif had ordered pizza and shared a six pack of beers before she finally packed her bag. Even that was done, now. All that was left to do was enjoy the last evening she had in his arms for who knew how long. She held him tighter. She wasn’t going to waste her last night with him replaying all the frustrations and busyness of the week. She was going to enjoy the feel of his body against hers.

“I wish I’d realized who you were sooner,” Leif murmured into her hair. His breath tickled at her ears, and Sofia smiled.

“If you’d realized sooner, that would have meant my cover as a spy would have been blown even sooner. It’s better that it took as long as it did. In fact, it would probably be better if you still thought I was just a bitch audit agent.”

Leif chuckled. “Would it? Then I wouldn’t be doing this.”

He bent his neck and put his lips on hers. Sofia closed her eyes as a rush of his dragon warmth filled her. It still took her completely off guard how wonderful he felt. His kisses were more than just kisses to her. They were like breaths of fresh air, or like fire that filled her and made her feel invincible. The sensations that filled her body when he touched her were unlike anything she had ever known, and she craved his touch more than anything. She had been trying all week not to think about the fact that she was going to have a long time on the road where she wouldn’t be able to enjoy moments like this.

Leif pulled away from her then to grab her hand and drag her toward her bedroom. They had spent as much time as they could in there since getting back to Torch Lake, but it wasn’t nearly enough. They always wanted more, and now, tonight was all they would get for a long time.

Leif pulled her down onto the bed with him, but they didn’t immediately resume kissing. Instead, they snuggled against each other, wrapped in each other’s arms. Sofia wished she could stay there forever, cozy, protected, and safe. For a long time, they were both silent, just basking in each other’s presence. Then, Sofia giggled.

“What’s so funny?” Leif asked.

“I was just thinking about how strange life is. I thought you were the most handsome man I’d ever met when I first saw you, but I thought we were too different to ever be together. And I thought you’d always hate me and think of me as an audit agent. But you saved my life, and we fell head over heels for each other. And it all started with an argument in a grocery store.”

Leif groaned. “Ugh. You’re never going to let me live down that grocery store argument are you.”

Sofia giggled again. “Nope. I’m going to make you spend the rest of your life making it up to me.”

“Well, then. I better get started.”

Sofia squealed as Leif pushed her onto her back and started kissing her again. This time, his kiss was deeper and more urgent. He pushed his tongue past hers and drank her in, and she felt an even stronger rush of his fire flooding her body. She marveled, for perhaps the hundredth time that week, at how fiery a dragon shifter could be, even when he wasn’t in dragon form.

Sofia felt her hips rising almost involuntarily to meet Leif’s, and as her body pressed against his she could feel his erection, already large and stiff. He groaned at the pressure, and then responded by reaching for her shirt. He pulled at it with fury, tearing it off her body, followed quickly by her bra. Her naked breasts rose and fell rapidly with her breath as he reached to pull his own shirt off. The next few moments were a blur of kisses and hands. Leif moved his lips across her body as he moved his hands across her clothes. A kiss on her neck was followed by an unbuttoning of her jeans. Then he took each of her nipples briefly in his mouth, followed by unzipping and pushing the jeans down and off. A kiss on her stomach, which sent shivers of delight up and down her spine, was followed by him taking off his own pants. And so it continued, until Sofia was trembling all over and completely naked.

Leif was completely naked, too, and she loved the feel of his bare skin against hers. He slid down her body, his hands grasping her shoulders as his mouth met with her nipples again. He licked, nibbled, and chewed, sending wave after wave of tingling pleasure radiating through her body. Sofia arched her hips more, unable to fully contain the ecstasy that filled her. She bit her lip and squeezed her eyes shut, wanting to hold onto these moments forever. She had grown dripping wet between her legs, and every touch from Leif seemed to bring on a fresh wave of desire. She was ready for him. She wanted him now, and yet, she wanted him to go slowly. To make this night last forever.

Leif took his time. He spent a long time on her nipples, then used his tongue to lick a line straight down to her belly button. He drew a little circle around it with his tongue, then blew on the wetness, making Sofia shiver in the most delightful way.

She opened her eyes for a moment, looking up at him in the dim gray light of her bedroom. There were no lights on in here, but just enough light seeped in from the hallway for her to make out his features clearly. She marveled anew at his chiseled jaw line and soulful eyes, and at the perfectly mussed up hair on his head. His body, muscular and perfect, hovered over her as he looked into her eyes now.

“Sofia,” he said softly, looking at her with such hunger. She smiled at him, her whole body tingling under his gaze.

And then, slowly, he slid into her. He never took his eyes off of her, and looking into his eyes while he filled her felt more intimate than anything Sofia had ever experienced. Her eyes widened as he pushed against her inner walls, and she gasped slightly, but she did not look away. It was only when he started thrusting that she could take it no more, and had to close her eyes. The sensations flooding her body were more than she could hold inside. She panted and gasped, and felt the pressure of him building and building in her core, until finally she could hold back no longer.

With a long scream, she let her release come over her. She grabbed at the sheets and thrashed underneath him, drinking in every flaming wave of pleasure that passed over her. He followed close behind her, roaring as he came and filled her with himself. And together, their bodies pulsed hungrily against each other. Together, they let the waves of ecstasy take them completely. Sofia tried to pay attention to everything she felt in that moment. She wanted to memorize everything, to have every second of this night seared in her heart. If this was all she had of Leif for the next several months, then she did not want to forget a thing. She took in the sound of his heavy breathing, the sticky, glowing sweatiness of his skin, and the drunk-on-love look in his eyes. And, most of all, she took in the way he felt inside of her, filling her completely, and calling her his home.

When at last he slid out of her and lay beside her, Sofia felt tears forming in her eyes. Although she tried to hold them back, she wasn’t strong enough. Not tonight. She’d been so strong for so long. Tonight, she couldn’t keep herself from falling apart.

“Hey. What’s wrong?”

“I just can’t stop thinking about how we’re not going to be together after tonight.”

“Shh. I know it’s tough. I’m not happy about it either. But I promise, I’ll keep you in my heart. No matter how long we have to be apart, I’ll be here waiting for you when you get back. We have to stay strong. Our clan needs us.”

Sofia took a long shuddering breath, and forced her tears away. Leif was right. Their clan did need them. But she and Leif needed each other, too. She was so tired of being strong, and standing on her own, but she knew she had to take this mission.

And she knew that she wasn’t really standing alone anymore. Even though she would be far away from Leif, she would have the knowledge deep inside of her that he was waiting for her, and rooting for her. And sometimes, knowing that there was someone to come home to made all the difference.