As Ariel continued to hold his face, she noticed his expression had transformed. The sweetness wasn’t there anymore. It had been replaced by sheer want.

He gripped her wrists and ran his fingers down her bare forearms, to the hems of her T-shirt. Her skin tingled at his touch, and she felt shivers passing down her arms and into her body.

He released her and gently shrugged out of her hold to shuck his dress shirt, revealing his sculpted chest and the upper part of his eight-pack, which vanished beneath the hem of his jeans. Then he grabbed one hand, standing her up, and steered her toward the kitchen countertop.

He swung her around roughly and pinned her against the counter, ramming his hips into her jeans. She really liked being restrained by him. At his mercy. Ready to be pleasured.

He slid one hand behind her neck and pulled her face into his. His other hand eased down the back of her jeans, his skin smooth as silk.

She moaned in anticipation as he kissed her. She could feel his boner pressing through his pants, and the feel of it turned her on immensely.

She wrapped both legs around his butt and slid her arms around his thick back to pull him tight against her.

During those nights when she’d raced into the dark in search of him, her lioness caterwauling for her mate, she’d experienced an insatiable lust that no ordinary man or shifter could placate. No, she needed a dragon.

She felt so free in that moment as she kissed him. Free of the shackles of her animal. Free of the trammels of the world. Nothing else existed but him in that moment, him, and her own body, throbbing with want. The two were an island in a sea of bliss.

As their lips remained locked, opening and closing in unison, his tongue darted into her mouth, penetrating her, exploring. He tasted like mint, with a hint of musk, cinnamon, and wood chips. Manly.

His hands drifted as he kissed, sliding underneath her T-shirt, and he momentarily broke away to lift the shirt over her head. She raised her arms to help him and felt her breasts jiggle free.

“Not wearing a bra again, I see,” Jett said. “Did you forgo panties, too?”

“Guess you’ll just have to find out,” she replied.

She smashed her lips into his and threw her body into him, squeezing her breasts into his hard chest. He pressed his hips into hers, and she rocked against the bulge she felt in his pants, rubbing her center against him. One of the buttons in her jeans repeatedly scraped against her clit, and she couldn’t help but squirm with pleasure.

“Definitely not wearing any underwear,” he gasped.

“That’s a button in my jeans you’re feeling,” she panted.

“Oh.”

“But you’re right, no panties,” she said.

“Let’s check.” His hand slid down the front of her jeans and found her folds. “Yup.”

As his tongue explored her mouth, his fingers scouted her insides. How could he be so good at this?

She shuddered, arching her back, already getting close to climax.

But then he withdrew his hands and stepped back teasingly.

“You forgot to beg,” he said.

She was panting too much to even form any sort of coherent answer.

He slipped out of his shoes, and removed his jeans and underwear at the same time. His thick manhood sprung forth, pulsing in anticipation.

Her eyes gazed longingly at his throbbing dragon as she removed her runners and dropped her own jeans, stepping out of them.

Then the dragon king pinned her naked body to the countertop once more. Ariel kissed him passionately for several moments. Then she released him to lie back on the counter and spread her legs invitingly.

Jett knelt, momentarily vanishing from view.

She wasn’t sure if he was going to plant his head between her legs and pleasure her with his lips, or whether he had some other special surprise planned. When he reappeared, she saw he was opening a small packet.

“I brought something from Midnight City,” Jett said.

“Oooh,” she said. “Dragon condoms.”

He smiled, sliding the sheath over his throbbing member. “Extra textured for your pleasure.”

“Don’t you worry, your dragon alone is pleasure enough for me,” Ariel said.

He grabbed her hips and then slowly slipped inside, stretching her to her maximum.

Ariel moaned.

I think I really love him.

And then he began to rock back and forth, moving hard and fast, just the way she liked it.

It felt incredible. She wasn’t sure if it was the condom, or the many days since she last had him, but this had to be some of the best sex she’d ever had in her life. If not the best.

Her toes curled up, and she stared at him, finding it hard to keep her eyes from rolling in pleasure as she watched that sexy body pounding into her. She vaguely felt a moment of disbelief. It almost didn’t seem possible that she was with such an incredibly hot man so attuned to her needs. But here he was.

Yep, I love him.

“I’m going to come,” she said.

He thrust harder; she thought he was trying to time his own release with hers.

And then she reached her climax; her muscles convulsed inside her, squeezing Jett.

He gasped, and his body shuddered as he, too, peaked.

“Jett!” she shouted.

“Ariel!” he yelled right back.

And then it was over.

He slid away from her, gasping for breath. He peeled off the condom, tossed it in the garbage, and then lifted her up off the table and carried her to the bed. He lowered her to the comforter and lay down beside her.

As he wrapped an arm around her, she snuggled her body close to his slick chest, letting her breasts press into his muscular torso.

She felt so safe. So at peace.

Daylight filtered in through the open window beside them, and motes of dust floated in the rays, adding to the magical atmosphere.

Her animal purred contentedly. She’d been so enthralled by Jett that she’d forgotten about the beast entirely.

“Are you real?” she said. “Or is this a dream? If I pinch myself will I wake up?”

Jett smiled, then pinched her on the butt. Hard.

“Hey!” she said.

He lay back, still smiling. “Now you know it’s real.”

She huffed in feigned outrage, but couldn’t maintain the mask for long; a moment later she snuggled back against him contentedly.

She traced her fingertips across the tribal dragon tattoos on his arms. The designs seemed to be embossed slightly, standing out from the rest of his skin. “What do these mean?”

“All dragons have them in human form,” Jett said. “They’re like the chevrons human militaries use, allowing fellow dragons, or those in the know, to gauge the power and rank of the individual in dragon society.”

“Interesting,” Ariel said. “No other shifters have them?”

“None that I know of,” Jett said. “Of course, you do see some shifters getting tribal tattoos inked on at parlors, to mimic us. But they don’t have them naturally.”

She glided her fingers across her own forearms. “Maybe I’ll get matching tattoos someday.”

Jett laughed. “That would be pretty funny.”

She crumpled her forehead. “Why?”

“You’d confuse the hell out of my fellow dragons,” Jett said.

She laughed too. “We could tell them I was a newly awakened dragon. You found me while you were hiking the Andes.”

“You know, I’d actually do that, if it made you come back with me,” Jett said.

She sighed, snuggling into him. “No. That would be living a lie. I couldn’t pretend to be a dragon any more than you could pretend to be a lion. It would eat away at me.”

“Actually, I think I could do it,” Jett said. “Pretend to be a lion, I mean. We could run off, find some other pride, tell them we’re both lions.”

“My dragon,” she said. His words made her feel all tingly inside. “My sweet dragon. I doubt it would work, but I love that you’d be willing to do something like that for me. They’d wonder why you never transform, though.” She tapped his collar. “I wish you didn’t have to wear this. I so badly want to see you in your natural state. I still have the mallet and chisel Ephephany gave me...”

“I realize that,” Jett said. “But you know the rules. I can remove it only in times of great need, remember?”

“You’ve broken the First Rule already,” Ariel said.

“I know,” Jett said. His voice hardened. “And I have no intention of breaking any other rules.”

“Sorry,” Ariel said. “I didn’t mean...”

“It’s all right,” Jett replied. After a moment, he added: “Though I admit, there’s another reason I don’t want to remove the collar.”

“What’s that?” Ariel said.

Jett seemed to tense underneath her.

She sat up slightly. “What is it?”

Jett couldn’t meet her eyes. “I guess, well, just as you were self-conscious about revealing what happened after you were bitten, I’m worried you won’t want me once you see my dragon.”

“What?” She giggled softly. “Silly man. I already know I’ll still want you. Besides, I’ve already seen your dragon.” She reached down and squeezed between his legs mischievously. She felt him growing hard again.

“Funny,” he said. “But you know what I meant.”

She released him. For the moment. “I do. And you’re wrong. I’ll accept you no matter what, just like you did me. I was afraid no man would ever want me again after what I had become. Well, turns out I was right. Because a dragon wants me, not a man. And honestly, I dream of the day I can ride upon your back and soar above the clouds with you. I want to race my lioness through the forest, shaded from the sun by your gorgeous wings. I want to look up in the sky as you come in for a landing, and watch as the sun glitters off your beautiful scales. I want you, my dear dragon, in all your shapes and forms.”

“You say that now,” Jett told her. “But you have no idea what it is I’ll become.”

“Sure I do,” Ariel said. “I’ve seen your dragon friends soaring across the skies in that valley, what was it called? The Hooded Valley or something?”

“The Hooded Dale,” Jett said. “And I guess you’re right. I’m not all that different. Bigger, though. And the design of my scales is unique among my people. Like my tattoos.”

She gripped the molten hot shaft between his legs and Jett shuddered. “I’ll bet you are bigger. Maybe you should let me feel those scales again. I know it’s only been a few minutes, but I’m afraid I need reminding. I’ve been a very naughty lion.”

Jett growled and flung himself on top of her. “We’ll have to remedy that.”

“Yes please,” Ariel said.

Jett momentarily retreated from the bedroom; he returned with another packet and ripped it open.

“I hope you have a lot of those,” Ariel said.

“Tons,” he said.

Ariel moaned as he plunged himself to the hilt inside of her.