I watched from the window as Bradley made the dumbest decision of his life and charged Dane. I wondered if Dane would shift right away or fight him as a human for a while. Bradley was pushing him, I could see that, and I knew it wouldn’t be long before the dragon would come out. I had only seen it that one time, but I remembered how scary it was. Once he had shifted though, it was kind of nice. He was still him, just green and scaly.

Just as I thought, the dragon burst forth suddenly, and the wolf shifters took off running. Bradley was facing Dane alone, and Rory had joined the party. I watched intently as they both stalked Bradley like a lioness stalks her prey. Bradley was screaming and begging for mercy while crawling on the ground.

I watched Dane and Rory look at each other and nod before reaching down to pick Bradley up with their teeth. At first, I was horrified as I remembered the dream I had in the hotel, but I knew that they wouldn’t eat him. They carried him to the edge of the island by the boat dock and dropped him in the water before returning to their human form.

I walked out on the porch as the started walking back towards my house. They were halfway back to the house when several of the wolf shifters returned.

“What do you want?” Dane asked, taking a defensive stance.

The lead wolf shifter grinned, and the black holes where his teeth used to be were apparent.

“I don’t want anything. We were hired to do a job, and I am going to do it no matter what,” he snapped, trying to get around me to the house.

Dane grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pulled him backward.

“I don’t think so; you don’t even think about going over there by her. Do you understand me? You better, or you’ll be sorry,” he said as he threw him to the side.

He climbed the steps and wrapped me in a hug, holding me for several minutes. I was glad that he had finally chased Bradley off, but now we worried that he would go and tell people about the island filled with dragons. I didn’t think he would honestly tell anyone that so he wouldn’t look crazy, but I’d known people that had told worse things.

Once we made sure the other shifters were gone, Rory went to his home, and Dane and I were alone. I took his hand and led him inside and shut the front door. The door barely even closed before I pushed him against the wall and began kissing him with fervent passion. My hands caressed his face as I slowly slid my tongue inside his mouth, feeling it meld with his. A soft moan escaped my lips, and that urged Dane forward. My hands began roaming his body as he deepened the kiss, holding it until our lungs burned from lack of air.

He pulled back from me, panting but smiling. I kissed him soft and slow as I slid my hand up his shirt, feeling the warmth of his skin against mine. As we kissed, he pulled my shirt over my head, and I slowly began undressing him. I pulled the shirt from over his head and watched as he took in every in of my body with his eyes. My body burned with desire as I looked at him. He was a gorgeous man, and I was lucky I was the one he wanted to be with.

He could have any choice of woman, but he chose me, and I didn’t understand why. He continued kissing me as we undressed each other, and he pulled me close to him, making sure I felt the size of his hardness against me. I loved how big he was and the amount of pleasure I got from him. Dane dropped to his knees in front of me, lifting one leg to his shoulder as he began to slowly circle his tongue around my swollen, pulsing nub.

I cried out in pleasure as he did things that made the different sensations swirl together. My body tightened, and I knew I was close to climax. Sensing the closeness of my orgasm, Dane slid a finger inside me as he continued to lick my clit. I cried out as I unraveled around his finger and he moaned as my wetness filled his mouth.

“Please, don’t stop, Dane. Please.” My request was small, but I knew it would be big to him.

Once I asked him not to stop, he slid back up the wall, holding me up, wrapping my legs around him. I moaned in his ear as his enormous erection plunged deep inside of me. I held onto him as he thrust over and over, urging me closer to the edge. I could feel him pulsing inside me, and I knew it would only be a matter of time before we both exploded.

I was beginning to understand why sex was such a popular subject in high school and why everyone made fun of me for being a virgin. It felt so good. Everyone was doing it, and I was the odd man out. The sensations that I was feeling sent jolts of electricity through my body as I geared up for yet another mind-blowing orgasm.

I gripped his shoulders as he thrust harder and faster bringing us both to our release. I screamed into his shoulder as he thrust into me one last time, spilling his seed into me as I convulsed around him. He sat my feet on the floor, and we both grabbed our clothes and headed to the bathroom to clean up.

My body still spasmed from the orgasms I’d had as I climbed in the shower, standing under the hot water. I couldn’t believe what had just happened. We had both said we weren’t going to let it happen if we weren’t together. This time I wasn’t worried about whether we were together or what people would say; I knew I wanted him. Every part of him. I just didn’t know how to tell him. I wanted him to know that I knew I punished him for things other guys had done, especially my father. As I finished my shower, I decided that once we settled down for the evening, I was going to broach the subject with him and let him know I learned a few things about myself while I was in Atlanta.

I pulled on pajamas and crawled into bed as I waited for Dane to finish his shower. Once he got out of the shower, I began to talk to him about the things that I had figured out while I was away in Atlanta, and how I had realized that I was punishing other men for the mistakes of my father.

He laid there listening to me, and that was very important to me. I wanted him to know that I had thought a lot about it, and I didn’t take the decision lightly, and I thought about it long and hard. I wanted to be with him... all of him. I wanted him, good and bad, dragon or human. He was the only man to ever make me feel the way he had made me feel. I wanted that feeling to last forever.

“Dane, I thought a lot about things while I was with Mom in the hospital and despite the reservations I have about it, I have decided that I want to be your mate. I want you to claim me,” I said as he moved closer to me.

His eyes lit up, and his smile split his face from ear to ear as I told him. He grabbed my face in his hands and kissed me gently, sending shockwaves of pleasure through me.

“Are you sure? I don’t want you to feel like you must be my mate. I only want you to do it if it is something you truly want, and if it is, we’ll go forward with the claiming,” he said, his voice squeaking with excitement.

“Yes, Dane, I am sure I want to be with you forever. You have changed my life in so many ways, and I am forever grateful for you. You have given my life new meaning, and you have shown me how to love myself when I couldn’t before. I love you, Dane. I want to be yours,” I said as tears filled my eyes.

Dane grabbed me in a hug and rolled on top of me, effectively ending all conversation as he made love to me again. When we finished, we laid together in the bed, and he whispered in my ear.

“My dearest Lauren, you have made my life complete. I don’t know what I would do without you. You mean everything to me. I am now claiming you as my forever mate,” he said as he kissed my lips soft and slow.

I couldn’t believe I had just agreed to be the mate of a dragon. It didn’t seem possible. I never knew creatures like him existed, but I was so glad they did. I couldn’t wait for the next chapter of our life to start. I couldn’t imagine spending life with anyone else. He made life so much better.