I was fuming when Dane pulled into the driveway. I couldn’t believe he had the nerve to skip out on his job after telling me that bullshit at the café that night. He had to think of me as a stupid woman if he thought I would believe that crap. I watched out the window as he climbed the ladder to start ripping off the old roof. A couple hours later, I heard him come down and start his truck. I looked out the window to see him pulling out of the driveway. I shook my head, wondering what was so important he had to leave his job. I realized I didn’t see any new roofing supplies, so I figured that must be where he went.

I went back to the kitchen table, turning my attention to my laptop and the project I was working on. I had gotten a few more messages from Bradley, but I continued to ignore them, hoping he would give up and go away. As I was finishing up the project, my mother called and informed me that Bradley had gone missing and no one was able to locate him. Panic began to fill me as I wondered if he had somehow learned of my location and was coming after me. I hung up and tried to call Dane and make him aware, but his phone went straight to voicemail. I decided to go ahead and leave a message in hopes that he would get it and hurry back.

“Dane, it’s Lauren. Listen, my mom just called me, and Bradley has gone missing from that area, and no one can find him. I am afraid that he might be on his way here. I don’t know how he would’ve found me, but I am scared. Please come back here. I am sorry for the way I treated you the other night and the things I said. I’ll listen to whatever you want me to, just please come back. I need you!” I hung up the phone and prayed he would check his messages.

An hour passed, and I still hadn’t heard from Dane, and there had been no sign of Bradley. I was starting to calm down and think Mom might have overreacted. I decided to go outside and enjoy the beach for a bit while waiting on Dane to get back. I went into my room and changed into my bathing suit and grabbed the sunscreen from the bathroom on my way out. I stepped out on the porch and turned to lock the door with my key. I gasped as I turned around to see Bradley standing at the bottom of the stairs leading to my porch.

“Hello, Lauren; you look lovely. How are you doing? Looks to me like you’re doing very well for yourself, unlike me. Do you have any idea what you did to me when you left me?” He spat the words.

“No, I don’t know what my leaving did to you, Bradley, but I do know that had you not been a traitorous cheater, I wouldn’t have left, and you’d still have your luxurious apartment to live in.” I spat the words right back at him, not letting him see how nervous he made me.

“Why, Lauren, I am hurt that you would think I was just talking about the apartment. You hurt me deeply when you left. I loved you.” He stopped as I raised my hand.

“You can spout your bullshit to the whore you cheated on me with, Bradley. I don’t believe you because if you truly love someone, you don’t cheat on them and toy with their feelings. I’d like it if you left my property now, Bradley, and please don’t come back or I will get the police involved,” I said as he took a step toward me.

“Oh, Lauren, why must you bring the police into it? I’m not going to hurt you; I just want a chance to show you that I have changed, and you are the one I want to be with. Please, just give me the chance to show you,” he whined as he stepped up on the porch and inched closer to me.

“Mister, I believe the lady said no. Get off the property before I remove you from it myself.” Dane spoke out of the blue, and I jerked my head around to see where he was coming from.

Dane had parked his truck at the side of the house, so it wasn’t seen. I was so relieved to see him, my eyes filled with tears. Bradley looked at Dane, then to me, and snarled.

“Well, we move quickly, don’t we? Only gone a month and already got a new boyfriend. I always knew you were a slut.” He had just gotten the words out of his mouth when Dane’s right hand met the left side of his face.

Bradley got up and started backing away as he yelled threats in my direction. When he was out of sight, I ran to Dane and threw my arms around him, squeezing him tight.

“Thank you, Dane, I am so glad you came back when you did,” I said as I sobbed into his shoulder.

“Shhh, it’s okay, Lauren. I was on my way back when I got your message, so I decided to park the truck in a different place so I’d have the element of surprise. I’m just glad he didn’t hurt you. I would have felt horrible if he would’ve,” he said as he checked me over.

I grabbed his face in my hands and pressed my lips to his, relishing the warmth of them on my mouth. I snaked my arms around his neck as he grabbed my waist and pulled me closer to him. I pushed my tongue into his mouth, circling around his as I began to open the buttons on his shirt. He pulled back and stopped my hand with his.

“Not now, sweetheart, I want you to know who I truly am before you give me that part of you. I have to finish the roof before that can happen; there’s a storm coming,” he warned, trying to hide the sheer disappointment in his voice.

I nodded and stepped out of his way so he could get back to work. I went inside and changed back into my clothes so I could get back to work myself. After working for a few hours, I went outside to see the progress he was making. He had all the old roof torn off and half of the new decking and tar paper down. I knew it wouldn’t take him long to finish up, so I decided to start cooking dinner for us. By the time the food was ready, he was coming in to wash his hands.

“You have a new roof, my lady,” he said as he bowed in front of me as if I were royalty.

“Thank you, kind sir, I greatly appreciate your hard work!” I replied as I curtsied.

As we ate dinner, Dane told me more about his family and how they came to the island, and I tried to take him seriously this time. I had to resist the urge to laugh in his face as he talked about shifting from human to dragon. I gasped and became concerned when he spoke about the men with no mates going feral and having to be killed. I wondered if it would happen to him, if what he said turned out to be true, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to know. I was scared to know, but I needed to. Even though I thought what he was telling me was total nonsense, I cared for Dane and didn’t want anything to happen to him. If anything he said could be remotely true, I knew I had the power to save him.

Once we finished eating, I started to clean the kitchen and wash dishes. As I rinsed the dishes and put them on the rack to dry, Dane came up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist.

“You still don’t believe me, do you?” he asked, his breath sliding across my neck sending shivers down my spine.

“I’m trying to, Dane, I really am. It just seems so farfetched. I am trying though because I do care for you,” I replied, hoping he could be satisfied with my answer for now.

Dane started to kiss my neck, and I gasped as his teeth grazed the soft flesh below my earlobe. I felt my body begin to respond as heat pooled between my legs and my nipples hardened against my bra. I braced myself against the counter as his hands began to roam my body and he slid a hand under my shirt, skillfully massaging my breast. He slid his other hand down my shorts and groaned as his fingers found my slick folds. He circled around my nub, causing me to quiver, and I had to lean against him for support. I felt him harden against my ass, and it aroused me more to feel his largeness against me. I reached behind me and rubbed his erection with my hand, causing him to moan in my ear. The sound of his pleasure and his hardness against me sent me to the edge of my willpower, and I knew I was about to give Dane the most precious part of me. He pulled his hand free of my shorts and led me to the bedroom before stripping me of my clothing.

I watched as he did the same and waited for him to reveal what I had felt at my backside. I gasped as his erection sprang free from his boxers and his size was exposed to me. The sight in front of me aroused me further, and I felt myself dampen more. I had no idea how he was going to fit inside me, but I knew I wanted to experience this moment with him and no one else. I knew I wasn’t in love with him as I had wanted to be before I gave someone that part of me, but I knew that he was worthy of this.

Dane inched closer, taking my hand in his, placing it around his girth. I wrapped my hand around it and began rubbing as a soft moan escaped his lips. It thrilled me to know that I was making him feel something good when I had no experience whatsoever. I had never touched a man like that, not even Bradley. I marveled at the size of him as he throbbed in my hand, growing a little bigger. Without thinking, I leaned down and slid my mouth over the girth of his erection. I looked up at him as he threw his head back, moaning in pleasure. After pleasing him that way for a few minutes, I moved my mouth and stroked him with my hand. He moved my hand away, guiding me back on the bed, lying beside me as he did so. He slid his hand over my body as he softly kissed my lips. I moaned against his lips as his fingers found my swollen nub and began rubbing in slow circles. As the sensations his touch was causing intensified, he slid down my body and began teasing my wetness with his tongue. He moved his tongue in circles, taking me closer to release. He slid back up, kissing my body all the way. He reached my lips and kissed me, allowing me to taste myself, and I tasted sweet. He deepened the kiss and slid his hand between my legs once again, trapping my nub under his finger.

I broke the kiss and cried out as the sensation became intense, and I felt like I was going to explode. Dane maneuvered himself so that he was hovering above me, and his hardness was rubbing against my thigh, making me pant with need.

    “Please, Dane, I want to feel you inside me,” I whispered, wrapping my legs around him.

    Dane smiled, leaning down to kiss me as he positioned himself at my untouched entrance.

    “If it becomes too much or is too painful, tell me, and I will stop. I do not want to hurt you, so you have to tell me if I do,” he said as he gently began pushing himself inside me.

    I gasped and tensed as he pushed through my barrier and he stilled, waiting for my body to acclimate to him. He slowly started moving, and the pain gave way to pleasure. I had heard my friends talk about sex and how wonderful it was, but I had never really thought it could be. It had always sounded so painful, but now I knew what they had meant. The sensations his thrusts were causing made my head swim, and I couldn’t contain the moans that were finding their way out of my throat. Every movement sent me higher, and I felt my body tensing for what I assumed would be my first orgasm.

    Dane must have sensed my body’s reaction and started moving faster, thrusting harder against me. The primal groans and growls that escaped him only sent me closer to the edge. I linked my arms through his arms and grasped his shoulders with my hands as he quickened his pace, sending us both to the edge. I felt my orgasm approaching as I began thrusting my pelvis to meet his. I cried out in pleasure as my release came, and he exploded into me, howling in ecstasy. We collapsed onto the bed, panting and exhausted from the activity.

    I woke the next morning with the sun reflecting off the window right into my eyes. I groaned into my pillow, stretching my arms and legs as I started to roll over. My arm bumped something in the bed, and I realized Dane was in the bed with me. Realization hit me; the events from the night before ran through my mind. I smiled as I remembered the pleasure he gave me, but at the same time, I was horrified at my lack of self-control. I still wasn’t wanting to be in a relationship, and I knew that he would think differently of our relationship after what happened. I scolded myself for being so stupid and letting things get out of hand.

    It had felt nice to sleep next to someone and feel the intimacy with him. I had never felt anything like that with Bradley, and that was probably why I had never felt compelled to give him my virginity. Giving my virginity to Dane had consumed my thoughts since the moment I arrived on the island and met him. There was just something about Dane that made me feel different than Bradley had, but I couldn’t figure out what it was. I didn’t care what it was now. I had let him have the most precious part of me.

    I laid there watching him sleep for a while, wondering what he was dreaming about. I wondered if I was part of his dreams, and if I was, what kind of things did he dream about me? I wondered about all the things he had told me at dinner and if he was telling me the truth. I was really trying to believe what he had said, but I didn’t understand how something like that could be true. No other species besides humans had ever been found on Earth until the wolf shifters, unless the government had been keeping secrets from us all these years. I guessed it was possible the government didn’t know about them, and they blended in so well the government never found out about them.

    If what he had said was true, then they were a quiet, timid species, unlike the wolf shifters. Everyone knew about them, but they were too many to dispose of now. Some areas were more populated by them than others, and I felt grateful that I had lived in a sparsely populated area before moving to the island. I was brought from my thoughts as he stirred awake, smiling when he saw me.

    “Good morning, my lovely. I trust you slept well?” he asked, raking his lips across my arm making his way to my neck.

    “I slept just fine, thank you; how about yourself?” I replied as his lips on my neck sent shivers up my spine.

    “I slept just great. I would love to stay in bed with you all day today, but now that I am finished with the repairs on your place, I have another job I must start today. If you’d like to have lunch with me, I’ll be at the café around noon,” he said as he quickly dressed.

    Dane leaned over the edge of the bed, kissing me softly, and I tried to pull him back to the bed but I couldn’t budge him. He smiled and gave me another quick kiss before heading out the door. Guilt crept in as I sat there, naked, wondering how I was going to tell him that nothing had changed, that I still wasn’t interested in a romantic relationship even though I had just had the best experience of my life. I felt like I was following in my father’s horrible footsteps, and I didn’t like it. I didn’t like it one bit.

    I paced back and forth most of the morning wondering how I was going to tell him. I didn’t want to hurt him, and I certainly didn’t want to lose his friendship. Even though I had made other friends during my time on the island, he was my closest one, and I didn’t want to lose him. He was the first person in my life that I really felt I could talk about anything with and not be judged for anything I said. I knew he felt the same about me or he never would have opened up about the dragon thing with me. I had to be honest with him, I knew that; I just didn’t want to lose him in the process.

    As the clock ticked closer to noon, I made my way to the café, playing the words I was going to say over in my head hoping they were the right ones to say.