This was Magnus’s first time in Lindy’s bedroom. When he walked in holding her in his arms, he took a moment to look around, noting slate-gray and blue furnishings, soft cream carpet, and little nautical-themed decor.

“My dad liked boats,” she said. “He never got the chance to own one, but he liked to take me down to the docks on off days and look at the ships there.”

Magnus set her down on the bed. “I didn’t know that. It seems like there is still so much to know about you. So much you keep from me.”

“There just isn’t time to sink into the past,” she said. “Too much pain there.”

He wouldn’t push her, then. All he wanted to give her now was pleasure. And besides, once they were mated, he would have the rest of forever to hear all her stories.

She put a hand on his chest as he leaned over her, stopping him. “Magnus, thanks for being willing to go slow with me. It means a lot.”

He sighed, looking through the dark hair that hung in front of his eyes. “Does that mean you want me to stop?”

“No,” she said, brushing his hair back for him, tucking it behind one ear. “I mean emotionally. Letting me move things at my own pace.”

He nodded. “You’re my mate. It’s my job to do whatever is necessary to win you. Well, make you comfortable.”

She arched back into the mattress. “I’m ready to be comfortable now.”

He grinned, reaching for the hem of her shirt. Last time had been harried, rushed, and she’d been in charge, too eager to see his body to give him a glimpse of hers. With a look at her face to confirm it was okay, he lifted her shirt over her head, baring a lacy undergarment that cupped her substantial breasts.

“So beautiful,” he said.

She looked embarrassed, turning to the side, but he caught her chin and turned it toward him, loving the way her eyes shone when she acknowledged her feelings. “I’m not used to being looked at,” she said.

“Get used to it,” he said. “Because you’re so gorgeous that I’m never going to want to stop looking.”

“Can I look, too?”

He laughed and pulled his shirt over his head. “All you want. Benefit of dating a dragon. I don’t even have to work out to keep this.” He ran a hand over his hard rows of abs, watching her eyes widen and her curvy body give a little wriggle. “You like it?”

She nodded. “I really like it. You make me want to break all my promises to myself. Just totally lose all control and give it over.”

That was the most amazing thing to hear, given how hard he knew it was for her to let go of control. “You can trust me. I’ll always take care of you.”

She looked hesitant, biting her lip. He reached forward and gently pulled off her ponytail tie, putting it around his wrist. Then he fanned her blond hair out around her head, marveling at the dark-gold and wheat shades. “Your hair is beautiful. You should wear it down more often.”

“It gets in the way,” she said, wrinkling her nose.

He laughed, leaning down to kiss her neck, then her earlobe, then her lips. “Doesn’t look in the way to me.”

“No, I mean at work,” she said breathily. “You know what I mean.”

He did. And it was a good thing she wouldn’t have to work anymore soon. She could stay at home with him in bed all day if she wanted and not work on any greasy cars.

But she probably wouldn’t agree to that yet. He still had to win her over. But that was part of the fun of having a mate. The chase.

He trailed a hand over her soft, curvy belly to the button of her jeans. “I love your shape,” he said. “So perfect.”

“Fat,” she said.

“Perfect,” he said, flicking open the button. “So soft, so feminine, so protectable.”

She frowned. “That’s a good thing?”

“Of course,” he said, lowering his head to dip his tongue in her belly button. “It makes me feel like I deserve you, knowing I can protect you, knowing you would depend on me.”

“But if I were stronger, if I were your equal—”

“I don’t care about being equals,” he said. “I just care about being your mate. About allowing you to be however you want to be while I can keep you safe.”

“So weird,” she said. “I thought men would see it as work, and—”

“Protecting our woman work?” He scoffed at the thought. “Pleasure. It’s what makes you get up in the morning, as a man.”

“Hard to imagine,” she said.

“That’s because you haven’t been protected in a long time,” he said. “And never like this.” He undid her zipper, slowly revealing silky pink panties that matched the blush on her face.

“Hurry and get it over with,” she said, looking away. “So embarrassing.”

“Never,” he said. “I can’t rush with something this beautiful.” He trailed a finger lightly over her panties, loving the softness there.

“So mushy.”

“Mushy?” he asked.

“Romantic,” she said.

“I don’t see why romance has to be ‘mushy,’” he said. “Romance is hard, strong, hot. Unbeatable.”

She covered her eyes with her hands. “Oh my gosh, so embarrassing.”

He reached forward again, grabbing her chin lightly and forcing her to look at him. A grin spread over his face. “Do you really hate it?”

She shook her head slowly, her face very flushed.

“I thought so,” he said. Then he hooked his hands into her belt loops and pulled her jeans down in one smooth motion. When she lay before him in that lacy contraption and her panties, he let out a sigh of exquisite satisfaction.

Too much beauty for a dragon like him. He’d just have to work to deserve it.

Starting now.

He hooked a finger into the side of her panties and pulled them down and off of her, tossing them onto the ground by the jeans. Then he looked down at the breast-containment system curiously.

With a little giggle, she reached behind and somehow undid it, and as it fell away, beautiful dusky nipples were revealed to his eyes. His heart felt like it rushed into his throat and got caught.

For a moment, he just stared as she tossed the bra away and he took in the totality of the woman in front of him.

Little dimples on her knees, wide, curvy hips, perfect little mound dusted with blond hair, rounded shoulders, arms with muscle under the curves, showing the strength that came from her work.

Little stress lines around her eyes, showing she’d suffered at some point. He hoped she wouldn’t have to suffer anymore.

When he’d first met her, she’d just been a cute woman who needed his help and then his mate. Now she was a whole, complex person that he could spend forever getting to know and still only feel he was reaching the surface of what he wanted to understand.

He wanted to be inside her. Inside her body, inside her mind, bonded with her spirit.

His dragon roared with the need to mate her, and he clenched his jaw, forcing himself to stay calm.

“Is something wrong?” she asked, slowly covering her chest with her hands, looking bashful.

With a little growl, he grabbed her hands and pinned them above her, flattening her against the bed as he took her lips in a hard, claiming kiss. Letting her know the dragon in him meant business. He pulled back so their lips were barely touching. “Never. Nothing could ever be wrong as long as you’re right here with me. You’re just so beautiful that you make it hard to breathe.”

Her lips parted slightly in shock, and he hated that she should find such a plain truth about herself shocking. He kissed her again, one of his hands keeping hers pinned above her head, the other trailing down to play with her breast, gently flicking the nipple.

Damn, she had cute nipples.

His other hand trailed down to her slit, feeling how wet she was, how naked. He played there, coming up to her clit and making her shudder as he stroked slowly over the nub. She squirmed.

“That feels so good.”

He grinned. “Good. I love it.” He played a little longer, feeling her body tighten, her hands push against him reflexively. But he could tell from the wetness at his hands, the quickening of her breathing, the glazed arousal as her eyes met his—his woman liked being restrained, liked giving up control when it was the right moment.

His dragon was pleased.

He’d protect her, take care of everything if she let him. She moved impatiently against his fingers, which were still making lazy motions over her most sensitive area.

He wasn’t in any hurry, but apparently she was. “What do you want, love?”

She pressed her lips together and closed her eyes, thrusting against his fingers. She opened her eyes. “You. In me.”

He nodded. “We have to get you ready first. You’ve probably had other lovers, but dragons are kind of a different thing in that department.”

Her eyes widened, but she nodded. “Well, I mean… I haven’t exactly.”

He stopped, his body frozen on top of her. “What? You haven’t exactly what?”

“Done… that,” she said. “I mean, I’ve played around. On my own.”

“I thought you dated before,” he said.

“It never went that far. I wasn’t ready and didn’t really feel up to it when I was grieving, you know. Ed was just company, and I just thought he was willing to wait. I never knew he was just using me. Now that I think about it, he probably never thought I was attractive, just the boss’ daughter he could use—”

Tears came to her eyes, and he couldn’t stand it, so he leaned in and kissed them gently away, salty and sweet. “Don’t be sad, sweetheart. Who cares what he thinks? Not me. He’s gone now, and I’m going to wash him away from your memory. I’m going to make you so happy that you can’t remember being sad.”

“That’s the thing,” she said, reaching up and playing through his hair. “I’ll always remember being sad. A lot has happened to me. I’m bringing you baggage.”

“No,” he said. “You’re bringing me a reason to live.”

She didn’t say anything to him, just wriggled slightly against his fingers, reminding him what she really wanted. He felt even more pressure now to make this amazing, to show her she was beautiful and desirable. And to make sure she was ready and he didn’t hurt her.

A tall order for a dragon.

She shuddered as he kissed her again, picking up the pace with his fingers, playing deftly over her as he released her hands so he had another hand to please her with.

That hand dropped to her breast, squeezing softly as she moaned, while his other hand kept up quickening circles on her clit. And he kissed her, keeping her emotionally close to him, feeling she communicated most honestly when they were together like this.

Her body told him he was special. Her body communicated trust. He wouldn’t let her misplace it.

He kept going as her writhing became more frantic and could sense her getting close to the edge. He deepened the kiss, thrusting deep inside as she let out a muffled scream and arched back, finally coming.

She clenched her legs around his hand, locking him against her as release overwhelmed her, and he held the kiss, loving the bite of her nails on his back, the way she bit his lip as she cursed out her pleasure.

When she stopped and pulled back, her eyes were apologetic. Guilty. “I’m sorry. That was a strong one.”

“Good,” he said, getting up and kneeling between her legs. “Can I check here?”

She flushed. “What do you mean check?”

“Put a finger in.”

She nodded, closing her eyes, but he put a hand on her cheek, waiting for her to open them.

“Don’t be afraid of me,” he said.

“I’m not,” she said. “I’m afraid of myself. Of the way I’m holding back, even now. Afraid that if I start feeling, I’m going to feel too much and I won’t be able to pull back, and it will destroy me.”

“You’ll never be destroyed,” he said. “Because I’ll be here to hold you together.”

She wrapped her arms around his back and held on. “Okay.”

He slipped a finger down between them and gently felt inside her. When he slipped in, warm, tight, wet velvet encased him, and he nearly lost it right there. So tight, would she fit him?

He tried not to show his alarm as she clung onto him, and he slowly lowered her back to the covers. “It’s going to be fine,” he said. “We’ll take it as slow as we have to.”

She sighed. “Okay. That feels amazing, though.”

A shiver went through him as he tested two fingers this time, and her wet heat tightened around him.

Shit, this was going to be harder than he thought. But somehow, he’d manage it for her. His mate was trusting him.

She thrust up against his fingers, making her hair move across the pillow, beautifully tousled. “So amazing. I want more.”

He grinned. “I want to be careful.”

She leveled her eyes on him. “Screw careful. For once in my life, I’m going for it.”

Before he could process what was happening, her hungry hands ran over his muscles, and he withdrew his fingers so she could wiggle out from under him. She got up on her knees, curvy, naked, and proud, and pushed him off the bed until he was forced to stand next to it.

“Strip,” she said. “Nice and slow.”

He grinned as he reached for the button of his jeans.

“Faster,” she said.

“You said slow.”

“I changed my mind,” she said, flipping her blond hair over her shoulder, looking powerful. “Faster.”

He quickly unbuttoned and dropped his jeans, and she gasped when she looked at him.

“Commando?” she asked.

He looked down at his nakedness. “What does that mean?”

“You don’t wear underwear.”

“It’s scratchy. Sometimes I don’t want to.”

“That’s so… hot,” she said, pouncing to grab him by the hand and drag him back on the bed. He hit the mattress with a thump, and before he could recover, she was climbing on top of him, pinning him with her soft weight.

“Hey,” he said. “Careful.”

“It’s my body,” she said. “I know what I want.” She sat slightly below his member and stared at it admiringly. She touched the base of it and ran her fingers up to his head, and his whole body tightened in response, making him bite his lip.

He didn’t want to jerk too hard. Considering how much bigger he was than her, he was liable to send her flying.

“It’s beautiful,” she said. “So soft. I didn’t expect it to be soft.”

He frowned. “Soft?”

“The skin I mean,” she said. She cupped her hand around it and lightly squeezed. This was torture. “The rest is hard. Is this really going to fit in me?”

He had no idea. He hoped so.

His mate was such an interesting mix of innocent and hungry; he wasn’t sure what to do about it except let her take control, for now.

She ran her hand slowly up and down him and let her other hand explore between her legs. He saw her close her eyes and slip one and then two fingers in, biting her lip as she focused.

He wanted to be the one doing that.

Then, to his shock, she began to climb on top of him, guiding her warm heat over him. He was about to warn her as she propped up herself so his head was teasing her soft entrance, but before he could say anything, she began to lower herself down.

He bit his lower lip at the sheer sensation of it, the tight, yielding heat surrounding him with a perfect, completely enveloping fit. He focused his eyes on her, watching for any signs of pain, but she simply had her eyes closed, breathing rapidly as she slowly came down over him.

When her thighs hit his hips and he was fully encased inside her, she finally opened her eyes to look at him, slightly alarmed by the fullness.

“Wow,” she said.

“Yeah. Wow,” he said, feeling his whole body closer to the edge than he’d ever been just from being inside her.

It was incredible, this joining of the two of them, the trust she was showing, and the pure, heated pleasure he could tell they were both feeling. She was still so wet, and her breasts were quivering as she wriggled against him, trying to find the right angle and balance.

He reached up and put her hands on his chest, leaning her over him, loving the view of her softly curved stomach and wide hips. And her blond hair draping over them.

The he took her hips in his hands and gently lifted her, pulling them slightly apart so he could gently thrust up and bring them back together again.

She gasped, throwing her head back, and pulled herself up on her own this time, eagerly thrusting down as he came up to meet her.

They pulled into an easy rhythm, and though it seemed at times almost too overwhelming for her, she seemed to be unable to stop, too caught up in pursuing her pleasure.

So he was careful for them both, keeping her weight supported in his hands, feeling her body tighten with each stroke together, watching her expression tense with the oncoming pressure.

Her soft hands gripped onto him, her thighs resting on the bed, her hips moving into his, making them feel like one person, one being. The room heated, filling with their combined scents, spicy and sunny and floral. This was a moment that would go in his book of forever memories, that he could think of in his darkest moments and still feel life was worthwhile.

Right now, there was nothing between them, no past, no pain, no worries about the future.

Just the feel of his mate’s body, the soft murmurs of her pleasure, the little gasps that grew to long moans, and the crackling tension inside him that threatened to break at any moment, throwing him into the cosmos.

She finally went, arching back and shoving down hard against him as if trying to take him as deep inside her as possible, and the movement set him off, jerking him into a hard, ragged release that made him feel as if the room were spinning, that gravity ceased to exist.

He called her name, over and over, unconscious of how many times he was doing it, as he reached up and caressed her all over, her breasts, her hips, her belly, and she endured wave after wave of pleasure in his arms.

When it was over, he fell back against the pillows and she fell over him, gasping in relief.

“That was… I don’t even know what that was,” she said.

“Love,” he said, stroking back her now damp hair. “That’s what it was.”

She frowned. “Making love?”

He could sense that despite what had just happened between them, she wasn’t ready, so he nodded. “Yes. Making love.”

But as she flopped down against him and he wrapped his arms around her, he knew he was dodging the truth, and he wasn’t sure if it was for her sake or his that he was waiting.

He loved her, and it wasn’t just because she was his mate and she was destined for him. He loved her, every part of her, her flaws and her strengths, her vulnerability and her hardness.

And he wanted to tell her and make her his mate, very badly.

Hold on, Magnus, he told himself, rubbing her back. Hold on just a little longer. She’ll be ours soon enough. We can wait.

Her fingers trailed along the back of his neck, stroking the hair there, and he just focused in on the peace of the moment.

He could wait.