Laura nestled in Kyan’s arms for the short flight to her apartment.

He’d gotten a change of clothes from one of his siblings — she didn’t know which one — and they’d left.

Later there would be inquiries, statements, an update to the first police report, and an incident report for hospital administration. But for now, there was only her and Kyan.

She is mine.

Kyan didn’t take back his statements. His promises were binding.

My female. My mate.

They landed at her apartment and she used the key to let them in. Tyler sprawled in the living room, passed out on the couch in front of a movie. He snorted awake and yawned, saw she was with Kyan, and straightened. Laura did the introductions, pleased Kyan was finally inside.

“Hi.” Tyler shook Kyan’s hand, staring at how his own disappeared entirely inside Kyan’s fist. “Wow. You are just like Laura described you.”

Kyan released him with a frown.

Tyler backed up. “So. I just remembered that I have to go shopping. At a friend’s house. And so does everyone else. We’ll be back at dinner. Or you can text.”

“Thank you,” she said sincerely.

He grinned, a little goofy, gathered up his thin jacket and tied on his red Converse, and headed out.

Kyan watched him go. “He is leaving you alone.”

“Isn’t it nice?” She snuggled up to Kyan. “These walls are pretty thick for an apartment but it’s still considerate.”

His arm rested on her shoulders for a long, soul-satisfying moment. This was how it felt to hug the male she loved and be hugged, naturally, like she was right where she belonged.

But then she was excited to show him her apartment and gave him the quick tour to her bedroom. Leading him in, she toed off her tennis shoes and crawled up on the bed.

He lingered by the door.

“You’re still frowning,” she noted.

“You were once rescued by your housemates.”

“Tyler respects that I trust you. There’s no need for anyone but us.” She leaned over, caught hold of his hand, and drew him toward her. “You are my one.”

He moved to the edge of her bed. “I have frightened you. Twice.”

“And you stopped so I could recover.” She tugged him.

He put a knee down on the bed beside her, turned, and sat with his steel-toed boots on the floor.

“I can feel you listening, Kyan. I hear your caring in your silence, in your gaze, in your movements. I trust and love you. Only you.”

Her words finally seemed to penetrate. Or, he chose to believe in her. He leaned over and unlaced his boots.

She hugged his back. Stretching her arms around him was like trying to stretch around a sequoia, majestic and strong. She clasped her hands over his heart.

He removed his boots and socks, straightened, and rested one large hand over hers.

But his profile was still worried. Concerned about frightening her again? He was unable to trust in their connection and feared what would happen now that he had declared she was his mate. He feared who he would become, and who she would become.

“Don’t be afraid.” She nuzzled his cheek, placed a soft kiss near his mouth, and let him know how much she cared. “I’m right here with you.”

She straddled his hard thighs. His bulging shaft caressed her inner seam. She lifted his shirt. “No barriers. No excuses. This is official.”

He removed her blouse and bra. His broad thumbs pearled the nipples, shooting pleasure to her core. He took one into his mouth, then the other.

Twin aches of desire twisted in her.

She unbuckled his belt and unzipped his jeans. His cock strained the briefs.

He stood, holding her safely against him, and removed their remaining clothes. Then he sat again with her naked on his lap, female to male.

He ghosted over her sensitive areas.

She rested his hand firmly on her mons. “I want you to touch.”

He hesitated to confirm her wish.

“Please.”

He gripped her gently. Slowly, so achingly slowly, he slid his fingers around her throbbing nub, the slick lips, and her inner slit.

Pleasure shivered through her.

His cock pulsed.

He stared at her pinkness with delicious hunger. As if he wanted a taste.

“You can taste,” she said, between her gasps.

He froze.

She had regained her faith in her sensuality. Kyan had given herself back to her.

Now, she wanted to experience every pleasure with him.

“It’s okay.”

Ducking his head, slowly and carefully, he laid her back on the bed and massaged her creamy body. Desire swirled. Her feminine core clenched, craving him. She stroked his powerful bicep, urging him to fulfill her desires.

He kissed her inner thighs, watching and waiting for her to stop him.

But she didn’t need to.

No second guesses.

He nuzzled her vee.

She opened for him.

Casting his gaze over her body, a strange expression crossed his face. Almost pain. Her trust overwhelmed him. Just a moment, and then the pain was gone. He focused totally on giving her pleasure.

Licking her slippery area, he found her nub and massaged gently, teasing with his tongue.

Need flooded her center.

She gasped. “Yes!”

Encouraged, he continued, and she rose on a tidal wave of pleasure, rolling over and over with his patient, insistent, enraptured caress.

She exploded with release.

He lifted his head. A small, pleased smile crossed his face. Rare, proud, and beautiful.

Laura stroked his cheek, earning a sweet kiss on her palm, and urged him to move up her body. Positioning his hard cock at her channel, she asked, “Do you accept that this will be the dragon version of getting engaged?”

He nodded once. Firm, decisive. Her Kyan.

She drew him into her body, sliding his bare, naked, hard cock deep into her slick wetness. He stretched her with tantalizing fullness until he rested against her core.

They both shuddered.

The heat was intense without the condom. She felt everything a hundred times more. It was delicious.

This was right.

He opened his eyes. His blue gaze pierced her. “You are mine.”

Laura nodded.

She was his and he was hers. She had waited a long time for this day. This confession. This male.

Exquisite surrender filled his gaze. He began to move, thrusting in and out of her channel harder and faster. Her orgasm grew.

It was frightening in the way of new beginnings. At the same time, exhilarating.

She wrapped her legs around his flexing buttocks and drove him home.

The full power of his passion rushed her and she exploded for the second time. Pleasure tingled her nerves, squeezing him with her abandon.

He caged her, holding her safe and warm as she came down. And then he gazed at her with such love it broke her heart and repaired it again, stitching her together in a new way — one that included him, always and forever.

She stroked his cheek.

He closed his eyes and dropped his forehead to her shoulder. Breathing deeply, enjoying her scent the way she was addicted to his.

“I’m so glad you changed your mind and came back,” she said.

He lifted his head. A hint of the familiar sharpness returned. “I should have considered you were the target from the beginning.”

“No, I mean, for us.”

He softened.

“Just out of curiosity, what changed? Why did you?”

“You accepted me.”

But she’d said so days ago. “Why did you finally believe me?”

He shook his head slightly as if reminding himself of how he’d been an idiot. “You were worth my belief.”

“Then, can I ask something else?” She was pushing it, but in this moment of absolute honesty, she wanted to know everything. “Will you show me your dragon?”

The old resistance returned. He had dealt with his scars in human form, perhaps, but dragon was another matter.

She stroked his forehead. It was okay if he was still unable to show her. She’d glimpsed him during the fight in the basement, and he had only shifted because he’d had no choice. She would be patient.

But a new decision filled his expression. They untangled and he rose, nude, in her bedroom. Checking his space, he hunched.

The scales flew over his body like he’d been doused with a bucket of blue crystal. His legs and arms elongated, crushing together to fit in her room, and his long tail curled over the bed. His neck elongated. His dark hair pulled back while his nose and teeth stretched to dragon.

That was where his deepest vulnerabilities lay.

Where other dragons had smooth snouts, his was lumpy and misshapen. One eye protruded while the other smashed in. The hollows and pits in his cheeks showed where tissue had been removed and never filled back.

Her heart ached.

These were no minor pranks. The deliberate unkindness he had endured swelled her heart again. Her throat grew tight and her eyes watered.

He rested his head against her arm. Trying to comfort her when clearly he was the one who needed comfort.

She threw her arms around his neck. “I love you so much. Okay? I love you so much.”

He morphed to human so he could return her hug, pulling her onto his lap and rocking her.

Perhaps this grief would never fully leave him. Grief for what he had endured, the innocence he had lost, the hardness he had assumed to survive.

He should have grown into a kind, gentle giant. His attackers had stolen so many things from him.

But they would never steal her love.

Finally, she got a hold of herself and cleared her throat. “Thank you for showing me.”

He nodded, and she heard as clearly as if he had said it aloud — Only for you.

After, she checked the time and texted her housemates to return so they could share a meal with her and Kyan as a couple. Then, she dragged him down the hall to her shower. It was a tight fit but that was part of the fun.

“We never got to use the shower together at your old lair,” she commented, lifting her elbow so he could reach the soap and boogying to wash the suds from her hair.

“We will in my next lair.”

“Are you rebuilding on the same plot?”

He shook his head. “It was compromised, and you were unhappy. I will plan a new lair with you.”

Her heart swelled. “You would do that?”

“It is the natural order for marriage.”

Ah yes. They needed to date, buy a house, and get married before having dragonlets.

Well, so, she’d skipped ahead.

It would be great if he could build in an adorable neighborhood, close to family and friends, quirky shops, exotic cafes, and include a bread oven.

“Is it okay that I travel?”

“The Gnashing Teeth is a good ship.”

“I was thinking maybe of visiting others too.”

“Humans do not travel frequently across the Empire. You will need a body guard.”

“Is that bodyguard you?”

He nodded.

She hugged him. “What about your responsibilities here?”

“I have a good team.”

He had a team!

“Great, because I was always hoping to be on your team.”

“You are.” His blue eyes warmed. “Amongst the stars, our team will be two.”

“And, after we have our dragonlet, we’ll be a team of three.”

The pained expression crossed his face again. He swallowed hard.

She nuzzled him while hot water sprayed off his shoulder. “Don’t be sad.”

“I am not,” he insisted. “It is a kind of happiness. I will endure.”

“Good.” She threw her arms around him and kissed him until his eyes glowed. “Because you’re going to keep experiencing it. I am going to make you the happiest ever for the rest of our lives.”

His smile reappeared.

“You believe me?” she asked, surprised.

“Yes.” He held her safe and tight. “Because this happiness I always feel in your arms. Your healing has already begun.”

* * *

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