Renee hadn’t even made it halfway down the short stairwell leading below deck before she was whisked into Kai’s arms.

And the more her overprotective lover did it, the safer she felt, close to him in a way unlike any other person before in her life.

His lips closed over hers as he pushed through the door into the small bedroom at the bottom of the boat, and electric warmth sizzled inside her at the feel of his mouth, his strong muscles holding her, his hot tongue swiping through her. A second later, he’d laid her on the bed, and she quickly surveyed the cozy little cabin.

The boat was nicely furnished, with wood cabinetry and brass accents. Encircling them was a line of small windows that looked out onto the ocean, giving them a perfect view of the last rays of sunset washing over the water around them.

She’d never thought she would be somewhere like this in her life. Let alone with someone like Kai.

She supposed that was why she felt grateful to Liz, despite everything. Without her providing the trip and begging her to go, she would never have come here. Never had the chance for this adventure and this relationship, which so far was unlike anything she’d ever known.

Kai wasted no time in coming over her on the bed, making the room feel that much smaller, his shoulders so wide it was a surprise the bed could even accommodate them both. But the thought was zapped from her mind with the sensation of his mouth at her ear, nipping at it lightly as tension immediately began to build between her thighs.

“Thank you, Renee, for doing this. For bringing us out here,” he said as his tongue swept along the edge of her ear, teasing her. “It means a lot to me.”

“Oh, so this is just gratitude sex?” She joked, happy that her plan had worked even better than she could have expected.

“No, of course not. I’ve been thinking of this, of you, since I first saw your face this morning. I just like the added degree of privacy this offers,” he said, his lips moving down her neck, lighting up her skin wherever he touched. “I want you all to myself for this. Just the two of us, alone.”

A thrill of anticipation went through Renee at his words. But before her mind could even fully register what he’d said, his fingers were at her waist, tugging lightly at the edge of her blouse, pushing it up and revealing her stomach. And as his hands played over the soft skin there, moving lower and making her spine tingle with excitement, her hands found the edge of his shirt, pulling it upward as well.

If he was going to be disrobing her, she was at least going to enjoy the view from down here.

Adroitly, he pulled his shirt off with one hand while his other pulled her blouse open. Already, Renee could feel her nipples tightening against her bra at the thought of his mouth on them. But to her surprise, before she could sit up all the way and reach back to undo the clasp, his hands disappeared behind her and did it for her, sliding off her clothing with it.

Clearly, Kai was a quick learner.

He lightly pushed her back onto the bed. The boat rocked slightly as his mouth covered one nipple while his hands caressed deftly over her soft breasts, down over her curves.

It was so erotic, no tentative carefulness between them this time. She knew he would take care of her, and she trusted him completely.

It made no sense the way he already knew how to touch her just the way she liked it, as if he already knew her better than she knew herself.

But even if his lovemaking defied explanation, Renee didn’t care. Her hands stretched above her, grasping her hair as she tried to hold back from so much pleasure.

She let out a soft moan, unable to resist, as he moved from one breast to the other, tugging the invisible string of pleasure inside her tighter and tighter. Then she felt his hand at the edge of her hips, moving lower, beneath her pants and over her panties, as he still continued to suckle one tortured nipple.

How could he do so many things at once?

Her body answered for her, rising ecstasy coursing through her as he stroked her clit with his finger, testing first then going straight into a breathtaking rhythm that immediately had her on the edge of infinity.

Then, with a pause and a single flick, she went overboard, orgasming to the gentle rocking of the boat on the ocean current as tidal waves of pleasure crashed throughout every part of her.

But even as she recovered from the first, he went immediately at it again, this time moving faster as his thumb came up to caress her aroused nipple at the same time.

Then his lips closed over hers, his tongue ravishing her from the inside out, and she came again.

It was shocking the way feeling surged through her, making her extremities tingle, making her whole body burn.

Then Kai’s hands were at her sides, pulling off the remainder of her clothes.

“Time for these to come off,” he said, his voice sexy and low as he devoured her with his gaze. The final rays of sunlight were coming off the water through the windows, making the deep blue light up. Water that sparkled only for her.

He spread her legs and lowered himself over her center, and it was as if she could feel his tongue on her clit before it was even there, his warm breath making her shiver with suspense.

Then his tongue actually coursed over her, one long, slick motion that felt as if he were encompassing her entirely, and she went right there on the spot.

It was fast, like a rush of air, like falling through a void of sensation so strong she could barely breathe. And then she was back, blazing blue eyes and iron-hard body on top of her. Pleasuring her. Owning her.

The sky was a dark blue now, and the boat swayed from side to side gently, a stark contrast to the roiling need filling her from top to bottom, tumultuous and insatiable. And as Kai’s tongue flicked against her, it was like the ocean moving, rocking her to her very core, pushing her over the edge again and again.

It was completely dark by the time he was done, and Renee had lost count of how many times she’d come by then. All she knew was that there was one thing eluding her, a deep desire that made her ache with want.

“Are you ready?” Kai said, running his tongue along his lower lip as he sat back on his heels, shirtless and beautiful in the moonlight shimmering through the windows.

“I don’t think I could be any more ready than I possibly am,” Renee said, her words escaping her. She was so ready that another second waiting would be too much.

Seemingly satisfied by her response, Kai got of the bed and pulled off his jeans and underwear, showing off perfect Ken doll lines that ran down to a shockingly large cock. Just the sight of it made her wetter.

Preoccupied, Kai reached into the back pocket of his pants and pulled out a small packet.

Oh good, at least someone was thinking for the two of them.

But his expression changed from ecstasy to slight consternation as he tore the packet open swiftly. The condom was torn in two by his teeth, and he looked surprised for a second before tossing the pieces away.

Renee didn’t know that condoms could do that.

He pulled out another to try again, concentration on his face. This time he knelt over the bed and tried to put it on. But it was backward and refused to move down his thick length.

Before she could get annoyed at the display, a thought hit Renee like a freight train.

Was Kai a virgin?

Smoothly, she sat up on the bed, putting a hand calmingly over his as it tried to wrestle with the small latex circle.

“Hey, what’s up?” she asked quietly.

“This… this thing is not operating correctly,” he said, trying very hard to hold back his frustration, but not hiding it well.

“Let me get it,” she said, coming on her knees and fixing it for him, relishing the velvet feel of his member in her hands as they fit perfectly over him.

Wow, there really was a lot of him. And the closer she was, the more badly she needed to feel him inside her.

“So is this by chance a first for you?” she asked, trying to broach the subject as un-awkwardly as possible, despite the fact that she found it both endearing and shocking and maybe even a little sexy.

“I…” Kai said, at a loss for words for the first time ever. “I lack experience, yes. Is that a problem?”

His sexy blue eyes were hard, the line of his jaw so straight she could trace it with a ruler. His perfect lips were tightened at the corners as he tried to show no vulnerability, like a soldier without a war to fight.

“How about I try something?” She stepped off the bed and reversed their positions. He just watched her patiently as she did, then complied when she pushed lightly on him, urging him to lie back on the bed.

His expression changed from confusion to suspicion as she came over him, body practically thrumming with excitement, not wanting to overwhelm her presumably virginal sex god who knew how to pleasure her, but not how to get a condom on.

“I should be the one who—”

“Shh,” Renee said, pressing her fingers to his lips before he could argue any further. “For now, just relax.”

Granted, she knew asking that of him was like asking an overprotective dog to not bark at strangers, but whether he agreed with it or not, he didn’t fight her.

Then, slowly and smoothly, she positioned herself over his length and came down onto him. For a moment, he was so wide, so thick that her body strained against him, tightening in shock. In that second, she saw worry flash in Kai’s eyes. But then, as they joined completely together, the tension faded away, melting into white-hot pleasure that flooded through her like a dam breaking.

Renee tried to open her mouth to say something along the lines of, “See, not so bad,” but her lips, her body, her brain were all going haywire with a primitive want that overrode everything in its wake.

She lifted and then settled herself against him, shocked by the intense friction of his size. A few more strokes and she felt pleasure threatening to overtake her. How could it happen so quickly?

And then she was coming.

* * *

Kai watched in wonder then ecstasy as Renee came, thrashing in pleasure, straddling him in all her raw, naked beauty.

As she arched backward, calling his name over and over, her full breasts and curvaceous body on perfect display, he felt possessiveness surge as unique sensations coursed through him, originating where their hips met.

He’d had every intention of taking Renee and pleasuring her past her limits in every way. But when he’d torn the condom in two, he wasn’t able to hold back his worry that he’d screw things up. Screw up the perfect night here with his mate. Screw up sex for the first time. Screw up their future together.

Screw up like he always did.

Yet somehow, Renee had handled everything perfectly. Had righted the situation without making him feel lesser for it.

Truly, his mate was perfect in every way possible.

That didn’t change the fact that he felt things would be better if their positions were reversed. Or rather, better for her, which was all that really mattered in his mind.

Renee came down from her release, and Kai couldn’t keep pride from welling inside him at his mate’s pleasure. Every time she came, he felt closer to her, felt the dragon inside him more irrevocably sealed to her.

Then as Renee began to move again, his hands were on her this time, cupping her breasts, exploring her body, teasing her soft hair at the back of her neck, making her smile as raw desire consumed them both.

Every time they came together was like a torrential downpour. The kind that even Kai himself had trouble summoning, so thick you couldn’t see five feet from yourself. But a downpour of pleasure. And with each slick motion between them, Kai moved with her, gently thrusting up into her as she moved down, making her moan loudly in the small cabin.

The muted sounds of water crashing around them contrasted with the cries of his mate’s pleasure. The movement of the boat as it tilted back and forth with the tide only further accentuated their coming together, as if the ocean moved for them, not against them.

When Renee came again, she dug her hands into his shoulders, her nails raking over his skin as he felt her body pulse rapidly with release. And with it, Kai felt himself being drawn tighter. He held back, not ready for the night to be over.

Once she was finished again, Kai looked up at his mate.

“Can I take over?” he asked, barely holding himself together. He loved what she’d just done with him, but he wanted more. Wanted to try another angle just to see if he could.

“Please,” she said, nearly out of breath.

But as she started to get off him, he instead held her close, their bodies still enmeshed. He wanted to hold her a bit longer before letting her go. Then he pulled out of her and carefully reversed their positions, using his strength to hold her safe and laying her back down on the soft bed beneath her.

When he came inside her this time, he felt in total control, at home with his mate. Neither way was better. All that mattered was he was with her. All that mattered was the incredible feeling when they came together, like two halves becoming whole.

He moved slowly at first, using the same speed she had earlier.

“Mmm… so good,” she said, twisting slightly against the covers.

Then as he withdrew and thrust in again, she gasped in delight, her eyes closing as her hands found his sides. Even the touch of her fingers was sensitive on his skin.

Kai could feel this was going to be the last one for both of them. And he wanted to make it count.

Starting slow and moving gradually faster, he thrust into Renee, the movement as natural as it was erotic, every inch of movement encompassing him with slick heat, making him harder with each passing second.

And Renee seemed to feel it, too, quickly joining him. To his surprise, she wrapped her legs behind him, pulling herself into him as he delved into her, each time with more force.

The world seemed to melt away around them as Kai pushed closer and closer. His entire body was tight, buzzing as if with electricity. And Renee’s gasps were closer together, her sounds harried, her body desperate to be enjoined with his, each fraction of a second apart too much to be borne.

Then Renee came, going still for a moment, then releasing all at once as her body tightened around him.

“Kai! Kai!” she screamed, so overcome that only one word could escape her lips.

Then Kai came, too, thrusting into her as his body pulsed, as incredible as it was overwhelming, so hot it felt it could burn.

Mine. Mate. Mine. They were the only words that vibrated through the back of his mental space, everything else flung far away amidst the tsunami of pleasure rocking them both.

Kai’s only response he could muster was to hold Renee tight, and she joined him as they rode together their separate releases. Even as Kai felt his body return to a strange new state of normal, tiny aftershocks jolted Renee, until finally it was over.

And everything would never be the same.

He pulled out, and for several long moments, maybe even minutes, Kai just held Renee as close as he could possibly hold her. He listened to her breathing, her heartbeat, memorizing every second of it.

If fate was right, then this was only the start of everything. But still, he wanted it engrained in his memory for all time.

Her breath, her body, the sounds of the ocean outside slowly rocking them to sleep.

But not yet.

He propped himself up on one elbow, looking down at her as she lay exhausted beside him, her hair spread all around her, her face pleasantly flushed.

This was how he always wanted her.

“Renee, what is this?” he asked.

She blinked up at him. “What do you want it to be?”

“Everything,” he said. “I want everything.”

She curled in against his side, holding him tight. “Me, too,” she said, as if whispering a secret.

The dragon inside him leapt for joy in an endless ocean. His mate was agreeing to be his.

She yawned and stretched again, burrowing alongside him, and he held her for a while until she started to fall asleep.

He got up to clean up, and when he returned, she was gently snoring.

Humans were adorable. His human was, at least.

He wanted to rest alongside her, but the dragon in him was still buzzing. It felt like the start of forever, but he had no idea where to go next. He couldn’t just sleep. He had to talk to someone, and he knew exactly who would answer his call.