day.”
“Mmmhmm,” he mumbled between strokes of his tongue.
“Okay,” she sighed.
He was going to hold her to that. She’d given herself to him and he was determined to keep her.
She climaxed, her legs shaking and that honey flavor getting stronger on his tongue. It wasn’t long until she was pushing away from him, but she couldn’t stand on her own, so he held her up again.
“Time to rinse your hair,” he said softly.
She allowed him to maneuver her under the still hot spray and work his hands through her hair again, rinsing out the lather. Aranka leaned against him, trusted him to support her and hold her up while she processed the sensation he’d wrought in her.
He understood now how he was more than his dragon.
And how his dragon was more than him.
Imre wanted this female like he’d never wanted anything in the whole of his existence. His dragon made him yearn, made him need, and his humanity kept that need in check. But it was his dragon who sacrifice anything for her. It was his dragon who was the noble one.
He didn’t know if it was like that for all dragon shifters, but it was what it was like for him.
“Are you sure you haven’t done this before?” She looked up at him, her eyes glassy, half-lidded.
“Very sure.” He rinsed her carefully and then soaped up quickly and rinsed himself. After turning off the water, he wrapped her in a towel and led her toward the bedroom.
“When you said shower, you meant it.”
“I did. Don’t you feel better?”
“You know I do, but no more of this making choices for me thing. I don’t like it.”
“No? You don’t like that I made you come, washed your hair and gave you a massage? So noted.”
“Don’t give me that smirk. It’s not cute.” She pulled the towel more tightly around her. “And you’re dripping on the floor.”
“I guess I need your towel.” He pulled it from her like he was unwrapping a gift and she indulged him, turning around for him.
“I guess you do.” She took it from him though and drew it across his body slowly, taking the time to make sure she touched every inch of him in the wake of the towel. “I like touching you.”
He closed his eyes and focused on the sensation of her soft, silky fingers moving over his flesh. When he was dry, she dropped the towel and closed her hand over his length.
“It’s like velvet, but hard, too.” She stroked him up and down. “Do you like this?”
“Yes.”
She continued to caress him, and pressed her lips together. “I’m nervous. Is that dumb?”
He first instinct was to tell her it was going to be okay, but instead he said, “No. Me too.”
“What do you have to be nervous about? You already got me off.” She gave a high- pitched titter of a laugh.
“Because I want you to feel good whenever I touch you.” He bent so that his forehead touched hers. “We can stop anytime.”
“What happened you’d just have to claim me?” she teased.
“No, Aranka. You always have a choice. If you’ve changed your mind, just say so. You don’t owe me anything.”
“I haven’t changed my mind. I want to get it right, too.”
“Just do what feels good to you. That’ll be right.” He kissed her then, but it wasn’t a mindless, primal sort of kiss grasping at pleasure like something to drown in. It was a way to communicate to her all the things words couldn’t.
He knew there were condoms in the bedside table. All the safehouses were similarly stocked.
“What if I wanted to be on top?”
“Okay, but I’ve heard it can uncomfortable your first time.”
“That’s why I need to be in charge. So if it hurts, I can stop.”
He drew her down to the bed and reached over to the drawer and pulled out a foil wrapped condom, then he handed her the package.
“You’re in charge. Do what you will.”
Chapter 5
A ranka took a deep steadying breath .
This was what she wanted, what she’d been pushing for, but now that the time had come, she wasn’t exactly