Page 68 of The Heart of the Dragon

"It takes a lot of effort to keep my barb sheathed when I'm inside you. In fact, I almost didn’t. The dragon is dying to claim you."

I twisted my head to try and meet his gaze, but the angle wasn't quite right. I couldn't see his face, let alone his eyes.

"I don't know how to get used to you talking about your dragon like it’s another person."

"You will. I have faith in you."

"You don't know methatwell."

"Don't I?” he asked on a rumble as his fingers toyed with my nipples. "You've cooked for me, I've nearly died at your hands, and then been healed by them. I've seen the inside of your garden lab, I've learned what you like in the bedroom, and I've even met your parents. I'm feeling quite qualified in the getting to know Rose department."

I closed my eyes and savored his magical touches while listening to the rumbly tone of his voice while he talked. Was there even anything better than this feeling right here in the world? It allmade me wonder if he was right and we were destined for more—together.

But destiny wasn't science. It definitely fell on the magical side of things.

But isn't magic just science that hasn't been proven yet?

Maybe I was grasping at straws, trying to justify my behavior. But for once in my life, something seemed right. I might have found the one place I truly fit.

My brain was wandering pretty hard when he surged forward, reigniting all the myriad of delicious sensations from before.

I gasped. "Your knot. It's free." It was a half thrilling, half bereft kind of feeling. I had no idea why I loved his knot so much, other than the obvious. It felt fucking good. But there was more to the science of all this.

"Just in time for me to fuck you again," he groaned, pushing particularly deeper than he had before. "You ready?" he asked.

Seconds later, he had my lower half lifted off the bed, railing into me at an even better angle. This time I wasn’t on the precipice of another release, but in a steady state free fall into a whole other world. I’d never experienced anything so incredible, and I never wanted it to stop.

"Please," I whimper-begged, barely able to push words out.

"Oh don't worry. Trust me, I know, and I'm going to give it to you. Soon."

I twisted my head again, attempting to get a look at him and this time I saw exactly what I was hoping for. Pleasure etched into his face even with the tendons at his neck tightened with the efforthe used to keep us in this position. But it was the glaze over his eyes that showed me his true loss of control.

"Magnus. Gods! It's incredible."

He grunted in agreement as he continued with long, languid strokes that revved my nerves both coming and going. It also went on a really long time. The pleasure took me over the edge, flying into the night sky, and erupted me into a ball of heat and flames where my nerve endings continually sizzled. By the time I came down, we were both covered in sweat and the tense line of his body pressed against mine told me he was about to break.

"I want to give you the barb," he cried. "I need to watch you come apart one more time."

"Then do it." My thoughts weren't a thousand percent coherent, but with my senses on overload and my body brimming from pleasure, I wanted anything and everything he had to give. In fact, it felt like an affront that he hadn't already given himself one hundred percent to me.

"No!" he barked. "Not yet. You don’t know what you’re asking for."

I whimpered my disappointment. "Asshole," I mumbled.

"Of course I am, but that doesn't change this. Your decision to accept my barb and become my mate will be made outside the throes of mating heat."

"That sounds a little too noble for you. I thought you were a beast. Or a monster. Do monsters ask for permission?"

"Don't try to goad me into giving it to you. I'm still inside you and losing my mind." There was another deep thrust, then another and then on the third the world erupted.

He snapped. Heat poured out of him in every direction and filled every inch of the room. Smoke, the scent of burning, and still the pleasure held me mesmerized in its grip. I needed more. Wanted more. I clawed at the blanket underneath me and let loose with a wail that wouldn't end.

Somewhere in the melee, he pushed me onto my stomach and followed me down letting the heat of his body and our connection soothe my aching soul.

"Shhhh," he cooed, rubbing his hands along my arms and wiping the hair out of my eyes. "I promise you will get everything your heart and your body desires. And you'll thank me later for waiting."

I whimpered, completely focused on the heat still pulsing between my legs despite it all. "It hurts..."

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