Page 41 of Klaus

“Weren’t your parents like you?”

“Evidently, the trait skipped a generation or two, not that we knew anything about such things at the time. There was no such thing as genetics in the late eighteenth century. Prussia. Not exactly the most advanced time and place.”

“I can imagine.”

He shook his head, chuckling dryly. “I worked so hard not to let it show. I was certain it was insanity. The devil, even. I didn’t dare tell anyone, of course.”

“Of course not.”

“It would be tantamount to giving them permission to throw me in an asylum. Only they weren’t referred to as such back then, and you never left once you were placed inside. Either that, or the priests of the village would’ve performed rites on me, something barbaric, I’m sure.”

“But they did eventually find out.”

“They did. She did. My mother. I couldn’t control it in the early days, of course, I suppose we all go through that at first.” I nodded, remembering my own early days, when I was first learning to handle myself. “It wasn’t as though I could practice at controlling it, as I refused to acknowledge it. Acknowledging it would mean it was real. I didn’t wish it to be real. And yet, it was.”

He looked at the wall opposite the bed, where a blank television screen reflected the two of us.

“It was an ordinary day. And something happened, I don’t remember what, exactly. Something to anger me or upset me in some way. And my anger got the better of me, and I shifted. I didn’t even realize I’d done it until I saw the look of horror on my mother’s face. She saw it all.”

His eyes found mine. “Imagine. Imagine what that was for her. I can’t even blame her for it now.”

“But she hurt you.”

“Badly,” he agreed. “I was lucky she didn’t hit my eye with her when she came at me with a knifeafter I made the mistake of trying to calm her. The wound became infected, which is I assume why the scars remained. I’ll never know what happened to her or my father, since I left home that day and never went back. I hope they found some peace. Perhaps they pretended I was never born and that helped.”

If I hadn’t loved him before—and there was a good chance that I had—I did by the time he finished his story. There was no question. I tried to imagine that frightened young man, how terribly difficult it must have been for him to live through being banished from his family and surviving on his own.

“It might sound strange to you, but working with Mary and her group… it’s the closest thing to a family I’ve known since then. I’ve moved from place to place my entire life, leaving before anyone could find out my secret. I’ve been everywhere—and nowhere.” He reached for me, taking a strand of hair which hung over my shoulder and running it between his fingers.

I longed to tell him there was a family here, a family which could be his if he wanted it to. I would be his family. I would be his.

Without saying a word, I leaned down to press my lips to his cheek, over the scars which would always serve as a reminder of his painful youth. When I raised my head, he cupped my chin and drew me close until his lips brushed mine, setting off a fire with just a slight touch.

“I’ve never said this to anyone,” he whispered, his breathing already ragged as I leaned against him, his eyes searching mine. “But I love you. I love you so.”

My dragon roared her approval, had she been watching from whatever dark corner of my brain she’d been relegated to all along? Had she known before I did that he was meant to be mine?

“I love you,” I managed to reply before he crushed his mouth to mine, his hands in my hair holding my head close, his tongue darting about my lips before thrusting between them. I slid my arms beneath his shoulders and rolled with him as he positioned himself on top of me.

His hand slid over my side, down my leg before grasping it, wrapping it around his hip. I groaned, nerves sizzling at his touch as he repeated the process in reverse, stroking up and over my thigh before continuing slipping under the blouse I wore to slide over my stomach and up to my breasts.

I arched my back, giving myself to him, pressing against his massive hand as it cupped my breast, thumb, and forefinger rolling the nipple until I cried out in blissful agony. He growled in impatience and the buttons which ran down the front of the blouse popped off in all directions as he tore it open.

“Beautiful…” he growled before his mouth covered the nipple he’d so cruelly teased, his tongue swirling in slow circles over the sensitive tip. I arched against him again, the leg around his hip tightening, pulling him closer to the heat which continued to build between my thighs.

“Touch me…please…” I begged between breathless moans, and was rewarded by the sensation of his hands sweeping over every inch of skin as he undressed me, his mouth following close behind as he left a trail of hot kisses down my body. I was lost, utterly and completely, adrift in a sea of pure pleasure.

And I loved him. I truly did. I wanted to give myself to him fully.

My fingers roamed through his hair and over his shoulders as he kissed and licked and even nibbled my flesh, his breathing nothing more than ragged, animal grunts as his lion came dangerously close to the surface.

My dragon welcomed the danger, forcing me to grip his hair tighter and pull him up until our mouths met again. This time, I rolled us over, and he went along with me until he was on his back while I straddled his torso.

My fingers trailed slowly down his exquisite body, each muscle clearly defined. Pecs, abs, the finely-cut V-shape between his hips. He lifted those hips, and I worked down his shorts, the dragon crying out in pure lustful joy at the sight of his proud, erect cock. I had already admired his naked body but had never seen him like this.

Take him. Take what we need. The dragon was in a frenzy, urging me on, waves of unbearable heat radiating from my core. I positioned myself over him, never breaking eye contact, and he lifted himself on his elbows in time to draw me into a kiss as I drew him inside me.

When we connected, body and soul, it was like coming home after a long absence. Like I had only been waiting for him, all this time, and what was always meant to be had finally come to be.

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