Page 32 of Mikhail
He brushed a lock of wet hair behind her ear. “I know. I’ll begentle.”
She nodded, and he wanted to crow with victory. It was an ancient urge the dragon couldn’t resist, the need to connect to such purity, like they did with the gemstones. He turned off the shower and then took her by the hand, leading her out of the shower. He grabbed a fluffy white towel from the rack. After drying their bodies, he led her to the bed, and she sat shyly on the edge of it, her thighs clasped together and her arms crushed over herchest.
He smiled and leaned over her. She tilted her head back to welcome his approaching kiss. The sound of the fire and the distant roar of the sea felt like home for the first time, because he wasn’talone.
“I can’t believe I’m really doing this,” shewhispered.
He chuckled. “Having sex with adragon?”
“Having sex, period. I’ve imagined it for so long, and now I’m finally going to doit.”
Mikhail nibbled her bottom lip. “I’m glad your first time is withme.”
He meant that. He loved knowing that her first time would be with him, this beautiful, compassionate, intelligent woman whom destiny had seen fit to give to him. She was his second chance at life, and he would never take her for granted. They were sharing something intimate and special. No man would replace him in this moment. And if he had his way, no man would replace himever.
“Lie back.” She did as he commanded. Seeing her bare except for those tiny wet black panties made every fantasy he’d had for decades come roaring back tolife.
“What is it?” she asked, a hint of worry in her voice. “We could turn off some of the lightsif—”
“No,” he said. “I wish to look at you.Allof you.” He leaned over and hooked his fingers into her panties so he could tug them down her legs. She lifted her hips, her face bright red. Her shyness was endearing, but he never wanted her to feel unsure of herself, not with him. When he dropped the panties on the floor, he grasped her knees and pushed them apart. Her breath hitched, but she didn’t ask him tostop.
“Please, go slow,” she breathed as he crawled up her body on the bed. He nodded and nuzzled her stomach, pressing slow kisses there before moving up to her breasts. The full mounds were an irresistible temptation. He settled his hips between her legs but didn’t put his weight down on her. Piper’s hands settled on his shoulders as he kissed one nipple, then sucked on it until she moaned and dug her hands in his hair, urging himon.
She murmured something when he slid one hand down her body to touch her folds. Then she said it again more clearly. “Distract me.” She was wet and hot to the touch, but she tensed when he stroked a fingertip between the sensitivefolds.
“Distract you?” He moved back down her body before she could react. He placed his shoulders between her thighs, stopping her from closing up on him. He kissed the top of her mound before moving lower. He licked her, like a cat with a bowl of cream, growling in delight as she tried to wriggle away but couldn’t. The tiny bundle of nerves peeped out of its hood, and he closed his lips aroundit.
She gasped in shock as he slid a finger inside her, probing her. He felt the barrier of her innocence as he pushed deeper. She let out a whimper, and Mikhail smiled before he sucked harder. Her body responded with a flood of heat, which he happily licked. She thrashed her head, and he sensed she wouldn’t make it much longer. He moved quickly, sliding back up to kiss her. Then he guided his swollen shaft to her entrance and pushed in. Her body resisted, but he couldn’t go slow, not if he wanted to cause as little pain aspossible.
“Forgive me, little dove,” he whispered. He slanted his mouth down over hers in a ruthless, distracting kiss as he drove deep into her. Her hips bucked, and she bit his lip, her nails digging into his back, but he welcomed the bite of pain. They moved slowly, gently, in a way he’d never imagined. It wasn’t in a dragon’s nature to mate like this, but right now the man in him was incontrol.
The cadence of whispered words and sighs as they moved toward a shared climax was breathtaking. The universe seemed to shrink to an infinite space between their breaths. Her blue eyes lit with a fire that matched the rolling heat surging through his chest. There were no words, only the awe-inspiring sensation that this moment would change him forever. His body and soul belonged to this woman now. As they reached the zenith of their pleasure at the same moment, Mikhail gave Piper everything that he was…including hisheart.
The glow inside him did not fade as he collapsed next to her, sweat dewing on his body. Tears stung his eyes, and his throat closed as raw emotion choked him. He cupped Piper’s cheeks and pressed his forehead to hers, whispering to her inRussian.
“You are mine; I am yours. Take my body. My heart. I am yours tocommand.”
Piper’s sweet sigh and bashful smile seized his heart. Loving Elizabeth, his beautiful Gloriana, had never been like this. He could measure his heartbeat against Piper’s, and his breath and his body were for her and heralone.
She wriggled closer, and he reached for the blanket, pulling it up over them. “What did you say justthen?”
“Nothing,” he lied, but she pinched him, so he relented. “Only that I belong to you.” He held his breath, nervous to see her reaction. Piper stroked a hand on his throat and then down along his shoulders, and a blush tinged hercheeks.
She nibbled her lip. “You belong to me?” He nodded. “No one’s ever belonged to me before.” Awe filled her voice, and finally he could breathe again. She understood what this meant, that what had just happened between them was more than sex. He had mated her. She didn’t know the full importance of what had just happened, but she would soon, once he’d summoned the courage to tell her. Elizabeth’s betrayal still left him onedge.
“I still can’t believe you’re a dragon,” she said, her eyes fixed on his. “A real, honest-to-Goddragon.”
His lips twitched. “I suspect you will have many questions once you get used to theidea.”
Piper chuckled. “I have questions now. How old are you? Where did the first dragons come from? Belishaw said the dragon and the man are sort of separate. How does that work? How doesanyof itwork?”
“So many questions.” Mikhail slid one arm around her waist, tugging her closer. “We dragons have been around for millennia. The old ones, ones so distant even history has forgotten them, were the ones who first joined with humans. I do not know much of that past; it seems more myth now than truth. My race is scattered across the earth now, and most who would know the truth have perished in battles. While we are immortal, we can be killed.” He thought of his parents. How his father’s desire to hunt Thunderbirds, another ancient creature, had gotten him killed, which in turn had killed his mother through the matinggrief.
“But you’reseparate?”
“Yes. The man and the dragon are two full beings who share one vessel. The body is fully human and fully dragon, but only one part can be expressed at a time. When the dragon takes over, the human part of me is locked away. I can see, hear, and feel what happens to the dragon, but I’m no longer incontrol.”
A shadow passed over Piper’s eyes, but it was so fleeting he couldn’t help but wonder if he’d imagined it. “What did you do to me to make me help you steal the jewels? I would never have done thatwillingly.”
