My dragon has me. He has me, and he’ll keep me safe.

“Claudia,” he murmurs again, his mouth trailing downward. His claws rip at my T-shirt, shredding the fabric. I want to feel your skin against mine.

I yelp, pushing his claws away, because at heart, I’ll always be a practical scavenger. “Not my shirt! Do you know how hard it is to find good undamaged clothing—”

Then take it off, fast. He nips his fangs at my exposed skin and gives me a hot look that makes my knees liquid. I want to mount you and sink deep inside your sweet depths, my Claudia.

Oh, holy heck, I want that, too. I tug at the remnants of my clothing, moving as fast as I can. I’ll have to sew them together again tomorrow, but for now, they need to come off pronto. Kael’s seductive thoughts are making me ache deep inside. I fling my tattered shirt off, then my bra, and toss them off the bed. Then I flop onto my back and begin to shimmy out of my stupidly tight jeans. So much clothing. Right now I’m thinking I should become a nudist like him.

Even as I undress, he moves forward, rumbling low in his throat. His mouth goes to my breast, and he clasps it in his hand and begins to gently lick the erect tip.

“God, you don’t play fair,” I whine, shrugging my jeans off my ankles and then doing the same with my panties. All the while, he continues to nibble and suck on the tip of my breast, driving me wild. But then I’m finally naked, and I wrap my legs around his hips and drag his body back against mine. I tug at him, pulling him up so I can kiss him. Sensing my need, he presses his mouth to mine, taking me in a deep, sweet kiss. And I love it—he tastes like heat and spice and all of the things I’ve been craving more with each passing day.

His cock rubs against the slick heat of my pussy, and I moan into his mouth as he pushes it through my folds, wetting his length with my juices. Back and forth he rubs, until I’m mad with need and my hips rise to meet his. I’m not thinking about bites, or saddles, or anything other than the feel of him rubbing up against me. It’s both the best thing in the world and the most maddening, because I want him deep inside me. “Yes,” I murmur against his hot mouth. “Please. Kael. I’m not afraid anymore.” There’s nothing left in me for fear—I’m too full of hunger for him.

“Claudia,” he purrs again, his tongue snaking against mine.

I shudder with need so fierce I almost come with his next slick thrust along my folds. Please, I send to him. Quit torturing me and just take me.

Turn over, my mate. His thoughts are possessive, heavy with desire even as he lifts off of me, and his eyes are black with need. I will show you how a drakoni takes his woman.

This is so incredibly filthy.

I…love it.

I moan as I turn over on my stomach, obeying him. I lift my hips suggestively as I do, my hands twisting in the bedsheets as I await his touch.

It comes a moment later. His big hand smooths down my ass, brushing over my hips and thighs. So beautiful, my Claudia. My mate.

“Kael,” I moan. “Need you.”

He drags my hips up, until I’m on my knees, my cheek pressed to the mattress. Do you want your mate, Claudia? Do you want me deep inside you?

“Yes,” I beg. “Yes, please. Now.”

Here? His knuckles brush along my wet folds, and I cry out. They skim over my flesh, and I feel him graze my clit, circling one big knuckle around it over and over again. Is this what you want?

Oh god, is it ever. I’m making incoherent pleading noises as he circles my clit, driving me wild.

Show me, he says, and his hand goes still. Use your hand and guide me.

I’m panting as I reach between my legs and find his big hand there. I start to touch myself, to stroke my clit, but he pushes my hand aside.

Use me.

So filthy. So delicious. I moan as I guide him, using his knuckle to rub soft little circles around the sensitive bud of my clit. I can feel the heat of him pressing up against my body, and that combined with the sultry thoughts he’s sending in my direction, I’m about to come in what feels like record time. I rub harder and faster with his knuckle, my mouth open in a wordless cry. So close. So—

He stops. His hand pulls away. I muffle my scream of frustration in my throat, grabbing another fistful of the blankets. “Kael,” I pant. “You son of a bi—”

I nearly come off the bed in the next moment, because the head of his cock presses against my core. God, yes, this is better. So much better. I shift my hips, spreading my knees wider so I can take him. So he can claim me.

He does, in one swift, hard stroke.

Kael sinks deep, filling me with such intensity that my toes curl. I scream at the sensation, pleasure bursting through me like a flood. Already, my muscles are beginning to clench and tense with the onset of an orgasm; he feels that good inside me. I love the low growl he makes, the way his big body covers mine, everything. I’m pulsing with need and there’s no breath left inside me. Everything’s waiting, ready to explode.

He grips my hips, pulls back, and then pushes into me again. I make a thoroughly unladylike grunt, shocked at how good that forceful motion feels. Then he begins to pound into me with swift, possessive strokes. My mate, he growls in my head, overwhelming my thoughts with his. Do you like the way I take you, my mate? Do you like the way I make you mine?

Yes, I whimper, clinging to the blankets for dear life as he deliciously hammers into me. My toes curl with every stroke of his cock, the enormous girth of him dragging against all of me and making me feel incredible. I can feel my pussy clamping around him as my orgasm builds, and it just makes every thrust of his cock harder and more delicious. I shove a mouthful of my new sheets between my teeth and bite down as I struggle to hold off the tidal wave of desire for just a few moments longer. He feels so good, I want this to last forever.

It’s no use, though. In the next moment, I’m coming, little keening pants escaping my throat as my body locks and I clasp him deep, the orgasm shattering inside me. I vaguely hear Kael roar his own pleasure, feel him thrust harder into me, his movements becoming jerky as he reaches his peak. I tense, because I’m afraid he’s going to flip me on my back and bite me—

But then he’s coming, too. I feel the wash of him inside me, hot and wet. He continues to pump into me, slowly, and when there’s no move to bite, I relax and close my eyes, losing myself to bliss.

That was a brutal mating…and an utterly sublime one. My toes feel permanently curled, and I have a dopey smile on my face. Kael sighs heavily, and then I feel his weight slide off of me. A moment later, he drags me against him, cupping my smaller body against his bigger one. My mate, he says again, nuzzling my neck. You are mine for now and for ever, my Claudia.