It’s…odd.

I know things aren’t perfect for her. I know both she and Melina have to wear my dirty clothing to cover the smell of them, because Kael’s worried other dragons will pick up their scent on the air and come looking for mates. I know they have to be extra careful with everything they do, and wash several times a day with my prized shampoos. But they’re safe here. They just need to realize that.

I snuggle deeper into the blankets, wincing when my side twinges again. I think about Kael and how it’s been a few days since he’s held me while I sleep. I miss it. Well, among other things. I can feel myself blushing, and I press my thighs tighter together.

As if my thoughts have summoned him, the shadow of my dragon circles lazily overhead, even as I feel his thoughts brush against mine. I sit up straighter in bed, resisting the urge to fix my hair. I probably look like hell from a week of being an invalid. I don’t want him to look at me and see a weak, fragile human. I want him to see his mate, to be happy when he looks at me.

Because I’m going to tell him that I love him and I’m staying, and it feels like an important moment. But it also needs to be an intimate one. I glance over at Amy, who’s pouring two cups of tea over by the fire.

Kael settles high on the roof above, his shadow falling over the open cooking area that we still haven’t figured out how to cover yet. To my surprise, he drops his kill, and the dead deer thumps to the ground next to Amy, who drops the tea kettle and stumbles backward. I wait for him to switch to his human form, but instead, he swoops low, claws extended, and grabs Amy.

My sister shrieks in alarm.

32

CLAUDIA

Oh my god. Kael? What are you doing? I struggle to sit up in bed, alarmed as my dragon flies off with my sister.

I heard your thoughts. I saw your mental images. His mind is a naughty purr in my own. I am going to claim my mate, and I do not wish for onlookers to be nearby as I make you scream with pleasure.

Eek. I suppress a horrified—and pleased—giggle. A little warning next time? Amy’s probably frightened out of her wits. And where is Melina?

I am taking your sister to her. They are in a safe place. There is a building nearby that has a heavy stink to it that will disguise their scents. I will retrieve them when I have pleasured you.

Poor Amy. Poor Melina. But…I can’t be all that sorry. My mind is flashing full of lustful thoughts that filter in through our connection, of his clawed hand curling in my hair as he pulls my head back and drives into me from behind. Of my breasts bouncing with each thrust, and my wild screams as he makes me come.

Okay, yeah, it’s probably a good thing he’s making Amy and Melina leave. If it’s safe, we need to set them up with a home of their own, I suggest. So I have more time with my mate. I hear he misses me.

My cock misses his home between your legs, he tells me from far away, and it’s so strongly projected into my mind it’s like he’s here instead of flying away with Amy.

The visuals he sends make me giggle with embarrassment. His home?

It is where I belong, Kael sends, amused. Where he belongs, too. Do you disagree?

Not at all. But I don’t know how much I’m going to be able to participate with my side hurting. I’m still weak, too, but I feel like a wimp in admitting that. Maybe we should wait.

We are not waiting, my dragon says imperiously. And I shall do everything. It would give me great pleasure to put my head between your thighs and make you cry out.

What about you?

All you need to do is lie back and let me touch you. That will be my pleasure.

Well, how can I resist such a compelling argument? I’ve been bedridden for the last week and aching, so I haven’t felt all that sexy. But hearing his thoughts and his desire is making mine return in a rush. Hurry, I tell him. Or I’m going to start without you. I put my hands on my breasts and lazily tease the tips with slow circling motions, mentally projecting the image back to him.

A low, draconic groan ripples through my mind. Cruel, sweet mate.

Cruel, am I? I avoid my throbbing side and slide a hand down my belly, pushing into the waistband of my panties. He finds my undergarments ridiculous, viewing them as useless bits of clothing, but I like them. Any kind of clothing is a luxury not to be wasted, so I wear them. I let my fingers brush against the curls of my pussy and then slip a finger between my folds. Not wet enough yet. I think of Kael kneeling between my legs, my fingers teasing his hair as he pushes his face into my pussy and begins to ravenously lick me.

That does the trick. Thinking of that makes me wet in moments. I moan and flick a finger over my clit, my other hand on my breast, squeezing it. How much longer are you going to be?

Too long.

I chuckle at the tortured sound of his thoughts. Please don’t drop my sister in your haste.

You are the cruelest of mates, he teases.

Am I? I tease back. And here I thought I was just feeling so much better. I continue to stroke myself, biting my lip and wishing desperately that Kael was here to do it for me.

When the shadow of a dragon passes overhead, my entire body quivers with excitement. Finally. I keep touching myself, even as Kael lands in his usual spot and transforms to his human form, thumping to the ground. I keep touching, because I want him to see me stroking my pussy at the thought of him.

He stands slowly, stretching to his full height, and I gasp to see he’s already magnificently erect, his eyes dark with lust. “Claudia,” he murmurs, stalking toward me, and for the barest of moments, I feel like prey.

Sexy, sexy prey. It only makes me wetter. I slide my fingers over my clit even faster, breathing hard as he moves to the side of the bed and jerks the blankets off of me. He gazes down at my sprawled legs. I’m wearing nothing but a T-shirt and panties, and my T-shirt’s hiked up so I can play with my breasts, my hand in my panties. It’s not my most dignified moment. Don’t care.

His eyes blaze with need. Your wound?

Who cares? I tell him, still rubbing my clit fiercely.

His jaw clenches. I care. He moves onto the bed carefully, his large form dwarfing my own.

In the next moment, my mind fills with images of him grabbing my knees and pushing them apart, then dragging his mouth over my core. I moan at those vivid images, but he doesn’t do any of that. In fact, he’s not even touching me yet. It’s just mental foreplay, and it’s a unique kind of torture all its own. Kael leans in and examines my bandaged wound, ignoring my feverish masturbation and his own erection. Does this pain you? His gaze flicks to mine.