The third crescendo was even more intense than the first, a white lightning of bliss. Through it she held onto him as he thrust deep into her core, then he too exploded in starlight and came spiraling down.
The waves and waves of bliss receded, leaving them safe within the shelter of each other’s arms.
TEN
MIKHAIL
Mikhail slept beside his mate.
His mate. Bird and he had mated, joyously, tenderly, passionately. She was his. He was hers. Even in the depths of the best rest he could remember in years, he was aware of her dreams. He smiled drowsily, slowly waking as his mind sifted through the layers of emotion, seen in colors. She slept in the rosy shades of contentment.
Roses. As he lay in her bed, her scent pleasingly all over him—sweet-salt, uniquely hers, reminding him of the roses out in her garden—he was aware of his dragon’s happiness.
But his dragon was also listening on the mythic plane for any sign of the cause of that quake. It had happened when he and Bird were discussing the mural in that warded chamber. Mikhail was sure that hadn’t been a coincidence. But what in their talk, or maybe their actions, had caused it? More important, who was monitoring the chamber, and how?
There is something out there, the dragon reminded him.
Mikhail needed to get back there, but he would not risk taking Bird until he knew it was safe.
It was still quite dark, the predawn hour. He sat up and pressed the covers down between them so that cold air would not rush in to disturb her, but her eyelids flew up anyway. Her smile brought light upwelling within him. His dragon hummed on that vast chord of contentment, but remained alert.
“Good morning, love,” Mikhail said.
“Good morning, love,” Bird said, softly and gravely. She sat up, a curly lock falling over one eye. He bent to lift it and brush it back as she said, “Are you awake because you’re a morning person, or because you need to be doing something? Well, either way, I’ll be a good host and offer you the shower first.”
“We might enjoy that together,” he suggested. He adored the rosy blush that brightened her skin down to her collarbones.
“My bathroom is an afterthought,” she said, looking very sorry indeed. “I bang my elbows in that shower if I’m not careful. It will be a very tight squeeze for you.”
“We’re going to have to remedy that,” he said, making his brows wiggle, and she laughed.
Together they squeezed into the shower. With their bodies pressed tightly together, they stood and let the warm water slide down their skin like silk.
“What’s it like, being a dragon?” she asked.
“Well, I am the result of a diplomatic match between the royal dragons of Eastern Europe and the imperial dragons of China. It was an arranged marriage, which is common among us if we do not find our mates. We often don’t, as dragons are increasingly rare. I’m a five-clawed silver dragon, which is rare even for dragons. In the dragon hierarchy, we’re second only to the golden imperial dragon. So from my earliest years I was raised to know my responsibility. I was training constantly.”
“It sounds very . . . businesslike. I hope you were not lonely as a boy.”
He smiled at her worried tone. “If it helps, don’t think of me living in Spartan circumstances, like a boot camp. I grew up in a palace high in the mountains, and had hordes of servants waiting on me. I also had an army of tutors, and I’ve traveled the world.”
“Oh! And then you had an arranged marriage?”
“Yes.” He pressed even closer to kiss her. “Because you were not yet in my life. A marriage was arranged with a suitable partner from a noble family, in hopes that we would produce a dragon of the imperial colors. Fei Zhan came into the world—”
Her phone rang.
“Uh oh,” she said, all the happiness draining from her face. “That’s the ringtone for the big house. You get dressed. I’ll answer it.” She hurried out, grabbing a towel.
As she threw on a robe, she called, “There’s a new toothbrush in the medicine cabinet. I get new ones every time I visit the dentist.”
She disappeared in the direction of the kitchen, turning on lights as she went. He would have to explain that he could see
in the dark when he needed to. That would come. Pleasurable anticipation surged through him at the prospect of all the small things they had yet to learn about one another. Learning about Bird was like opening an infinite box of presents, each a new surprise, each more delightful than the last.
As he dried himself, his keen dragon’s hearing picked up the sound of her voice. He could have extended his awareness to the words, but he wanted to let her tell him what she thought he should know. They were now mated, and secure with one another. She must decide how, and when, to let her into all the other aspects of her life.
The tiny bathroom had obviously been added on much later than the cottage had been built, and the best word for it was “functional.” Barely.