‘‘Gabriel,’’ I said, smiling at the fact that he thought I was performing for him.
‘‘Don’t,’’ he said, his eyes still closed. His body trembled.
‘‘Don’t what?’’
‘‘Don’t say my name. I don’t think I can bear it.’’
I shook my head, laughed a little, then walked over and unbuttoned his shirt so I could put my hand on his bare chest. ‘‘I don’t understand you at all. You’re acting like you want to make love to me, but I can’t say your name?’’
‘‘No,’’ he answered, piercing me with a look so hot it made my toenails steam. He swallowed again, his voice rough around the edges. ‘‘When you say my name, all I can think about is joining with you. You are my mate, Mayling. I don’t just wish to make love to you; I need to join with you. I hunger for you the way a mortal hungers for food.’’
‘‘Then why…?’’ I asked, sliding my hand down his chest to his belly. He gasped, his muscles contracting underneath my fingers. ‘‘Why are we standing here talking when we could be on the bed indulging in wild, steamy dragon lovin’?’’
‘‘I am not an animal,’’ he repeated. ‘‘But I am a dragon, and our matings tend to be intense. You are a woman, and thus you need time to become aroused to the point where our mating will not hurt you.’’
‘‘Are you talking about foreplay?’’ I asked, finally seeing the light.
‘‘Yes. You deserve foreplay, but if I touch one tiny centimeter of that deliciously satin skin of yours, I will lose the little control I have. I cannot give you foreplay at this time, Mayling. I’m sorry, but I just can’t.’’
‘‘But you can stand here and discuss the issue,’’ I pointed out.
‘‘Only because I am determined to prove to you that I value you more than anything else in my life. I would greatly appreciate it if you didn’t explore any more of my stomach, because that too will send me over the edge. In fact, I’d be eternally grateful if you would arouse yourself, and tell me when you are ready.’’
His eyes were closed again, as if looking at me hurt too much.
‘‘You want me to arouse myself,’’ I said, trying hard not to laugh.
‘‘Yes. Normally I would enjoy performing that function, or at worst, watching you do it, but I cannot at this time.’’
I smiled, amused and touched at the same time. He was trying so hard to reassure me that he was more a man than a beast, but I had needs as well, and they weren’t being met with us standing there talking. I grabbed his shirt with both hands and literally ripped the rest of it open, yanking it off him. ‘‘Take me!’’ I demanded as his eyes popped open in surprise. ‘‘Now!’’
I didn’t have to ask twice. Before I could so much as blink, I was on the bed, splayed out on my side, a suddenly naked Gabriel half covering me.
‘‘I will give you foreplay when this is over,’’ he said, his breath hot on the back of my neck as he slid one arm underneath my waist, pulling my upper leg back over his thigh. ‘‘I will arouse you then, but first, I must join with you.’’
I wanted to point out that any such activity would technically be afterplay, not foreplay, but my brain was too overloaded with the sensations he was generating to form words. The position was a little awkward, leaving me to clutch the sheets as he searched for entrance, and then found it, his body hard behind and in me, muscle and tissue parting to allow him access to areas that went beyond a mere physical body. Gabriel had used the word ‘‘joining,’’ and as his hips flexed, making long, slow strokes into me, his mouth hot on my neck while his hands found my breasts, I understood just what he meant by it. I arched backward, tilting my hips back to take in more of him in a wordless demand. He growled against my neck, the long, tanned fingers tightening on my breasts.
I sucked in my breath not only at the sensation of his hands, but at the feeling of fullness deep within me. Gone were the long, slow movements meant to arouse-his body pistoned into me in an act of possession, my body welcoming each blow with a thousand little jolts of pleasure. I gasped again, a tight ball forming that seemed to draw in every nerve in my body.
Gabriel’s breath was harsh, coming in primitive little groans as he sucked the skin of my neck, his tongue leaving long, wet streaks.
One hand slid off my breast, down to my belly, probing and parting delicate flesh to find the center of my pleasure.
‘‘Mayling, I cannot wait,’’ he moaned.
I tightened every muscle I had around him, arching my back, my hands clawing at the sheets as the ball of passion deep inside me threatened to explode. ‘‘Fire,’’ I gasped, barely able to form a coherent sentence. ‘‘I want your fire. I need your fire.’’
He gave it to me then, fed me his dragon fire until it washed over us in a blaze of ecstasy. He was the dragon fire, surrounding me, on me, inside me, every inch of my being bound so tightly with his, we were the flames, dancing higher and higher until we burst into a million little sparks, separate, but whole.
Pain, sharp and hot, lit the back of my shoulder, but it faded almost instantly as I let myself go, drifting slowly back down into my body as an ember from a bonfire lazily wafts it way back to earth.
The bed was not on fire, I was pleased to note. Neither were the curtains, chair, or wardrobe.
Flames licked down the length of Gabriel’s body as he collapsed onto his back, the fine sheen of sweat that covered him instantly vaporizing.
My body felt heavy and dull as compared to the bright phoenix we had been together, even as little tremors of pleasure, orgasmic aftershocks, made me cognizant of the truth of Gabriel’s warnings of rough lovemaking.
‘‘You’re on fire,’’ I said, rolling onto my other side in order to face him.
His eyes were closed, his chest heaving as he sucked in huge quantities of air. He cracked one eye open to look at me, his dimples popping into life as he closed it again. ‘‘Thank you. I endeavor to please you, little bird, although you are a demanding woman. It takes my full energy to sate your many desires.’’
I rolled my eyes at that gross exaggeration, stroking my hand down his still-burning chest. ‘‘I meant literally.’’
He opened an eye again, this time to glance down at himself. ‘‘Am I? How very curious. It must have something to do with you.’’
I patted out the flames on his chest and belly, the rest of the fire dying out. ‘‘Me? I don’t see how. You’re the dragon-you’re the one who has dragon fire.’’
He wrapped an arm around me and pulled me up close to his body, arranging me so that I lay draped over him before closing his eyes again, sighing in happiness. ‘‘This has never happened to me with another woman. It must be because you are my mate. When you give the fire back to me, it’s more than what it started out as.’’
‘‘More?’’ I drew a lazy circle around the pert brown nipple that lay next to my mouth, considering whether or not I had the energy to taste it.
‘‘More.’’ One hand lifted and made a vague gesture. ‘‘It’s… purer. More powerful. Something more than what it starts out as. I can’t really explain it. It’s just… more.’’
‘‘Ah.’’ I smiled at his nipple, oddly proud.
‘‘What are you doing?’’ he asked suspiciously, lifting his head to peer down at me.
‘‘Smiling at your nipple. I was wondering what you taste like.’’
His eyes, a sleepy, slumbering silver, sparked with interest. ‘‘Foreplay?’’
‘‘This, my dragon, is afterplay,’’ I said, moving so that I straddled his thighs. I leaned down to lick his nipple, but before I could capture it, a familiar tingling started up my back. Dread swept over me as I swore, threw myself over the edge of the bed, blindly grabbing for the blankets we’d pushed off the bed during our lovemaking.