The females hug one last time, and then my mate sleepily straps herself into her contraption on my back. She double-checks everything before we take off, and I lift into the air as gently as I can. The skies are streaked with the pink and orange of sunset, the air filled with a hundred different scents. I can pick out the terrible, pungent smell of Kael’s mate’s sister, who is wearing the scent-disguiser perfume. And I can pick out the scent of another dragon nearby, though the smell is distant and grows more so with every moment that passes. He is uninterested in myself or my mate, and touching my mind to his reveals nothing but ravens.
Did you think that was odd? my Sasha asks sleepily as we fly home. Her thoughts are of Kael’s mate—Claudia—and her questions. She kept asking if I was happy. It was almost as if she didn’t like—or expect—the answer she got.
Mm. Perhaps she just worried over you.
I guess. It just seems strange to me.
She is pregnant. Those females are always strange.
Laughter tinges her sleepy thoughts. I think you’re right about that. Maybe I’m making too much of things.
I send her comforting thoughts. But you enjoyed yourself today?
Oh yes. Her thoughts are filled with happiness. And this saddle is nice, too. And handlebars! She thought of everything.
I am glad you like it. And I meant what I said—anywhere you wish to go, we will go there.
I know, babe. Her thoughts are pleasant and dreamy. Right now I’m just happy to be where we are.
By the time we make it home, I can feel the exhaustion pressing on her thoughts. It has been a long, emotional day for my Sasha, and she needs to rest. I wait, trying to hide my impatience as she fumbles with the straps on my back.
“Sorry,” she whispers over the buzz of nighttime insects. “It’s dark and I can’t see so well.”
I wish I could help, I tell her. Do you want me to flame something so you can see?
“Nope, I’m good.” She tugs at the straps a bit more, and then everything is loose. “There we go.” She slides gently off my back, landing with a little hop onto the hard pavement. “Ooh, my legs always feel like mush when I get off of you, no matter how I ride.”
I immediately shift to my two-legged form. The saddle and its straps fall to a heap at my feet, and I kick them aside.
“Oh,” Sasha says, fatigue making her voice soft. She points at the mess on the ground. “We should pick that up and sort everything, make sure the straps aren’t knotted—”
Later, I tell her, and put a hand behind her knees, pulling her into my arms. You are tired. For now, you will go off to bed. I will retrieve your saddle once you are under your blankets and comfortable.
She rests her head on my shoulder. “Mmm. All right. I like how warm you are.” She buries her face against my skin. “So yummy.” Her tired thoughts drift absently between a few things, landing on nothing. “Check for a letter from Emma, will you?”
I shall, I promise her. I enter the nest—the place Sasha calls a “store”—and flare my nostrils, looking for new scents. There are none but our own. Not even that of her Emma. No one has been by this day to visit, not even a stray bird. I carry my mate through the dark building and find her comfortable little nook she has made herself. I kick the covers back with one foot and then gently lay my mate down amongst the pillows and blankets. Rest.
She reaches for me even as I straighten. “Don’t go, babe. Stay with me.” The smile she sends up to me is sleepy but full of promise.
I will retrieve your saddle first, I promise her. And then… I send her a flurry of images.
Her toes curl, and she gives a happy little sigh. And then you’re going to come back and lick me all over. You naughty, naughty thing. She pulls a pillow close and hugs it against her. Don’t take too long. I don’t want to fall asleep before I get to have sex with my dragon.
I will wake you, I tell her fervently. I want to climb into the blankets with her, to push her sweet thighs apart and sink my cock into her warmth, but her saddle must be seen to. I do not want it to be ruined by weather—or curious creatures. Her safety is the most important thing. So I jog as quickly as I can back outside to where I dumped the gear and bring it in. I pass by the place where she leaves notes for Emma, but there is no fresh scent, so there is no need to check.
I dump the saddle into one of the shopping carts that are scattered near the front and then head back to my mate’s side. She is already drifting into sleep, her thoughts distant and peaceful. I should let her sleep, I decide. She is tired. I can mate with her tomorrow morning, when she is rested. My cock aches at the thought, but it will subside soon enough. I climb into bed next to her and tuck her against my chest, like I always do.
Her arms go around me, and she gives a happy little sigh. Her eyes stay closed. “My Dakh.”
Sleep, I tell her.
She rubs her face against my chest, and her lips graze my nipple. “Mmmm.” Her hand slides lower, and she finds my erect cock and strokes it. “Someone’s not entirely sleepy.”
Pleasure bursts through my body, and it takes everything I have to pull her hand away. I am not tired, but you are. Sleep, my Sasha. I will claim you fiercely in the morning. You are fatigued.
Not that bad. Her thoughts are already spinning toward arousal, and when she reaches for my cock again, this time I do not push her hand away. I let her stroke my hard length, loving the way her soft hand caresses me. I ache for my mate’s touch, and when she reaches for me, it always feels like a gift. Her mouth presses to my skin, offering little kisses to my chest as her fingers curl around my cock and she strokes me.
I groan at the sensation and reach for one of her full breasts. Since becoming my mate, my Sasha’s curves have filled out and her small breasts have grown larger. I love her at any size, but her full breasts with their dark nipples are fascinating to me, and I roll the tip of one between my claws, careful not to damage her fragile skin.
She moans, her head tilting back. “God, you have the most amazing hands for a dragon. Man. Dragon-man. Whatever.”
A rumble of laughter rises in my chest. Her thoughts are still vague with sleepiness and are now being overridden with lust. I like that she loses herself to my touch so quickly. Even now, the scent of her arousal is filling the air. You like all of me, I tell her. Not just my hands. I push her back onto the blankets and lower my mouth to her throat. You like my lips and my tongue. I slide a hand between her thighs, seeking her wet cunt. You like my fingers.