”Rosaline. My dad used to jump out of swamps with his talons out to make sure I was taking proper precautions. I can handle whatever this William guy has to offer.”

  She nodded, but she still looked worried. “If you’re sure.”

  The cave was surprisingly spacious and nicely furnished, with smooth stone walls that barely showed the claw marks from how they’d been carved out. But Noah didn’t get much time to look around. There was a man standing in the kitchen—a tall man with an older appearance, and a very familiar pair of emerald-green eyes set deep in his weathered face. Those eyes were fixed on Rosaline.

  ”Who the hell is this?”

  ”Dad. This is Noah. He’s a dragon I met—”

  ”Not a dragon like I’ve ever seen,” the older man snapped, moving closer with narrowed eyes. “Not with eyes like that.”

  ”I’m from the Everglades,” Noah explained, feeling his heart start to beat harder. He reminded himself that he’d survived both his father and Reed—he could make it through this browbeating from yet another old man. “We’re amphibious.”

  ”Huh. I’ve heard of your kind. Never met one. What’s he doing here?” he added, scowling at Rosaline. She was still holding Noah’s hand, and he could feel her squeezing it for dear life. “Dad, did you even notice what happened this last week?”

  William shrugged, and Noah could see a kind of furious confusion in his eyes. “What? No. Nobody tells me anything these days. It was a little quiet.”

  ”Dad—I was kidnapped. On the orders of a human man who was starting a collection of shifter virgins. Noah helped rescue me. And Olivia, and David,” she added, frowning, “who’ve been away all week trying to find me—”

  ”I never see them anyway, what difference would it make to me?” William snapped. “Kidnapped?”

  ”A man called Reed,” Noah broke in, feeling Rosaline’s frustration rise and acting on the old impulse to calm the situation. “He said he knew you. Years and years ago.”

  ”I don’t know any humans,” William snapped, but there was something in his face that made Noah think that that might not be the truth.

  ”Anyway,” Rosaline said through gritted teeth. “I’m safe, thanks for asking. And Noah’s going to be staying with us for a while.”

  ”Fine. Why even ask me anymore? All my children do exactly as they please.” And just like that, William had turned and left the room, his shoulders hunched bitterly around his face. Rosaline made a frustrated sound in her throat, and Noah put an arm around her.

  ”He’s impossible.”

  ”He’s scared,” Noah said simply—and Rosaline blinked up at him, taken aback.

  ”Scared?”

  ”It’s easier to be angry than vulnerable. Take it from me.” She smiled up at him—but his eyes crinkled shut as he tried and failed to fight back a yawn.

  ”Come on,” she said, chuckling, leading him to her room. “Let’s get to bed.”

  He peered around her room, fiercely curious about the space she inhabited. It was a pleasant space, big enough for a large, soft bed and a collection of bookcases. A door led through to a much larger space, empty—he peered through it, not understanding what it was for until he realized it must have been a sleeping space for her draconic form. She was sitting on the edge of the bed, but she laughed a little when she realized what he was looking at.

  ”Yeah, I don’t sleep there much anymore,” she said, smiling softly. “This bed’s too comfortable. Come check it out.”

  Noah didn’t have to be told twice. His whole body was aching, and the exhaustion was getting heavier and heavier with every minute he stood up. Climbing into Rosaline’s bed felt like climbing into a cloud—he groaned in appreciation, taking off his shirt and stretching his long limbs out towards the bottom of the bed. His bed had always been a little too short for him, back in Florida. He could feel Rosaline climbing into bed with him, too, and the soft scent of her on the pillow beside him was the last thing he was aware of before he drifted into the deepest sleep he could remember.

  It felt like his body woke up before his mind did. When he became fully aware of himself, he realized that his arms were around Rosaline, his face buried in the back of her neck, their bodies pressed together as his hands roamed across her gorgeous body. He could feel her breathing hard against him, little gasps and whimpers escaping her as he touched her, caressed her, teased at the sensitive spots he’d found the other night. She was still half-asleep, too, but as she turned her drowsy face to him, he could see the desire in her half-closed eyes.

  It was mostly dark in the room, but there was a lamp on the bedside table that was emitting just enough light to see her by. How long had he slept, he wondered? It didn’t matter—he didn’t want to think about that, about the rest of the world, about the past and the future and the plans they’d need to make, the difficult conversations ahead of them. All he cared about, right now, was Rosaline—the feeling of her in his arms, her body moving under his hands. When his fingers strayed lower, dancing across her thighs, he could feel the heat emanating from her sex even through her panties, feel how aroused she was, how much she wanted him. A smile broke out across his face as he kissed her neck, inhaled her sweet scent, pressed his body against hers. Though he’d pulled his shirt off before he fell asleep, he was still wearing his jeans, and his cock was starting to complain about the lack of room to expand.

  Blindly, not thinking much about what he was doing, he reached down to unzip his fly and pulled his jeans down, the blankets stopping him from unclothing much more—and suddenly Rosaline had turned over to face him, her green eyes much more awake in the darkness and that wicked smile that turned him to mush dancing across her face, curving her lips upwards. She kissed him, soft and sweet, pulled his attention away from his lower body completely as she pressed herself into his arms. They broke apart after a moment, and he heard her chuckle, a soft, low sound that went straight to the pit of his stomach.

  “Not a bad way to wake up,” she breathed against his skin, and he grinned his agreement—then caught his breath as she kissed his throat. A tension came into his body that wasn’t entirely pleasant. Sudden flashes of desperate fights, scuffles with his brothers, growing dizzy for lack of air as he’d been choked—and Rosaline pulled back, concern in her eyes. “You okay? You went stiff.”

  ”Yeah. Just—” He hesitated. “Sensitive.”

  She wasn’t buying that, he could tell. Strange—he’d always been a good liar, but Rosaline could see straight through all his dissembling. She kissed his cheek instead, her fingertips running along his chest—and he shut his eyes, enjoying the sensation. But her hands slowed as they reached the middle of his chest, where scar tissue formed unusual ridges. He opened his eyes to see the unspoken question on her face.

  ”You don’t have to tell me,” she said softly, shifting her body closer to him, sharing her warmth with him. That was odd, he thought remotely—his body was trembling, just a little. “But—”

  ”My father,” he said. “The day I left.”

  ”Must have been some injury, to leave a scar like that.”

  He nodded, not trusting himself to say much more about it. The injury had been to his draconic form, and it had almost killed him. But it hadn’t. He’d survived—he’d found his way to Reed, then found his way to Rosaline. She was the end-point of a horrific journey… and she made the whole thing worthwhile.

  ”If I hadn’t left, I wouldn’t have met you,” he murmured, trying to stop his voice breaking. “That’s worth a few scars.”

  That beautiful smile broke out across her face again—and then her hands were moving, and he was finding it very difficult to think of anything else at all. Somehow, everything she did drove him insane—even the way her hand rested on his hip as he kissed her made him feel like he was about to lose his mind if he didn’t have her right away. He buried his face in her throat again, kissing and biting at the sensitive areas there, not wanting to leave bruises on her soft flesh but urged on by the way she whimpered and moaned, pressing herself against him, digging her nails into the flesh of his back. His hands were under the soft T-shirt she was wearing, caressing her body, roaming across her ribcage and up to her breasts to tease and pull at her nipples—and finally, with a frustrated growl, she grabbed one of his hands and pressed it against her sex.

  ”Noah,” she ground out, voice hoarse and possibly the sexiest thing he’d ever heard. “Stop torturing me.”

  ”So impatient,” he rebuked her, grinning a little to take the sting out of his words. “We’ve got all night.”

  She scoffed impatiently at that, so he took his time easing her panties down over her hips, feeling the wet heat of her against his hand and deliberately avoiding touching her. Her hands were clenched around his back, her nails digging into the muscles there as if to take revenge on him. Well, he supposed he deserved that. Slowly, agonizingly, he ran one hand up her right leg, taking his time, appreciating the curve and contour of the muscles there, the softness of her skin, the goosebumps that his gentle touch was causing—she shivered as he neared the top of her leg, then bit back a moan as he caressed her outer lips.

  ”Noah, come on,” she said, and though she sounded like she was trying to give him an instruction, there was an undertone of desperation that made it sound much closer to begging. He teased at her body, feeling her wiggle her hips desperately under his hands, and when he finally pressed a little deeper into her sex, she moaned so loudly he covered her mouth with his other hand. How soundproof were the cave walls, anyway? Her green eyes twinkled at him, and he felt her open her mouth, drawing one of his fingers into her mouth and sucking on it, and his eyes flickered closed, completely arrested by the sensation. Her tongue was tracing idle patterns around his fingertip, and somehow it was sending lightning shooting down his body, pooling in his groin, and though he’d already been hard he found himself groaning, shifting his hips against her for more sensation, completely forgetting the teasing he’d been subjecting her to in the wake of this new feeling—

  Then her hands were on his cock, and any semblance of control he still had over himself flew out of the window. He felt her guiding him to her and complied enthusiastically, pulling her into his arms and trying not to groan too loudly as he slid inside her. Thanks to his ministrations, she was unbelievably wet, and he breathed her name in her ear as he thrust himself deeply inside her. This was a different angle to the one they’d tried before—back in the hotel, what felt like a thousand years ago. Could it really have only been a few days? With the way his body was screaming at him for more contact, the weight and pressure of the desire that had built up in him, it may as well have been a year. He couldn’t have held back from her if he’d tried.

  And she clearly felt the same. She was breathing hard as she rocked her hips against him, and his eyes fluttered shut as he felt her wrap one leg around him, drawing him deeper inside her still, moving against him as his whole body lit up with sensation. She gasped as he struck that place deep inside her and her whole body locked up for a second—then she renewed the shifting of her hips with new energy. He met her pace with enthusiasm, thrusting deep inside her as she pressed her hips to his, sweat breaking out on both of their bodies as the urgency of their movements grew. Noah couldn’t think of anything but her, couldn’t feel anything but her skin under his hands, her body against his, her lips pressing scorching hot kisses against his cheek, his throat, the earlier sensitivity to that touch forgotten in the mounting pressure of his desire for her.

  He could feel their pace getting frantic as the climax loomed ahead of them, but a wicked impulse flickered to life in his mind, and he took hold of her hips, deliberately slowing their pace—not enough to bring them back from the edge, but enough to stop them from crashing over. Rosaline whimpered impatiently, clenching her fists on his back, and when she looked at him, her green eyes were snapping with vexation.

  ”Noah—”

  ”I don’t want this to end so soon,” he murmured, then kissed her hard, stilling her protests as he took control with slow, powerful thrusts. She was moaning into his mouth, her head thrown back, completely lost to the feeling of him inside her, and he could feel his heart pounding in his chest as he fought with difficulty to hold back his own desire. He held them there, moving together on the very edge of ecstasy, for as long as he could—until she was whimpering in his ear, gasping his name, alternating between begging and threats.

  And finally, in part because he couldn’t bear to deny her any longer (but mostly because he wasn’t sure how much longer he could hold himself back) he sped up again, heard her utter a groan of relief as she met his pace. The orgasm hit him like a tidal wave. He could feel her body clenching hard around him as she came, too, burying her face in his throat to stifle the scream that was trying to rip itself free of her body, and he held her close, the aftershocks of the climax blasting through him and leaving absolute peace and clarity behind.

  Still panting, barely in control of his breathing, he looked dazedly into her green eyes and spoke without having any idea of what he was going to say. But the minute he heard his own words, he knew he’d never said anything more true.

  ”I love you.”

  A wondering smile broke out across her face, and she pulled him into an embrace, her whole body soft and pliable in the aftermath of their lovemaking, and he heard her murmuring it back into his ear, again and again until sleep claimed them both.

  Chapter 18 – Rosaline

  Rosaline woke late the next morning, her whole body feeling pleasantly warm and relaxed. Noah was fast asleep—he barely stirred as she moved, though a slight frown flickered across his sleeping features as she gently extracted herself from his embrace. She smiled down at him softly, stood in the bedroom naked for longer than she’d meant to, just looking at his face. It was impossible that she’d only known him for a week, she thought dazedly, trying to put the timeline together. It already felt like they’d been together for years, decades. Was this what it felt like, to meet your soulmate? She was baffled by how easy it was. Everything she’d heard about soulmates made her feel like she wasn’t ready for that kind of intensity—but being with Noah felt like coming home after a long day. Oh, there you are. I’ve been missing you my whole life.

  She dressed as quietly as she could, not wanting to wake him. In the morning light, she could see that the wounds he’d suffered in the fight had mostly healed, but he still needed plenty of rest. After all, he’d been through a lot more trauma than just the battle. From the brief glimpses of his childhood he’d shared with her, she could tell he had a lot of healing to do. Well, that was okay. They were dragons. They had nothing but time. And she’d be whatever kind of support he needed—a listening ear or a welcome distraction. After all, she thought with a grin dancing across her face, they’d certainly found a pretty distracting hobby to share. And if the explosiveness of their encounters so far was anything to go by, they’d be spending a fair bit of time on it.

  If he wanted to stay with her, that was. She frowned a little, gazing down at him as he slept. He’d want to stay, right? There was nothing for him back in Florida any more. He loved her. He’d all but said she was his soulmate… and for the life of her, she couldn’t imagine that that wasn’t true. But would he want to stay here? William had been so unkind to him—he didn’t know anyone here except her… she almost wanted to wake him up to ask him. The idea of him going away was unthinkable. She’d follow him anywhere, she realized with a giddy rush. Why not? They could start a new life together elsewhere. Hell, they could go back to Florida if he wanted.

  Distracted by these thoughts, she almost didn’t realize her sister was in the kitchen when she got out. Olivia gave her a sleepy smile, clearly just out of bed herself.

  ”Good to have you back, big sister,” Olivia said, an uncharacteristic expression of affection on her face. She rarely acknowledged their age difference (all of three minutes, but Rosaline had often teased her about it.) “How’d you sleep?”

  Rosaline fought the blush that rose to her cheeks. “Pretty good.”

  ”Oh, I bet.” Olivia kept her eyes on the cup of tea she was holding as she leaned against the kitchen counter. “Hope you didn’t wear him out too much—”

  ”Olivia!”

  ”The walls are thinner than you’d think, that’s all,” her sister giggled, and Rosaline leaned against the fridge, mortified.

  ”Seriously? You heard—”

  ”Not much,” Olivia said quickly, clearly fighting back her laughter. “It wasn’t like—surround sound or anything. But you two might want to—”

  ”Be quieter,” Rosaline groaned.

  ”I was going to say—find your own cave.” Olivia shrugged. “There are plenty of spare ones around, right? I’m sure Alexander wouldn’t mind.”

  ”Oh, god. I forgot about Alexander completely. I should probably talk to him about the five complete strangers I brought home with me, right?”

  Olivia laughed. “It’s fine, babe. I talked to him yesterday.”

  ”You did?”

  ”Yeah. I could see you and Noah were dead on your feet, so once you’d headed back here, I went up to the palace and called an emergency council meeting, told them everything that had happened. They’re glad you’re okay,” she added. “When you went missing, we hardly stopped to let them know what had happened. But they send their best wishes.”

  ”And they’re okay with everyone staying for a bit?”

  ”Of course. Lisa’s super excited to meet the other women. She’s keen to meet another panther,” Olivia said with a grin. “The only other panther she knows is Amara’s mate. Alexander’s keen to talk to you both about what the shifter community was like in Florida, at some point, but he said for you to rest up first.”

  Rosaline nodded, full of relief. “Thanks, Liv.”

 

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