Page 105 of The Edge of Dawn

“I’m learning.” He wrapped his powerful arm around her waist and pulled her closer. “I’ll learn everything about you. What you desire, what you need, what pleases you the most. And now that you’re mine, my need for you is greater than ever. I’ll be back soon, my sarien, and when I return, I won’t be able to restrain myself. You’d better be ready.”

Jade couldn’t even utter a reply because he kissed her again, sending her into a wild spiral of desire.

I think we’re going to be out the other side in a moment. The boundary between this dimension and the other will stabilize, and I’ll disappear. But it was good to find you here. Wait for me, Jade. My sarien. Hold onto my thread for as long as you can.

Before she could fathom what was happening, his body grew lighter, ephemeral, turning to stardust right before her. She clung to him desperately, but he was gone.

She was left standing there, in his celestial forest, naked and wanting, holding onto the imaginary tendrils of his presence.

He was gone.

She was alone again, and fear slammed into her thoughts, making the blissful fever dream evaporate.

He was gone, into untold danger, and there wasn’t a thing she could do about it.

Why did you do that to me, Dragek? Why did you leave me here like this?

You’d better fucking come back to me.

That impossible, infuriating man. How could he just go off like that without a care for his own safety? Making promises like that?

Why couldn’t she just bloody wake up already?

This wasn’t restful at all. This was just maddening.

Wake up, dammit!

And to her surprise, she did.

THIRTY-FIVE

Dragek felt it in every fiber of his being.

The moment they were spat out of the wormhole, his consciousness was forcibly dragged back into the cold, harsh light of the present, away from Jade and her blissful human female softness.

Really, he could have died content in her presence. Her aura had become so beautiful.

Such a contrast from the brittle anger and fear she’d projected when he’d found her in that underground mine.

He was elated that he’d been able to experience her again, even if it was just for a sharp, sweet moment.

A deep groan escaped him as he realized the extent to which he was ravaged by the Mating Fever. This was the effect she had on him. He hadn’t even physically touched her, and this was what happened?

Only their minds and souls had met.

His body was primed. His senses were more heightened than ever. Dark energy swirled inside him, threatening to consume him.

His claws were out.

That had never happened before. He’d never lost control of his own body to this extent.

And there wasn’t a thing he could do about it.

No. That wasn’t entirely true. Revolutions of training had given him the ability to exercise intense self-control—well, except for when he was with her. He could use the energy to fuel his ka’qui. He could become better at the art of qim than ever before. He would sneak up on that Amun so swiftly and silently that the bastard would never know what had hit him.

He would equal—or maybe even surpass—Ashrael.

And he would play his part in securing the precious cargo of that tearaway ship. Jade would want him to do that. She would be proud of him.

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