Page 25 of The Dragon of her Dreams

We endured ecstasy together, our bodies entwined, heart to heart, and lips to lips, before we collapsed in a pile of spent, sweaty limbs.

I rolled onto my back and pulled her on top of me.

Vanya was breathing as hard as I was, her heart thundering in her chest as she came down.

“Are you okay, my love?” I asked, struggling to slow the thumping of my own heart.

She nodded. Glancing up to meet my eyes for a moment, she lay her head back down and nuzzled into my chest. “Yeah,” she assured me breathlessly. “I feel amazing.”

I chuckled, relief flooding my soul as I wrapped my arms around her body and held onto her tight. “Me too, beautiful.”

Vanya settled against my chest and before I knew it, her breathing settled into slow, rhythmic cadence of sleep.

But I couldn’t sleep. There was no way, at least initially. I lay awake for many hours afterward, just letting her warm the long hours of the night that were often too dark. Alone in my mind, my past haunted me. My choices provided an ample feast of my thoughts.

But with Vanya’s valiant heart beating against mine, and her warmth heating my skin, I eventually managed to fall asleep and made it through to sunrise without any of my usual nightmares.

Chapter 10

Vanya

WHEN I AWOKE, MY HEARTwas rapidly beating, and panic was streaking through my blood. Jaegar was beside me, naked in bed, and sound asleep. I couldn’t believe that he was still here.

I eased away from him, carefully and slowly, desperate not to wake him up. Once I made it to the edge of the bed, I lifted the covers and jumped out of bed. Then I raced to the shower, eager to wash off the evidence of my lack of self-control. I’d promised myself I wouldn’t jump into sex with Jaegar the minute we were alone. I’d wanted us to ease into our relationship, fated mates or not.

I’d seriously thought that Aunt Cass and Mom had been exaggerating when they’d talked about what I’d likely experience with my fated mate, but my attraction to Jaegar was even more intense than I’d expected and impossible to ignore.

I turned on the hot tap and water blasted into the huge shower cubicle. I stepped beneath the spray, needing the space and time to think. My skin was on fire, and I was trembling with the aftereffects of something I didn’t understand. Was this truly how it felt when you found your fated mate?

Is it really supposed to feel so consuming?

What I felt left me breathless and overwhelmed.

How can this be normal? It’s exhausting!

When I was done with washing my tender, strangely lethargic body, I crept back into my bedroom to get dressed. Jaegar was still asleep, sprawled out in bed. I quickly grabbed for some underwear and pulled a day dress out of my wardrobe to slip into.

I tried to keep my eyes on the carpet and my hands moving to dress myself, but I couldn’t help but allow my gaze to be drawn back to the bed. To the huge shoulders, ripping muscles, and flat stomach of a man who’d fought to survive in the toughest kingdom in our entire realm.

My stomach lurched and my heart did an uneasy flip-flop. I still couldn’t believe that this was how it was meant to feel. I felt so... uneasy. So, unlike myself.

Shaking my head, I snatched up my shoes and hurried out the door, leaving my fated mate alone in my bedroom. The hallway was mercifully empty, so I took a moment to pull on my knee-high black boots, smooth down my dress, and compose myself.

When I was finally ready, my breathing was still erratic, and I’d developed a headache. The question to answer though, was it from dehydration and too much champagne at the party? Or from the mind-blowing orgasms I’d been gifted with last night? We’d made passionate love again this morning, not long after the break of dawn. Probably why Jaegar was still fast asleep.

I’d ridden him long and hard, until he’d blown apart within me. My legs had been shaking long after, and even now I was exhausted. Sex with Jaegar was unlike anything I could have even dreamed. He was an animal in the very best possible way. As if he was ruled by his passion and instincts alone, and it set the coals of my dragon heart blazing with an unparalleled need.

“Hey, sis!” Anselm called out as he strode along the hallway. “Everything okay?” He stopped in front of me, a frown on his face.

I forced myself to nod, even though I was bursting with questions. “Yes, of course. Are we all meeting for breakfast this morning?”

He grinned at me. “Oh, you missed breakfast, but there might be a few stragglers left in the dining room.”

I pressed my lips together to stop my squeal.

Oh my god!

That would have set tongues wagging with both Jaegar and I missing for the first meal of the day.

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