My dreams, however, were another matter entirely.
In them, she was wrapped around me, warm and willing andwet. Sometimes, she came to me, while in others she called me to her, enticing me with a slow seduction until we tumbled into bed together.
In all of my dreams though, she was as desperate for me as I was for her—her hair open and spread out on my pillow, her lips red and slick from my kisses, her skin marked by my love bites, and her eyes closed in bliss as she whispered her pleas in my ears formore, Kael—faster, please, harder—
I clenched my fists against the memory of those dreams, the ones that left me sweating and restless. My hands shook and my spoon dropped with a clatter. Seranni turned to look at me and I shook my head, forcing words past my dry throat.
“Sorry, feeling clumsy today.”
“Kael, are you sure you’re feeling alright?” She hesitated a moment before she pushed her chair back and stood up, coming toward me to lay a hand on my forehead. and it was all I could do not to flinch away from her. My dragon liked the feeling of her hands on my skin a little too much.
Take her, my dragon roared.She is yours.
My dragon was very clear. It was what I had taken to calling the beast within me, the sly voice that urged me to live by my instincts and take what I wanted. And what he wanted right now wasSeranni, spread out on the kitchen table before us.
It would besoeasy, just a single step forward and then I could slide my hands up her skirts and lift her onto the table—
“I’m fine,” I babbled, looking over Seranni’s shoulder and trying to avoid seeing down her shirt. “Just feeling a little tired. Didn’t sleep very well last night, you know.”
“I see.”
“Are we out of firewood? I think we’re out of firewood. I’ll go get some more.”
Ignoring her protests, I nearly ran for the door and slipped into the chilly night. Outside, the cold hit me like a slap, sharp and bracing. Snow crunched beneath my boots as I stalked through the woods, each breath puffing in white clouds. My heart hammered in my chest, the dragon’s growl still echoing in my mind.
If I continued to avoid Seranni , eventually, the beast within would calm down.
Right?
Oh, my dragon still clawed at the restraints I’d placed on him, but if I stayed away from Seranni, eventually he would understand that she was off limits. She was toogood, too kind to be defiled by a dragon.
And things would have continued to go perfectly, if it hadn’t been for the storm.
It blew in out of nowhere. One day, the skies were clear—foggy and grey, but clear—and the tower was enough to keep out the worst of the wind.
Then, the storm arrived without warning, its fury unleashed in the dead of night.
The wind howled through the trees, rattling the shutters and slamming against the tower walls. Rain lashed against the windows, mingled with ice that glittered like shards of glass under the faint moonlight. I was already on edge, pacing my room as the storm grew worse. The dragon stirred uneasily, its instincts sharp and restless. Something was coming.
The crash of splintering wood brought me to the window in an instant. A massive branch, torn from the towering pine outside, smashed through the wall. The cold hit me first, followed by the rain, soaking everything in seconds. The weight of the branch crushed part of my bed and scattered shards of stone across the room.
Suddenly, my bedroom was open to the pouring rain.
“Kael!” Seranni’s voice carried through the storm, panicked and breathless.
I turned to see her standing in the doorway, clutching her shawl tightly around her shoulders. Her eyes widened as she took in the destruction, darting from the ruined bed to the rain-soaked books on my desk.
“We need to move everything,” she said, her voice firm. “Before the rain ruins it all.”
I hesitated, torn between protecting her from the storm and shielding her from my own turmoil. But the determination in her gaze left no room for argument.
There was no help for it, I had to put aside my reticence to be in the same room as her.
Together, we worked in silence, moving books, clothes, and anything salvageable out of the wreckage. The rain poured through the jagged hole in the wall, drenching us both as we scrambled to save what we could. By the time we finished, my hands were numb, and Seranni’s cheeks were pale with exhaustion.
“Well,” she said finally, brushing a strand of wet hair from her face. “We’ll sort out the rest tomorrow.”
She looked around, frowning. “Where will you sleep?”
