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Black iridescent scales were ice underneath her touch. Two horns curved around his head and tipped into deadly points. Spikes ran along his spine just as menacing as the sharp tip of his tail. Though tucked, his wings reminded her of her own, soft, black and smooth.

Slowly his eyes closed, and he seemed to relax, which encouraged her to feel along the expanse of his face.

“You’re beautiful.“

She spoke after a while of letting him get used to her touch, to her presence.

No answer.

“Really.” She insisted and spread her arms as she leaned against him, “But can I see you in a form that will allow me to hold you?”

She thought he might ignore her again, but then she felt his scales shift underneath her like the moving sands of a desert.

A moment later, her arms were full of a miniature version of the beast, a little rounder and softer, with eyes that were wider but still glowing silver as he looked up at her.

Rowan let out a laugh at the unexpected response. “You’re adorable!” She squealed and rubbed her nose to his. A second later, she found him morphed back into his humanoid form, naked and rock hard, and his lips were on hers in a hungry kiss.

Rowan matched his energy. Pouring everything she hadn’t said into their physical connection. How she was sorry to have crossed a boundary and forced his beast to take over, how worried she’d been to hear of his disappearance and how relieved she was that he hadn’t lost himself to rage.

He pulled back after a moment and rainbow eyes swirled as they took her in. “You feel strong.” His voice was hoarse with desire. Her own need rose to meet his, and she knew where this was going to end.

“On a scale of one to ten, how under control is the beast right now?” She asked as he peppered her cheeks and chin with small kisses and bites.

He chuckled. “I don’t think I’d categorize how much he wishes to take you here and now as really sane, so maybe a three. I need to be inside of you.”

Rowan moaned as his teeth applied pressure at the juncture of her neck and shoulders. She needed to focus, but her own second entity was bleeding, her vision red and purple once more. “If…” her words stuck in her throat as she felt the hunger of her succubus erasing her self control. “What if he pushes you to lose control again?”

His roaming hands froze at the edge of her sweatpants and his voice came out even more gruff than before. “I won’t let him.”

Terra had told her what she needed to know to take this next step, but she needed to hear it from his own lips.

“What’s changed?” She demanded. “Why are you so willing to do this again after telling me last time would be the end?”

He cursed. “Because your succubus is giving us no choice.”

That was certainly not the answer she was expecting. She blinked and cleared her throat. “Come again?”

“You imprinted on me.” His fingers played with her tail, and her knees buckled at the unexpected pleasure. “You can no longer consume the sexual energy of any other than myself.”

“What?”

“On that mountainside, when you held your arms out to me, I could smell it. Underneath all the blood,the scents of…“ a growl of displeasure gonged through the cave, “…several partners. Yet your energy levels were depleted. Even what you got from Barros’ life force wasn’t enough and succubi can survive off that sort of energy for months.” He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “When we were in the bathroom, a hug gave you more than what they could. Your succubus chose me.”

Untangling herself from his hold, Rowan let out a disbelieving laugh. “I think I can resist her as much as you’ve resisted yourdragon. I’ll just need to disappear for a few months on a feeding frenzy. I almost felt it regulate itself at the end.”

His eyes were a soft lavender color as he looked away from her. “Is the idea of choosing me so repulsive?”

Her footsteps back and forth echoed, increasing in speed as her heart rate did. Was she going to be the first one to bare her soul here? Her pride wanted to see him hurt as much as she had when he’d walked away from her, but her succubus was damn near crying in her head.

She took three deep, calming breaths. “It is when you don’t want me. It is when you’re only doing it to save me from this perceived danger of starvation from my succubus. I don’t need to be saved. I need to be cherished and respected.”

Silence spread between them.

She bristled. “Look, you’re in control of your dragon now, right? Let’s head back out.”

His fists clenched at his side. “Rowan, I’m afraid you don’t understand. When a succubus imprints on a shifter, it only ever happens after they’re mated because of the territorial nature of our beasts. Your succubus imprinted on me before we’ve mated only because my dragon is stronger than most shifters. Your succubus must have gotten confused, but an imprint .cannot be removed.”

“What?”