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A day has passed, and we haven't left the bedroom to do more than shower or eat.

I am so not complaining.

The call from the prosecutor came an hour ago.

Michael D’Angelo is officially missing. Disappeared from the grid. The trial has been postponed. No timeline. No explanation.

Just gone.

Zeke didn’t say a word when I hung up.

He didn’t have to.

He just pulled me into his arms and let me exhale for the first time in what felt like forever.

Now, we’re back in our bed, the quiet hum of crickets outside, and a sweet summer breeze filters in through the open windows.

My world is safe again. More than that— it’s full .

It’s ours.

“I know it’s awful to say,” I murmur as I trace a lazy pattern over Zeke’s chest, “but the world is a better place without that man in it.”

“You won’t hear any argument from me,” he rumbles, his voice a velvet growl, low and rich against my ear. “Some monsters deserve to vanish.”

I nod, shifting to look up at him. His golden eyes are soft now, the storm inside him calmed.

He’s beautiful, my Dragon. Fierce and solid and wholly mine.

“I’ve been thinking,” I start, my voice barely above a whisper.

He brushes his fingers along my jaw. “About what, Petals?”

“About my career. I don’t know if I want to go back to exactly what I was doing. But I do miss helping people. I might want to finish. Become a doctor. Ease back into it.”

For a moment, he doesn’t say anything. Just studies me with that soul-deep intensity of his. Then he smiles.

The kind of smile that makes me feel like I’m the only woman in the universe.

“Whatever you want, we’ll make it happen. If you want to finish, I’ll drive you to the hospital every damn day. Wait in the parking lot with snacks. Build a nap nest in the truck bed. You name it.”

I laugh, burying my face in his chest. “A nap nest?”

He chuckles. “Don’t knock it till you try it. I make a killer pillow fort.”

Warmth blooms inside me—stronger than before.

Not just lust. Not just gratitude. But love.

So much of it I can barely breathe around it.

I rise up on my elbow, brushing my lips over his.

“I love you, Zeke.”

His breath catches.

And then he flips us gently, like I weigh nothing. Like I’m his whole world.

“I love you more, Petals. And I’m going to show you just how much.”

His kiss is slow, reverent. He tastes me like I’m the last thing he’ll ever need.

His hands explore my body like it’s sacred ground.

I’m always so ready for him. From the second he touches me, it’s like a spark of electricity zips through my body.

I whimper and moan at his ministrations. Especially when he kisses and licks his way down my body, stopping to pay homage to my sensitive nipples.

“I fucking love how wet you are for me, Petals. So soft. So plush,” he growls before licking into my needy sex.

I swear, the man is always starved for me, and I am so there for it.

He makes me feel beautiful, wanted, loved.

I told my folks I met someone, that I’m involved and they politely wished me good luck.

Not big on romance, my parents. But it’s a start and someday I hope they’ll get to meet him.

But right now I can’t think about that because he’s plunging his thick fingers into my sheath, lapping at my clit and making me quiver as he sends me spiraling into passionate oblivion.

“Zeke! Need you,” I moan and tug on his hair, and my sexy mate grins as he crawls up my body, spreading my thighs farther apart with his big hands.

“I got you, Petals. Hold on to me,” he growls and when he sinks inside me, it’s perfect.

Neither gentle nor frenzied.

It’s somewhere in between. It’s Zeke knowing exactly how I need him.

He moves with care and command, every stroke a promise.

My body arches into him, finding that perfect rhythm, and I feel everything.

The relief of safety. The ache of healing. The overwhelming rush of being wanted this much.

His cock pulses inside me as he angles his hips and strokes along that hidden spot inside.

Stars explode behind my eyes, and sooner than I mean to, I start to come.

“Look at me, Petals. Let me see what I do to you,” he growls, and my gaze locks onto his.

“That’s it. Give it to me. Mine. Wanna fly right into the sun with you, Mate,” he grunts, and I swear, as he starts to fill me with hot ropes of his cum, I come even harder.

After who knows how long, Zeke slides out of me and grabs a warm washcloth from the bathroom.

He cleans me up, and gets into bed, tucking me into his side.

This man. He’s everything. So goddamn perfect.

The firelight paints golden patterns on his skin, casting shadows over the lines of his face.

His eyes glow, not just with Dragon magic, but something even older— devotion .

He bends his head.

“Mine,” he whispers against my mouth.

“All yours,” I breathe.

This time when he pulls me on top of him and I raise my hips enough for him to slide inside me, we both sigh.

It’s like relief fills me every time we’re joined.

Like this is exactly how we are supposed to be.

And when I fall apart above him, my name on his lips, I release a sob of joy and trust, because for once, I don’t have to be independent. I don’t have to hide.

I just get to feel.

After, he gathers me close, our bodies tangled in warmth and love and something stronger than either of us.

“Still thinking about work?” he asks drowsily, his lips at my temple.

“Still thinking about that nap nest,” I tease.

He grins into my hair. “Told you. Five-star Dragon service, Petals. It’s all yours now. Es meus. ”

“Mmm. Yours. And you’re mine, Fire Boy.”

“Fire Boy?” he asks.

“Don’t like it? How about Hot Stuff?”

“Mate,” he growls and nips my ear playfully.

I smile, feeling light and carefree for the first time— like ever.

“I love you, Petals,” he whispers.

“I love you, too.”

As I drift off in his arms, I know one thing for sure: whatever comes next, we’ll face it together because of him, and me? We’re fated.

He’s my Dragon and I’m his Rose.

And neither of us is alone now. We have our Crew. Our home. And each other.

Always.