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D arax’s expression goes from stressed to soft in an instant, and the kiss he gives me lights me on fire in so many ways.

“I will dance for you, my sweet mate.”

I don’t want him to let me go, and it seems the feeling is mutual, but, with our fingers trailing, he puts some distance between me and him. There’s a buzz from my friends and Rosalie pulls me into a hug.

“It worked,” she whispers in my ear before releasing me and giving me a shove away from her. “You got him right where you want him, and he’s not stressed.”

Thank you , I mouth at them all before I concentrate on Darax, who is now nearly around the other side of the aquium, partially obscured by some of the steam which lifts from the surface of the water.

The mist clears.

He has his head bowed. His fingers, tipped with those vicious claws, extend and stretch. His ever present tail flicks from side to side.

The flicking motion increases, and his hips swing from side to side in a sinuous movement. It’s mesmerizing, and I can’t take my eyes off him. Darax spins on the spot, his wings sprouting from his back before he swirls back again, stamping his feet and sending clouds of smoke into the air.

His gaze never leaves me. I’m in no doubt this dance is for me, only for me, no matter who is watching.

Darax continues to stamp, sway, and with no warning, he defies gravity in a back flip and spin before landing in front of me.

Strong arms draw me to him, those hips never stopping as I’m whirled around and around. All the time his eyes, those incredible fire filled eyes, never leave me. My hands in his hands, my body against his body, my heart beating with his.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Now I get it. Now I see what a claiming is all about.

And Darax gets it too, the way his mouth is hitched into a smile, the way his scales glitter in the light of the aquium.

It is not about a claim. It’s about two souls, his and mine, coming together across all of space.

A space which is, at once vast and at the same time, negligible.

I never believed in fate until this moment. But fate has brought me here, to him, to the love of my life who would have remained beyond the stars and beyond my knowledge and reach.

But instead, I’m in his arms, and light sparkles over our heads reflected off the water which bubbles up from deep within the ship which belongs to him. It’s like our own personal light show.

I dimly hear the sound of cheering from Rosalie and my friends which gets louder as the spell between Darax and me breaks.

Only I know it will never be truly broken. We can never be truly apart again. The bite mark on my neck, now a silvery gray, tingles with desire, with love, with the concept of forever.

Darax strokes a clawed finger over my jawline, his massive hand almost spanning my entire head.

“This is my dance, heartsfire,” he murmurs. “The universe turns, but the brightest star, the most perfect jewel, is you. Always you.”

My heart is already a puddle, but he destroys me entirely.

“I crossed galaxies to get here, Darax, and it was worth every single mile.”

The cheering gets louder and glitter bursts around us. I turn to my friends, still holding my Darax close. Their smiling faces say it all.

We might be far from Earth, but we are home.