Page 26 of Fire’s Resonance (Hearts on Fire #1)

The raw honesty in his voice strikes directly at my core, breaking through defenses I’ve maintained my entire life. This isn’t the practiced seduction of human men I’ve known. This is something primal, honest, stripped of artifice.

“I’m scared,” I admit, the confession barely audible over the bubbling water.

“You should be.” A hint of a smile touches his lips. “You’re about to become something few humans ever experience—half of the most powerful magical bond our kind can form. Fear is appropriate.”

“Gee, thanks for the reassurance,” I mutter, but there’s no real heat in it.

His expression turns serious again. “I can’t promise it will be easy, little flame. But I can promise you won’t face it alone.”

Something shifts between us—not the bond itself, but my perception of it. Not a trap, but a lifeline. Not a prison, but a new kind of freedom.

I move toward him, drawn by something deeper than the physical pull of the bond.

This is my choice, not my dragon’s. When I stop before him, water lapping at my collarbones, we’re close enough that I can feel the heat radiating from his body.

Close enough to see the silver flecks in his eyes, the faint stubble along his jaw, the pulse beating at his throat.

“I still think this is insane,” I tell him, looking up into his silver eyes. “But... I’m willing to try. To stop fighting it so hard.”

Relief flashes across his features, quickly masked but unmistakable. He lifts a hand, hesitating just above my cheek, asking permission without words.

I nod once.

His touch is gentler than before, palm cupping my face with surprising tenderness. Scales shimmer into visibility along his wrist, matching the opal patterns now fully visible on mine. Where our skin connects, tiny sparks dance between us, visible in the dim light.

“Tomorrow night,” he says, voice rough with emotion he’s clearly not accustomed to expressing. “After the full moon rises. I’ll be with you through all of it.”

“Through all of it,” I repeat, sealing the promise.

Before I can reconsider, I rise on tiptoe in the water, bringing my face closer to his. His pupils dilate instantly, leaving only a thin ring of silver. His nostrils flare as he scents my renewed arousal. Heat radiates between us, steam rising from where our bodies nearly touch.

I press my lips to his, surrendering to the need that’s been building since the moment he entered his quarters. The kiss is different this time—still hungry, still desperate, but with a new element of acceptance that makes it even more potent.

His hands find my waist beneath the water, fingers splaying across my ribs, thumbs brushing the undersides of my breasts. My nipples tighten further, aching for his touch. I arch into him, pressing my chest against his. The contact of skin against skin sends jolts of electricity through me.

His tongue claims my mouth as his hands claim my body, one sliding up to finally cup my breast, the other moving to the small of my back, pulling me flush against him. The hard length of his erection presses against my stomach, hot even through the mineral water.

Yes. More. Take. Claim.

I wrap my arms around his neck, fingers tangling in his dark hair, holding him to me as if afraid he might pull away. His fangs graze my lower lip, not quite breaking skin but promising more.

A moan escapes me as his thumb circles my nipple, the dual sensation of his mouth and hands making my knees weak. Heat pools between my thighs, my core clenching with need.

He breaks the kiss to trail his mouth along my jaw, down the column of my throat. When he reaches the junction of my neck and shoulder—the place where dragons mark their mates—he pauses, his breath hot against my skin.

“If I don’t stop now,” he growls, the words vibrating against my pulse, “I won’t be able to stop at all.”

The raw need in his voice makes me shudder with anticipation. Part of me wants to say “Don’t stop,” to surrender completely to what our bodies are demanding. But the rational part of my brain knows he’s right—we need to wait for the full transformation.

Reluctantly, I ease back, though I don’t leave the circle of his arms. “Tomorrow,” I promise, the word heavy with meaning.

His silver eyes burn into mine, filled with hunger and something deeper—a connection that transcends the physical.

“Tomorrow,” he agrees, pressing his forehead against mine. “But know this, female—when the time comes, I won’t be gentle. I’ve waited too long for you.”

The promise in his words sends a fresh surge of wetness between my thighs. “I don’t want gentle,” I admit, surprising myself with my honesty.

A rumbling growl of approval vibrates through his chest into mine. He places one last, claiming kiss on my lips before forcing himself to step back, creating distance between us.

The bond hums between us, no longer fighting our acceptance. My body still aches for completion, but for the first time since this began, there’s anticipation rather than dread.

Yes. Soon. Soon we will be claimed. Marked. Mated. Forever.

Not surrender, I tell myself. Strategic alliance.

But as Raak’s eyes track over my body once more, possessive and hungry, I know I’m lying to myself. This is surrender of the most fundamental kind—not to him, but to something we’re becoming together.

Something new. Something powerful.

Something that might just save us both.