Opening her eyes in the stunning lilac room, Rimi lay perfectly still so she didn’t interrupt her mate’s sleep.

She rotated her gaze from side to side, reassuring herself that she hadn’t dreamed this.

What an incredible change from a damp, dark cave where she worried every moment of every day that a male would arrive to claim her.

Now stretched out on a fluffy mattress that cushioned every part of her body, Rimi tried to take it all in.

The drop-dead handsome shifter next to her rolled closer to press a kiss to her cheek. “It’s still early, Mate. Do you want to go back to sleep?”

“I didn’t mean to wake you,” she apologized.

“You didn’t.” He kissed her softly before adding, “Welcome home.”

“I hoped I hadn’t dreamed all this.”

“No, Snowflake. You’re safe here. Well, at least from everyone other than me.” He pulled her against him and kissed a line down her sensitive throat before pausing to ask, “Do you need to potty?”

Freezing, she considered his question before nodding .

“Thank you for telling me the truth.” Keres rolled out of bed, taking her with him.

When he carried her to the door of the separate toilet room, Rimi reminded him, “I can walk.”

“I enjoy holding you close. Now, go. I’ll stay here today.”

Rimi dashed into the small space and quickly sat down. She hoped he couldn’t hear her tinkle. After she lived alone for so many years, doing things together with him seemed so alien.

Wait! What had he meant when he’d said, “I’ll stay here today.” Was he going to be somewhere else tomorrow? He didn’t mean he would come in here when she peed? She finished and quickly opened the door to see if she could tell from his face.

“Yes. Doors will not separate us, mate. Let’s wash your hands and then I have plans for you.”

Taking advantage of flowing clean water, Rimi washed her face and her hands and took a drink. Wondering what his plans were, she set the small towel he’d handed her on the vanity and turned to face him.

“What’s up?” she asked, studying his face.

“That’s an excellent question,” he answered with an amused expression on his face.

She glared at him. “Keres, stop playing games with me.”

“Oh, I plan to play with you,” he told her, stalking forward to hug her close. He lifted her feet from the ground and carried her back to the bed. He turned and fell backward onto the mattress, holding her tightly against him.

His hands caressed the length of her spine and over the full curve of her bottom. “I’m going to enjoy spanking this bottom.”

An unexpected thrill went through her. Surely, he didn’t mean what she thought he meant. Her gaze locked with his. “That’s not going to happen.”

“Oh, it will. I promise you’ll both love and hate it.”

Rimi pushed against his shoulders to sit up. She needed some distance away from his hard deliciousness to think clearly. “Oh!” She figured out what he meant by “up” as his hard shaft slid across her lower lips.

Instantly, she tried to rise, but Keres held her in place with a firm grip around her hips.

He gently shifted her back and forth across him.

That brushing caress against her most intimate place made her gasp.

Her juices welled from her, making the movement easier and parting her lower lips to allow him to move closer.

As she tried to conceal her arousal, Keres shared his with her, allowing her to experience the scorching desire and need inside him. She gasped as the flood of sensations scorched her mind. She stared at him in amazement before slamming her mouth onto his.

Kissing him with every bit of longing inside her, Rimi reveled in his reaction. His fingers bit into her hips as he struggled for control. She had tempted the beast inside him and now welcomed the consequences. She whispered against his lips, “You can’t hurt me. Dragon, remember?”

His eyes flashed black before morphing into purple. They seemed to burn into hers. “I worship you, mate,” he told her, his voice gravelly with need.

She pressed her hands to his chest and pushed herself up to sit straddling his hips.

Holding his gaze, she rocked herself on his thick shaft.

Rimi’s breath caught in her throat as he sent shivers of sensations through her.

He seemed to have memorized her most sensitive spots and targeted them with skill.

Keres lifted his hands to stroke up her torso. His rough skin caressed her curves, erasing any shame that jerk’s statement had left with her. She could sense how much he appreciated her body—how tempting he found her.

She reached forward to explore the grooves in his muscular torso. He put the models she’d seen in discarded fashion and celebrity magazines to shame. When her hands roamed too close to his cock, Keres trapped her hand.

“I will welcome your caresses later, Mate.”

She nodded and leaned back slightly to rub her hands over his thick thighs. Rimi knew she could get in trouble here, too, but it would be harder for him to stop her. She discovered the idea of tempting him appealed to her—tremendously.

His pelvis under her tilted slightly as Keres rolled up to sit.

Their gazes met, and he gave her the “I know what you’re doing” look.

She rubbed the inside of his thigh and leaned forward to kiss that stern tilt to his mouth away.

He nipped her bottom lip, sending a zing through her. Her heartrate jumped.

“You like a bit of pain,” he observed.

Rimi shook her head desperately to refute that statement, but could tell he didn’t believe her. To her astonishment, she was happy he didn’t.

“Damn, I need to be inside you, Mate.” He lifted her to her knees with one powerful hand at her waist. With the other, he caressed her intimately. “You are so wet. Are you ready for me?”

She gasped as his fingers slid into her depths. He held her steady as the sensations made her slightly wobbly.

“You’re so hot. I can’t wait to fill you.”

“Please,” she moaned. His fingers felt good, but she needed more.

Keres did not make her wait. Sliding his fingers free of her, he spread her slick juices over the head of his cock. The sight made her hum with excitement.

Aligning their bodies, he drew her downward as he filled her. He paused from time to time to allow her to relax before continuing inward. The pressure was intense as his thick shaft stretched her tight passage. Rimi dropped her head back, concentrating on the sensations .

She felt his hot breath on her neck a second before she felt his lips at the curve of her shoulder. His mouth opened, and he sucked lightly at her flesh before he nipped at her. That small bit of pain distracted her, and Keres thrust forward to slide into place.

Panting, Rimi’s fingers tightened on his shoulders. She could feel what he did. The slick warmth of her pussy squeezed him tightly. Unable to resist, she tensed her internal muscles around him as she tilted her head to face him. His cock jerked inside her.

“You are temptation incarnate, Mate. Now you have to move.” Keres guided her motions as she rose and lowered herself. He adjusted his movements until he found the angle that made her moan in delight.

“There. Please, there,” she begged.

The sensations whirled around her as their skin glistened from the heat building between them.

Rimi lost track of what she felt, and which sensations came from Keres.

Without warning, pleasure exploded inside her.

She screamed into the vast room before slapping a hand over her mouth to muffle the sound.

Keres pulled it away and pressed a kiss to her palm. “I want to hear all your sounds, Snowflake.”

Building on her climax, Keres drove her to higher levels of excitement. By her third climax, the world around Rimi didn’t exist. Only Keres mattered.

“One more, Mate. I need to feel you orgasm again.”

“Keres, I don’t think I can,” she whispered.

“You can. I’ll help you.”

Keres hugged her torso tight against his as he changed their position.

He shifted to kneeling before lowering Rimi’s shoulders to the bed.

He supported her pelvis with her body reclined at an angle.

Keres thrust fully into her body, sinking a last few fractions of an inch deeper into her.

Her hands tightened on his shoulders as he tapped the mouth of her womb.

As she recovered, Keres pulled out and thrust firmly back in. Increasing his speed, he built her arousal once again. When she hovered on the brink of coming again, he ground the root of his cock against her clit. That last caress was all she needed.

Keres pressed deep and exploded against the mouth of her womb. His hot juices splashed against her, filling her with his essence. Wrapping her legs around him instinctively, she held him deep inside her. He drooped over her, supporting his weight as they recovered.

She opened her eyes when he leaned forward to press his nose against her skin. “What’s wrong?”

“Your scent just changed. You normally smell like jasmine. My nose thinks you have a hint of vanilla blended in with yours now.”

“How could my scent change from within?” she asked, drawing the words out as she thought. She inhaled deeply. “I smell it, too.”

Keres sniffed her shoulder. “I can smell it here, but it intensifies as I move lower on your body.” He hovered over her stomach before going lower.

“Don’t tell me my pussy smell like vanilla,” she threatened.

“It does, but the strongest scent is here.” He rubbed his powerful hand over her lower abdomen softly. “I think you’re pregnant.”

Her hand covered his. Focusing on that area, she sensed a new life inside her—a flutter of cells dividing and multiplying. She looked up at him in shock. How was this happening? “I can feel it, Keres. The baby.”

Keres hauled her off the mattress to hug her tightly.

His whoops of joy rattled the windows as he celebrated.

He kissed her gently. “I’m going to wrap you in cotton, Snowflake.

From losing my mind to finding the most alluring mate ever who happens to be a dragon and then creating a hatchling, you have turned my life upside down in an incredible way. Thank you, Mate”

She forced herself to smile at him as worries filled her mind. Was this a good thing or something tragic?