Page 41 of The Dragon King's Pregnant Mate

I nod, unable to find words. My skin tingles where he touches me, as if his dragon-fire has ignited something long dormant within me. I let my own hands explore, marveling at the play of muscle beneath his skin, the impossible heat radiating from his body.

Arvoren's breath hitches as I trace the line of his collarbone, my fingers dipping lower to rest over his thundering heart. Through our bond, I feel his desire warring with an almost painful tenderness. He touches me like I'm something precious, irreplaceable.

His lips find mine again, more urgent now. I melt into him, letting the warmth of his body chase away the lingering chill. My fingers trace the ridges of scars across his back, mapping a history of battles fought and won. Arvoren's hands ghost over my sides, leaving trails of fire in their wake.

"You're so cold," he murmurs against my skin. "Let me warm you."

With infinite care, he lifts me into his arms and carries me to furs warming near the fire. He lays me down carefully, his eyes never leaving mine. The firelight casts flickering shadows across his face, softening the harsh planes and angles.

Slowly, reverently, he begins to undress me. Each inch of skin revealed is met with gentle kisses, as if he's discovering me anew. I shiver, but not from cold. Arvoren's touch ignites something primal within me, a hunger I've denied for too long. I reach for him, pulling him closer, needing to feel the solid warmth of his body against mine.

He comes willingly, covering me like a living blanket of heat and muscle. His skin shimmers in the firelight, scales rippling just beneath the surface. I trace the patterns with wondering fingers, marveling at the play of human and dragon. Arvoren shivers at my touch, a low rumble building in his chest.

"You're so beautiful," he whispers, voice thick with emotion. His hand splays across my stomach, cradling the slight swell there. "Both of you."

I guide his face to mine, kissing him deeply. For the first time in a long time, I regret nothing. I hold no shred of cold fear in this wounded heart.

We move together as one, our bodies joining in a dance as old as time. Arvoren enters me with exquisite gentleness, his eyes never leaving mine. He holds me as if I’m the most precious thing in this world. I gasp at the feeling of completeness, of two halves finally made whole. He stills, letting me adjust, his whole body trembling with the effort of restraint.

"Are you alright?" he whispers, voice rough with need.

I nod, unable to speak. The bond between us pulses with shared pleasure and awe. Slowly, Arvoren begins to move. Each thrust is careful, measured, as if he's afraid I might shatter beneath him. I wrap my legs around his waist, urging him deeper.

The fire casts flickering shadows across our entwined bodies. My husband’s skin shimmers, scales rippling just beneath the surface. I trace the patterns with wondering fingers.

Our movements grow more urgent, a rising tide of passion and need. He captures my hand, pressing a kiss to each fingertip before guiding it to where we're joined. The sensation makes us both gasp. Through our bond, pleasure echoes and amplifies, building like a gathering storm.

I arch into him, wanting—needing—to be closer still. Our bodies move in perfect synchronicity. Our movements quicken, driven by a primal need. Arvoren's skin blazes with inner fire, his touch searing yet impossibly gentle. I cling to him, nails raking down his back as pleasure builds within me like a gathering storm.

Through our bond, I feel his desperate restraint warring with dragon-fierce passion. His eyes lock with mine, molten gold swirling with human tenderness.

"Let go," he breathes. "I've got you."

Something breaks loose inside me at his words. I cry out, back arching as ecstasy crashes over me in dizzying waves. Arvoren follows a heartbeat later, his whole body shuddering as he buries his face in my neck. For a timeless moment, we're suspended in shared bliss, two souls merging into one.

Slowly, reality reasserts itself. Arvoren's weight settles beside me. He holds me close, a sort of desperate closeness, but it isn’t rough, isn’t full of peril. He just holds me as a man holds his wife. I relish in the sensation of his warm breath against the back of my neck. I relish in him. I have never needed anyone or anything more, I think.

Later—much later—we lie tangled together on the furs, his dragon-warmth keeping the bitter cold at bay. One of his hands rests protectively over my stomach, and I feel him marveling through our bond at the pulse of magic beneath his palm. Our child seems to reach for him, their power harmonizing with his in ways that bring tears to my eyes.

"I'll do better," he murmurs into my hair. "I swear it. Whatever it takes, however long it takes to earn your trust…I'll prove myself worthy of you both. You don’t have to believe it yet.”

I want to believe him. Want to trust the fierce tenderness in his voice, the way he holds me like something precious rather than something owned. Want to believe we can build something new from the ashes of what we were.

But I don’t answer. Instead, I hope we can sleep.

Eventually, we do.

***

The dream takes us both at once.

One moment we're lying tangled together in the ruined fortress; the next, we stand atop the highest peak of the Dragonspine Mountains, where the air is too thin to breathe and stars wheel impossibly close overhead. The snow beneath our feet glows with an inner light, and the wind that howls around us carries voices older than kingdoms or crowns.

Arvoren's hand finds mine in the darkness. Through our bond, I feel his awe and terror mirror my own. This is no ordinary dream.

The old blood stirs.The voice seems to come from everywhere and nowhere, ancient as ice and twice as merciless.Dragon and Windwaker combined…such power has not walked these lands since first we blessed them.

Shapes coalesce from the swirling snow—figures too vast and terrible for mortal eyes to comprehend fully. I catch glimpses of wings made of starlight, of eyes like frozen suns, of forms that shift between dragon and storm and something else entirely. The gods of Kaldoria, watching us with ancient interest.