But I was wrong. He stopped. Again.
“It’s more than fate, Devin. It’s you. I love you.”
“Oh, my God, Maks,” I gasped, reaching for him. “Please, stop teasing. I know you love me. Now please prove it by fucking me.”
He laughed, getting up on his knees and lining his cock up where I needed it. Rubbing it against me, but… Still. Not. Fucking. Me.
Oh, God, I was going to die.
“I will,” he promised, his hot eyes softening even as his lip twitched at my frustration. “I just need you to know…”
He finally thrust forward and my eyes rolled back in my head. I was so ready that he had no trouble burying himself to the hilt, his cock hitting that spot that made me forget everything but him. He held me down the way he knew I liked, and I may have made some kind of sound, but I couldn’t have said for sure.
Maks kept talking, filling my head and my heart with his devotion. Telling me all the ways he loved me, letting me see myself through his eyes, showing me that it was true as he took charge of my entire world, blotting out my senses until all I knew was him, this man, this dragon, this other half of me—my fated mate—fucking me hard and deep, driving me toward an explosive release, finally pushing me over the edge when he leaned down, pinning me with his hot gaze and whispering the truth: “You’re mine, Devin.”
“God, yes!” I cried as he finally, finally let me come. “Always.”
He groaned in satisfaction, capturing my mouth and swallowing my answer as he came, too.
“Always,” he agreed, collapsing on top of me.
And even with my eyes closed, I could tell he was smiling.
Epilogue
~ Maksim ~
“He’s not cranky, he’s spirited,” Ty said, laughing as he wrangled the world’s smallest force of nature, also known as my son, Zach.
“That’s one word for it,” Ben answered, trying not to laugh as he patted Michael’s back. Our calmer son watched his brother’s antics with wide eyes. To my delight, they’d turned into the exact shade as my mate’s. He was sucking placidly on a fist while he rested his head against Ben’s shoulder, his relaxed pose proving that nothing fazed our Michael—not even a houseful of noisy people.
“I’ve never been to Wisconsin before,” Sarah was saying to Wes as she bounced her own son, little Max, on her hip. “It’s kind of fun to have snow for Christmas for once.”
“Snow!” Holly said, running up to her mother wearing a hot cocoa mustache. “Build a snowman?”
“Another one?” Wes asked her, scooping her up and tickling her until she laughed. “I think it’s too dark for that, sweetie. And it’s Christmas Eve! We need to get you and Elise to bed so Santa can come.”
“Not bed! Presents!”
“No, honey,” Sarah said, laughing. “Not until tomorrow.”
Her lip thrust out and started to quiver. “Daddy said…”
Luke walked in from the living room, looking sheepish. “I thought… they could each open one tonight, Sarah?”
She looked stern for a moment, then broke down and squealed. “If they get to open one, then I want to, too!”
We all ended up in the living room, and as the kids tore into their presents I looked around in satisfaction. Our home was filled with the people that I loved. I’d been surprised that they’d all been willing to come, but Christmas had turned out to be the perfect time to get everyone together.
Ty had recently found out that he was going to be deployed to Germany. He would have to leave in a few weeks, and would be gone for at least a year.
Ben was also heading to Europe. It had been almost three months since Ivan had fled back across the Atlantic, but just like my mating bond, the bond I shared with my brother didn’t seem to be affected by distance. I could tell that he was still there, but as much as he blocked me, I could still sense an ongoing interest in my affairs that made me nervous. Anik had contacted an old friend on our behalf, a dragon named Marquis who was even older than he was, and who held territory in the Netherlands. Marquis had agreed to allow Ben into his territory, and Ben was planning on staying there to keep a closer eye on Ivan—indefinitely.
I’d been shocked that he was willing to do that for us, but he’d just shrugged and smiled. “Life is long,” he’d said, blowing off my concerns that he might be stuck over there for years. “And who knows, maybe there will be something there for me that I haven’t been able to find here.”
I thought about how I’d been so drawn to the West Coast over the last year, only to find my Devin there, and wondered if maybe there was something waiting for him in another dragon’s territory. There was still so much about our dragon senses that was a mystery to me.