He glanced at his arm and noticed the hardness that signaled his dragon scales were about to form. Shit. He had to let himself come and do it quickly before she noticed something strange.
Her quivering died down as did her screams, so he let his finger leave her clit. His climax exploded. He rode its waves of pleasure with his hands gripping her bottom—grateful they were still hands with fingernails instead of talons.
As the last aftershock rolled through him, he checked his arms and torso. Whew. He’d come soon enough to avoid shifting this time. He’d have to come up with a strategy to stop the heat buildup and possible loss of control over his shift. He smiled to himself as he realized the obvious answer was to have sex more often.
He withdrew and collapsed onto his side next to Bliss. She fell to her side, facing him. Despite her panting breaths, she appeared totally relaxed and sated. She didn’t seem to have noticed anything strange. He gathered her into his arms and pulled her to his heaving chest.
That was a close one, moron.
Chapter 8
Drake checked in with his firehouse and discovered that they were out on a run. His conscience kept pricking at him for taking a whole day off when he was no longer injured.
“Bliss, honey. I have to go to work.”
“But I already called and told them you were in an accident. How would it look if you showed up feeling perfectly fine? And, while we’re at it, how can you be in such good shape? I thought you broke some ribs.”
Drake patted his rib cage. “They must have just been bruised, not broken. I’m still a little sore, but not like last night. Those pills you gave me… what were they?”
Bliss looked sheepish. “Percocet. I shouldn’t have given you anything that strong without a doctor’s prescription. They really knocked you for a loop.”
Drake was aware of how he’d slurred his words when he told her he was a dragon. He was actually grateful for that. He hadn’t thought through the best way to explain his alternate form and decide how the conversation should begin. “Hey, honey. I’m a dragon,” didn’t work out so well.
He really needed to plan it better. He’d have to let her see certain things he could do. He needed her to believe him next time, hopefully without transforming in front of her and scaring her to death. Since he’d given her zero preparation, it was a blessing she simply thought he was out of his mind.
But he did tell her. Later on, he could make that claim and she couldn’t accuse him of being dishonest. Knowing Bliss, she’d think it, even if she didn’t come right out and say it. Who am I kidding? Of course she’ll say it.
She stroked his chest gently. “Are you sure you’re all right now?”
He captured her waist and drew her against his hard length, letting his erection speak for him. She glanced down between them. “Ah, I see. You really are feeling better.”
“And if I don’t leave soon, I might feel too good to leave at all.”
One side of Bliss’s mouth turned up. “Oh, well, if that’s the case, I’d better kick you out. I’ve got stuff to do today.”
He laughed. Typical Bliss. “You should make a card for that.”
“Oh, I have some. I call those the ‘don’t overstay your welcome’ cards. You, however, are welcome whenever we have a few spare minutes.”
She tipped up her face for a long, tender kiss. He cupped her head and let her silky dark hair glide over his fingers. As much as he wished he could stay there and fool around with this remarkable woman all morning, he really had to go.
“I’ll call you later in the day. We can check our schedules and hopefully plan something fun to do together.”
“That would be nice.”
One more long kiss later, he managed to force himself out the door and downstairs.
***
Angie strolled around the corner humming. “Is he gone?”
“Yes, he just left. Nice of you to hum a warning.”
She grinned. “I hope you’ll do the same for me. Someday.” Her smile suddenly diminished.
“Are you seeing anyone?”
Angie let out a long sigh. “Not really. Tory flirts with me, but… I don’t know.”
“Has he asked you out?”
“Not exactly. I mean, I think he would if I encouraged him, but…”
“Is it because he’s black?”
Angie looked horrified. “No! Of course not.” Then her shoulders slumped. “I mean, he’s a great guy. Little things like that don’t matter to me one way or the other, but you wouldn’t believe how prejudiced my dad and grandparents are. They’d have heart attacks and die, and then I’d feel guilty because I’d know I killed them.”