“I’m glad. Maybe when you get back…” Her voice trailed off.
“Yes?” he prodded.
No matter what she was about to ask him, he’d agree.
There was another pause, and then she blurted, “Maybe when you get back, we could play chess?”
A smile stretched across his face. “I’d love that more than you know.”
“Me too,” she whispered. “Do you have a few minutes to chat?”
“I have all the time in the world for you.” What was sleep when they were finally talking and building a bridge over the divide separating them?
And so, they talked. Brynleigh described the sunrise she’d watched earlier, and he told her more about the dragons. She was fascinated and asked a dozen questions, which only stopped when a yawn slipped from Ryker’s mouth despite his best efforts to hold it in.
“Go to sleep, Ry,” she murmured. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Goodnight, Brynleigh,” he replied, wishing he could stay awake forever and continue talking to her. “Sweet dreams.”
Night-blooming roses perfumed the air,the floral scent nearly overwhelming in its intensity. There was something else beyond the flowers. Something deep and crisp and entirely…right.
Ryker’s soul sang at the fragment, and his magic hummed a quiet, honeyed melody in his veins.
He sighed contentedly. He could stay here forever.
"Ryker?"
That voice. That sweet, sweet voice. Even if he went centuries without hearing it, he’d recognize it immediately.
He opened his eyes, unsurprised to find Brynleigh stretched out beside him. After all, this was his dream, and he couldn’t stop thinking about her. Even after everything that had happened between them, she still haunted him, waking and sleeping.
“Hey, sweetheart,” he murmured, reaching for her.
They were in his apartment, his navy sheets covering their nakedness as they lay together. Golden waves tumbled over her shoulder, and her red lips were parted, showing off her fangs.
By the Black Sands, his wife was beautiful.
He’d never met anyone as stunning as her. She was a brilliant moon shining in the night sky after a monthof darkness. A flower blooming amid frigid snow. She was everything he’d ever wanted without even knowing he was missing something.
Ryker brushed his knuckles down Brynleigh’s cheek, delighting in the responding shiver that ran through her. His cock hardened, straining for her. Unable to help himself, he leaned in, cupped her cheek, and kissed her.
The moment their mouths fused, everything in his world righted itself. His mind cleared like he’d been living in a fog, but now it was gone.
Thiswas where he belonged. With her. Always.
“More, Ry,” Brynleigh moaned against his lips.
Had so sweet a sound ever been spoken before this moment?
He thought not.
Brynleigh’s lips parted, and he slipped his tongue into her mouth. She let him in willingly, and he tasted her.
He groaned.
It wasn’t enough. It would never be enough.
She moaned, rolling on top of him as their tongues battled for dominance. He was as hard as steel, pure need burning through him.