Chapter 16

SIXTEEN

K eir wanted to roar. Her mouth felt warm and soft on his from the moment their lips collided.

Keir felt the need, the raging urge that had been threatening to split him in half since she’d been injured. He’d tried to tamp down the need for her, but her being injured had only made his dragon crazy. If anything, it made the urges that much more pressing.

Keir ran his hand up her body, moving to push the dress straps off her shoulders and get her naked quickly.

It made him growl out of satisfaction.

Moving his lips away from her mouth and down to her jaw, Cat let out a low moan that made him go absolutely nuts. He bucked his hips into hers, creating that delicious friction that they both desperately wanted. It had been too long since he had her. And even though he could be completely wild with his mate, he needed her. He needed to stamp himself on her again and to have her moaning his name.

Cat’s nails dug into his shoulders, her back pressing into the bed and creating a small distance between their hips. She reached down and grabbed his cock, stroking the length of it in her hands and lining it up with her core.

Keir groaned, feeding off her eagerness.

“I want you so badly,” he growled.

“Have me, Keir.”

It was all she had to say before he thrust into her heat.

Mine. Mine. Mine.

Cat let out a loud cry of pleasure, she arched her back and wrapped her legs around his waist. He needed to mark her in some way, show that she belonged to him. He wanted everyone to know it.

His dragon rattled inside Keir’s head. Yelling at his brain, chanting mine, mine, mine over and over. Yes. She was theirs.

Cat’s body shook as her first orgasm claimed her. Her nails dragged across his shoulders. It was a deliciously satisfying kind of pain where it mixed with the pleasure that flowed through his body.

He could feel a sudden shift between them. Almost as if his soul was linking with hers. He couldn’t explain it but leaned into the feeling, wanting to know more as he caught her gaze in his own. She stared deep into him as if she was looking directly into his soul.

It made him shiver and cup her jaw, pulling her into another kiss. She moaned against his lips, her thighs squeezing tightly around his waist.

Pulling back from their kiss, Keir pressed his forehead against hers. “You’re mine,” he whispered. She moaned in response. “Say you’re mine, Cat.”

She gasped, letting out a breathy, “I’m yours.”

“Again. Louder.”

Her hands moved up his neck to tangle in the hair at his nape. “I’m yours. All yours.”

Keir growled, the feral nature within him coming out in full force just like his dragon. Cat squeezed her eyes shut as her core clenched around him again.

“That’s it,” he murmured.

Her body strained, practically vibrating while she climaxed again.

He loved it. Watching the pleasure course through her just like it was him. Seeing her beg and moan with his name on her lips. A woman as beautiful as Cat wanted him to please her in ways no other man could.

It only fed his ego, stroking it in the same way her body was currently stroking his cock.

“You’re mine, Cat.”

She opened her eyes to look at him again.

“I’m yours, Keir. All yours.”

His body started to fall over the edge into his own climax. It made him want to shiver, knowing the release was going to be mind-blowing. Cat squeezed his waist once more with her thighs, tugging at his hair again.

Keir curved his hand to the side, pushing his thumb into the dip of her hip. He knew what was coming. He gripped her hip hard, holding her skin tightly in his grasp.

Heat traveled through his palm to her hip. He branded her as his, leaving his dragon’s mark on her skin. His mate mark. Cat was his.

“Oh, God…” she threw her head back, her core clenching again. “Keir!”

Simultaneously, they both climaxed.

Keir ripped his hand away from her hip and slapped it onto the mattress, holding his frame up so he didn’t land on her.

Keir felt a piece of him snap into place. A thread that snagged around his heart and tightened, stealing his breath.

Later, as they lay tangled together in the afterglow, Cat traced lazy patterns on Keir’s chest. “You know,” she murmured, a hint of mischief in her voice, “we never did get to the sticky toffee pudding.”

Keir chuckled, the sound rumbling through his chest. “I suppose we got a bit distracted,” he teased, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

Cat propped herself up on an elbow, grinning down at him. “Well, we can’t let all my hard work go to waste, can we?”

Keir grinned. “I suppose not,” he agreed, sitting up and pulling her close. “Though I must say, you’re sweeter than any dessert I’ve ever tasted.”

Cat laughed, swatting his chest playfully. “You’re smooth, dragon-man.”

Keir stood at the floor-to-ceiling windows of his penthouse, gazing out at the twinkling lights of New York City. The familiar skyline, a view he’d seen countless times over his centuries of life, somehow looked different tonight. Brighter. More vibrant. He knew the change wasn’t in the city itself, but in him.

His dragon, for so long a restless presence within him, purred with contentment. The knowledge that Cat—his mate—slept safely in their bed filled him with a sense of peace he’d never known. Keir closed his eyes, focusing on the bond between them. He could feel her life force, steady and strong, intertwined with his own.

The mating had changed everything. His dragon’s protective instincts now extended to Cat, enhancing her natural healing abilities and even lengthening her lifespan. The thought of spending centuries with her by his side, rather than mere decades, sent a thrill through him.

A soft noise from the bedroom caught his attention. Keir turned, padding silently across the plush carpet. Cat stirred as he slipped back into bed, her eyes fluttering open.

“Everything okay?” she murmured, voice thick with sleep.

Keir gathered her close, breathing in her scent. “Everything’s perfect,” he assured her, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Go back to sleep, love.”

As Cat drifted off again, Keir’s mind turned to the day ahead. Tonight, he’d introduce her to his family—or at least, the core members. His parents, Amelia and her husband and their children. It was a big step, one that filled him with both excitement and a touch of nervousness.

When morning came, Keir woke Cat with gentle kisses and the aroma of freshly brewed coffee. As they sat at the kitchen island enjoying a breakfast of Scottish oatcakes and fruit, he broached the subject of the family dinner.

“There’s something I need to tell you about tonight,” Keir began, setting down his coffee mug.

Cat looked up from her plate, a flicker of concern crossing her face. “Is everything all right?”

Keir reached across the island, taking her hand in his. “More than all right,” he assured her with a smile. “I’ve arranged a special family dinner. Just my parents and Amelia and her family.”

“Oh!” Cat’s eyes widened. “That’s... wow. Are you sure they’re ready to meet me? I mean, we haven’t been together that long, and?—”