Page 34 of Jhon

Even as he fought back the dragon, he leaned toward the little Terran, watching her face for some sign that she wanted him to stop.

When he cupped her soft cheek in his hand, she seemed to press her face into his touch, her eyes closing for a moment, before they opened again, pupils dilated, to meet his. Then they drifted down to his lips.

It was too much.

He slanted his mouth down to claim hers.

She was sweet as honey, and the taste of her made him groan.

She shivered in his arms and then melted against him, one small hand sliding up his chest to cling to his shoulder, as if she might drown in her desire without him to anchor her.

The dragon roared in his chest, incandescent with the knowledge that they were about to claim their mate.

Every cell in his body seemed to fill with unbridled pleasure. He clasped her close to him, reveling in the feel of her softness against his rigid heat.

Ella whimpered, molding herself to him as he plundered her mouth.

He lifted her in his arms and straightened in one fluid motion, laying her on the bed as gently as he could bear.

She pulled in a shuddering breath beneath him that made the dragon frantic.

“Don’t be frightened,” Jhon told her, his voice husky with need. “I will never hurt you.”

“I… I…” she gasped.

“What is it?” he asked, pulling back with herculean effort.

“I’ve never… done this before,” she murmured, her eyes cast downward, cheeks darkening with shame.

In his chest, the dragon screamed with satisfaction.

Mine. Only mine.

Ella ventured to look up at him again as Jhon struggled to compose his features.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered miserably.

“There is nothing to be sorry for,” he told her gently, the right words seeming to bubble out of him without effort. “I didn’t mean for this to happen. We can stop…”

But she was reaching for him again, and he was helpless to do anything but take her in his arms.

The dragon sang a song of victory in his mind, even as Jhon fought with himself, determined to do the right thing.

Ours, the dragon screamed, when it realized what he was doing.

I will not claim her when she doesn’t know it is a claiming, he told it firmly. I will not claim her if she doesn’t know what it means.

But his hips were already bucking against her.

And, in her innocence, she was rocking into him, the place between her legs fragrant and so needy that he could feel her heat through his breeches.

It’s the mating frenzy surfacing in her. Claim her.

Madness threatened to seize him, and he froze in place, willing himself to regain control.

14

ELLA