“I missed you so much,” I almost sobbed, kissing a hot line across his chest. He moaned, his fingers digging into my behind as I took one adorably pert little nipple in my mouth, and breathed fire on it.

The dragon shard demanded I give in to it, to do things to him that would be impossible in human form, but I was determined to be in control.

“Mate, you must stop or I’ll take you right here on the stairs,” Gabriel managed to say, his voice almost hoarse with desire. His body was urgent against mine, a thousand little touches speaking wordlessly of his emotions, of his needs.

I unlocked my legs and slid down his body, panting with the effort, allowing my eyes to feast on him. He was so beautiful, so uniquely wonderful, it made me want to weep with joy. He was mine, all of him, every last little bit of him, everything from those glittering argent eyes to mobile lips that were the sweetest on earth, right on down his body, every single part of him made to satisfy me.

“I must have you now,” he said roughly, picking me up and leaping up the stairs. “I can’t wait, little bird. You were taken from me—I can’t wait. Which room are we in?”

“Third floor,” I started to say, then remembered that although Drake had removed Fiat to a secured room downstairs, he had left Magoth lying across my bed. “Dammit! Magoth is there.”

Gabriel paused at the head of the stairs, turning first one way, then another. “There must be a room we can use. Sitting room?”

“Too public. Jim tends to wander at night.”

“Drake’s study.”

“Drake is often up at all hours fetching something for Aisling.”

His fingers tightened on me. “Kitchen.”

“István and his girlfriend sleep right off the kitchen. They’d hear anything we did there—”

He growled, actually growled. “There has to be somewhere!”

“There’s the pool, but I think Cyrene is going to be there for a very long time.”

“Gah!”

I slid out of his arms, the emotions and images pouring out from the dragon shard finally too much for me. I took a step back from him, my fingers curling into fists, the sharp claws biting into my palms as I looked away for a moment, trying to gather the strength I would need.

“I will ask Aisling,” Gabriel started to say, but as he walked past me, I slid a hand down his back. He froze, half-turning toward me, his eyes so bright they warmed my soul.

I leaned toward him as if I was going to kiss him, pursing my lips to blow a breath on his mouth, instead.

His eyes widened as he realized what I was doing. “Mate?”

I turned my back on him, walking to the stairs, the dragon shard cheering within me.

“Mate,” he said again, his voice an octave lower, the word so full of sexual intent I almost climaxed right there.

Halfway down the stairs I threw a look over my shoulder. He was still standing in the same spot as if rooted there, his body taut, his eyes aglow, a small ring of fire around his feet. I smiled.

He sucked in his breath.

“I love you,” I told him just before I spun around and leaped down the last of the stairs.

A challenging roar echoed through the house as I raced down the darkened hallway, driven by the urges of the dragon shard, but for a change fully in control of it. It wanted me to play with Gabriel, to treat him as if I were a dragon, to initiate love play, and so I would—but on my terms. Dragon play, I had learned over the last few months, involved chases. Females fled; males pursued. It was all very chauvinistic, my modern mind thought as I dashed through the hall into a pitch-black kitchen, searching frantically for an exit—but it was the way of the dragons, and Gabriel loved it. He loved hunting me, and I loved being found. Usually the dragon shard overwhelmed me, forcing me into dragon form for the chase, but this time, I had it firmly in control.

“You cannot hide from me, little bird,” I heard Gabriel call. He was close, too close. I caught a brief hint of his scent, and raced through the door that led to the outside of the house, pausing for a moment to consider the layout of the area.

“You wish to toy with me? To drive me insane with desire for you? You do not have that far to go, Mayling, which you will realize once I find you.” His voice was rich with both promise and passion. I shivered in response.

I had to find a spot for us, somewhere with privacy, somewhere we both could give vent to the emotions running so hotly through us.

“Park,” I said softly to myself, remembering that there was a large park just a few blocks away, one with a small lake, a boathouse, and several beautiful garden areas. Most important, it would be closed at night, providing a silver-eyed dragon and his mate room to play.

I leaped over the trash cans and ran around the side of the house toward the street, where late-night traffic droned softly in the background, Gabriel’s voice calling out over it. “Do you think to lose me in traffic, mate? Do you think you will get away from me?”

I smiled to myself as I ran as fast as I could, dodging the pedestrians and cars, ignoring both the odd looks and occasional blasts of horns as I dashed across the streets, heading for the bulky black outlines of trees that I could glimpse between buildings.

“You have never been able to get away from me before. I have always found you, and I will do so this time, as well.”

As if I wanted to get away from him. Happiness sang in my ears, mingled with a healthy dose of my libido as I raced toward my goal.

“There will be retribution for this act, you know. Grave retribution.” Laughter was in his voice now, laughter and a tension that bespoke his enjoyment of the play. I just hoped I’d be able to last long enough to see the chase through to the end, rather than flinging myself upon him as I wanted.

I found one of the gates to the park at last. The locked gate gave me no trouble, not just because I didn’t stop to unlock it. I simply swarmed up the wrought iron fence, leaping off the top to land on my feet on the other side, taking a moment to get my bearings before I set off toward what I remembered was a traditional English garden located in the southeast corner.

“Wise little bird. A park. Very fitting. There will be no witnesses to see what it is I will do when I catch you.”

A little ripple of pleasure went up my back at the velvet edge of his voice. Behind me, I heard the sound of metal on metal, just as if someone else was climbing the gate. I smiled again, and dashed past the boathouse, suddenly spinning 180 degrees to run alongside the boathouse, wading into the water as quietly as I could. It was cold against my now-fevered flesh, and momentarily took my breath away. I held it for a moment, not wanting Gabriel, with his heightened hearing, catching the sound of me gasping, but after what seemed like an interminable amount of time, I grew accustomed to the cold. I swam out under the dock connected to the boathouse, clutching a pillar as I peered around it to see what Gabriel would do.