I had to wait only a few seconds to see. The moon was not full, but gave enough light for me to see the silhouette of a man as he raced past the boathouse. I held my breath again, not wanting him to hear even the slightest hint of sound.

He paused, obviously scenting the air for me. “Where are you, little bird?” he asked, slowly turning around toward the direction he came. “You are near, I know. I can feel my fire in you. The breeze whispers your name, so you must have just passed by here. Show yourself to me, and I will take mercy upon you.”

I grinned. I knew his idea of mercy would involve endless rapture for me, but I also knew just how much he enjoyed anticipating that time. Silently, I dived under the water and swam close to the shore. He had moved a few yards away, taking hesitant steps away from me, but he obviously realized it was the wrong direction.

“Mayling,” he said again, his voice deep and rich and filled with all sorts of promises. “I appreciate your desire to play with me, but you were taken from me. Our separation was not of our doing, and thus I must reclaim you.”

I shadowed and quietly hauled myself out of the water, onto the bank behind him, stealthily picking my way down the path until I was about twenty yards behind him.

“You have to catch me before you can claim me,” I said, deshadowing as I spun around to run for a line of trees.

He whirled even as he shifted into dragon form, hot on my heels. I ran as I’d never run, relishing the mad beating of my heart, my lungs sucking in the cool night air, a burning warmth behind me that I knew was Gabriel. He was gaining on me, and I couldn’t help myself—I laughed with the sheer joy of it all. Moonlight and dim bluish white lights from nearby streetlamps dappled the ground as I wove through the trees, calling over my shoulder, “You’re losing your touch, Gabriel. The last few times we did this, you had me in under three minutes.”

“You will pay for such insolence,” he answered, laughing, as well. The line of trees was ending, but I caught sight of a small rock garden to the right. I made a dash for it, but never stood a chance. Silver flashed in my peripheral vision, and then he was on me, flinging me to the ground, his body twisting in midair, curling around me protectively so it was him, not me, that hit the hard earth. He grunted as I landed on him, his body shifting back to that of a human, his hands hard on me, a low growl coming from his lips just before they claimed my mouth. “You hid from me in the water. That was not fair.”

“All’s fair in love and dragon chases,” I said, sliding my hands up the hard, warm planes of his chest, nipping his tongue.

“You wish to do this as humans?” he asked, his hands busily removing my wet clothing. I shivered a little, both at the cool night air on my flesh and at the look in his eyes.

“Yes. Love me, Gabriel. It’s been so long.”

“Two days,” he agreed, losing any finesse he had and simply shredding the rest of my clothes off my body. “An eternity.”

“Should we even try for foreplay?” I asked, moaning when his fingers found sensitive flesh. I tugged at his belt buckle until it came undone, quickly releasing him from his jeans.

“The chase was foreplay,” he answered and, before I could respond, lifted me up over him before plunging me down. I was ready for him, more than ready, and moaned again when he slid into my body, the feel of him so hard and intrusive, and yet at the same time so very much a part of me. He bucked beneath me, his hands sliding up to my breasts, gently palming my highly sensitive nipples until I thought I would come undone. My back arched against the sensation even as my muscles tightened around his intrusion.

“May, I’m sorry. . . . I must . . . I know you want to do this as humans. . . .” Pain laced his voice as his hips pis-toned upward into me.

I leaned down to kiss him. “Fire. Give me your fire, Gabriel.”

He shifted then, his body elongating and stretching, the lovely warm skin shimmering into flowing silver scales. He lifted me off him, twisting as he did so until I was on my knees, with him behind me. I clutched his arm as he parted my legs and came into me again, the hard invasion of him enough to push me over the edge. I cried out his name as he bent me down, his belly on my back, his body making hard, deep thrusts into mine until he tipped his head back and bellowed out my name.

It took me a long time before I was able to rally my wits. I lifted my head and looked over my shoulder at the man whose body was draped protectively over mine. “I’m not complaining—there’s absolutely nothing in your technique that I could find fault with even if I wanted to, and I don’t—but just once I think I’d like to try traditional foreplay.”

One silver eye opened to consider me. Gabriel’s chest was still heaving against my back, testament to the fact that he was as exhausted by our lovemaking as I was. “That sounds very much like dissatisfaction.”

I rolled onto my side so I could face him, my hands unable to keep from touching his chest.“On the contrary. It’s just that . . . well, let’s take your chest, for instance.”

“I’d rather take yours,” he said with a leer, his hands warm on my breasts.

I tried to summon up a stern look. “Stop distracting me.”

He sighed and rolled over onto his back, his arms open wide. “You’ve become a demanding little bird these last few months. You wish to work your feminine wiles upon my human form?”

“Oh yes.” I got to my knees, sitting back on my heels as I looked over the vast panoply of man lying before me. “Every time I look at your chest, I want foreplay.”

“My chest?” He lifted his head and looked down at himself, touching the middle of it with a hand. “Why?”

“It’s just so . . .” I bit my lower lip, then slid my hand down the lovely curves of his torso. Instantly, interest lit his eyes. “No,” I told his eyes.

“ ‘No’ is not the word I want to hear,” he answered.

“No, as in no, you’re not going to distract me by making love to me. You told me months ago we could do foreplay.”

“And you told me you didn’t need it.”

“I’ve changed my mind.” My hand moved lower, down to his belly button. He sucked in his breath. “Besides, even your mother thinks we should make time for foreplay.”

He grinned at me. Any other man would be shocked or appalled that his mother and lover were discussing his sexual technique, but Gabriel was not any other man. “My mother has excellent advice, although I seem to recall you being horrified when you found out I had talked to her about my lack of control with you.”