‘‘Now you are acting all too human, fishing for compliments,’’ he said with a playful grin that faded when I didn’t respond. ‘‘You’re serious, aren’t you?’’

I nodded, too miserable to speak, my eyes on the carpet beneath my knees.

‘‘May, look at me.’’

It took a bit of doing, but I managed to drag my gaze up to his.

‘‘Before, when you started the mating dance, it was exciting to me,’’ he said, and my heart turned into a leaden ball. ‘‘I would like to say I could have not responded, but that would be impossible. I am a dragon. You are my mate. You initiated a mating dance, and that delighted me. But that delight was nothing compared to what you mean to me. You are my mate, May, the being that is you, no matter what your form.’’

Unfamiliar tears pricked my eyes. I hated the dragon shard for making me feel so overwhelmed with gratitude, so vulnerable. ‘‘You wouldn’t want me to be a dragon like you?’’

‘‘Not if you don’t want it, no,’’ he said, taking both my hands in his, kissing each finger. ‘‘You are happy as you are—were—and I have no complaints whatsoever about that state of affairs. So you can stop feeling guilty and unhappy, and instead tell me what your limit is.’’

‘‘My limit?’’ I said, blinking away the last of the tears, my heart once again hopeful. Perhaps it was a sign I was all too human in that I sought reassurance that he treasured me for what I was, but if so, I embraced that humanity. ‘‘What sort of a limit do you mean?’’

‘‘How far can you go without the dragon shard taking control of you?’’ he asked, his thumbs rubbing across my fingers.

A little fire started at my knees.

‘‘Ah,’’ he said, looking at it.

I couldn’t help but smile. ‘‘Just looking at you makes the shard kick into high gear, but I can keep it under control for the most part. It’s just when we . . . er . . . that it takes over. And bringing gold into the equation is definitely out.’’

‘‘Can I kiss you?’’ he said, bending forward to press a kiss of infinite sweetness onto my lips.

‘‘Yes,’’ I said, lifting my head in hopes he’d do it again.

‘‘Can I touch you here?’’ He put his hand on my upper arm.

I nodded.

A little glint of wicked intent started to burn in his eyes. ‘‘What about here?’’

His hand cupped my left breast. I sucked in my breath, arching my back. ‘‘Oh, yes.’’

‘‘And how about this?’’

His mouth closed over my aching nipple, his tongue a brand as it swept across my breast, causing my breath to catch in my mouth. My hands went to his hair, tugging on the soft dreadlocks as he kissed his way over to the other breast.

‘‘That’s . . . that’s . . . that’s really, really OK,’’ I said, my eyes closed as I clutched him while he tormented my breast.

‘‘Just OK? You wound my ego, little bird. What about the rest of your torso? Are you still firmly in control if I explore the sublime beauty that is your belly?’’

Fire licked my flesh when he laid me back on the floor, his hair trailing down my sensitive breasts as he kissed a path to my belly button.

‘‘The dragon shard wants me to roll you over and jump on you,’’ I moaned as he nipped my hip.

‘‘It shall have to want in vain. You are in control, not it, May.’’

‘‘I know, but it’s so strong, Gabriel. The need in me is so strong. It wants you.’’

‘‘It only reflects your desires, which does much to assuage my male pride,’’ he said with a deep chuckle that seemed to reverberate through me. His hands slid along my thighs, gently parting them. ‘‘Will it let me touch you here, do you think?’’ he asked.

His breath was hot on highly sensitive flesh.

‘‘The shard can take a flying leap as far as I’m concerned,’’ I said, my body tight with anticipation as I struggled to control the rising demands that built up inside me. I wanted to tease and run and play and do all sorts of things to Gabriel that seemed both foreign and yet so right. My fingers dug into the thick pile of the carpet as Gabriel’s mouth touched me, the heat of his tongue almost causing me to lose the control I just barely held.

‘‘Too much?’’ he asked, looking up at me.

‘‘Almost,’’ I said, my voice thick and unfamiliar.

‘‘Do you want me to stop?’’

I closed my eyes for a minute, concentrating fully on reining in the demands of the dragon shard. ‘‘No. I think I’m OK.’’

‘‘You’re more than OK, but that conversation is for another time. First we have this to explore.’’

Stars seemed to explode behind my eyes as he slid a finger into me just as his tongue made a swirling motion. The orgasm rippled through me, my fingers elongating as the red claws dug deep into the carpet.

‘‘Keep ahold of the emotions the shard generates,’’ Gabriel said, moving over me as he kissed his way upward. ‘‘Use it, but don’t let it take over.’’

I struggled to do just that, the claws fading back into fingernails.

‘‘Can you take more?’’ he asked, and I saw in his face just how much control he was wielding over his own needs.

‘‘Let’s try,’’ I said, twining my legs around his as I dug my fingers into the thick muscles of his butt, pulling him where I wanted him.

‘‘I’ll stop if it’s too much for you,’’ he said, biting my neck with a groan when he sank into my body. ‘‘It may kill me, but I’ll stop.’’

I held him tight to me as our bodies moved, praying I could do this without succumbing. The dragon shard wanted me to do more, to make Gabriel move faster, to satisfy urges that were too numerous to count.

It wasn’t until his movements became more agitated that the thin control began to unravel. As the orgasm built up inside me, I flexed my inner muscles, urging Gabriel to finish before I lost it completely.

‘‘Mayling, I’m trying to go slow for you, but if you do that, it will all be over,’’ he said, panting as his chest rubbed against mine, his hips making long, slow movements that both thrilled and tormented me.