“Yeah. Wow,” he said, feeling his whole body closer to the edge than he’d ever been just from being inside her.
It was incredible, this joining of the two of them, the trust she was showing, and the pure, heated pleasure he could tell they were both feeling. She was still so wet, and her breasts were quivering as she wriggled against him, trying to find the right angle and balance.
He reached up and put her hands on his chest, leaning her over him, loving the view of her softly curved stomach and wide hips. And her blond hair draping over them.
The he took her hips in his hands and gently lifted her, pulling them slightly apart so he could gently thrust up and bring them back together again.
She gasped, throwing her head back, and pulled herself up on her own this time, eagerly thrusting down as he came up to meet her.
They pulled into an easy rhythm, and though it seemed at times almost too overwhelming for her, she seemed to be unable to stop, too caught up in pursuing her pleasure.
So he was careful for them both, keeping her weight supported in his hands, feeling her body tighten with each stroke together, watching her expression tense with the oncoming pressure.
Her soft hands gripped onto him, her thighs resting on the bed, her hips moving into his, making them feel like one person, one being. The room heated, filling with their combined scents, spicy and sunny and floral. This was a moment that would go in his book of forever memories, that he could think of in his darkest moments and still feel life was worthwhile.
Right now, there was nothing between them, no past, no pain, no worries about the future.
Just the feel of his mate’s body, the soft murmurs of her pleasure, the little gasps that grew to long moans, and the crackling tension inside him that threatened to break at any moment, throwing him into the cosmos.
She finally went, arching back and shoving down hard against him as if trying to take him as deep inside her as possible, and the movement set him off, jerking him into a hard, ragged release that made him feel as if the room were spinning, that gravity ceased to exist.
He called her name, over and over, unconscious of how many times he was doing it, as he reached up and caressed her all over, her breasts, her hips, her belly, and she endured wave after wave of pleasure in his arms.
When it was over, he fell back against the pillows and she fell over him, gasping in relief.
“That was… I don’t even know what that was,” she said.
“Love,” he said, stroking back her now damp hair. “That’s what it was.”
She frowned. “Making love?”
He could sense that despite what had just happened between them, she wasn’t ready, so he nodded. “Yes. Making love.”
But as she flopped down against him and he wrapped his arms around her, he knew he was dodging the truth, and he wasn’t sure if it was for her sake or his that he was waiting.
He loved her, and it wasn’t just because she was his mate and she was destined for him. He loved her, every part of her, her flaws and her strengths, her vulnerability and her hardness.
And he wanted to tell her and make her his mate, very badly.
Hold on, Magnus, he told himself, rubbing her back. Hold on just a little longer. She’ll be ours soon enough. We can wait.
Her fingers trailed along the back of his neck, stroking the hair there, and he just focused in on the peace of the moment.
He could wait.
10
“Looking a little stormy tonight,” Titus said, coming up on deck where Magnus was standing, looking over the rail at the dark clouds in the distance.
“Yes,” Magnus said. “Nothing this ship shouldn’t be able to handle.”
“You would know,” Titus said, looking relaxed, like he trusted Magnus completely. “You built it.”
“I did,” Magnus said. “And it’s the best I’ve ever done, if I do say so myself.”
“Because it’s the most important,” Titus replied.
“Yes. Because it’s the one that is going to take us to find our mates.”
“What do you think they’ll be like?” Titus asked with a sigh, leaning his huge bulk against the railing, making it creak slightly.
But Magnus knew it would hold against anything. “Our mates? Beautiful, I’m sure.”
Liam walked over to them, leaving the wheel for a bit. “Soft and generous,” he said, motioning with his hands to form an hourglass.
“Of course,” Titus said. “Much to hold. I’ll drink to that.” He gave them a grin and walked over to get grog from the hold, his long braid swinging behind him in the wind that was staring to pick up.
A nervous thrill went through Magnus, which made no sense. Nothing could go wrong; he’d seen to it. He put both hands on the rail and leaned on it, jumping a few times. Sturdy. He looked up at the bow and then all the way back.
She looked as perfect as the day he’d finished her.
So even those dark clouds in the distance couldn’t possibly take them down.
Magnus had been accused of being overly cocky in the past, but that couldn’t possibly be true this time.
The ship hit a particularly large, choppy wave, and Liam took an awkward step to steady himself as it rose and then dipped, hard.
Liam gave Magnus a wary look. “Everything okay?”
Magnus didn’t know anymore. If everything was supposed to be fine, why was there this odd feeling of wariness overwhelming him. “I think something’s wrong. I’m going below.”
He went below deck and looked at the hull, noting everything seemed fine. No leaks.
But he had a sixth sense about his projects. Something was definitely not right.
He ran up the wooden stairs and saw the storm was growing greater.
He’d never taken people seriously when they said he was overconfident, because he’d always been good at being in control, at calculating for all contingencies and relaxing after.
So why couldn’t he relax now?
Because that storm looked bigger, darker, and meaner than anything he’d seen before, and something about the way the ship was reacting was bothering him.
Titus walked over, drinks in hand, but was knocked sideways as the ship hit another huge wave, and the liquid in the mugs sloshed out and over the deck, which was now wet from the spray of icy-cold ocean water.
“Do we need to shift?” Liam asked.
Magnus looked at Titus and shook his head. “With this wind, we’d never make it.” Metal dragons were powerful, resourceful, and sturdy. They were also heavy, and flying long distances wasn’t their forte.
Their best bet was staying on this ship.
He remembered with rising panic how hopeful, how peaceful they’d been when they started on this journey. After a lifetime of work and adventures, they were off on the adventure of their life, finding loves and homes for all of them.
If this ship went down, he’d be fucking that up for all of them.