Luca moved to stand a few feet in front of me, and he clasped his hands behind his back. “What do you still wish to know?”

“When does this procession thing take place?”

“Tomorrow at midday.”

I couldn’t help but wince. “And you really think those guys won’t try again to kidnap me?”

Luca pursed his lips and shook his head. “I’m not sure, and because of that you’ll remain in the castle until the procession.”

I lifted an eyebrow. “Wouldn’t that be an invitation for them to try again?”

He folded his arms over his chest. “All their efforts have been in the dark, out of sight of the public eyes. Confronted with the risk of being seen by the public, they fled. We may count on that to protect both of us from any further attempts, at least until after the procession.”

“So what’s this whole procession thing about? What happens during it?”

“You walk from the castle to the Cloister of Reflection where King Plas presents you with the symbol of your ascension. From there we return to the castle and have a grand feast.”

I folded my arms over my chest. “That sounds a little too easy.”

A smile touched his lips. “My predecessors wanted as little pomp and circumstance to avoid stress on their new queen.”

I recalled what he had told me earlier in front of the tapestry tree. “Because they all come from my world.”

Luca nodded. “Yes.”

I let out a sigh that seemed to blow out a lot of my energy. My aching body reminded me of the long day I’d had and my clothes still had a touch of salty scent to them. I looked around and my eyes fell on a large dresser to my left.

I stood and shook my shirt between two fingers. “Is there any way I can get out of these?” The heated gaze in Luca’s eyes told me I’d asked the wrong thing. My eyes flickered to the door and back to the dragon king. “Didn’t you say something about us being kept separate until the procession was over?”

With great effort Luca turned his face away from me, but the smoldering look in his eyes didn’t go away. “Yes.”

I wasn’t born yesterday. The look in his eyes told me he had one thing in mind. I slowly rose to my feet and grasped one of the bed posts in my hand.

Luca predicted my move, and the next moment he stood in front of me. His warm gaze seemed to scald me with a soothing, sensual heat. He grasped my upper arms in a gentle but firm grip, and drew me against him. The warmth of his muscled body spread through mine and sent shivers of delight down me.

I let out a deep, shuddering breath before I looked up into those blue-green, hungry eyes. “Luca?”

The reminder of his name seemed to tame some of the hardier lust in his gaze, and he blinked a few times. His shoulders drooped a little and his grip on me loosened slightly. “I’m. . .I’m sorry.”

I reached up and cupped his cheek in one hand as I smiled up at him. “Don’t be.” I stood on my tiptoes and pecked a teasing kiss on his lips. “I want this, too.”

The heat in those beautiful eyes returned. He swooped down and captured my lips in a long, passionate kiss. His hands slid down my body, exploring me with all the hunger of a starving man. I leaned into his touches and the kiss, enjoying both as the sensual warmth filled me with ecstasy and longing.

I hardly noticed as my pants fell to the floor and my shirt became unbuttoned. My swelling breasts strained against my bra as one of his hands brushed up to tease my nipple. I groaned in to our kiss, and his reply was a deep, feral growl. He broke from the kiss and nuzzled my neck as his hands wrapped around me, pulling me tighter against him. I gasped at the hard, hot bulge in his pants, and instinctively rubbed my hips against his.

He grunted and jerked against me. My breath came out in quick, sharp gasps as he fumbled with my bra. I couldn’t help but smile as I reached behind and undid the clasp, letting my bra fall loosely in front of me. Soon that joined my pants on the floor, along with my shirt. His clothes, too, were thrown aside and our hot flesh rubbed against each other.

I couldn’t help but notice that his fingers had lengthened into short claws, and his ears were now pointed. My own body reacted in a similar manner as my hips expanded and my breasts squeezed against the firm muscles of his chest. I wrapped my arms around him as his hands stroked my body, eliciting small mews of pleasure from me.

In one swift motion he lifted me into his arms and carried me over to the silken sheets of the bed. He lay me atop the covers and draped his hot body over mine. His warm manhood pressed against my hot, wet opening, teasing me with promises of sensual pleasure. I wrapped my legs around him and captured his lips in another passionate kiss as he slowly eased himself inside me. His thick manhood stretched my walls and stroked my pussy, sending a rush of hot desire through me.

He pinned me to the bed and rocked his hips against mine, moving in and out in a perfect rhythm that sent me into a hazy wave of pleasure. I clutched onto him and groaned as he slowly increased his speed, his throbbing member pushing deeper and deeper inside my wet body. Our soft pants filled the room as our hunger for one another grew to an intensity that both frightened and excited me.

The agonizing bliss built up higher and higher. My body trembled as little orgasms started between my legs and spread through my body. I closed my eyes and groaned. He quickened the tempo. I could feel it coming. Our sweat-soaked bodies rubbed together, creating delicious friction as I clung to my mate.

“Oh God,” I groaned as the orgasms grew stronger. He thrust harder and faster, penetrating me with a wild abandon. He was my world, my desire, my pleasure. “Oh God! Oh God, yes! Yes!”

Light flashed in front of my eyes as I came. My body trembled as wave after wave of orgasm rippled through my body. He continued to thrust inside of me, lengthening my wonderful pleasure until he spilled his seed inside me.

Luca collapsed beside me and drew me against his chest. Our harsh breathing was all that transpired between us for a few minutes before I let out a sigh. “Wow.”

“I concur.”

I cuddled against his warm chest and closed my eyes. “So what other perks does a dragon’s mate get?”

He chuckled and the sound reverberated through me. “You’ll see.”

But I wouldn’t see that night as the long day and fun night caught up to me. I breathed a deep sigh as I slipped into a blissful sleep.