As was the case when Xavier needed to shift in Torquay, Arabella remained on the beach and watched him in dragon form under the moonlight. He stayed close to the water so he could easily dive in and hide should any humans stroll along the beach. But at half-past three in the morning, there weren’t any onlookers nearby.
They had napped for a couple of hours after supper, and Arabella found now herself wide awake from her spot in the sand. All she could hear was the peaceful lap of the water against the sandbar and the occasional splash as Xavier dove into it.
It looked fun. She wondered when or if she would start to change, too.
She had been an idiot and brought it up over supper. Xavier closed off again at the idea. It didn’t seem so terrible an ability to have, not when one had a companion and a place to shift. The water was too brisk to consider a swim, although she doubted Xavier would have approved of late night swimming, anyway. So, she stayed on the sand and watched him until he returned to the beach, shaking water off his wings. He transformed back into his human form, his naked body in the moonlight reminding Arabella of a sculpture. Albeit a sculpture who was very much alive and looked at her with a promise in his eyes when she handed him a towel and his clothes. In her other hand was a flameless candle, one of the models produced in the Roseheath barony, but she didn’t care about that as Xavier dressed.
“I thought about ravishing you on the beach,” he said as they started the walk back to the airfield.
A shiver raced through her at the suggestion. “Why didn’t you?”
“It’s chilly by the seaside, for one,” he replied. “For another, I’m sure lovemaking in the sand and rocks really isn’t as exciting as it sounds… why are you looking at me like that?”
Arabella thought he sounded just as mad as he thought she looked. “I’d hardly call what we do ‘lovemaking.’ And please don’t ever use that term again.”
“I thought it would be more polite.”
“There’s nothing polite about it, and I wouldn’t want it to be.” She threaded her fingers through his as they walked along the beach to a dusty dirt road. “I like it when you’re rough around the edges.”
He stopped on the hard-packed road and set down his lantern. Without another word, he covered her mouth with his in a kiss that left her weak in the knees. “Are you sure I can’t convince you to go back to the beach?” he murmured against her lips.
Arabella was sorely tempted. “I don’t think we’re far enough away from civilization for that to be a good idea.”
“Yet here I am, shifting into a mythological creature.” His fingers traced the lines of her jaw. She leaned into him, wanting more but unable to give or take it.
“Yes, and you take less time shifting than it would for us to find our clothes again.”
“You’re not as reckless as I thought you might be,” Xavier remarked. He picked up his lantern and they set off again.
“And you’re the polar opposite. I never would have pinned you as someone who would like that kind of risk in public.”
“It’s less risky than traveling alone to Antarctica in the middle of winter.”
“I wouldn’t have been naked if something went wrong in Antarctica.”
He squeezed her hand. “Well, the sooner we get back to the dirigible, the sooner we can get naked again.” He nipped at her ear, drawing a squeak from her.
It was a faster walk back to the airfield than to the beach. Arabella’s body thrummed with anticipation. Whenever she stole a glance at Xavier, she saw the same hungry look on his face that he’d had the night before, a predator after his prey. Which he was, in a sense. She didn’t mind the idea at all.
The airfield’s electric lights glowed, blotting out the moon and stars. She felt like they were on display as they threaded through the rows of anchored dirigibles and ornithopters. Now and then, she caught the whiff of tobacco smoke. A few people milled about on the deck of a particularly large dirigible, the sounds of drunken laughter falling around them like the dew already in the air.
Not one of them had any idea that just a little while ago, only a little over a mile away, a dragon had flown around the beach and dunked himself in the water.
As soon as the exterior door was secured behind them and Arabella switched on a lamp, Xavier reached for her. Just like the night before, he was confident and deliberate, a man who knew what he wanted.
They hadn’t made it to her bedroom before he pulled at her clothes. He smelled of smoke and fire, a scent she was growing to love. It mingled with the sea and beneath it, the tantalizing fragrance of his skin. She didn’t think she could ever tire of it.
This time, she was the aggressor, urging him against the sofa until he sat down with a thump. Surprise crossed his face, but was quickly replaced with the same hungry look he’d had before. He pulled her with him and she landed on his chest with an undignified “Oof!” and her arm caught in the sleeve of her half-unbuttoned blouse.
Amber eyes met hers through his spectacles, dark with desire in the low light offered by the hurricane lamp.
There was something else in his gaze, something warm and affectionate. For half a moment, she forgot about her need to get both of them naked as soon as possible and enjoyed just being cared for. Like she mattered. She reached for his spectacles and gently pulled them off his face. “Can you still see me?” she asked as she set them aside on a nearby chair. She straightened a little, straddling his hips.
“Of course.” He ran a hand through her hair, now disheveled and mostly fallen out of its braid. “I’ll always be able to see you.” He pulled on her hair, not hard enough to hurt but just enough to urge her face closer to his.
His kiss was hot and insistent, his hands pushing her blouse off her shoulders. Arabella pulled away and worked the buttons of his shirt, hastily fastened after his shift, and then his trousers. The memory of the night before, combined with the near certainty of a repeat performance, had her coiled tight as a spring, ready to unfurl and pop out at any second.
He’d been so generous before. She wanted to return his affections.
With shaking fingers, she unbuttoned the placket on his trousers. She pushed the sides of his shirt apart, then kissed a slow trail down his chest, drawing a shudder from him. His hands fisted in her hair and he moaned, a sound that reverberated through her. She pushed his clothes further down his hips and raised her head to give him a knowing smile.
He trembled beneath her, his breath ragged as he impatiently shoved the rest of his clothes out of the way.
Save for his shirt, he was naked and just as beautiful as she remembered. A thrill coursed through her at what was still yet to happen. She lowered her head again, tongue trailing along his skin until she reached the part of him that begged for attention. Experimentally, she dragged her tongue along it before taking him in her mouth.
Xavier groaned again and grabbed her hair, his name on her lips.
She wrapped her hand around the base of his cock, moving in time to a rhythm he set as his hips undulated against her. It wasn’t long before he urged her up his body and tugged at her clothes. “I don’t want to finish like this,” he said, his voice a scratchy rasp. “Not like this.”
Arabella helped him, not wanting to tear her flight clothes. As if he could read her mind, his eye caught hers and he murmured, “I only ruin evening clothes. I like how you look in trousers too much to destroy them.”
“I thought you liked the dress?” She stood up long enough to shove her trousers down her legs and kick them away before straddling him again. His skin was hot beneath hers, a tease that nearly drove her mad.
“I do. I like you in everything.” He pulled her head down for a kiss, tongue demanding entrance that she was only too happy to give. “But I like it best when you look like yourself. Like the woman who crashed into my mountain.”
Arabella angled herself over him, stroking his cock between them before she lowered her body on to his, the feel of him inside her a welcome invasion and relief. Xavier’s head rolled back, and he gripped her hips as he thrust into her. Slowly at first, building up a momentum that Arabella could tell would push her over the edge faster than she expected.
Xavier looked like he was close, too, and his breaths were closer together. She leaned down and kissed him as her orgasm crashed into her, catching his lower lip between her teeth. That motion did him in and he tightened his hold on her, thrusting greedily into her until he was spent.
For a few seconds, neither of them moved. Arabella lay against him as their hearts beat in tandem. She pressed a kiss against the hollow of his throat, too boneless to move. She wasn’t sure how much time passed before Xavier shifted and moved her aside, then stood. Without another word, he scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the bedroom, setting her down in the unmade bed before climbing in next to her. She snuggled against him, sure that there was no better place in the world to be at that moment.