Dragon Soul (Dragon Falls, #3)(29)

“Ow,” he said without opening his eyes. “What was that for?”

“I was checking to see if you were conscious. Great Caesar’s ghost, Rowan, that was a hell of an experience. Beyond hell of an experience… it was… would earth-shattering be too much, do you think?”

Both corners of his mouth curled up, but his eyes remained closed. “That description works for me. And I can’t take all of the credit. You did some of the work. A minuscule amount, granted, because my part was clearly the most important, but I don’t want to be mean with regards to your contribution.”

I wiggled around on him, doing a little Kegel to remind him that he was still inside of me. His eyes shot open. “Your part may have been the star of the show, but let’s have a word of praise for my girly muscles. Those babies really worked overtime on you.”

He grinned and kneaded my behind. “They did, indeed.”

I rolled off him and glanced at the clock with a sigh. “Dammit. I should go check on Mrs. P, when all I want to do is snuggle and watch you fall asleep because you’re a man, and pillow talk bores you.”

“How do you know?” he asked, cocking an eyebrow at me. “Perhaps I am the pillow-talkiest man who ever lived.”

He had me there. I realized in the post-coital glow that I really had done it this time—I’d thrown myself at a man whom I knew very little about.

“Sophea?” He propped himself up on an elbow, his expression concerned. “Did I say something wrong?”

“No.” I sighed, and sat up. “You merely pointed out that I’ve gone and done it again.”

“Done what again? Had sex? You weren’t a virgin, were you? I’m not an expert, but you seemed to know what you were doing—”

“No, not that.” I tried to explain, but couldn’t find the words. “It’s just… I’m sorry.”

“I have a horrible feeling that this is the part of the evening where you say the words, ‘It’s not you, it’s me,’ and I will end up returning to my room to sit by myself and wonder what the hell happened.”

I looked at him, really looked at him sitting there with his adorable mussed-up curls, and his chin that I just wanted to bite again, and that glorious naked chest, and I wondered what on earth I’d done. It wasn’t like me to meet a man and suddenly fall under his spell… except that’s just what had happened with Jian.

It wasn’t like me to want to touch a man I’d just met, and enjoy being with him, and think long, lengthy thoughts about his mouth, and what I’d like to do it, and what I’d like it to do to me.

Except with Jian. I’d wanted to kiss him the first day I met him, too.

I was an independent woman, one who didn’t need a man in her life to be happy. Just because I started to squirrel away thoughts with the intention of sharing them with Rowan didn’t mean I was smitten with him. Women didn’t become emotionally attached to men after just a day.

And yet, that’s exactly how long it had taken me to want to be with Jian forever.

Oh, dear heaven, I was doing it again—I was falling in love with a man who was going to sweep me off my feet (in this case, literally)—and then after a mad whirl of a courtship, he’d leave me alone and grieving and empty inside again.

“Ack!” I leaped from the bed, and gathering up my pants and shirt, made a dash for the bathroom.

A minute later there was a polite tap at the door. “I’m going to guess I’ve made a huge error by assuming you were as into this as I was, and will take myself away so you don’t have to hide in the bathroom to avoid looking at me.”

I opened the door, grabbed his head, and kissed him with everything I had in me.

“Or not,” he said when I released him. He looked as confused as I felt. “Would you like to tell me what’s going on?”

“If you die in the next day, I’m never going to forgive you,” I told him.

He looked like he was thinking about that for a few seconds, then gave me another of those sexy bows. “Very well. I accept your terms.”

I smiled. I just couldn’t help myself. “You do make me happy. I’m just… I don’t have the best luck with men who make me happy. They tend to get run down in the street.”

“I promise I’ll look both ways. Do you want me to help you find Mrs. P?”

“No, I’m pretty sure I know where she is.”

He nodded and turned to leave. I followed him to the door to the hallway. “Rowan?”

“Yes?” He glanced back at me.

Dammit, I wanted to kiss the quirky corner of his mouth again. And the rest of it, come to think of it. “Thank you for helping with Mr. Kim and his buddy. As seriously awesome as my dragon’s mate self is, I’m not sure I could have handled both of them.”

He smiled and started to turn away, then suddenly pulled me up against his chest, bent me backward, and kissed the breath from my lungs. His tongue did a sinuous dance that had my legs melting from underneath me. By the time he was done, I was just a giant puddle of desire. He propped me up against the door, and said, “I think you’re much more awesome than you give yourself credit for. Just don’t underestimate Kim and his ilk. They are more dangerous than you know.”

I watched him walk to the doorway that led to the stairs before sliding down the door to the floor, fanning myself for a minute. “Hoo, boy. I think you’re the one I ought to be worried about.”