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‘‘Like an animal?’’ His voice was light, but there was an undertone that had me pushing back off his chest so I could peer at his face.

‘‘You’re not an animal, Gabriel.’’ One corner of his mouth went up. ‘‘Well, not in the traditional sense of the word. You’re a very enthusiastic lover, but you seem so human, it’s just hard to remember that this isn’t your real form.’’

‘‘I am still the same being no matter what form I wear,’’ he said slowly, his eyes filled with warmth. ‘‘And you are my mate, the woman who has completed my life. Dragons frequently shift in the throes of sexual ecstasy, but if my dragon form makes you uncomfortable, then I will endeavor to control it.’’

I bit my lip, hating to make such a big deal about it, but at the same time, pathetically grateful that he would stay in human form. ‘‘I’m sure it makes me the worst sort of bigot to say that I’m uncomfortable around something that doesn’t look human.’’

His dimples popped into life. ‘‘Do you know that you shadowed at your moment of climax?’’

I gazed at him in surprise. ‘‘No! I did? I didn’t feel it. Are you sure?’’

‘‘Sure that the woman I held in my arms suddenly became almost entirely transparent? Yes.’’

‘‘I’m sorry,’’ I said, feeling the need to apologize. ‘‘Did it unnerve you?’’

‘‘No. There is nothing about you that I could ever find disagreeable.’’

I held my tongue, not wanting to ruin the moment of intimacy, allowing him to pull me back down against his body, still hot, but now dampened by our experience.

Lazy fingers drew patterns along my back, slowly moving up to my shoulder. A sensitive spot of skin reminded me of the burning sensation. ‘‘What was that brand you burned into me?

He traced out a pattern on my shoulder blade. ‘‘It is the mark of the silver dragon. It signifies you are my mate.’’

I frowned. ‘‘I’m not sure I like being treated like a piece of cattle. Couldn’t you have asked me first if I wanted it?’’

‘‘All members of the sept wear the symbol, here, in the small of their back.’’ He touched a spot on my lower back. ‘‘Only wyverns and their mates wear them higher, on the shoulder.’’

‘‘Let me see yours.’’

He obliged by sitting up, turning to the side so I could see the emblem that had been burned into his skin. I touched it, following the pattern. It was in the shape of a hand bearing a crescent moon. ‘‘That’s actually quite beautiful. What does it symbolize?’’

‘‘Our relationship with the sept, and nature,’’ he said enigmatically, pulling me up as he got to his feet. ‘‘It is morning. I wish I could let you have the rest you deserve, but you must first accept me as your mate so that I can make the preparations to present you to the sept.’’

I glanced down to the floor, where a few minutes before I had been writhing in ecstasy. ‘‘Didn’t . . . er . . . our lovemaking qualify as me accepting you?’’

He shook his head, his eyes still almost glowing. ‘‘You must formally take me as your mate.’’

‘‘All right,’’ I said, extremely aware that I was standing naked next to a beautiful—also naked—man who could shift into dragon form at the merest whim. My mouth went a bit dry. ‘‘What words do I need to repeat?’’

‘‘Whatever is in your heart.’’

‘‘Are you sure?’’ I asked him after a few seconds of silence. ‘‘There is Magoth to consider—’’

‘‘He will be taken care of, I promise you that, Mayling.’’

My better judgment warned me against accepting what he offered, but my heart leaped at the thought of having my cake and eating it, too.

I would trust him, trust that he was the one person who could survive being in a relationship with me. ‘‘I am May Northcott, doppelganger, and your mate. Your life is bound to mine, and mine to yours. I accept you into my life, and will do my best to make you and the silver dragons happy.’’

He pulled me into an embrace, my breasts immediately turning into strumpets as they pressed themselves against the flesh of his lower chest. ‘‘I, Gabriel Tauhou, wyvern of the silver dragons, take you as