After all the days, weeks, and months of recovery and restraint, she was finally going to have sex with her dragonman.
And even if their conversation about children hadn't been clear, he at least knew how she felt. Because it was true—Zain was her future. Without him forcing his way into her life, she didn't know what would've become of her.
Because while it sounded corny, sometimes it did take love to truly help a person change for the better.
Zain finally reached their front door and stopped to put his ear to it. She whispered, "What are you doing?"
A few beats passed before he sighed in relief. "No one's in there. I just wanted to make sure Freddie and Daisy aren't inside waiting with another surprise party."
She smiled. "Don't worry, I asked Dawn and Sasha to keep them busy this afternoon."
"Just this afternoon?" he growled.
Ivy resisted laughing at Zain's tone. "Well, for the foreseeable future, at any rate. Although I did promise we'd host a game night for them in the near future, so you'd better be up for it."
"Fine, fine, as long as they stay away for at least a week, I'd be willing to carry them up into the air in my dragon form."
As he opened the door, she snorted. "I wouldn't tempt fate. I'm sure Daisy is already planning on how to accomplish that."
He shut the door with his foot. "I don't care about Daisy right now."
She caught his heated gaze before Zain ascended the stairs, her heart pumping with each step.
This was it. She was finally going to be claimed by her dragonman.
Ivy only hoped she lived up to the expectation. Anticipation could make things sweeter, but it could also lead to greater disappointment.
Zain abruptly dumped her on the bed and leaned back. As his gaze raked over her—his pupils flashing—he ordered, "Strip for me."
For a second, she hesitated. However, as Zain continued to stare at her as if she were a choice piece of meat he was ready to devour, her nerves eased. He wanted her as she was, and he'd never show disappointment at how she was still too thin, or how many freckles she had.
So Ivy slipped a strap of her dress off one shoulder, and then the other, holding the front against her chest to keep it from falling to her waist.
Zain growled and took a step forward. "Do I need to rip it off myself? I've waited a long time to see your gorgeous body, love. I don't want to wait anymore."
She shook her head with a smile, a small thrill going up her spine at how he thought her gorgeous. His words boosted her confidence, so she said, "Not yet. After all this time, another minute won't kill you."
"It might," he muttered, but stayed in place.
Ivy rested on her knees and inched the dress down, never taking her gaze from Zain's face. His pupils flashed faster with each inch of exposed skin, and when she finally let the top section drop, revealing her naked to the waist, he moved a hand to the front of his jeans and adjusted the hard bulge in his crotch.
Even though it had been years since the last time she'd seen a naked, aroused man, she imagined Zain's cock out in front of him, glistening at the tip for her.
Heat surged through her body, straight between her thighs, ending at the pounding ache there.
She'd teased him about being impatient, but Ivy was just as much so.
Wanting him naked and inside her, Ivy shimmied out of the rest of her dress until she sat naked on the bed. She'd wondered about her decision not to wear underwear leaving the surgery, but as Zain's gaze darted to her patch of reddish curls and growled, she decided she liked expediency. "Take off your clothes and claim me, Zain." She moved to lay on her back, resting her arms above her head, her legs spread wide. "I'm waiting."
He quickly tore off his clothes with a growl and was above her on his hands and knees in less than a minute.
Maybe if his hard dick wasn't brushing her belly right this second, she'd ask him to back up a bit so she could see his naked body properly.
However, the hot hardness pressing against her only made the pounding between her legs intensify. She could see him later. After all, they had the rest of their lives together.
So Ivy arched her hips, wanting, no needing, to have him inside her. "Why are you merely hovering above me still?"
His voice was husky as he answered, "I don't know if there'll be a frenzy or not, so I'm trying to remember you right now, laying on the bed naked, waiting for me just in case instinct takes over. Because I won't be able to stop and simply admire you until it's complete, love. I hope you know that."