Page 43 of The Teacup Dragon Sanctuary

‘Are you all right?’ Noah said, his voice wary.

‘Yes. Sorry. I’m just… I was sure…’ She closed her eyes, embarrassed by the admission. She’d wanted it to be real, that was all. And the thought that all she had done was run into a wall and knock herself out was… well, humiliating.

‘But if it was magic,’ he went on, ‘I wouldn’t have been able to see anything anyway. Would I?’

It was a peace offering of sorts, she supposed. He wasn’t telling her she imagined it or that she hadn’t seen anything. Just that he couldn’t, even if he wanted to.

An awkward silence hung between them. He moved quietly towards her and when she looked up, he was right in front of her, his skin lit up by the fire. He was wearing a loose shirt. It wasn’t even tucked in. It shouldn’t have been so distracting.

‘I wanted to talk to you as well,’ he murmured, that rumble of his voice doing strange things in her stomach. ‘About… about what happened when… about the kiss.’

The kiss had been spectacular. More than spectacular. Was he going to apologise for that as well? She started to shake her head but Noah reached out, his fingers brushing along the line of her jaw, stilling her. He swallowed hard, the movement in his throat capturing her full attention. When she looked up to meet his gaze again, his eyes had darkened to the blue of a stormy sky. She was suddenly keenly aware of the heat of his body, the width of his chest and shoulders, and the tenderness of his touch. He had a scent like cedar and cinnamon. Her body swayed towards him, beyond her control.

She ought to be flippant, dismissive. Play it cool and put things back on an even keel again. Oh, that kiss, think nothing of it. Or, What kiss could you possibly mean?

But right now she couldn’t find the words. Nor the inclination.

‘Noah,’ she whispered, his name a plea on her lips. Everything she had meant to talk to him about suddenly fled from her mind. All she could think of was him, his body, the look in his eyes. It was mesmerising.

‘I’m not sorry,’ he told her, and smiled as a laugh escaped her. Trust him to surprise her. ‘Not in the slightest. I regret nothing. You’re brilliant and beautiful, a wonder, and I… I know it wasn’t the time. We had work to do. It was all so rushed. But I’d like to revisit it, if you don’t mind… and maybe more?’

‘Are you asking my permission?’

‘Yes, Portia.’ A smile pulled at the corners of that luscious mouth. She knew what that mouth was capable of now and suddenly all she wanted was to explore what else they could get up to, that elusive more. He leaned towards her, his lips almost meeting hers, but not quite, not yet. ‘If I may?’

It felt like she was in a dream, like the magic of the caves wrapped itself around her again, that music reverberating through her. Her heart hammered so hard against the inside of her ribs she thought he must be able to hear it as clearly as she could. ‘You may,’ she whispered.

He kissed her and Portia found herself lost in him, her hands exploring his chest, pushing back the material of his shirt so she could touch the skin beneath. When they had kissed before, it had been rushed and passionate, something which swept her up and carried her away. But now, Noah took his time. It was a revelation, the way his mouth explored hers, the way those confident hands brushed against her body. For a man she had believed determined to say sorry for everything, he was unapologetically taking her at her word this time. He cupped her breasts through the fabric of her nightgown, his thumb brushing her nipples in a glorious friction that was all set to rob her of her sanity until he dipped his head and his mouth finished the job.

Somehow she ended up on the sofa and Noah sank to his knees before her, his hands pushing up the fabric and parting her thighs. She tangled her fingers in his hair and guided him to her, and then all she could do was cry out his name until everything shattered in waves of pleasure.

He looked up, with an expression that could only be described as boyishly smug. Portia laughed breathlessly and reached for him again, pulling him up to her.

It wasn’t enough. It would never be enough. It was like magic itself, like the music and the light, those endless waves of power, but this time there was only herself and Noah. She pushed his shirt away, and he helped her shed her nightgown. She lay back, watching him slip out of the rest of his clothes and then he cupped her face in his hands, kissing her again, their mouths moving together as their bodies entwined. She rocked against him, and he chuckled into the skin of her collarbone.

‘Do you have any idea what you do to me, Portia Starling? I had a million plans and none of them involved this…’

‘What about this?’ she asked, and shifted so that she could take him as deep inside her as possible. It was a moment of triumph, if she had to say it herself.

His breath turned short and desperate and he pushed himself up so he could look at her, letting her see the wonder that filled him. His arms trembled with the effort of holding on, of waiting for her to join him tumbling over the edge. She wrapped her legs around his hips, and guided his mouth to hers again, drinking down that perfect shared moment of release.

17

Portia and Noah dozed together in the afterglow, wrapped in each other’s bodies, in front of the fire.

‘You want to go and look, don’t you?’ he asked. To her surprise, there was affection in the tone. ‘In the caves.’

She couldn’t deny it. ‘I just… I don’t like things I don’t understand.’

‘Of course you don’t. You’re Professor Portia Starling. Why don’t we get dressed and go and have a look? Besides which, we can’t stay here. Someone will find us eventually.’

She could have kissed him. In fact, she intended to do a lot more once they got back. He understood her in a way few people did, she realised. And that was a blessing. She ran back to her room, pulling on her clothes and met him down by the back door. He wrapped his arm around her as they headed out into the night, holding a lantern high in the other hand.

The cave was dark and empty. It didn’t go back as far as Portia remembered, and here, now, with the moonlight streaming in through the trees, with all the patterns of shifting leaves moving on the ground, it didn’t look like the place of magic and wonder she remembered. She stopped in the entrance, staring, her heart dropping to her feet. Like August had told her, it wasn’t much bigger than her bathroom in the castle. There was no second cavern.

‘It doesn’t make any sense,’ she murmured. Moving to the back wall, she pressed her hands against it as if searching for some kind of hidden door or secret entrance. But there was nothing. Exactly as Noah had said.

She looked back at him over her shoulder, but he didn’t say I told you so. He was watching her with a curiously intent expression.