He tipped my head back, burning my lips, the pupils in his eyes mere slivers of black set in the purest molten silver. I knew then that what he said was true: we were meant to be mated; I was meant to be there at that moment, accepting him into my life and body, binding myself to him for all time.

‘‘Little bird, I must . . . we must do this in the manner of dragons,’’ he murmured, his normally beautiful voice hoarse with passion. ‘‘I must claim you this way.’’

We sank to the floor, Gabriel’s mouth and hands building the inferno that raged within me even higher as he turned me over, his body covering mine. One arm was braced next to me as I clutched the carpet, arching my back against his chest, his free hand spreading my legs.

I reached behind me to find him, guide him to where the fire burned the hottest, and he growled low and deep in his chest as he thrust into my body, a hard, burning invader that I welcomed with a cry of joy. The stretching sensation as he pushed his way in turned to one of pure pleasure as he moved. He claimed me with hard thrusts, his breath ragged as he wrapped an arm around me, pulling my hips back against him. I closed my eyes for a moment, so overcome with feelings I wanted to weep with joy, but a sudden burst of searing heat on my shoulder blade had me jerking backwards with a cry.

‘‘It is my brand, the mark of the silver dragons,’’ he said, as he licked away the sting, his hips pistoning against me. ‘‘Now you are mine.’’

An orgasm was building within me, deeper than I’d ever experienced, a tension that was familiar and yet different, seeming to draw energy from everywhere at once, focused at one brilliant point.

Gabriel thrust harder into me, reaching a depth I didn’t imagine possible, pushing me past the point of cognizance into a realm of blazing rapture.

He bit my neck, roaring wordless pleasure as he approached his own climax, the arms that were braced beside me suddenly shimmering for a moment as my eyes filled with tears of rapture.

He thrust into my body again, his back arching as he yelled out my name. I welcomed the fire that licked my flesh, reveling in it for a moment before reluctantly returning it to him. Beneath me, the carpet rubbed roughly against my sensitized breasts as Gabriel collapsed onto me, his weight a welcome feeling. I lay for a moment, stunned by the power and depth of the experience, protesting weakly when he pulled himself off me, rolling me over into his arms.

‘‘Mayling, did I frighten you? Are you hurt?’’