He disappeared before I could answer. “I think you’re beating yourself up unnecessarily,” I called to him, relaxing against the sun-warmed chaise, closing my eyes to better enjoy the thought of Gabriel, naked, and allowing me to frolic all over his delectable body.

A small fire broke out next to me. I beat it out as Gabriel answered, “That is not the point. As your mate, I am honor bound to show you certain respect. That includes giving you foreplay.”

“Somehow I doubt that ‘Must provide reasonable amount of foreplay’ made it into the wyverns’ handbook.”

He leaned out of the door to grin at me. “You’d be surprised what makes it into the handbook.”

“Are you naked yet?” I asked, noting that what I could see of his chest was bare. I held out my arms. “Come foreplay me, you handsome dragon, you.”

“Not just yet.” He withdrew back into the room. I began to wonder just exactly what it was that he was doing—not to mention why it was more important than making love to me. “Well, so far as I’m concerned, foreplay is overrated. The way you do things is perfectly all right by me.”

“It’s not all right by me,” he answered, a loud thump punctuating the sentence, followed by a muffled oath. “Would you mind saying something lengthy?”

“Something lengthy?” I sat up and leaned over to peer into the door, astonished by the site of Gabriel blindly groping his way out of the bedroom. “Agathos daimon. What on earth are you doing?”

“Pleasuring you,” he said, waving a hand around in the air. “Say something. If I can follow your voice, I’ll find you.”

“Pleasuring me?”

“Well, I will be once I find you.” His hand waved around in the air as he took another couple of steps forward. “Speak, mate.”

“How about this: I highly approve of the fact that you are naked. No, more than highly approve, am sincerely grateful and completely enjoying the fact that you’re naked. But the bowl, the eyeshade, and the peacock feather have me more than a little concerned. You haven’t been hiding some deviant dragon-sex secrets from me, have you?”

He grinned again, grabbing the hand I had held out for him, edging forward until he found the small round glass table next to me. Carefully, he set down the covered bowl and the feather. “Not deviant, Mayling. Well, perhaps a little. Now I shall undress you, and then we will be able to proceed.”