I watched with amusement as he groped his way over to my chest, unbuttoning my shirt. “I wouldn’t be female if I didn’t attribute the fact that you’ve had to blind yourself before touching me to a sudden, overwhelming disgust at my appearance, but knowing you, I suspect it has something to do with some perverted sense of determination to provide me with foreplay. Or are you just suddenly indulging your tactile senses?”

“The sun will never rise on the day in which I do not look at you and am overwhelmed with my incredible luck in having such a breathtaking mate, Mayling.”

My toes curled at his words. “Thank you,” I said, attempting to accept the compliment with more grace than I normally possessed. “But if that’s the case, then why—”

“I am a visual person. If I see you sitting there, all naked and silky skinned, I will not be able to control myself. I have tried, and failed, but at least I know why I have failed. By limiting my ability to see, I will eliminate the worst part of the temptation. It will still be a struggle to exhibit control over my other senses—” His hand froze for a moment when I shifted so that my breast brushed his palm. His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down for a moment. He cleared his throat and moved his hand away from my breast to pull my now-unbuttoned shirt off. “—but I think it will help.”

“You are a strange man,” I told him, watching as he tossed my shirt onto the floor of the balcony. Before he could reach for me again, I divested myself of my pants, shoes, and underwear.

“I am a dragon, Mayling. As the shard has shown you, we feel things differently than humans. Now for your jeans.” His hand descended upon my bare belly. His fingers flexed for a moment.

“Already off,” I said, leaning forward to press a kiss crookedly on his mouth. “What do you have in the bowl? Is it something sticky? Honey?”

“Better than honey,” he said, clearing his throat again. I smiled to myself. Gabriel normally had an incredibly sexy voice, made up of tones that stroked my skin like velvet, but whenever he struggled to control himself, it deepened, becoming huskier, which in turned aroused me all that much more. “It’s gold.”

“Jewelry?” I asked, remembering how gold affects dragons. It seemed to act as both an aphrodisiac and a sort of dragonish catnip, driving them wild.

“No.” He smiled and reached for the bowl, pulling off the cloth covering it. Inside was a small fan brush and a pool of goldish powder. “Gold dust. I’m going to paint you with it and lick it off. I believe that will qualify as—oof!”