“No. I need you, Mayling.”

I smiled and brushed my lips against his. “I missed you, too. So much has happened since you had me summoned. This outfit for one, and that show Magoth insisted I put on. I want you to know that I had nothing to do—”

“You don’t understand,” he said, his voice, normally as smooth as silk sliding over satin, tinged with a roughness that seemed to thrum in deep, hidden parts of me. “I need you, May. Now.”

The look of pain on his face was growing, reminding me of a similar expression he’d worn a couple of months before. I couldn’t help but smile as I rubbed my hips against his. “Oh. That kind of need.”

He groaned again and allowed me to slide down his body. “You’re tormenting me.”

“Just a little. Not too much, because I’d be happy to participate in the activities I know you have in mind—”

That’s all the agreement it took. Without another word, he scooped me up and started toward the stairs leading to the upper floors.

I glanced over his shoulder to see the tall figure of a dark-haired, green-eyed man. “Hello, Drake. How’s Aisling doing?”

Drake made a smooth bow that was almost as good as the kind Gabriel made. “Good afternoon, May. Aisling is resting at the moment. I’ll tell her you were asking after her.”

“Thank you. I’m looking forward to talking with her again.” I glanced at the hard lines of Gabriel’s face. “Later.”

“Much later.” Drake’s voice followed us as Gabriel turned left at the top of the stairs and strode toward a room we had occupied earlier. I could swear there was laughter in Drake’s voice, but there was no sign of a smile before he disappeared from sight.

“Wait a moment,” I said when Gabriel kicked the bedroom door closed behind us. I was still in his arms as he moved over next to the bed. “I know you wyverns have some need to be physically with your mates when they’ve been taken from you, and you know that I’m happy to indulge your need for incredibly steamy, unbridled lovemaking. But since we also both know that such an event makes me lose what few wits I have, maybe we could have a quick conversation to catch up before things get out of hand?”

Gabriel looked at me as if I had suddenly turned into a frog in his arms, his silver eyes so beautiful, I wanted to dive into their mercurial depths.

“It’s just that we’ve been apart for so long. I have so much to tell you, so much I want to ask you. How have you been? Where have you been? How are Maata and Tipene, and all the other silver dragons? Things like that.” I put my hand on his cheek. He closed his eyes and leaned into the caress. “I appreciate more than I can say how much you want to physically join, but Gabriel, I want so much more than to just make love to you. I want to be with you. I want to know what you’re thinking, what you’ve done while I was gone, and I want to tell you about the things that happened to me. Couldn’t we have just a smidgen of conversation before things get too carried away?”