I couldn't take my eyes off the magnificent woman that lay on the pillow next to me. If I didn't know better, I would have guessed that heaven must have been missing an angel because she was truly spectacular.

Cliché, but it was the truth.

Her beauty, her fiery personality, her clearly fated role as a leader. The Sun Goddess really knew how to pair mates because even if I tried to, I would not have been able to describe my perfect mate so well.

Last night was everything I wanted our first date to be and more. Being with her, in every sense, made me feel more alive than I had ever felt. Holding her in my arms, kissing her and burying myself in her was like nothing I had ever experienced in my life. It felt like two missing puzzle pieces coming together, like everything in the world aligned perfectly and I had reached my heaven.

I watched her sleep peacefully and I knew right there and then that I wanted nothing more than to wake up next to her every morning and fall asleep wrapping my arms around her every night. I wanted to give her the world if she would let me, but I knew that ultimately she held my life in her hands because living a life without her in it would be merely existing, not living.

Riley rolled over and my day was immediately brightened by the gorgeous smile that appeared on her face as she was sleeping. Was it us that she was dreaming about? I would never know. It didn't matter though- as long as she was happy, that was enough for me.

My fingertips were itching to caress her soft skin and my lips were burning with desire to pepper her body with kisses but I did not want to wake her up - it would have been selfish of me to do so.

For a second I wondered if Rafe had finally seen what I was seeing- the magnificence of the woman chosen to be our mate. I knew that the two of them had given in to their mate pull at the cottage- I could smell her intoxicating scent all over him. It would probably sound crazy to anyone else that had found their mate as shifters tended to be very territorial, but I was actually happy that they had crossed that line. My best friend and my mate- I could never be jealous, not when the Sun and Moon Goddess had decided that we were to be a triad. If anything, I was thrilled to know that the pull was stronger than them, as the possibility of either them wanting to break the bond put me at unease. Plus, I knew that Riley having both of us simply meant that we could worship her like the queen she truly was, while still having our respective relationships with her and still being a triad.

I dragged myself out of the warm bed, carefully pulling my arm away from Riley, and I made my way to the kitchen. I whipped up a batch of pancakes and got some fresh orange juice ready, setting everything on a tray for a breakfast in the bedroom.

I saw Riley stir in bed as I walked in. Goddess, she was beautiful even early in the morning.

"Good morning." She smiled and my whole body tingled at the sight.

"Good morning, beautiful." I smiled back.

"Mmmmm, I smell amazing food," she whispered as she rolled around in the bed naked before she covered her face with her arm, still trying to wake up fully.

"Hungry for more, are you?"

I laughed because it warmed my heart to see that my mate was not shy when it came to food. In fact, Riley was not shy about anything at all. She told things as they were, she didn't need anyone's validation, she feared no one and she bowed to nobody. The admiration I had for her was endless.

"What can I say- last night whetted my appetite." Her sultry voice made my cock twitch, while the mischief written on her face made me want to rip the sheet that she was holding as a cover and have her screaming my name all over again as she falls apart because of me.

Goddess, hearing her moan and pant before she reached her peak, my name rolling off her pretty pink lips was like exhilarating music to my ears and I could listen to it all day every day. But nothing compared to seeing her climax, knowing that it was me that gave her that pleasure. Fuck, I was ready to come just watching her orgasm.

I felt my hardened dick press against my boxer briefs. "Are we still talking about food?" I asked amused.

Her eyes landed on my bare chest and I could see her drink in my body as her gaze moved lower until it reached my tented boxers. Riley licked her lips, still fixated on my evident hard-on. "I don't know, are we?"

I felt Blaze stir inside me, excited at the prospect of having my mate again. I placed one hand on the bed then another, crawling slowly towards her like a predator about to pounce on his prey. She giggled, pulling the sheet up to playfully hide behind it.

"You can't hide from this dragon, Miss Moreau." I flashed her a cocky grin as I grabbed the sheet and dragged it lower, exposing more and more of the gorgeous naked body underneath me. "Never hide, mate," I placed a kiss just on the side of her belly button and immediately I felt her shiver beneath my lips. "Never hide from me." I kissed her stomach again, moving further up. "I am on this planet to worship you." Another kiss. "To support you. To satisfy you. To be your mate." With every pause I took, I kissed her again and again until I had reached the valley of her breasts.

I felt her body tense in anticipation as I passed my breath over each of her nipples. My hand glided across the side of her body. I gently ran my thumb pad over her nipple, my digit just about making contact with the now hardened peak, making her skin erupt in goosebumps.

"Aiden," she moaned, arching her back because of my teasing.

I grazed my teeth over her other nipple before I placed them around it, relishing how it peaked under my squeeze. I felt Riley's fingers on my back, exploring every inch of it until she ran her fingernails across it like she was marking her territory that way. My dick was throbbing, begging to be set free to claim our mate and her slick pussy. Yes, I could smell her wetness and the scent of her arousal was driving me crazy. The fact that she wanted me as badly as I wanted her even as the new day had come made me feel like I was floating on air. Corny but fuck it, I couldn't care less- I was a dragon shifter that could annihilate a whole army with my dragon's fire, yet with this woman, I was nothing but a simple man ready to make her every desire, every fantasy reality.

"Kiss me," she whispered and I could sense the need in her voice. It was the same need that I felt as well.

Our lips mashed, hungry to taste each other again. I groaned as I stole her breath and let it fill up my lungs. She wrapped her hands around my neck and pulled me closer while I deepened our kiss, drawing out moans from her that caused a pleasurable vibration. My dick was pressing against her core through my boxers and the fabric of the sheet, whimpers leaving her mouth when I rocked into her. Her hands darted to the waistband of my boxers before she pulled them down and dug her fingers into my arse cheeks. Goddess, this woman- my mate, my queen- was nothing short of amazing.

The ringing and buzzing from a mobile phone distracted us both just as I was about to bury myself inside her.

"Ignore it," she said as she quickly glanced at her vibrating phone on the nightstand. She cupped my face and pulled me down for another kiss. Sure enough, her phone stopped ringing. I kissed her jaw, then her neck. My cock was pressing against her wet pussy and I couldn't wait to feel her around me again.

Another loud ring interrupted the moans and pants in the room, this time coming from my phone.

"What the fuck is wrong with people? Don't they fucking know we are having a moment here?" I growled frustrated as I nuzzled her neck.

Riley chuckled, amused by my reaction. "I think this is the first time that I have seen you get angry," she smiled. "I have to admit that angry alpha Aiden is one hell of a turn-on." Her eyes were full of lust.

I smirked at the realisation that my mate didn't want just the gentle me. It didn't surprise me- Riley had a strong personality and was no frail damsel in distress. I wanted to cherish her and I was going to do it but that didn't necessarily mean that we had to be sweet and tender every time.

I grabbed her hands and pinned them above her head, forgetting all about my phone. "Is that so?" I lowered my voice, laced with carnal need. "You want to see the Alpha in me, do you mate?"

Her lips curled up in a devilish smile. "Depends. Can you handle my rebellious ways, Alpha? I can be a handful." Oh, Goddess, she knew exactly what she was doing with her little playful challenge and I was game.

"A handful, you say? Rebellious ways?" I pretended to ponder on what she had just said and contemplate what to do about it as I flipped her over on her stomach, leaving her completely naked. I ran my hand over her arse, scraping it slightly with my nails. "Maybe I need to spank your perky butt so that you can forget all about your rebellious ways?"

I caressed her arse again, chuckling as she pushed it up in a perfect position to be spanked. Riley was like a box of surprise chocolates- you never knew which flavour you were going to get but you knew that they were all phenomenal and you would love them all.

My phone started ringing again, while Riley's one buzzed with incoming messages. We both crashed on the bed grunting and huffing.

"Seriously, of all the mornings for the two of us to be this popular..." I said exasperated.

"I know, I know. But maybe it's something important." Riley gave me a small smile, although I could see all over her face that she was not happy either. She pushed herself on her elbows and leaned over to me. I felt her lips on my cheek and calmness spread through me instantaneously. "Next time," she whispered reassuringly

Apparently, that was all I needed to get back to my good mood- a promise that she will be naked underneath me, next to me or on top of me again.

"Fine, let's see what's so urgent." I reached for my phone and played the recorded voice message. "It's your brother."

"Yeah, he sent me a message. Well, messages! Apparently, he is not thrilled that I stayed over," she laughed. "But aside from that, it seems that he sorted for the three of us to go to the shifters' gala in the US, the one that Markolf should be at."

"Yes, that's what he said in his voice message too. He wants you, me and Rafe at your packhouse in an hour."

I looked at my stunning mate and I saw her yawn, realising that she barely got much sleep during the night. I was an idiot sometimes. "Damn it, I forgot to bring you a coffee. Let me get one for you."

"You are a star," I heard her say as I walked out of the bedroom.

I was busy with the coffee machine which was making noise as I prepared coffee for both of us, so I didn't hear him come in.

"Mate, why is your hallway covered in clothes?" Rafe asked as he came into the kitchen holding some of Riley's clothes.

He sniffed them, and I could see the wheels in his head spin as he detected the familiar scent of our mate but I could pinpoint the exact moment when it clicked in his head whose scent it actually was. To be honest, I had to say that I was a bit offended that he must have clearly considered that I had brought home another woman when we had found our mate.

His eyes searched the kitchen to look for her and I saw him breathe a sigh of relief that she wasn't there.

"What the fuck happ-"

Before he finished his sentence though, Riley literally ran into the kitchen. "Aiden, I forgot to tell you how I liked my coffee," she laughed but her beautiful smile froze when she saw Rafe in the middle of the room, her clothes in his hands.

We both turned to look at her- the vision of a goddess that she was right now, standing there in nothing but a shirt of mine that just about covered her butt. The shirt was unbuttoned enough to reveal a generous cleavage, and her exposed long, toned legs made you fantasize about having them wrapped around you just at the sight of them. Her hair was a beautiful mess that fell over her shoulder and added to her natural beauty look.

I felt my cock stiffen again but Rafe was no better- the bulge under his pants was clearly visible and I wasn't the only one who noticed it.

"Rafe," Riley spoke but her voice was softer than usual for these two. "I'm sorry about your father." I could feel our mate's concern- she was worried about him.

"Don't be - he was not a good man and you know it," Rafe answered with a stone face.

"Oh, I know, but it couldn't have been easy for you. He was still your father."

"Well, I had to do what needed to be done, so that's that." He was clearly not going to talk about it any further.

"Okay then. I guess I will see you at the Blackwood packhouse." She turned to me with a slightly awkward expression. "I'll leave you two to it and will be upstairs." She didn't have to leave but I didn't want to push it, so I just nodded.

Once she was gone, Rafe gave me an unimpressed look. "Seriously?"

"She is our mate, Rafe. We had a date last night and she stayed over, that's it."

"I'm sure that's all that happened. Bet your clothes just slipped on their own in the hallway."

"If I didn't know better, I would think that you are jealous, Rafe." He was- I knew him well enough to know what was going in his head. He wasn't jealous of me though.

"What? Stop being ridiculous, Aiden. There is nothing going on between me and her, so there is nothing to be jealous about."

"Sure, Alpha Macalister. Not like you want to spend time with her or anything." Ah, there it was- his eyes gave him away.

"I'm here to talk about important stuff, dude, so stop messing around," he growled. "You remember your friend from Talamaire that you told me about? It's time to give him a call."