Blue Dream (Kreuzberg Dragonshifters Book 1) #Wattys2016

Blue Dream Part 18

Paul slid beneath the covers with a sigh, eyes heavy with impending sleep, his body just as heavy with the same emotion. He stretched languidly, luxuriously, upon the bed, each muscle stretching and cracking as tension that had thrummed through them was relieved. He sighed again and snuggled beneath the covers with a smile, as Richard finally padded through from the bathroom, to slide beneath the covers with Paul. Paul turned his smile onto his lover, eyes still hooded with his sleepiness.

"What's funny?" Richard asked, as he settled close against Paul's body.

"Nothing, really," Paul said, truthfully. "I'm just happy."

Richard looked surprised at that, for some reason, and his grin, when it came, was relieved and gratified. He leant in and pressed a gentle kiss against Paul's mouth, which Paul returned without hesitation.

"Good. I'm glad you're happy," Richard murmured, when the kiss had ended. "I am, too."

Paul made a low, satisfied purring noise in his throat and slid his arms around Richard's body. He felt his lover settle closer still against him, large hand rubbing gently at his back in soothing, comforting motions. Paul sighed, mind wandering back over the past few weeks since first he'd met Richard. He remembered the first time that they'd slept together, of how fearful Richard had been of hurting Paul. Now Paul knew why Richard had been scared; with his greater, dragon strength, there had been a very real possibility that Paul could have been hurt if his lover had lost control. He counted himself lucky that Richard hadn't.

"What are you thinking about?" Richard asked, low voice quietly breaking into Paul's thoughts suddenly.

"I was just thinking of when we first slept together, of how you were so scared you'd hurt me," Paul admitted. "It was the dragon thing, wasn't it? That was why you were so scared."

It took a moment for Richard to nod, yet nod he eventually did.

"I didn't trust myself not to change or to hurt you when I came," Richard admitted, with a brief flush of embarrassment in the dimness of their bedroom. "I'm stronger than you, or at least I was stronger."

"No need to worry about things like that, now," Paul assured him. "I can take it. I think it's safe to say I'm just as strong as you, now."

"Yeah," Richard said, and there was enough hesitancy in his voice to let Paul know that there was something else on his mind.

"What?" Paul asked, when his lover didn't immediately speak.

"No. Nothing. You'll laugh," Richard said, and he sounded even more embarrassed to Paul's ears then.

"No, I won't. I promise," Paul said, with a confused huff of sudden laughter. "I'll pinky-promise, if you want."

"Bloody pinky-promise. What are you? Five?" Richard asked, with a sudden hoot of laughter.

"Sometimes," Paul replied, laughing himself. "Depends on who you ask."

Richard laughed again, and Paul was glad to see that some of his embarrassment had now fled beneath his merriment. Then Richard turned serious and he sighed, and scrubbed one hand across his face.

"I was worrying I might be too big for you," Richard admitted, from behind the shield of his hand.

"Too big? I would say don't flatter yourself, but that'd be cruel," Paul said, and he wasn't laughing. "It's another dragon thing, I suppose, isn't it?"

"Yeah. Well, dragons aren't the smallest creatures, are we?" Richard asked, as he peered at Paul over the curve of his own hand. "And I mean that in all regards."