J’andrul shuffled into his private cavern.  As he entered, only the torch on the far wall came alight.  He paused—someone had been in his cave, and he sensed that whoever it was had not yet departed.  He tried see through the darkness, but the lone torch did nothing to illuminate the great cavern.  He tensed as he heard something move near his sleeping couch.  He leaned back on his haunches, preparing to spring at the intruder.
	“Relax.”  The sensuous voice flowed from the darkness like the afterglow of ecstasy; a female voice, both calming and arousing at the same time.  A faint grin played across his muzzle as he recognized the owner.  “I was wondering when you would show up,” the voice continued, caressing his weary mind lovingly.
	“Should have known it was you,” J’andrul muttered, stretching and yawning as he walked to the edge of the huge hot spring—his favorite privilege of Consulship—and waded in, groaning as the heat burned relief into his aching muscles.
	“Who else,” the voice retorted, “would wait around for you this long?”  J’andrul grunted in agreement, allowing himself to float to the far end of the pool and back.  The voice giggled demurely.  “Overgrown hatchling.”  J’andrul felt the tip of her tail tickle lightly under his jaw.  He nipped it, and had the satisfaction of hearing the voice gasp, more from surprise than pain.  He climbed out of the pool in a fluid motion that defied his age, and strode regally toward his couch.
	“I’ll show you how much of an ‘overgrown hatchling’ I am,” he growled, smiling as the torches sprang to life as though on cue.  He looked down into the loving eyes of the dragoness, marveling for the millionth time at their beauty, and hers.
	“Really?  Will you?”  Her response was both a challenge and a plea.  His smile was reassuring as he joined her on the couch, and she pressed against him, reviving a warmth in them both that even the hot springs could not rival.  Her breath grew uneven, matching his accelerating heartbeat as she nuzzled under his jaw.  “It’s been too long,” she moaned.
	For the rest of the night, no words were necessary.