Following my dragons out into the forest surrounding the lake house after dinner had my stomach all knotted up with anticipation. What was it that they both needed to discuss with me in private, all the way out here? It wasn’t like I hadn’t seen their dragon forms before, so they couldn’t be going to show me that...

“Stop it, Vixen,” Cole said quietly, taking my hand in his to help me over a fallen log. “I can feel your mind working a million miles an hour. We’re not taking you out here to kill you.”

“Uh.” I wrinkled my nose at him. “The thought hadn’t actually crossed my mind, but now that you mention it...”

I was joking, of course. Despite the two of them being ruthless killers, I didn’t feel even the slightest bit afraid of them. Either of them. My dianoch made me feel safe, even as they incinerated people and tore heads off.

“We just wanted to spend some time with you, Regina,” Vali told me, turning his head to look back at me. He was leading the way, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t checking out his ass while he walked. Totally not my fault though; that man had a seriously firm ass.

“Can’t argue with you on that,” I smiled back at him. “But why all the way out here? Are we doing dragon stuff?”

Cole snorted a little laugh, just as we came into a wide clearing that looked rather freshly made. “Dragon stuff,” he repeated. “Yes. We are.”

“We wondered if perhaps you’d like to go for a ride?” Vali asked, turning to face me as he stopped in the center of the clearing and lifted the hem of his t-shirt, dragging it over his head to expose his cut body decorated with a red and gold dragon in an almost mirror position to Cole’s.

“Um.” I licked my lips, my eyes wide as his hands went to the waistband of his jeans, and Cole began stripping down as well. And then it hit me. “Oh, a ride. Like... on your dragon form. Flying. That’s what you mean.”

Wow, I was glad for the dark hiding my burning cheeks. Talk about my mind in the gutter.

“Yes, why? What did you think we meant?” Vali asked, and for once I let myself believe the language barrier kept him from realizing what I’d really thought.

Cole snickered though. He knew perfectly well, that bastard.

Whacking Cole in the chiselled stomach, I cleared my throat and turned back to Vali who was pulling his jeans off. “Absolutely, I’d love to go for a flight. Who’s taking me?”

Vali grunted, his brows drawn down in a frown as he replied, “Cole is.”

Cole gave me a rare grin, looking very satisfied as he held my eyes and stripped naked in front of me. “It was a bet. I won. You ready?”

“Uh-huh.” I nodded, biting my lip and trying so hard not to check him out. Ah, fuck it, who was I kidding? I was drinking him in like a fine wine.

Behind me there was a rush of air and rustling of leaves as Vali took his reptile form, quickly followed by Cole. Within seconds I stood in the middle of a clearing flanked by two enormous mythical creatures. One red and gold, pure fire. The other green and blue, my ice dragon.

“So cool,” I sighed, running a hand over each of their scaled snouts. “But I don’t suppose you could have told me how to get onto you before you changed?” I arched a brow at Cole, and he huffed a little dragon laugh. “Wow, is it just me, or is everything sounding dirty tonight? Okay, so... crouch down or something.”

Cole complied, folding his front legs so that his chest was against the ground, and I tentatively placed a foot on his bent shoulder, using it as a step to get up onto his back. While I scouted around for a handhold to pull myself up with, Vali huffed warm air into my hair, then used his snout under my ass to boost me up.

Cheeky dragon.

“Yeah, okay. That’s one way to do it,” I agreed, settling myself onto the space between Cole’s wings, my legs on either side of his neck. “I suppose I just, um…” I looked around, then finally decided on two large spikes on his neck as my hand holds. “Okay, I’m good. Giddyup!”

Cole’s head turned slightly to look back at me at this, and Vali’s scaly head shook back and forth with little sparks flickering from his nostrils.

“Nope?” I corrected. “Not giddyup? I’ll keep my mouth shut, shall I?”

The dragons didn’t wait for me to babble anymore, just spread their wings and beat them several times, carrying us up into the air.

“Holy shit,” I exclaimed, grabbing tighter to Cole’s neck-spike things and feeling my stomach plummet back to the ground below us. I loved heights, don’t get me wrong. But the reason I loved them was for the exhilarating feeling that I could fall at any second. Never had I felt it as much as I did on the back of my ice dragon as he carried us sharply up into the sky with only a few massive flaps of his wings. In moments, we were above the cloud cover, and all I could see for miles was stars.

Once we were obscured from the sight of anyone on land, Vali and Cole’s speed slowed to a lazy glide, and I was able to release the death grip I had on Cole’s scales.

“This is incredible,” I whispered in awe, sitting up a little more and marvelling at the cool air tugging and ruffling my hair. Words failed me, and instead I just... enjoyed the ride.

Some time later, after the three of us had glided for what felt like a thousand miles, the cold had officially soaked in, and I was shivering. The guys must have noticed, too, because they both banked in unison, turning us back the way we had come—I assumed, as I had no idea—and Vali sent huffs of warm breath across at me while they flew.

Soon we were touching back down in the clearing near the house, and I slid from Cole’s back in a boneless heap. Not from the cold, even though I was chilled right through, but from sheer amazement at the experience they’d just shared with me.

“No wonder you guys have been doing so much dragon stuff this week,” I gasped, sitting up and rubbing at my arms while they shifted once more.

“Ah yeah,” Cole agreed, tugging on his pants but not bothering to do them up before wrapping his huge arms around me. “Sorry, Vixen. We didn’t even think about how cold it must be up that high.”

“Who cares?” I scoffed, “That was amazing!” Excitement and wonder burned bright inside me, even as my teeth chattered from the cold.

“Give her here,” Vali said quietly, tapping his brother on the shoulder. “I can get her warm again.”

Cole’s arms tightened around me for a fraction of a second before he reluctantly released me to his brother’s embrace.

True to his fire dragon nature, Vali’s skin was scalding hot, almost too hot to touch, but after a moment I cuddled into his bare chest with a sigh.

“Thank you for this,” I murmured with my face pressed into his pecs. “You two are a force to be reckoned with. I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to see you getting along.”

Cole made a noise in his throat, and I pulled back from Vali’s warm embrace long enough to give him a look. “Quit the act, Cole. You love your brother as much as he loves you.”

He held my gaze with his steely gray one, the exact mirror image of Vali’s, and stepped closer to us. “Maybe,” he admitted, tilting my face toward him even as Vali’s arms tightened around me. “Or maybe I just love you, Vixen.”

My heart raced, and it felt like there was a hummingbird trapped inside me, but still I wasn’t letting him off the hook so easily.

“I love you too, Cutie,” I whispered back to him, my lips so close to his that they brushed when I spoke. “But you also love Vali. Admit it.”

The tension in Vali’s body was palpable as his arms clenched around me. His fingers were digging so hard into my waist that they’d leave marks, but still he said nothing. He simply waited, and I knew for sure he was bracing for rejection.

Cole made a gruff noise of frustration, turning his face to look at his brother, just inches away. “I don’t hate him anymore,” he growled, then kissed me quickly, fiercely, before stalking off into the trees and leaving us alone.

“Are you okay?” I raised my hand to Vali’s cheek and brought his face to mine. I may not have been able to read their emotions like they could mine, but I rated myself pretty well at reading people.

“Ah Regina. I am more than just okay. You have no idea how long I have wanted for my brother to not hate me. These things take time, but for now, I couldn’t be happier. Thank you.” His granite eyes were alight with relief and joy, and it made my heart clench painfully for him.

“Thank me? For what? You did that on your own.” Acting on pure instinct, I raised up on my toes and pressed my lips to his. My only excuse could be that I was riding high on the adrenaline of the flight through the clouds and my almost staggering happiness to see him and Cole mending bridges. But still...

“Shit, I’m sorry. You wanted to wait, and I said I was cool with that.” I pulled back, breaking our kiss.

Vali chuckled, slipping his hand into the hair at the back of my neck. “I said I wanted to wait until things were better between Cole and I. Things... are better.”

He dipped his head back to meet mine, claiming my lips in a kiss so hot it was practically on fire. Moaning, I parted my lips, allowing him to caress my tongue with his own as we released weeks of pent up desire into that one kiss.

It was no great shock when we finally pulled apart, breathless and lightheaded, to see the burned patch of grass under our feet.

“There was something else we meant to discuss with you, draga,” Vali said as he pulled his T-shirt back on, then took my hand in his to walk back to the house.

“Oh?” I prompted, curious.

“Yes, Cole and I have discussed the bonding.” He flicked a look at me from under his dark brows, sweeping a hand through his scruffy hair to move it from his face. “We wondered, if you were open to the idea, if you might bond us both at the same time.”

“Oh. Um, why?” I was a bit stunned and confused, but not against the idea.

“Well, we just thought our magic is essentially the same thing—we shift into dragons. From the work we have done this week, it seems that the way we access and control our fire or ice is identical also. So, if you were to bond us both, it’s really only one learning curve when you take on our abilities.” He paused, scratching at his eyebrow a bit awkwardly. “Did I explain that right? This is why I wanted Cole to talk about it.”

“Oh stop, don’t you give me that language barrier shit again.” I laughed at him. “Yes, I think you explained that well enough. And you’re probably right...” I chewed my lip as I mulled it over. “My only concern is dealing with all the feelings from you both at once. But Austin seems really sure we can get a lid on it before I bond anyone else so... yeah, in theory I’m down with this idea.”

“Excellent. So now you just need to work on blocking?” Vali smiled at me a little apprehensively, like he had just realized I’d said yes and this could actually happen soon. “If it helps, I truly don’t think you will have many feelings to manage from Cole. Before meeting you, I could have sworn he had the emotional depth of a cucumber.”

I snorted a laugh at this visual and hip-checked him playfully.

To everyone else, Cole might seem to have the emotional scope of a cucumber, but I knew better. My Cutie just had a great poker face, I was pretty sure.

Either way, he was my cucumber and I loved him.