Chapter Six
Rachel lay in bed between Michael and Sloan. Both men had their arms draped around her. She stared up at the ceiling in a near dreamlike state. Her body was still humming from the erotic session she had engaged in. It was hard to believe that both Sloan and Michael wanted to have sex with her again. Together. Could she keep up with them? They implied that they wanted to continue this strange relationship long-term. Rachel nearly let out a laugh. A few days ago she had wished for a boyfriend. Now she would have two. Incredible.
Her bladder began to protest, and she shifted in an attempt to detangle herself from Sloan and Michael. Both men tightened their arms around her, preventing her from getting up. Michael lifted his head to look sleepily at her. “What is it?”
“I have to go to the bathroom, but you two are like logs.”
He grinned and lifted his arm then threw Sloan’s off as well. “Sorry.”
Rachel smiled and scooted out of bed and pulled on the shirt Michael had been wearing earlier. She went through the door instead of using the bathroom in their master bedroom. She found one down the hall and then decided to raid the kitchen. She didn’t think the men would mind. Scanning the refrigerator, Rachel frowned. All she saw were beer and energy drinks. If Michael and Sloan expected her to keep coming back, they would have to start stacking up on a few things like ice cream, any kind of cake and maybe a bottle of wine.
“Okay, water it is.” She took out a bottle and retrieved a glass. Taking small sips, her eyes roamed around the room that she was seeing for the first time.
“Who are you?” A deep, raspy voice startled her. She swung around and gasped at the sight of a strange man standing in the shadows. The glass slipped from her fingers and shattered on the tile. He was just as big as Sloan and Michael. Was there another housemate that she didn’t know about?
“Um, w-who are you?” She stammered. The sinister vibe that the stranger was giving off made her take a few retreating steps backward.
“I’m Ronan. I see the boys have a new playmate. Perhaps I can use you to make them see reason.”
“Huh?” Rachel didn’t have time to run. Ronan reached her in a split second and grasped her arm.
“You’re coming with me, girl.” Ronan spun her around, wrapped powerful arms around her waist and lifted her off the floor. She opened her mouth to scream but he clamped a hand over it. “Quiet, little girl,” he snapped. Rachel thrashed and kicked against his shins to no avail.
***
Sloan’s eyes snapped open when he heard a glass fall. The sound came from the kitchen. He sat up and glanced around, remembering that he was in Michael’s bedroom. He glanced down. Michael’s eyes were open, and Rachel was absent.
“Did you hear that?”
Michael nodded. He sniffed the air. “Ronan is here.”
Sloan sprang from the bed in alarm. “Where’s Rachel?” he asked, already running through the door. They reached the kitchen to find Ronan making his way to the door with Rachel. Relief flashed in her eyes when she saw them.
“Put her down, Ronan,” Michael growled. His eyes flashed a peridot green.
Rachel’s eyes widened when she saw Michael’s eyes transform. Ronan threw her to the floor, knowing he was no match for the two ancient dragon shifters. “Both of you stay back or I’ll turn the girl to ash!” Ronan shouted.
Sloan and Michael stopped. “She’s an innocent human, Ronan. You don’t want to hurt her.”
Rachel stared up at Ronan with terror. What did he mean he would turn her to ash? And why did Michael refer to her as human, as if he, they weren’t?
Ronan laughed. “I can smell both of you on her. She belongs to you both. I can use her to gain your allegiance. What will it be, boys? Fight with me and the girl lives. Refuse and I fry her.”
Sloan’s jaw clenched. He could see Ronan preparing to shift. “Well, Michael?” he asked. Michael was better with words. Sloan would just attack Ronan and bite his head off, but he didn’t want to risk Rachel getting hurt.
“How about you and I step outside and talk, Ronan? Your problem is with us. Leave the girl out of it.”
Rachel whimpered when Ronan took a step closer to her. Her eyes bulged when his face began to contort, taking on a serpent-like shape. A shrilling scream escaped her lips. She felt a hard body drop over her and roll her away from Ronan right as a blast of heat grazed her right arm. She lay still for a moment, her mind racing and trying to process what she had just seen. None of it could be real. She was still sleeping, and this was all a dream. It had to be.
“Rachel, are you alright?” Sloan peered into her eyes.
She nodded and looked to the right, her eyes widening when she saw a huge scorch mark in the spot she had just been laying. She looked further to see two giant creatures rolling in battle, destroying the kitchen. Sloan grasped her shoulders and hauled her to her feet. “Let’s get you out of here.”
“Where’s Michael?” she asked, as he pulled her out of the room and up the stairs.
Sloan shot her a quick glance, not sure how to answer. “He’s um- he’ll be fine.” He pulled her into a dark room.
Rachel clutched his hand tightly. “We shouldn’t have left him down there with those things, whatever they are. I can’t see you.”
Sloan flicked on the light. He shifted uneasily. “Michael can take care of himself.” He paused. “We didn’t want you to find out yet, not this way.”
She pulled her hand from his. “What are you talking about? And why aren’t we calling the police right now?”
“Rachel, I-” The door opened cutting him off. Michael stood in the doorway, chest heaving and blood dripping from scratch wounds on his chest. There was a feral look in his eyes that made Rachel drawback, seeking Sloan’s protection. His gaze shifted to her, and he instantly softened.
“Rachel, I’m sorry,” he murmured.
“F-for what?” Rachel asked, eyeing his wounds. She was immensely relieved that he was still alive. She inched around Sloan and approached Michael cautiously. “I’m glad you’re okay. But you’ve been wounded.”
“I’m fine.” His eyes met Sloan’s inquiring gaze over Rachel’s head. “He’s dead,” he said gruffly, answering the silent question.
Rachel sucked in a breath. Did Michael kill the man who had tried to take her? “Okay, what the hell is going on? Clearly I’m not dreaming, or I would have woken up by now. Who’s Ronan? What were those things in the kitchen and why did your eyes change color?” Rachel was staring pointedly at Michael.
He swallowed. “Ronan is- was one of us, a dragon shifter.”
Rachel gawked at him in disbelief. He must have received a blow to the head. But she had seen the two creatures with her own eyes. Maybe he wasn’t suffering from a concussion after all. She let out a breath. “I need to sit down.” She took the few steps to the bed and dropped down. She glanced at Michael. “So you changed into one of those creatures, a-a dragon?”
He cleared his throat. “Yes.”
Her eyes swung to Sloan. “You’re one too?” He nodded, his gray eyes searching her face. “How long have you two been like that?” They shared a look and turned back to her. Her eyes narrowed. Was that amusement she saw on their faces?
“We were born dragon shifters,” Sloan volunteered.
“Oh. I know Michael is twenty-eight.” Was Sloan the same age?
Michael’s lips curved upward. “Actually, I’m a bit older than that.”
Her eyes widened. “You lied about your age?”
He shrugged. “I can’t go around telling people I’m two thousand years old.”
Sloan let out a laugh. “He’s too old for you, Rachel. You should stick with me. I’m only fifteen hundred.” Michael shot him a deadly look.
Rachel stared at them both, her mouth hanging open. There was no way they were being serious. “What did I get myself into?” she murmured. She took a deep breath. “Assuming that the both of you haven’t totally lost your minds and you’re telling the truth, does anyone else know what you are?”
Michael took a step forward. His eyes bore into her. “No, we keep what we are from humans. We move often to keep our secret.”
“So you’ll be leaving soon?” Rachel’s heart dropped. If she were smart, she would be happy to know they would leave. But she didn’t want them to go, to leave her. She had even accepted their offer to make their nights together long-term.
“We’ll have to leave eventually,” Sloan said, taking a seat beside her. “But we’re not going anywhere without you.”
“Which is why we will stick around for a while until we convince you that the three of us belong together, and you will hopefully be willing to go with us,” Michael added.
Rachel looked from Michael to Sloan. There was no hint of humor on either’s expression. “You’re staying for me?” It was probably one of the most romantic things any man could do for a woman. And here she had two men willing to stay for her. Sure, she had to digest the knowledge that they weren’t entirely human. She should be freaking out at the moment, but she was oddly calm, which surprised her.
Sloan smiled. “We won’t let you go. I was jealous of you and Michael in the beginning, but now I see that we can make things between the three of us work. We can be happy together.”
Rachel swallowed. God help her, she wanted this, wanted to be with them. It didn’t matter if they weren’t human. A rush of excitement went through her at the risk she was going to take. “Okay,” she whispered. “I don’t want to leave Denver just yet, though.”
Michael grinned. “Fine by us. Let’s go back to bed. I’m feeling wound up after my little fight.” His eyes twinkled with carnal desire.
“Wait, we’re just going to leave a dead dragon in the kitchen?”
Sloan stood up. “We’ll clean up a bit later.”
Both men held their hands out to her. She stared at the outstretched hands for a few seconds before accepting. She had to see where things would lead with them. Michael and Sloan’s fingers wrapped around each of her hands, sealing their bond.
*****
THE END