Flint
I awoke slowly as pure bliss and happiness radiated through me. I felt more complete than I ever had in my entire life. I was also on the most comfortable mattress I'd ever been on in my entire life.
I stretched against the pillow top, arching my back and reaching my limbs as far as they would go. It felt glorious, my body ached in all the right places. Being with Leo had by far been the best experience of my life, even if I did experience it through the feverish haze that had overtaken me yesterday.
Christ. I hoped the man didn't think I was insane. If he did, and last night was the only night I would have with him, then I suppose it had been worth it. Perhaps I could use this morning to salvage our date and convince him to give me another chance to act normally.
I heard him moving around somewhere in the apartment. Hopefully he’d made coffee or something. I laughed to myself. That would be a change: him making me coffee.
“What's so funny in here?”
I bolted up right, meeting the smiling eyes of the man who had made all my dreams a reality. In his hands he held two coffee mugs.
I grinned. “I was hoping you would have coffee.”
He shrugged one shoulder. “Figured you could use it. Although maybe I should have gone with iced coffee?’ He raised one eyebrow and looked at me in question.
My cheeks burned. “I feel totally normal. Temperature is a regular ninety-eight point six degrees.”
He handed me one coffee cup. “That's good to hear. Listen…” he rubbed the back of his neck and wouldn’t meet my eyes. “We need to talk.”
Oh, damn. Here it came. The letdown. I stood up, keeping the sheet wrapped around my lower half.
“It's not a big deal,” I said. “I can get going and get out of your hair.”
He blocked the doorway. “No, that's not what I mean. You're welcome to stay. In fact, I want you to stay. We just need to talk about a few things. Just trust me and keep an open mind. Okay? Also, you really might need this coffee after we talk. You may think I'm a little crazy.”
I laughed. Nervous about what he could possibly have to say.
“Crazy? Why would I think—”
A knock sounded throughout the apartment and the buzz of the intercom came through from the front door.
“Leonidas. It's us, open up.”
Leonidas? Was hat his full name?
“Oh, Christ. Here.” Leo handed me the other coffee cup. I took it, which meant the sheet I was holding around my waist fell to the floor. He did a double take and then grinned at me. His eyes flashed with a fire of arousal.
Then the voices interrupted us again.
“Leo, open the damn door.”
“Fuck,” he said. “Stay there.” He ran out of the room.
I should have stayed put, like he had told me to, but things were just a little too weird. Why would I think Leo was crazy? Who the hell was here this early in the morning?
I pulled on my underwear and jeans. I had no idea where my shirt ended up. So, I guess I was going shirtless. I stepped into the hallway that led to the living room.
Leo pushed buttons on the keypad by the door, deactivating the alarm system, I assumed. He stepped aside to allow whoever it was outside to come in. Man after gorgeous man entered the apartment. Though the space was huge, these men with their bulking frames, especially the one that had the biggest scowl, took up a lot of the space.
I wish I’d listened when Leo told me to stay put.
“What are you all doing here?” Leo asked.
Two of them had the decency to look a little sheepish. They stuck their hands in their front pockets and shuffled their feet.
The tall, bulky, cranky one had his arms crossed and a permanent scowl on his face.
“Is this your mate?” one of them asked. The man was tall and muscular, his eyes had a purple glow to them and he stared at me like I was a science experiment.
“Yes,” Leo said. “But, listen, I haven't gotten a chance to—"
The purple-eyed one interrupted him. “We felt a shift in the balance.”
What? What does that even mean?
“We have no idea,” the scowling one said. “Armant’s been talking about it all morning. I didn’t feel a damn thing.”
The one with the piercing blue eyes shrugged. “I didn't feel anything either. But you know how Armant is when things happen.”
My mind spun. What the hell was that even supposed to mean? Was I in some sort of fever induced coma, dreaming all of this? Maybe none of this was real.
“Leo? Should I just—"
“No. No,” he said, and he took a step toward me. “You stay here. We still need to talk. These guys—" He glared at the four of them “are going to be leaving soon.”
“Leonidas, did you know there’s been a string of kidnappings in your area?” the blue-eyed one said.
“What? How is that relevant right now? Can you just—”
Blue eyes shrugged. “Just thought you should know, like four men have gone missing from the Molpe Club around the block.”
“Who the fuck named a club after one of the Sirens? Was that on purpose?” the scowling one asked.
“Guys, please, can you please leave Flint and I—” Leo said.
“So, it's true, then. This is your mate,” Armant said. “What's it like? How did you know? Are you sure? Did he have his heat?’
Heat? What in the hell was this guy rambling about?
“Can I examine him?” Armant asked.
My eyes went wide, and I took a step behind Leo. I'm not sure what this dude was into, but I wasn't letting him anywhere near me. Leo kept a protective hold over me and growled at Armant. “You will not touch him.”
Armant held his hands up in surrender and took a step back. “Okay, but has his heat subsided? Because if it has, you know what that means.”
“I'd sure like to know what that means.” I said from behind Leo. “Is this about last night? How do they know about the heat?”
“Guys. Seriously,” Leo said. “I haven't told him anything. We sort of got lost in the moment yesterday.”
The cranky one scoffed. “Doing a little too much thinking with your dick.”
Well, he wasn't wrong, I thought to myself.
“Maybe this is a good thing,” the blue-eyed one said. “Maybe we can help.”
“I really think that perhaps this is a private conversation between Leonidas and his mate.” Armant said.
“Can someone please, once and for all, just tell me what the hell is going on? Because I'm starting to think that I've lost my damn mind. Look, Leo, I don't know what you're into and I had a great time last night--but maybe it would be a good idea if I went home.” I picked up my wallet and keys from the counter and started backing away from the five intimidating men standing in the living room. I took one step backward, then another. I reached behind me, feeling for the doorknob. “It's been great,” I said. “But I'm gonna—"
“No,” Leo said. “Please don't go. I promise, I can explain everything. Just give me a chance. I really need you to stay right now.” He stepped toward me, like a man approaching a wild animal.
“That's okay. You look real busy right now. I'm just going to go, and I'll see you around, okay?”
“We're dragons.” The one that had remained quiet throughout the whole time with the dark, almost black, eyes said. “Leo's a dragon. He can breathe fire. You’re his mate. You should probably stay because we think you're pregnant with his baby.”
Everyone in the room looked at this man like he was insane, which made me feel better since he obviously was insane, and I wasn't the only one who thought so.
Armant slapped the dark one in the shoulder. “What the hell, Merek? Don't you think we could have been a little more delicate with a subject like this?”
Merek gestured at me. “He was going to leave. I stopped him from leaving, all right? I didn’t see anyone else with any bright ideas.”
I dropped my hand from the door knob and stepped toward Leo. I knew there was something different about Leo. And not just because he was rich and hot. There was a magic to him. And then there was the heat that I had experienced the night before. It had been unlike anything I’d ever felt before, and now it was gone. Was it because the two of us had spent the night together? I didn't know. The things Merek said were crazy and impossible. But looking in Leo’s eyes had me wondering, and the curious side of me wanted answers.
“Leo,” I said. “Is what he’s saying true?”
“Yes,” Leo said. “And if you give me a chance, I can prove it. I can take you out to the country estate and show you my dragon. The five of us, we’re all dragons.”
I looked between each of them. Yeah, I could totally buy that. “All right,” I said. “Let's go.”
“I'm starting to worry about your mate’s sense of self preservation, Leo. The dude just volunteered to take a road trip to a place he's never been with four men he’s never met before and a guy who says they’re all dragons.”
“I'm not an idiot, cranky,” I said. To my surprise, the cranky one stepped back. Apparently, all he needs is someone to talk back to him. “Can you do anything right here, right now to prove that what you're saying is true?”
Without warning, the blue-eyed one shot a stream of ice out of his mouth at Leo. Leo met the ice with a round of flames.
“Oh fuck.” I stood, wide-eyed and still. It couldn’t be real. None of this could be real.
“You two fucking around with your damn ice and fire is going to give the kid a heart attack.” Cranky’s grumpy tone brought me out stupor.
“Holy shit. You guys are actually dragons. I’m dead, right? Like I had to have overheated and passed out and hit my head. That’s the only explanation.”
Leo stepped forward and took my hands into his. He placed my hand over his heart.
“You feel it, Flint. We’re meant for each other. We’re mates. Connected by Fate. That doesn't happen to just anyone. And it's because I'm a dragon that we have this connection. I know you feel it.”
My heart thundered in my chest and a warmth spread through my body. Like my own personal flame that made life worth living. Yes, I definitely felt it.
Armant stepped closer to us, interrupting our moment. “He'll also bear your mate mark. It should have appeared after the two of you had sex.” He reached for the waistband of my pants.
Thankfully, Leo shoved him away.
“What the fuck Armant?”
Armant held up his hands and surrender. “Your mark should show up on his hip bone.”
I wasn't sure what to make of that, but it was worth checking out. Sure enough, when I pulled back the waistband of my pants and looked at the flesh covering my hip bone an image of flame had appeared. It looked like I had gotten a tattoo, only I hadn’t, and it most certainly hadn't been there yesterday.
I lifted my gaze to find Leo staring at me a look of sheer happiness on his face.
“Hello, mate.”