Chapter Fifteen
“For a woman so keen on studying the bond between shifters and their animals, she’s endearingly oblivious to her own,” Cato murmured close to Veryl’s ear.
The small hairs on the back of Veryl’s neck stood on end at the gust of Cato’s breath on his skin. He glanced at Simina, worried she’d heard, but she was engrossed in a debate with Dez over which of their desserts was more delicious.
“She feels something. You can see it in her eyes.”
Simina caught his intense stare and smiled around a bite of cake. Her beautiful silver eyes sparkled with delight, and for the first time since he’d met her, everything seemed perfect.
“For whom, though? Two nights ago, you didn’t sound convinced she was the one. Did that change?”
He shot a shocked look at his friend. “What are you suggesting? That it isn’t me she’s meant to mate?”
“Merely that if she were, she’d have marked you whether she was aware of it or not. She’s no champion. What we’re capable of is rare. If you were clear-headed enough right now, you’d see exactly what’s happening here too.”
“My head’s just fine, and my bond with my dragon is perfect,” Veryl said, stabbing his fork into a piece of glazed fruit tart and chomping on it. She hadn’t marked him because they’d agreed not to. That was all.
Or was it? He knew he could control his animal, but Cato was right—Simina was no champion.
“You’re blind with love. I get it. It’s one of the things I love about you—you’re so fucking open-hearted you never stop to examine those feelings. Look at her. Her dragon’s in charge now, brother.”
Veryl swallowed his food and watched Simina again. Warmth radiated off her, and she practically glowed with the inner silver light of her dragon’s spirit. Her attention was completely fixed on Dez now, who was holding a forkful of some new sweet for her to taste. She opened her mouth for it, and Veryl’s nostrils flared at the intimacy of that gesture, but it wasn’t jealousy that rushed through him. His cock stirred as the fork went into her mouth, and then he hardened fully when she closed her eyes and made a soft moan of ecstasy.
In his mind flashed the crazy fantasy he’d had of watching Dez slide his cock between those pretty lips while he and Cato shared the tight, hot confines of her pussy. She’d made the exact same sounds then too.
Shaking his head, he tore his attention away from them. She was simply enjoying dessert. This feeling of rightness to the evening must have been brought on by the acceptance of his closest friends for the mate he’d chosen.
“You’re reading way too much into it,” he said.
“If that’s true, why is Dez about to kiss your girl?”
His eyes shot back to Simina, who was laughing as Dez lifted a hand to clean an errant bit of frosting from her lip. Those few seconds came into sharp focus and Veryl’s entire body tensed as he waited for it, yearned for it, as much as he’d yearned to be the target of a look like Dez was giving Simina in that moment. The red dragon’s eyes flashed with hunger as his thumb paused just shy of the frosting. He held her chin in his big hand and their eyes locked for a single, heavy moment. It was as though the pair were magnets, inescapably drawn to each other, and nothing would stand in their way.
As their mouths met, Cato’s lips brushed Veryl’s ear again. “What are you going to do about that, then?”
Fire shot down Veryl’s spine and his dragon roared its response. What it wanted was exactly what Veryl ached for too. He twisted in his seat and caught Cato by the back of the neck in a strong grip. As he claimed his friend’s mouth in a hungry kiss, he saw a flash of triumph in Cato’s blue eyes.
The fucker had wanted this. The understanding of that small detail flashed briefly through his mind, but was drowned out by the overwhelming elation of finally having his endless longing validated.
Only seconds after he initiated the kiss, Cato took over, gripping the sides of Veryl’s head with both hands and slanting his mouth to deepen their link. His tongue plunged between Veryl’s lips, demanding and dominating. With a groan, Veryl relented, submitting to the pleasure of that long-desired connection.
“I have loved you for so long. Please tell me this is really happening,” he pleaded through their telepathic link. He clung to Cato, desperate for this almost chaotic turn of events to mean what he hoped it did, what his heart wanted it to mean.
“Alchemy, brother. All the ingredients have come together. There’s no turning back for any of us, not even her.”
Body thrumming with need, Veryl reluctantly pulled away from their heated kiss to look over his shoulder at Simina. The kiss opposite them had evolved into a full-on makeout session, and Dez now held Simina cradled on his lap, her fingers threaded through his short hair while his hands roamed her body.
“How?” Veryl said, voice rough with lust. “How did you figure it out?”
“Dez,” Cato said simply.
Veryl watched as the red dragon in question released Simina’s lips and trailed his mouth over her jaw and down her throat. Dez’s gaze shot to Veryl’s, and his red eyes sparked with humor. Through their link, Veryl heard his friend say, “Took you scaring the living daylights out of us. We thought we’d lost you to her, so we took it out on each other for about twenty-four hours. I’m so fucking glad we were wrong, but the sound of Cato begging to be fucked is something I wouldn’t trade for anything.”
“You fucked him?” Veryl blurted, casting a shocked glance at both men in turn. Pain tightened in his chest and helpless hurt made his throat close up. “Why wasn’t I there?” was the only thing that went through his head.
“You were off with your future mate, remember?” Dez said, then gave Simina a look that made it clear Dez had changed his decision on his favorite dessert of the evening. “I’m pretty sure you’re ours, baby.”
Simina shook her head and the dazed look in her eyes cleared a tiny bit. “N-no. The three of you belong together. I’m not part of it. Veryl loves you, not me.”
Veryl’s heart thudded hard in his chest at the forlorn sound of her voice. How could she think that after the night they’d shared? With a start, he realized he had loved her from the second he’d laid eyes on her, as though loving her were a primal instinct the same way it had always been with Cato and Dez. He couldn’t not love her. She was the missing piece to their puzzle—the keystone that held it all together.
“I love you, Simina. We all love you. The four of us belong together.” He slid over into her vacated seat and cupped her cheek in one hand. “I know you felt it the second Dez and Cato got here. Until the four of us were together nothing made sense. It all makes sense now.”
She still looked doubtful, but her eyelids fluttered when Dez brushed his lips down her throat again. As he moved, he murmured, “If you didn’t want us, why are you on fire for me, baby? I want you so bad I can taste it, and it tastes better than any of this shit we’ve been eating. Fuck, I need to taste you.”
Simina’s brows drew tight in confusion. She was still fighting it for some reason. Was it still fear over betraying her old lover’s memory? How could she not see how badly her dragon wanted this? “I don’t think I can.”
“Just let your dragon take over, baby,” Dez said. “Give her what she wants. You’re already halfway there.”
Veryl saw the struggle in her silver eyes. The same resistance he’d met the day before, the first time he’d made love to her. He’d agreed to compromise for the rest of the day and that night, giving her the level of carnal abandon she seemed to need, in exchange for her allowing him to do things his way once they came down from the rush of rough sex. Her tastes had grown on him, he had to admit, even in such short a time. And yet with each round of gentle lovemaking, she’d melted a little for him too, letting him in until he hoped she’d open up to him fully, but she hadn’t quite made it that far.
He scooted his chair closer and rested a hand on her thigh. Her flared skirt had ridden up almost indecently since she’d moved to Dez’s lap, and her bare skin was hot to the touch. The temperature alone was evidence enough of her dragon’s need to be heard, but Simina was too frightened to let her have free rein.
“Starshine, I’m here. Nothing’s going to hurt you, not as long as I live. There’s nothing to fear.” He stroked her thigh gently and she relaxed a little, but the apprehension lingered. “What can I do?”
Simina was flushed and breathless. Her lips parted and she struggled to form words. She swallowed once and her eyelids lowered. Then she opened her eyes again and looked at him with brave determination.
“When you make love to me, I’m not afraid.” She shifted her thigh on Dez’s lap, opening her legs a little. “I want you to do it like you did the first time,” she added in a near whisper, as though she lacked enough breath to speak.
She dropped her hand to cover his, pulling it up her thigh until his fingers grazed the slick juices that had soaked through her panties and coated her skin.
The scent of her made him lose all reason, all purpose, outside of fulfilling her wish. He was hyperaware of his friends, but his every instinct told him this was right. Having her on Dez’s lap while she begged him to make love to her was the most natural thing in the world, and having Cato lean back in his chair to oversee the proceedings made perfect sense.
“Don’t keep her waiting,” Cato said.
“Please,” she said, shifting on Dez’s lap until she faced him. She lifted her shaking hands to Veryl’s face and brushed her fingertips lightly over his cheeks, then leaned in and kissed him. Her lips were cool and velvety soft, the kiss feather-light the way he had kissed her when initiating lovemaking the day before.
Behind her, Dez let out a soft curse. “Ver, if you don’t, I will.”
Veryl pulled back from Simina just enough to shoot a sharp look at his friend. “She needs to be made love to, not fucked.”
Dez brushed the back of a finger down the side of her neck, his gaze filled with both raw need and tenderness. “I’d sure as fuck give it my best. I’m a quick study, so why don’t you show us both how it’s done?”
Veryl looked deep into Simina’s eyes again, and her almost desperate yearning for exactly what he wanted to give her astounded him. “Starshine, are you sure? This isn’t exactly the ideal place …”
He glanced around at the secluded dockside dining spot and the table laden with empty dessert dishes. Then he remembered the first time had begun on their table in the mountaintop cabin. She wanted it like that again.
“Nevermind,” he said, then leaned in and kissed her with every bit of tenderness and passion he had in him. If she wanted to forget her fear, he’d make sure she knew how much love they had to give her.