Chapter Seven
Veryl had barely stripped and climbed into bed when someone began pounding on his door. Multiple someones, and loudly. Grumbling, he shuffled back to the living room of his cabin and opened it to see Dez and Cato barely standing upright against each other.
“What the fuck? Are you two drunk?”
“As fucking skunks,” Dez said.
“We’re getting our damn money back,” Cato said. “I’m calling Wilder in the morning. Both our dates were a bust, and from the looks of things, you didn’t do so hot, either, seeing’s how you’re here alone. Sorry … I am sooo fuckin’ sorry, man.”
Cato pushed past him, big hand trailing drunkenly over Veryl’s bare stomach. Veryl’s skin came alive as his friend beelined to the well-stocked bar every cabin had. His cock instantly sprang to life and his gaze shot to Dez, who stood leaning in the open doorway, red gaze fixed right on the tent in Veryl’s shorts. The red dragon chuckled, his gaze raking up Veryl’s torso.
Veryl glared at him and Dez raised his hands in surrender. “Didn’t see a thing,” he whispered, following their teammate into the room.
“We aren’t fucking giving up,” Veryl said, snatching a bulky robe and shrugging into it in time to cover his erection before the cause of it turned back around from mixing a cold drink.
“You think she can find us new dates on short notice?” Cato asked. “I vote we just get our money back and live it up—spend the next two weeks flying around and meeting as many human chicks as we can find. We’re on vacation—we can take a break from our … break. There’s bound to be someone out there my fucking dragon likes enough to mate.”
Veryl scowled at his friend. “I don’t know, give Wilder a goddamn chance, at least. She has a perfect record; you said so yourself. I heard Hot Wings didn’t even officially hire her, but she hooked them up anyway.”
Cato propped his butt against one of the barstools and swirled his finger in his drink, then popped it in his mouth and sucked the liquid off. Veryl’s cock twitched under the thick terrycloth of his robe. He had the urge to take advantage of his friend’s drunken anger and convince him the three of them could make a go of it together. He knew that Dez would need little convincing, if he could just get Cato on board. The red always agreed with whatever their team leader suggested.
Yet the image of Simina’s beautiful face framed by her dark, pixyish curls was lodged in his mind. Cato’s speech the other day had driven home Veryl’s own aching need to start a family. After that day, the need had blazed in Veryl’s mind, and now he wanted it every bit as much as his partner did. Every bit as much as Simina did. And he’d be damned if he was going to disappoint her by not at least giving it a shot.
“Don’t tell me you fucking found your mate, dude,” Cato said. “No fucking fair.”
“I don’t know yet. I mean … there’s a chance …”
“The fuck there’s a chance. You either know or you don’t. There’s no halfway.”
“That’s bullshit and you know it. You said yourself it’s like alchemy. I think she’s the one, but we just need to figure out how we fit.”
Dez snorted. “Man, I know it’s been a few years, but I really hope you haven’t forgotten how things fucking fit.”
“That’s not what I meant. Emotionally, she’s kind of perfect. She wants kids, I want kids. We both know there’s more to life than our desires. There is more to life than fucking.” He leveled a pointed stare at Dez.
The red dragon laughed, shaking his head. “In case you’ve forgotten, you kind of have to do the fucking to get the kids. Not to mention some marking has to happen first, and both your animals have to be on board for that.”
“My dragon’s on board, but I’m not marking her until she and I have talked about it and agree we’re ready. We haven’t trained as hard as we have to just let our dragons choose for us. We have a say in the matter too. And if I want her to be the mother of my children, I need to be sure. I don’t give a fuck what you two do. Go fuck each other, for all I care. Now if you don’t mind, will you get the hell out of my cabin? I’m meeting her to fly first thing in the morning and I’d like to get some rest.”
“Chill out, you made your fucking point,” Dez said. “Come on, Cato, I guess we’d better explore some alternatives before you get too shitfaced to use that brilliant brain of yours.”
He grabbed an objecting Cato by the arm and pushed him toward the door, freshly filled tumbler of liquor sloshing as he went. Cato chugged his drink and clumsily set the empty glass on a table by the door. Once he had the momentum, he lurched out into the darkness, swaying slightly until his huge blue wings ripped right through the back of his shirt to steady him.
Veryl and Dez watched in mute fascination as their teammate proceeded to strip right on the path. Cato shifted and launched himself into the air, flying unsteadily up over the trees and bellowing his frustration into the night sky.
“Fucking hell,” Dez said. “And I thought I was the fuck-up who always overindulged. He wanted this so bad. Hell, I wanted it so bad I could taste it. I sure as fuck hope the female Wilder set you up with is really it for you. Seeing you pine for that jackass was wearing thin.”
Veryl shot a shocked look at his friend. “You knew? Did he …?”
Dez shook his head. “He’s in his own little world inside that brain of his. He wouldn’t know true love if it mauled him in the fucking nuts. For the record, I’m on your side. If this didn’t pan out, I was going to help you convince him that the three of us should at least give it a shot at mating each other. I have no clue if that’d even work, but we’re in sync enough to have the physical part down.”
“Males can mark each other,” Veryl said. “It happens.”
“I know, man. But we would pretty much end our chances at parenthood, if we did. So in that sense, I’m on his side. Which is why I really fucking hope this chick works for you. I want a kid so bad I can taste it, you know? A little Dez buzzing around, living life like there’s no tomorrow. But hell, I’d live vicariously through you, if I had to. Keep me posted, all right?”
“Sure,” Veryl said, a little stunned by Dez’s speech.
Above the cabin, Cato screeched at the moon and arced over them in an unsteady half-circle. Dez cursed and headed for the door. “I’d better fucking get him down and into bed before he completely terrorizes the countryside.” He paused once more before leaving and looked over his shoulder. “I love you, Ver. We both do. Don’t ever forget that, all right? Whatever happens with this, you’ll always have us.”
Veryl just nodded after him, dazed as he watched the other person he loved most in his life tear out of his clothes and dive off the porch, shifting fully in mid-air and soaring up into the heavens.