Heat sparked in his eyes. Warmth soaked into my flesh from where his hand rested on my shoulder and then wormed through my body. My stomach fluttered and my heart started to quicken, making it a little difficult to breathe.
I blinked up at him, confused, shaken by my body’s reaction to his proximity and the heat pulsing off him. His power flirted with my dragon, drawing her closer to the surface, making her purr in appreciation.
A moment later, a strange feeling trickled through the bond, a mix of rage and understanding. Nyfain and his dragon sensed our reaction and knew it was to another man—his possessive dragon wanted to squash the threat to his claim.
Alarm replaced the heat, and I stepped back, dislodging the hand on my shoulder.
In another situation, sure, I would have been happy to get to know Micah. He seemed steadfast and loyal, and he clearly had the potential to excite my dragon. But Nyfain had my heart, and so I had zero interest in anyone else. I didn’t understand the stomach fluttering or the heat worming through my veins. I didn’t get why my body was reacting so differently than my head and heart.
A troubling thought occurred to me. Weren’t my head and heart opposed to Nyfain at the beginning, too? I hadn’t even wanted to get to know the guy at first. I’d wanted nothing more than to get away! But my body and dragon had kept yanking me toward him.
I blew out a breath. Before I could gently turn Micah down, he murmured, “Think about it,” then continued on.
Hannon edged closer. “He’s strong and capable.”
I furrowed my brow, watching the large dragon’s confident strut as he disappeared into the heart of the village. People nodded at him with smiles or bent their heads in respect.
“And?”
“And should you see a fork in the road, romantically speaking, he’d be a good choice.”
Anger rose, hot and heavy. I squished it down before I did something I would regret. Hannon could certainly handle violence, but he really only engaged in it to protect his family or friends. It was a tool for him, not a crutch. He didn’t reach for it to cover tumultuous emotions like I did. Like the other dragons seemed to. He used words.
I made a disgruntled sound and kicked the dirt for a little release. Unfortunately, I only succeeded in hurting my toe.
“It’s just…” I gritted my teeth, hating to even admit to this. “Okay, here’s the thing. I’m not interested. I’m not! Only…my stomach flutters, and sometimes I get tingly, and just now there was some heat happening…” I popped out a hip, uncomfortable with the situation, with myself, and also with Micah. My mixed-up feelings scared me. “At first my dragon had a lot to say about the attention he was giving us. She was pissed, and steadfast, and gleeful when Nyfain’s dragon rose through the bond, pulsing out power and rage and dominance. But…not anymore, for some reason. She just fucking purred! I don’t want Micah, and she didn’t want Micah, but my body is betraying my mind. I just don’t get it. He’s not our true mate. He’s not Nyfain. I love Nyfain, unquestioningly. Unconditionally. He’s it for me. He’s all I want. So what the fuck is happening with my fucking body, you know?”
“You’ve been away from Nyfain longer than you were with him. Your love didn’t have a chance to really flower. And now you find yourself spending all of this time around another powerful alpha dragon. You were in dangerous situations with Micah, and he did his best to help and protect you. There’s a strong trust there. I’m sure your dragon realizes that he could take her on, and it probably confuses her that she wants to rise to the challenge. Dragons seem to really love challenges, yours more than most. And maybe you just want some companionship after this hard road…”
He’s very wise, my dragon thought. He’s also correct. Micah’s dragon keeps blasting me with this sort of…erotic challenge. I don’t want to meet that challenge because of our mate, but…I do want to meet that challenge. I want to rage-fuck. We need a big cock between our thighs or rammed down our throat. He’ll do for now.
Heat pounded through me. I swayed, grabbed by Hannon, and quickly shook him off. I did not need my brother touching me when this feeling was pumping straight to my core.
No, you disloyal cuntcicle, I thought, clenching my teeth, he will not do for now. We were claimed. We consented to a mate. I will not betray our mate because you’re horny and want to answer some sort of weird sex challenge. Nyfain is more than just sex. He’s more than a challenge.
But Micah doesn’t need to be more than sex, she thought. Soak up some of that big-dick energy right now, and when we go back, our mate can kill him for infringing on his claim. His rage will be so incredibly intense. Just think about all that rage when he dominates us and re-stakes his claim?
She shivered. So did I; I couldn’t help it. That did sound like a wild time.
Don’t worry, she went on, after he has re-staked his claim, he’ll forget all about it. Other than staying close to make sure no one touches us again. But that’ll be hot, too.
A fierce tingle crawled across my flesh and soaked into my core. That also sounded like a good time, yes. Something about Nyfain being protective and possessive lit a weird fire in me. He would stop any unwelcome advances like the one Micah had just given me. He’d cut out any threats from delusional fuckwits like Jedrek (I still hadn’t allowed myself more time to feel guilty about how that had played out). He’d be my incredibly hot, bad-tempered bodyguard, shoving away advances I had never wanted anyway.
He will do that regardless, I told her. He did that before he claimed me. He’s always acted like I was his. Because even though it took me a while to realize it, I always was. And will continue to be. Not to mention the fact that we are not going to set Micah up to die. What is wrong with you?
When two alphas fight over a claim, one usually dies. It’s logic.
I wanted to strangle her. Then I wanted to strangle all memory of my body’s stupid reactions to Micah. Then I wanted to stay far, far away from him so that it didn’t happen again.
Fucking Micah is out of the question. It is not going to happen. Do I make myself clear?
We’ll see…
I balled up my fists in anger and let out a shout of frustration. “I wish you were standing beside me so I could punch you in the stupid face!”
I started forward.
“Done arguing with your dragon?” Hannon asked, keeping pace.
“Only for now, since she is probably going to try to throw herself at Micah, the fuckface.”
We met the others inside the tavern, Hadriel and Leala giving us beaming smiles.
“Ready to train?” Tamara asked me, and Lucille stood from her chair.
“Ah, man, does that mean I have to keep watch over the demons?” Hadriel hooked a thumb toward the stairs. “The dragons are very rowdy now that they heard what was done to Micah and them. It’s going to be hard to get the demons some food.”
“I’ll help,” Leala said, shifting the whip coiled in her lap.
I grinned and shook my head, then checked on the demons. One of them always stayed in the room in case they were needed, but the others took turns taking walks and getting air. We had an understanding—try to get away, and we would find them and kill them. Stick around and keep a low profile, and they could have their freedom. I hadn’t realized the dragons were getting anxious about their presence, although it made sense.