I blink at him. “He stays, problem?” I challenge, raising my eyebrow.
Griffin tosses his hands in the air as well—I have that effect on people—and leaves the room, grumbling about dog piss and stupid women. I look to Lucy. “Is this your guard?”
Lucy watches the dog in disgust as he crosses his arms. “Yes, he is a fierce, loyal beast...usually. He burns souls and eats them.”
“Oh my gosh, how cute, you are adorable,” I tell Hades.
I hear laughing behind me as Lucy glares at me. “Let’s sort the rest of the roles and go through what needs to happen now. Regina, please don’t tickle the hellhound.”
Grinning, I carry on with my ministrations. “Shouldn’t have brought him then! Okay, so what’s first?”
Lucy takes one more pained look at his dog before diving into what the people and council now expect. By the end my head is spinning. So many rules, so many expectations…so much to do, and fighting and killing won’t be the solution this time. Words and power games will be.
And we are only just beginning.
“Tell me everything I need to know about dragons and what this means,” Dawn requests over breakfast the next day. After Lucy’s lessons, she had fallen into a deep sleep. They went on until the early morning and she woke up exhausted. I can see it, it’s getting to be too much for her.
“I will, but first you need a break. You went from hunting your ex to stopping the council without a pause. We can have a few hours off, my love,” I tell her, my hand gliding up and down her thigh. She is sitting beside me on the sofa, and I can’t stop myself from touching her, from being close. I am not ashamed to admit I tackled Griffin to get the seat next to her.
“A break?” she questions, tilting her head and blinking at me as she eats her sausage. Which is very distracting when she is in a room full of horny supernaturals. All eyes are locked on her. She either doesn’t notice or doesn’t care, but the slight smirk around her lips tells me she’s noticed and is doing it on purpose now.
She takes another bite and moans, her eyes fluttering closed. My cock jerks in my pants and I shift uncomfortably. Looking around, I can see the rest of her mates are in the same predicament. Nos laughs at her. “Little Monster, be nice or be prepared to run.”
She blinks open her eyes and they bleed to black. “Only if you promise to chase me.”
“Focus, Vasculo.” Griffin snorts.
“Fine.” She huffs. “What kind of break?”
I look at the other guys. I had asked them earlier when she was asleep. They agreed she needed to rest, although Nos had to smack Griffin on the back of his head when he tried to kill me for, and I quote, ‘stepping on his territory’ with her. He also told me we couldn’t fuck or he would chop off my ‘tiny dragon balls.’
“You’ll see. Put on trousers, Neriso, and meet me out back,” I instruct her, then lean down and lick the sauce from the corner of her mouth, making her shudder against me. I hop up before any of her other mates can kill me and stroll from the room. I glance back at the door to see my mate’s eyes on my arse.
I wink at her and Griffin rolls his eyes at me. Laughing, I head downstairs and prepare for our break. This is the first time I will be alone with my mate and not in the dreamscape. A part of me is nervous about what I want to show her, but it’s better to do this now instead of later. She didn’t flinch when she saw me shift in battle, but this is different. My dragon is aching to meet her, to wrap around her and protect her.
They need to meet.
If she will let us, I want her to meet my dragon and then take her flying. Let her soar above the sky with me and get her away for a bit. Get her to relax so she is ready to face what is coming, because if I am right, if the dragons are preparing for an attack...we have a war approaching.
She doesn’t keep me waiting long. She hops down from the second floor balcony and lands before me, grinning on the grass. Her legs are encased in leather pants, which look painted on, with a tank top tucked in, showing off her bare, pale shoulders and arms. I debate keeping her to myself, but then shake it away.
“So what are we doing, dragon?” she queries, seeming excited.
“We are going for a ride.” I smile and then, without warning, I change.
My wings sprout from my back as scales take over my expanding body, the ground and air around me swirls with power, and through it all I see her eyes locked on my transformation in wonder. Then, my dragon stands before her.
Her mouth drops open. “Aska...you’re beautiful,” she whispers.
Huffing, I lower my head and she steps closer, pressing her hand to my snout, unafraid, even as my purple magic seeps through my black, spiny leather skin. She stares into my eyes, looking so tiny against my curled body.
My dragon hesitates, not wanting to hurt her since she is so little. Want to climb on? We will go for a ride.
“You want me to ride you?” She beams, still stroking my snout like she cannot stop.
You can ride me anytime, Neriso.
She giggles and looks at my body. “You are huge, how do I even...ride you?”
Tilting my head to the side, I sink my body to the ground as low as it goes. There are some spikes behind my head, use them, don’t worry about gripping too hard, my skin is very thick. You couldn’t even shoot an arrow through my hide.
She nods with a wide grin, and without hesitating, grabs onto my spikes and throws herself up onto my neck. Huffing with a smirk, I rise up and she gasps.
“That felt so wrong, rumbling between my legs.”
So, of course, I do it again and she gasps. I feel her warm body against the skin of my neck and turn my head, blinking at her as I blow smoke right in her face, making her laugh.
“Come on then, big guy, let’s fly!” she shouts, almost squealing.
Taking her word that she is ready, I push from the ground and soar into the sky, flapping my wings. I allow her to get settled and hold on before I dive towards the ground, sweeping low before tucking in my wings and spiralling higher until we break through the clouds.
She whoops, squealing as we move faster. Once through the clouds, I open my wings and we glide. I turn my head and watch her arms spread on either side, reaching out to touch the clouds, her eyes closed. She looks so peaceful, so happy with her mouth curved in a relaxed smile and the wind blowing through her blonde hair.
She is beautiful.
Her eyes open and lock on me. So are you. Now, how fast can you go, big guy? Let’s take this dragon for a real ride.
Oh, she wants to go fast?
Hold on, Neriso, if you fall they will kill me.
She screams in delight as I stop my wings and tuck them close, letting us plunge through the clouds and spiral closer to earth. I streamline my body as much as I can, letting us go faster and faster, and then I start to spin. I hear her screaming, the wind taking the sound away, but I feel the excitement and thrill in her mind. I make sure to keep an eye on her, not wanting to hurt her or push her too far, but my mate wants more.
Everything.
She wants this.
Before we hit the ground, I spread my wings and take us higher, then I loop over the city and farther out, doing tricks and spins, flying fast and slow. It’s like being a youngling again. We did this to show off, to test how fast we could go. It was exciting, a thrill, and I get that feeling now, sharing this with my mate. It’s incredible, I’ve never felt more alive, more connected to another person.