“Then we’ll just have to make that work,” he said, taking over and leading me into the bathroom.
Gray looked less worse for wear than I felt, so I gladly let him take over. He turned on the shower, and soon, steam filled the big tiled room as he redirected his attention to me. “Want to see a trick?” he asked, eyes glinting mischievously.
“I already know you can do actual magic, you know.”
He ignored me and made an O with his mouth, blowing pale white smoke that soon overtook the steam, filling the room in a cloud as opaque as cotton. In the white blankness, I had the sense of floating, and when I felt big hands touch my shoulders and slide down my arms, I was startled to realize I was completely naked, even though I hadn’t shed my clothes. They’d apparently just dissolved in all this smoke.
Gray’s warm body pressed close, his hands sliding down my back, and a moment later, he lifted me, cradling me in his arms. I could just make out his handsome face through the mist, and I hooked my hands around his neck, pulling him down for a kiss.
“You’re like a drug,” I said when I pulled away, a sense of relaxed euphoria overtaking me so completely it was a challenge not to just close my eyes and forget.
“It’s the smoke. White dragon smoke has a relaxing effect on the body.”
He stepped into the shower with me still held in his arms, jostling me slightly as he tested the water, then set me down partway under one of the two big showerheads. Within the steamy space, the white smoke was less dense and had begun to fade outside the doors too. After a moment, I could see him clearly again, standing beneath the second showerhead opposite me. Water sluiced over his sculpted body, trickling down all the natural crevices. He was completely hairless, I realized, except for the thick, dark hair on his head.
“Want me to wash your back?” he asked, picking up a bar of soap and working up a lather in his hands.
Mindlessly, I nodded and turned, my sigh turning into a groan of pleasure as his big hands began massaging my sore, stiff muscles. He tugged at the end of my braid and gently began to unravel it then started working shampoo into my hair.
His voice sounded low and relaxed when he spoke close to my ear. “You’re so filled with magic, it’s easy to forget you’re human. One good dose of Nirvana like we shared is enough for me to go for several days without rest or food if necessary. I guess it doesn’t work the same for you.”
“So you live on sex, is that it?”
He turned me to face him, urging me to tilt my head back to rinse. While my head was back and my eyes closed, he began to gently massage my breasts with both soapy hands.
“We still need food and sleep, but we can subsist for longer without it, as long as we have a willing partner. But we also can’t live without sex for too long without turning feral. When I walked into your gallery, I’d been without long enough that I would have needed to find someone soon. Your magic more than refilled my well.”
I tilted back farther, letting the water drench my face as I processed this information. I had questions but was enjoying the way he slowed his strokes at the tips of my breasts almost too much to ruin the mood by asking. Finally, I couldn’t stand it any longer. “How long had it been for you?” I asked, straightening up and opening my eyes again, a little anxious about what I’d learn. I knew nothing about him other than his love for art and his status as a dragon.
“A few days.”
I searched his face, sure I caught a hint of sadness, then remembered I could see his aura if I tried. When I shifted my vision, the silvery halo around him appeared, with a bluer tinge than I remembered the last time. “You had a lover? A girlfriend? Did you break up or something?” Then it occurred to me to ask. “Who did you call earlier anyway?”
His soapy hands roamed lower, sliding around my hips as he closed the distance between us. “Lovers, plural. Friends…brothers, in a sense. No girls though. And, yes, my phone call was to get into contact with them. I’m going to need their help if Vesh returns with his brothers. Hopefully, they’ll all come.”
Lovers, plural. My mouth parted with an unformed question as I struggled to find the words for what I wanted to ask: exactly how many lovers did he need?
He bent and kissed me before I could string the sentence together, obliterating any other thought as he pulled me tight against him. He hoisted me up into his arms and pressed me against the tile wall, leaving me no choice but to wrap arms and legs around him. I was more than ready when he speared me with his cock, gasping at the surprising pleasure of his huge shaft. I still marveled at how perfect he felt despite his size.
Inside my mind, his voice hummed. “You are more than enough for me, April. In fact, I think I may not be enough for you.”
Ridiculous. Though, if I were being honest with myself, I didn’t think I’d ever get tired of this feeling, and even after he made me come a moment later, an alien craving for more settled deep inside me. It was all I could do to push it aside in favor of getting to know this amazing man who’d walked into my life at just the right moment.
My fatigue had faded by the time we finished bathing, so I was at least not too clumsy to dry myself off. We fell into my bed naked, tossing towels across the pillows to avoid soaking them with our wet hair, and I lay on my side, staring at him in wonder as we relaxed in the pre-dawn light.
“Okay, I need to ask just so I’m sure I understood you correctly. Multiple lovers, who weren’t women. So you and a couple men? In a…triad? So you’re bisexual?”
He smiled indulgently. “I’m a dragon. We’re pansexual. And it was me and five others. But the important thing for you to know is that my team and I worked together at the same casino where Vesh is employed as enforcer. His boss was our former employer.”
“Your former employer, meaning…Chaos.” I still couldn’t wrap my brain around that detail. He nodded, and I opted to leave that topic for another day. “I thought you were an artist?” I asked instead.
“I am, but among the dragon race, I’m also a Guardian. I’m trained to protect. My entire team are trained as guardians in some fashion. We served as bodyguards to the singer Aella until last year. Have you heard of her?”
“Heard of her?” I squeaked, pushing myself up onto one elbow and staring at him in awe. “Did you not hear our playlist in the shop? She takes up half of it!”
He chuckled. “I heard. Nothing but Aella and Fate’s Fools for two hours. They’re a staple among the Bloodline, I think.”
“Is it true she has three lovers? Are they like you?” I was bubbling over with questions now, curious about the pop idol and dying to know whatever secrets Gray was willing to spill.
“Three demigods. They’re nothing like me—they’re way scarier. Hence why I’m out of a job now,” he said ruefully. He cupped the side of my face, and his gaze grew earnest. “But you’ve given me hope.”
My eyebrows shot up. “Why? Are you addicted to saving damsels in distress or something?”
“No, it has nothing to do with this predicament we’re in. It’s this draw we have to each other. You felt it instantly, don’t deny it.”
His gaze searched mine as if he was afraid I would deny it, but I wasn’t a liar. I shook my head. “You’re right. Being near you feels like a piece of a puzzle falling into place. But is it meant to be? It’s too soon for me to say for sure. I barely know you.”