Nineteen
Micah
"Did you have fun today?" Cam asked as he slid his arm over my waist, pulling me into him.
It was almost two in the morning, and we were finally in bed, though I was still too wired to sleep. And if I had too much energy, Cam most certainly did, so here we both lay, waiting for sleep to claim us, the large weight of Jodi pressing down on our legs.
When she'd followed us into the bedroom, Ember had offered to take her away, but we'd waved him off. If it was up to me, I'd take her back home with us. She was so cute with her huge size, the black spots scattered across her white fur, and the way her dark eyes watched us like we were the most important people in the world.
"I did."
Today had gone better than I'd been expecting, and I'd enjoyed every moment.
Ember had this way of quieting down my worries without doing much, and I was having trouble remembering why I'd been so hesitant about finding our mates. What had I been so afraid of?
In all the time we'd spent together so far, I'd never once felt like the odd man out. The three of us were good together, and I was... I was excited to see what came next.
"You really like him, don't you?" Cam had a smile on his face. Not the cheerful, ever-present smile but the genuine one I only ever saw when he was truly happy.
I nodded, and his grin widened. In my mind, I added, He's very kind. And gentle. I feel... comfortable around him.
He's also very hot , Cam added with a waggle of his brows, and I smacked his arm, though I couldn't deny he was right. I just want him to wrap me up in those big arms of his, preferably when we're naked. I wonder if he has chest hair. I bet he does .
Suddenly, images filled my mind through our link, and my cheeks flushed as I saw the scenes Cam's overactive imagination had cooked up.
My cock hardened, and I leaned up, turning around to straddle Cam as the sheets fell to my waist, revealing both our naked upper halves.
"Cam!" I hissed, shaking my head and trying to blink away the images.
One scene stuck in my mind even after Cam had stopped thinking of it: Cam on his back, with Ember kneeling between his legs, his cock in Cam's ass while I fucked Ember from behind, his large arm securely wrapped around Cam.
I shuddered, and Cam merely grinned up at me, his eyes dark and sparkling with desire.
We can't do this here. Ember can hear us .
Cam smirked. As if we don't already have practice doing it within hearing distance of multiple supes.
I scowled. That's different. Ember's our mate. I'm not... I'm not ready to do anything with him yet, but I also don't want to make him feel excluded .
Cam's smirk softened, and he reached up, running his palms up and down my sides.
You're right. Sorry I pushed .
Grabbing my waist, he twisted, making me fall onto the mattress. I let him manhandle me, and he turned me until I was facing away from him, then pulled me close, spooning me as he tucked his chin against my shoulder.
I love you, Cam , I said, not liking the weird silence between us. I didn't want Cam thinking he'd done something wrong. I liked the way he pushed my buttons, because he made sure I kept moving forward. Without him, I was sure I'd be a stick in the mud, content to stay right where I was. Cam kept me on my toes, and I loved him for it.
I love you too .
Cam's arm tightened around me, and I sighed softly, ignoring both our hard cocks as I sank deeper into his embrace. We'd have time for sex later, but for now, I just wanted to sleep curled up in the arms of the man I loved, one room away from the man I might start to love someday soon.
The next morning, Ember cooked us an amazing breakfast, a full spread that spanned the length of the counter. There was scrambled eggs, bacon, pancakes, three glasses of smoothies, and coffee brewing in the corner.
"Wow," I said as we reached the counter, dressed once more in the clothes we'd worn yesterday.
Ember glanced up and gave me a wide smile that sent a riot of butterflies fluttering in my stomach, his blue eyes warm as they slid from me to Cam.
"Hey, you're up. Come, come. Eat before it goes cold."
"You don't have to tell me twice," Cam said with a grin, pulling out two of the stools under the counter and taking one.
I settled on the other, taking an empty plate and dishing myself some bacon and eggs.
Ember placed a smoothie glass beside my plate, and one near Cam's before taking a sip from the third and giving himself a nod.
Jodi came into the room then, her wide mouth open in a yawn, and Ember reached out to pet her as he glanced at us.
"I hope she didn't hog the bed too much. She's a little spoiled."
"Not at all. She was great company," I assured him.
"Well, except for that one moment when she was trying to wake me up and stepped somewhere she really shouldn't have," Cam said in an exaggerated mournful voice, and I winced when I remembered. His mind had gone blank for a moment, and then filled with all the profanities he knew. If I hadn't known he was hurting, I'd have found the whole situation hilarious.
Ember winced, and not just in sympathy but commiseration. Clearly, Jodi had tortured him a few times too.
We finished breakfast in companionable silence after that, each of us lost in our own thoughts. I was tempted to peek into Ember's, to see what he thought of us, but I resisted the urge. I didn't want him to think I was untrustworthy. This wasn't just about Cam and me accepting Ember as our mate. It was also about Ember accepting us as his mates.
After breakfast, we didn't stay for long, mostly because we knew one of our dads would show up at our house at some point to ask how the date went—probably one of mine, because I didn't think Cam's dads were going anywhere with those eggs in their house—and we wanted to be there when they showed up.
Jodi whined when we stepped out of the house, and if it wasn't impossible for a dog to ride a dragon, I might've been tempted to kidnap her.
Ember drove us to the abandoned building we'd landed at last night, and then stayed until I'd climbed on Cam's back and we were in the sky.
I was surprised to realize I was already looking forward to seeing him again.
Ember
After Cam and Micah left, the house felt empty in a way it never had before. I'd lived here for more than twenty years, and I'd never found it lacking until now.
But now that I'd had Cam and Micah here, the house felt incomplete without them.
"This is strange, isn't it, Jodi?"
Even Jodi seemed a little sad that they'd left, her eyes sliding to the front door every few minutes as if she was hoping they'd be back. It was sweet how quickly she'd bonded with them, since she tended to take time to warm up to people. Clearly, she'd sensed their goodness the way only animals could.
As I washed the dishes—they'd offered to help, but I'd waved them off—I thought about Cam and Micah.
At first, I'd assumed they were opposites, completely different from each other in most ways. But after spending time with them, I was starting to realize they were not that different after all.
They were both kind, sweet, and optimistic. Micah might be hesitant at first, but there wasn't a negative bone in that man's body.
They were also both extremely attractive, and I hadn't really slept much last night knowing they were in the next room. I'd wished I could join them, even though I knew we needed to get to know each other better before that ever happened.
Once the dishes were taken care of, I found myself in the guest bedroom, my eyes roaming over the rumpled bedding as my imagination went on overdrive picturing Cam and Micah under the sheets, wrapped up in an embrace.
I dragged in a deep breath to calm myself, but that turned out to be the wrong thing to do because suddenly my lungs were full of their delicious scents. Cam's crisp dragon scent melded perfectly with Micah's softer, sweeter scent, and together they filled my senses, making me wish they were back here so I could kiss them.
My cock twitched in my trousers, and I bit back a groan, realizing this room was a danger zone.
Stepping outside, I closed the door behind me, then leaned back against it, exhaling loudly.
Jodi, who'd been trailing me like always, gazed up at me, her dark eyes curious and questioning.
I'd daydreamed about finding my mate quite a lot, mostly on the days when the loneliness got to me.
I'd imagined what it would feel like to hold my mate in my arms, to kiss them or make love to them.
Nothing I'd imagined came anywhere close to how Cam and Micah made me feel. I'd only met them a few days ago, and already they were all I could think about.
If I wasn't so eager to see where this road led, I might've been afraid of losing myself in all these feelings. I'd never felt like this before, which made sense since I'd never met my mates before.
My hand erupted in flames, and I sighed as I raised it to eye level, Jodi barking at it.
"Shh." I petted her with my flame-free hand as I waited for the flames to go out. Jodi hadn't seen much of my magic, mostly because fire freaked her out, and I was sad she had to see it now. I tried my best to keep it out of her sight, but since my symptoms weren't on a schedule, I couldn't always manage it.
Yeah, I was excited about building something with Cam and Micah, and whoever our other mate was. But I couldn't help wishing I'd met them a year or so later, once I was done with this cycle instead of in the worst part.
Cam and Micah didn't deserve to deal with all the troubles that came with it, but I knew that once our relationship grew stronger, they'd insist on it.
I wasn't strong or selfless enough to hit pause on our relationship until I was better equipped for it, and I had a feeling they wouldn't allow me to anyway.
If Fate had thought it prudent to introduce us now, I needed to put my faith in her and take every day as it came.
I exhaled roughly when the flame went out, glaring down at my hand as if it'd offended me.
I didn't know why the symptoms were the way they were, if they were preparing my body for the change or just being a nuisance.
When I'd hatched, I'd been alone, and I hadn't met another phoenix in all the years I'd lived.
All I knew about phoenixes was what I'd heard from humans or read in books written by them, and they'd gotten most of it wrong.
I'd put together all I knew from my own experiences, but right then, it felt like it wasn't enough.
Would Raiden know more? Hadn't Cam said he was more than 2,000 years old? Maybe he'd met a phoenix at some point. I'd ask him later.
Decision made, I went on my knees and pulled Jodi close, wrapping my arms around her neck and giving her a tight hug. She licked the side of my head, making me chuckle, and I relaxed, assured that she wasn't scared of me.
Glancing around the otherwise empty house, I decided to grab a shower before doing anything else, if only so I could do something about the situation in my trousers. Cam and Micah's scents were still clogging my mind, and I wasn't going to be able to think clearly until I did something about it.