Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
MARI
The sun sets long before the dragons are finished talking and I doze between Tor and Brax, holding their hands, and feeling content for the first time in weeks.
I notice the silence stretching a little too long and I crack an eye, knowing that Del will be watching me. Again.
‘They touch the way dragon mates do,’ she mutters and then writes something in her notebook.
‘I told you I’m not an experiment, Del,’ I say with a roll of my eyes and smile when I feel Tor, Brax, and Drey’s eyes on me.
‘Of course not,’ she says absently, still writing.
I look at the little black and white picture she printed out for me that she’s adamant is the baby.
It looks like a tiny potato, but I haven’t said that because both Tor and Brax have been fawning over it all evening, taking turns holding it up and exclaiming at it.
They seem to have decided between them that it’s both of theirs and they’re treating the whole thing like it’s a miracle.
I guess it is.
To me it’s the culmination of my worst nightmares, though I’m trying very hard for it not to be because I am excited. I just want to bypass the labor and dying part.
‘Okay, I’m going to run some more tests from my room and then go to sleep,’ Del says pointedly, raising her eyebrows at me as she takes our hot chocolate mugs into the kitchen and disappears.
Tor and Drey barely acknowledge her leaving, deep in conversation with each other.
‘Shall we take you to your room, little rabbit?’ Brax whispers in my ear and my body flutters a little.
Does he mean what I think he does? Images of him and Tor flood my mind, making my body heat at the merest idea of them with me.
My short time with them at the dam has left me with a hunger that hasn’t been sated for weeks.
It’s been in the background while we were apart, but now that they’re here, the yearning for Tor and Brax deep inside me is like a force of nature.
And it’s not just them I crave.
I glance at Drey, taking in his broad shoulders and the hard lines of his torso and I swallow hard.
‘What’s this?’ Brax whispers, following my gaze.
I look up at him, trying to judge if this is okay, or not. He doesn’t give me much to go on, but I see a little of that usual playfulness in his eyes.
‘Fortune favors the brave,’ he purrs. ‘What do you want?’
‘Him,’ I say in a burst of courage.
Tor and Drey stop talking, both turning to stare at me, both looking surprised.
It’s Drey who stands first and stalks slowly across the room.
‘Do you understand what you’re asking, Red?’ he asks as he comes to stand in front of me, his smoldering eyes like embers in the fire.
I’m speaking to the dragon now. I know it. Next to me, Brax tenses and I get the sense from him that something about this is highly unusual.
I don’t reply and Drey leans over me. ‘If I have a taste of you, Mari, I don’t think I’ll be able to let you go.’
My eyes widen as he cages me in, his eyes flicking down my body and up again.
I glance at Brax and Drey snarls low. ‘Look at me, gorgeous, not him.’
‘B-but,’ I stutter. ‘Is this okay?’
‘It’s more than okay,’ Brax murmurs. ‘But you might want to make your decision before Drey here loses all the self-restraint he’s known for.’
I blink at Drey, who’s white knuckling the couch I notice now, and I swallow hard.
‘You’ll be careful…’ I touch my belly.
‘Always,’ he growls low, brushing his forehead against mine.
‘Do you want me to…run?’ I ask, remembering how Brax wanted that before.
Next to me, Brax groans. ‘Fuck, princess, I think he might have just nutted in his pants.’
Drey huffs a laugh, his eyes dancing. ‘Outside, little human. Get her some shoes.’
‘Yes, Commander,’ Brax says with a wide smile.
A pair of old tennis shoes that are only a little bit big on me are produced from somewhere. Brax puts them on my feet, tightening the laces.
‘Stay away from the lake,’ he says, eyes finding mine. ‘If you want to stop, just think it, and I’ll make sure Drey knows. Okay?’
I nod, my heart beginning to thump.
When he’s finished, he draws me to my feet and gives me a light kiss on the lips. Across the room, Drey growls low.
‘What’s going on?’
Brax rolls his eyes. ‘His dragon is impatient, that’s all.’
‘For what?’
‘To claim you as his, little rabbit.’
I let out a hard breath and pull away. A wide grin alights my face as I step back.
‘Good luck,’ I tell Drey with a wink, and then I run from the room, tearing open the front door with a loud giggle I can’t possibly suppress, feeling alive for the first time since the dam.
My body feels strong, and my stomach isn’t nauseous for the moment, so I make the most of it, sprinting into the trees.
I hear the door behind me, and I know he’s coming. Anticipation makes me fast, and I take the forest trail quickly, scanning for roots and rocks so I don’t trip.
I’m far from the house by the time I slow, panting hard and looking over my shoulder. He’s not behind me that I can see, so I stop, listening. A bird lets out a call from nearby and the leaves of the trees rustle, but there are no other sounds.
I frown, wondering if perhaps I should hide, but a dark shape suddenly blocks the sun’s light. I look up, but before I can do anything, the shadow is gone, and I’m ensnared by strong arms and a large, very naked male.
I gasp as I struggle and hear his low laugh.
‘Your stamina is impressive,’ Drey rumbles. ‘But you aren’t wily enough to elude me for long.’
He kisses my neck, lips searing my skin. I can feel every piece of him that’s touching me and can’t help my moan.
He turns me to face him, kissing my lips deeply, his tongue mingling with mine as I grip onto him. I feel as if I could float away without his body anchoring mine.
‘Mine,’ he growls, eyes glowing a little as he takes my nipple into his mouth and sucks hard, making me cry out.
I’m backed against a thick tree trunk, and he turns me, ripping down my pants and cupping me. A finger probes and I rise onto my toes with a gasp as he lets out a deep, contented sound.
‘Perfect mate,’ he growls, and then he’s easing his length into me. He takes me slowly, this claiming different from the one with Brax before. It’s like he’s trying to savor every second. His arms keep me in place, and I brace myself against the tree, wanting more.
‘Please,’ I beg.
‘Whose are you?’ he grunts as he fills me slowly
‘Yours,’ I whimper immediately.
‘Mine,’ he echoes, pulling out of me and then pushing in harder.
My fingers dig into the tree, the pleasure so intense that I’m afraid my legs are going to fail.
His rhythm quickens, driving himself into me, the sounds of our bodies meeting reverberating around us. My cries are loud, every thrust taking me higher. My knees tremble and give out, so he lifts me, moving me up and down on him as I hold onto the tree in front of me.
And then it feels different. He’s larger, the texture of him changes suddenly, filling me, stretching me.
I scream his name as sensation courses through me, my body shaking with pleasure in his arms, and he roars his own release not more than a few seconds after, making the nearby birds fly from their perches in the trees in panic.
He holds onto me, staying inside me for a few more seconds in silence as if he can’t believe what just happened, and I’m afraid on some level that he regrets it, but then he gives me a lingering kiss on my shoulder and lifts me off him carefully, turning me.
I wrap my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist, putting my face to his chest.
‘Are you all right? I didn’t hurt you… the baby… I didn’t mean to be so—’
‘I’m fine.’ I smile against his skin. ‘Everything is fine. That was…’ I sigh, ‘perfect.’
His concerned expression turns to relief, and he starts carrying me back to the house, kissing me every few steps.
‘You’re perfect,’ he says, holding me against his warm body so that I’m not cold in the chilly early spring air.
We get back to the cabin quickly and I frown as we go inside. ‘It seemed a lot further while I was running,’ I say. My eyes narrow on him. ‘And you cheated, just so you know. I don’t think changing forms should be allowed.’
He rumbles a laugh. ‘Noted for the future.’
The idea that there will be a future for all of us is a happy one, and I give him a final squeeze as he puts me down on the couch.
Tor and Brax are here as well, and they look up at me and Drey with amusement.
‘All claimed?’ Tor asks.
‘Sure sounded like it,’ Brax mutters.
My cheeks heat and he chuckles.
‘Come on,’ Drey says. ‘Let’s go to bed.’
The other two rise from their seats, and I’m led up the stairs to the main bedroom with a mezzanine that overlooks the living room. The bed is massive and the sheets smell fresh.
Tor turns down the thick blankets and gets in, beckoning me. As if by some unspoken decision, I’m in the middle with Tor and Brax on either side of me, while Drey lies down next to Brax.
I think for a moment that we’re all going to do something, and I try to stifle the yawn that takes me unawares, but Tor just strokes my hair from my face and gives me a gentle kiss.
‘Rest, Mari.’
My body wants more, but the need for sleep wins out, and I find my heavy eyes closing, hoping they’re all still there when I wake up.
The next few days pass quickly. My dragon mates stay with me and so does Del.
Like at the dam, it’s as if the world outside no longer exists and they all seem to take great pains to make me forget that it does.
They don’t speak about anything that’s going on in the faction.
When they do talk, it’s in hushed voices in other rooms so I can’t hear.
I understand what they’re doing, and that they’re trying to keep me relaxed, but it frustrates me.
I might be human and pregnant, but I’m not a shrinking violet.
My questions are met with calm reassurances, though, and placations that make my eye twitch.