Chapter 12
Otto
The firemen pull Kat out first, and it’s all I can do to keep from burning them to a crisp for touching her. The only thing that stops me is the heavy weight of Damian’s hand on my shoulder.
“They’re just helping,” he whispers, but his grip is tight enough to bruise. He’s feeling this just as much as I am.
Another man is touching my mate. I should have been just as livid when Damian touched her, but that was nothing like this. Seeing Damian with her was hot as hell. It felt right. But seeing these men grab Kat as they pull her out of the elevator has me ready to burn the world.
Feeling wild and unhinged, I grip Damian and slam him against the wall, lips locked on his in a kiss that channels all the pent-up tension I’m trying to keep in check.
The pain of learning Damian’s grief. The shock of discovering he has a son.
The deep craving that pleasuring my mate awakened. I put all of it into this kiss.
And he answers with just as much emotion. He tastes like Kat, and I moan into his mouth, lapping up the flavor of her on his tongue. His hard cock presses against mine through our clothes, and I swear I could come just like this, just from tasting her while I kiss him.
Someone clears their throat, jolting me out of my crazed state.
“Sorry,” I mutter, unsure if I’m apologizing to Damian or the firefighter leaning through the panel in the ceiling.
Does Damian even still want me after what I did, what I took from him?
He seemed pretty into sharing Kat, but that doesn’t mean he still wants me.
Sure, he kissed me after making her come, but it was quick and probably just the heat of the moment.
This kiss wasn’t quick, I practically shoved my tongue down his throat. I didn’t ask. I just took. Again. I need to learn some fucking self-control.
The man leaning through the panel smirks knowingly. “You’re not the first hot and bothered couple I’ve rescued from an elevator. There’s something about being stuck in confined spaces that does it for people, apparently.” He gives us both a once-over. “I can’t blame either of you.”
Dual growls shake through our chests. A sound that’s just inhuman enough for the man to recoil. Shit. I feel as possessive of Damian as I do of Kat. The thought of him being with anyone other than the two of us makes me grind my teeth.
“Give me a boost, D.” I step onto Damian’s intertwined hands and pull myself to the top of the elevator, where the fireman is waiting. He’s moved back, looking a little rattled. But when he sees me, he shakes off his confusion and smiles, probably deciding he imagined the whole thing.
I reach down and easily pull Damian up. Dragons are a lot stronger than humans.
After that, it’s not much of a scramble to get out of the open doors and into the hall where Kat huddles against the wall with a paramedic crouched in front of her, shining a light in her eyes.
She looks beautifully disheveled, and they’re probably worried something happened to her. If only they knew.
Her gaze meets mine first, then slides to Damian’s. Confusion clouds her expression as her eyebrows tug down. Oh shit! We should have had Damian go up with her. We were all so out of it after that beautiful display of hers that we didn’t even think about what her leaving him would mean.
Damian holds back as I make my way over to Kat and sink down next to her. It’s not until the paramedic leaves that she leans into me and whispers. “Is that man a firefighter? Why isn’t he in uniform?”
“No, beauty. He’s my friend, Damian. He was in the elevator with us.”
“No, he wasn’t. Not with… well… I would remember, and I never would have… but we did… didn’t we?” The fluster in her voice would be adorable if it wasn’t tinged with sadness, like her body remembers the grief her mind can’t comprehend.
I pull her into a hug as my gaze finds Damian’s. He looks ready to break. I can’t ask him to be the one to do this. “I’m gonna tell you a story, alright, beauty?”
Kat scowls at me. “This is hardly a good time for storytelling, rockstar.”
I smile at the nickname, liking it a lot better than when she calls me kid. “Why rockstar?” I ask.
“Cause you're a cocky bastard with no self control,” she answers, clearly trying to stay mad at me, but failing to keep the new fondness from her voice. “Plus the tattoos.”
I laugh and pull her into my lap.
While Damian lies to the firemen and the building superintendent about the electrical equipment in the elevator catching fire, I quietly tell Kat her story.
“N-no,” she whispers, shaking her head as she stares at Damian.
I tap her heart. “You know it’s true, beauty. I have no reason to lie to you.”
Her eyes fill with tears, but she doesn’t let them fall. She blinks them back, nodding slowly. I give her as much time as she needs, silently rubbing her back, while Damian finishes up with the firemen.
When he finally joins us, looking tentatively at our mate, she stands and surprises us both by flinging herself into Damian’s arms. He lets out an unexpected humph, looking at me for guidance.
I shrug. I definitely wasn’t expecting her to respond like that.
Slowly, his arms come up to wrap around her, and he rests his cheek on the top of her head.
They look perfect together. Perfect, and heartbreaking.
I let them hold each other for a few minutes before standing and placing a hand on her back. Most of the firefighters have already gone. There’s just one left talking to the building manager. I catch his eye, and he waves us off.
“Come on,” I say, rubbing Kat’s back. “Let’s go back upstairs. You should get some rest.”
“No.” Kat puts her hands on her hips. “I’m not going to bed and forgetting again. You’re taking me to these priests and priestesses or whoever the fuck can fix this right now.”
I’d given her a little rundown of our conversation in the elevator, so she knows we need to talk to a priest or priestess in order to get answers, but I didn’t expect her to want to do that tonight. I should have guessed, though. My mate is full of fire.
“Kat, love, this isn’t a question for just any dragon priest or priestess,” Damian says. “The only place we might find answers is the high temple, and getting there would mean flying for hours. You’re not ready for that.”
She jabs her finger into his chest. “I’ll tell you what I’m ready for. I’m ready to stop forgetting my fucking mate.” She glances at me. “Well, one of them.”
“What about Lincoln?” Damian says softly. “You can’t just rush off in the middle of the night. You have a son. A job. It could take days to get the answers you’re looking for. And they might not be the answers you want.”
“Fuck!” She curses and stomps off toward the stairs, calling behind her. “Stay with me. I’m not listening to that story again.”
Damian and I share a quick look before running after her. When she reaches her apartment, she stops before opening the door. “Here’s how this is going to go. We’re not telling Lincoln a word about you being his dad. Not yet. I just… not yet.”
“Okay.” Damian’s voice is little more than a whisper.
“You’re sleeping in my bed tonight, and you’re gonna pray to every deity you know that being in the same room will be enough for me to remember you in the morning.
In case it’s not, you,” she points at me, “are sleeping with me too, so that I don’t wake up alone with a strange man in my bed and freak the fuck out. ”
“Oh, I am more than happy with this arrangement.” I grin, boxing Kat in against the door and dragging my nose along the curve of her neck. “There’s nothing I want more than to share a bed with you, Kat.”
She shoves my shoulder, which doesn’t do much, so she wraps her hand around my throat. “You’re not out of the doghouse, mister.”
Her grip tightens just a little, and her eyes lower to take in the dominant way she’s touching me, lips dropping open in a cute little surprised O.
I swallow, throat bobbing against her hand as heat licks across my skin and settles low in my belly. “Your bed is hardly the doghouse.”
Her fingers twitch, grip tensing.
“That’s it, beauty. Punish me.”
She drops her hand, shaking her head at me like I’m ridiculous, a slight curve gracing her lips. I smirk, but step back, giving her enough room to insert her key and unlock the door.
Just before she turns the handle, she freezes, looking back at Damian. “Fuck, I’m gonna have to pee in front of you, aren’t I?”
My laugh is a little too loud. “Pretty sure he won’t mind.”
Damian scowls. “I’ll keep my back turned.”
“Well, at least I already bathed tonight.” Kat sighs and walks into her apartment.
I can’t say I’m happy about the whole situation with her forgetting Damian every time they’re apart, but it’s sure working out in my favor right now.
With all the drama about Damian, Kat hasn’t been able to stay mad at me.
Bigger fish to fry and all that, I guess.
I thought it would be years, maybe even decades, before she let me into her bed, so I’m feeling pretty grateful things have worked out the way they have.
I hate what they’ve both been through, but I feel like all my dreams are coming true at once. Damian, the man I was already falling for, is my mate’s mate. There’s no jealousy in me when he touches her or when she touches him. I can have both of them—everything I ever wanted.
If we can just figure out how to stop her from forgetting him. Which is easier said than done.
But we’ll solve this. I know we will.