Chapter Nine
Gatlin
Gatlin didn’t know if he’d ever flown that fast and carelessly in his life, and he thanked the stars above for their natural camouflage, because flying with an erection was neither comfortable nor decent.
Anyone who could see that particular spectrum of light that scales refracted, though… He’d apologize later.
Or not.
Pretending it didn’t happen was better.
Nope, never flew at full mast.
Still, the transformation at full mast was as uncomfortable as anything he’d ever experienced.
Viraj shuddered in his arms, and Teige reached into Gatlin’s arms to check on their shivering mate.
He mewled with want and they carried him to their chambers, storming past a cleaning attendant who glanced up and away just as fast with a put-upon expression that told Gatlin they’d be receiving a reimbursement request for therapy at a later date—or at least a spa day.
Working for dragons had its risks and rewards for tolerating less than civilized behavior.
The estate passed by far too easily; the elevator swallowing them with a hum and rumble that took entirely too long as Viraj’s weak breaths and stifling scent entombed them between four walls of steel.
When they opened, Gatlin relented, letting Viraj slide to unsteady feet. And once stable, they stood back, their dragons bubbling at the surface.
Dark marble striated with complementary colors stretched with polished perfection throughout their nest and up against the back wall it faced.
Beaded curtains holding semiprecious stones draped down along humming steel wires, sure to survive a dragon’s presence.
With great awareness of his presence, Gatlin stepped back once more, giving Viraj the space a Dette deserved. Or, at least, what his dragon said.
Give our Dette space. The brute purred, a predatory snarl that rumbled like a tiger in brush watching succulent meat strolling by.
Viraj stared at their chamber, the carved annexes with inset glass protecting and displaying backlit treasures, a display to shower Viraj with all the fineries he deserved.
He took a step closer. From his posture alone, Gatlin could tell his dragon was at the surface of his mind, sniffing, analyzing.
Teige stopped breathing, an unfortunate habit he had when anxious, holding it in wait for some answer.
“Spanish marmor,” Viraj breathed. “I saw it earlier, but… I didn’t really pay attention.”
“We had it harvested from the Dette killer’s manor.” Gatlin puffed with pride.
Teige spoke up when Viraj’s expression hesitated. “Every penny from that estate goes to help Dettes and Hijada.”
He nodded, but his expression didn’t give Teige the comfort he was looking for.
“Nothing is of the original design. We had all of it tailored to fit you, and it would piss Eamon’s spirit off to no end to have a Dette the object of someone’s intense love.
A Dette deserves this opulence tailored to him.
” Gatlin watched, the silence growing tense as Viraj nodded in approval and approached, his gait unsteady but so tempting.
“I do not know what to say.” Viraj breathed as he stripped his shirt, dropped his pants, and ran fingers through his messy hair.
Scales prickled at his shoulders and back, his deliciously sun-browned bottom on display for either Drake to approach and bite into.
Slick shone blessedly there as he lifted a sculpted leg and stepped over the lip of the nest. From there, he tumbled onto his back, collapsing into their painstakingly chosen pillows and linens to stare up at the ceiling and trinkets above.
“You have outdone yourselves, my mates.”
Teige preened, the sensation pricking their bond as his chest puffed with pride. “Everything was made for you.”
Viraj purred, the sound a truly sweet thing, his dragon’s caring instincts and loveliness coming out. Not a Drake’s rumble but a Dette’s vibration, summoning the males in.
Viraj sighed pleasantly and shifted, his dragon filling out the space, leaving plenty for his larger mates around him.
And so they joined him, crawling over the edge of the nest to shift and curl around him.
Viraj lifted his head in a regal way, his features so delicate despite his spines.
Their dragons knew. But Teige and Gatlin were at the mercy of a lifetime separated from their fairer counterparts, uninformed and unprepared by Drake fathers that would have rather they not compete against them for the already-dwindling selections of Dettes.
Gatlin nuzzled along Viraj’s neck, licking with care. For their dragons, nothing had changed other than some biochemical signals. Sure, Viraj had his periodic spells of hyperarousal, but nothing like the scent coming off him. Smells good. Mine. Ours.
Teige nipped and licked his mate along his tail, his back, nuzzling his wings and cheeks to take in the growing scent.
Every breath brought with it a wave of something, blood rushing south, heart pounding.
Viraj lifted and tilted his tail to the side, crooning with delight.
Best nest. My Drakes did well. You will make this one a true Dette.
Even his dragon had been fooled into believing his status wasn’t a Dette. His potential as a Hijada was nothing, but as a Dette? Potential was measured not by his worth, not by his achievements but by the number of progeny he could give his Drake… Drakes.
It was so very rare for a Vritra Dette to have many Drakes.
Ryan was considered an oddity among his ilk.
So, it stood to reason that it could have been genetic.
Viraj had said it himself at times; he couldn’t imagine a life without two mates, being taken so many ways and lavished with affection.
Teige couldn’t imagine taking a Dette alone, either.
They needed more affection than a single Drake could give.
Gatlin disconnected himself from a private moment, their dragons enjoying themselves as they met in their minds, three bare males curled into one another while their dragons defiled their nest in the most primal of ways.
Well, I’d hoped we’d have gotten to do this in our flesh, first. Gatlin sighed and snuggled up against Viraj’s back, drawing Teige in to their Dette’s front.
Teige closed his eyes and lost focus, visibly melding his mind with his dragon’s, relishing his mates and the soft contact of their mind’s human forms, while also tapping into his dragon’s body. Mmm. This is nice, too.
Get out of there. Let our dragons have this. Gatlin reached over Viraj’s shoulder and flicked Teige’s nose.
Teige acquiesced and sighed, taking the rest while they could get it. If Gaspard had prepared them well, then they were in for it. Fuck.
Fuck? Viraj peered up at Teige, his beautiful molten gold eyes gleaming in an unnatural way in their minds.
Fuck? Gatlin echoed.
I forgot to pack the snacks and things. Teige groaned.
We’ll be fine by morning. That’s how it usually goes. Viraj huffed and rolled his eyes.
Not so certain, love. Gatlin inhaled deeply, a futile effort in their minds.
Still, his eye twitched before he grasped Viraj’s hips and leaned in with a grunt of surprise.
Their dragons were at it fiercely, and before Teige could ask, the wave of pleasure and desire slammed into him, gut first. The dry orgasm shot through his body, an echo of something unseen while Viraj scrambled and hooked his feet over Teige’s hips with a shaking squeeze of thighs.
I swear to several gods and goddesses, if they don’t hurry up, I am going to force it and someone is going to be uncomfortable. Viraj snarled, throwing his head back as he endured sharp, labored breaths. And whether it was pain or pleasure, Gatlin couldn’t tell.
He rode through the sensation as Gatlin fought against that urge, wanting to shift, to have Viraj in the flesh.
Teige bit his lip, eyes clenched shut, the tremble going through all of them.
Shifting could be dangerous at that point, knots in places, but their dragons seemed to understand, pulling apart in record time as their mindscape shattered and they shifted into human form, covered in slick and sweat.
Teige breathed heavily, clutching his chest until Viraj pounced, a feral lust in his eyes as he fought to straddle his hips. “Vi?”
Viraj planted a hand over Teige’s face, fingers halting his lips while his wet slick ass engulfed his near-priapic cock. Teige gave a wounded cry, head thrown back. “Oh, fuck…”
Viraj worked his way down with rolling movements of his hips, clenching and doing unspeakable things he was far too reserved to do on his own—usually.
Gatlin rumbled his approval and slid up behind Viraj, circling hands over his mate’s waist and beautiful ass as his movements abated, prying fingers toying with Viraj’s tight ring around his cock. “Room for one more?”
“Do it!” Viraj’s demand had Gatlin struggling to work his cock in, spreading slick and stretching until firm pressure glided along the underside of Teige’s cock.
The inhuman noise that twisted free of Viraj’s lips drove Teige to thrust upward, spearing into Viraj as Gatlin slammed home. And with but a single shout, Viraj stilled them both with a demand. “Stay still!”
They did. Teige, for his part, trembling and desperate. Gatlin’s dragon snarled in protest but obeyed, relishing the sensation of their omega having his way with them. So much sensation. So much pleasure.
The first orgasm ripped through Gatlin so unexpectedly, Viraj snarling as he slammed back and down, taking his knot with a cry of pleasure. A twisting pressure told Gatlin Teige was right behind him, and Viraj locked down.
Viraj twisted his hips, forced himself back, rolled and cried out all the while Gatlin’s cock pulsed alongside Teige’s.
Cum slicked down Viraj’s thighs, the stretch too uneven to seal their spend inside. Words lost meaning; the scent grew stronger, and possessive growls and snarls subsided only when their knots receded.