18. Rowan
Rowan
It’d been a few hours since dinner, which was just as delicious as always, with the added bonus of double chocolate brownies, and my stomach churned.
It wasn’t because I’d eaten too much or things weren’t sitting right.
That was beyond fine, thanks to Ma’s incredible cooking.
But when I excused myself from the table, offering both Orsen and Grey a tiny smile as they gazed over at me, the intense realization that I’d slept with them both and had a whole new understanding of dragon anatomy dogged me.
I’d been trying to ignore it, to let my brain relax for the evening, but it wasn’t working. I needed to process this out loud, and I didn’t know anyone better to do that with than Griffin.
So, many hours after dinner, I slipped out of my room and hurried down the hallway.
I only got a few feet along before someone cleared their throat behind me.
Startled, I spun around to find Nina with her arms crossed over her chest, smirking at me.
“Where are you sneaking off to?” She smiled as I stopped and rolled my eyes, about to tell her it was nothing, but then I stopped, a lightbulb going off over my head.
“Actually, I think you’ll come in handy, too.” I rushed over to her, looping my arm through hers. “It’s time for a little girl talk. I need you and Griffin to help me out.”
“I’m sorry, what?” Nina laughed, shaking her head at me.
“I need some… validation? Information? I promise to divulge all the juicy details.”
Her eyes lit up, and she started zipping to Griff’s room with me. “Oh, I am so in.”
When we arrived at his door, I rapped my knuckles on the wood and waited for him to answer. When he did, he stared between the two of us, clearly confused that we were there.
“Ummm, did I miss something? Am I in some sort of trouble?”
Chuckling, I pulled Nina inside. “No. But I need to talk with both of you. It can’t wait.”
We went straight to Griff’s bed and took a seat, Nina giggling. Griffin rolled his eyes with a shrug and closed the door, following us over, where he sat down near the head of the bed. He raised his brows at me, waiting for me to begin this impromptu meeting.
“Umm, right, so I… I have a question for you both.” My stomach fluttered, and as I realized what I was about to ask them, my nerves got the better of me.
Griff nodded, folding his arms. “All right. Shoot.”
“Right, so, well… I, umm, there was this thing before, and…” Jeez, I couldn’t talk at all. I wiped my hand over my face, breathing too hard for the situation.
“Spit it out.” Griffin laughed.
Nina rubbed my back. “Come on, Rowan. You were the one who wanted to talk. You can do it.”
I took a deep breath, steeling myself and trying to find the right words, but instead, what I blurted out was, “You’ve slept with a lot of humans, haven’t you?”
Nina spluttered out a giggle as Griffin looked utterly confused for a second before regaining his composure, leaning against the headboard, and running a hand through his hair.
“I’m not going to lie, I’ve had my fair share of dalliances, but why are you asking this now?
You’ve never wanted to know, and I quote, ‘It’d be like hearing about my brother’s sex life. ’ End quote.”
“Well…”
I had to suck in a breath again, but I leaned forward and stared at the minimal space between us, forcing myself to ask what’d been on my mind. “Why didn’t you tell me just how intense the knot was?” I hissed.
“The knot?” he asked, his eyes widening as Nina continued giggling.
“I knew something was different! Which of the Alphas did you take for a ride?” she asked between laughs.
“That’s not important. All I’m saying is, why didn’t one of you chucklebutts give me a heads-up?” I screeched, shooting up and pacing around the room.
Griffin didn’t answer. Instead, he looked toward Nina. “My bet is Phoenix. You’ve seen the way he follows her around like a puppy. He’s the obvious choice.”
Nina tapped her chin thoughtfully. “I don’t know. They’re all pretty damn sexy in their own right. The one I wouldn’t believe is Bastian. I’m pretty sure he would pour acid into his eyes, because he’s such an idiot, instead of sleeping with the amazing smoke show that is Rowan.”
“Flattery will get you everywhere.” I huffed, sinking down onto the bed again and rolling my eyes.
“So you did the nasty with one of the Alphas, and I’m guessing it went well?” Nina asked, leaning in with a hopeful smile on her face.
“I would say it went more than well,” I admitted, scratching the back of my head as I fought a grin.
My mind trailed back to the time with Grey in his office and at the river with Orsen. Both of them had been pretty spectacular in their own right.
“Did Kiki not give you the birds-and-the-bees talk and explain that dragons have knots?” Griffin asked.
“Of course, I know about the birds and the bees and knots,” I hissed. “But it’s one thing to know the mechanics and an entirely different thing to, you know, experience it.”
“Yeah, I guess it is pretty intense.” Nina shrugged, her stare tracking up wistfully. “At least, that’s what I’ve heard.” She raised her hands, a mild blush on her cheeks, and my mouth dropped open.
“You’ve not…?” I trailed off.
“No. I fooled around a bit with other dragons, but they all want to lock me down and have babies because I’m one of the few female dragons in this horde, and that’s more effort than it’s worth. Personally, I would much rather have my fun solo and carefree.”
I nodded. Honestly, I would have agreed with her had it not been for recent events.
“But we don’t know whether the sex was amazing because they were your fated mates or simply because they had a knot,” Nina pointed out.
I looked decidedly at Griffin.
He thought for a moment, appearing perplexed, before a cocky, sly look overtook his features.
“Well, every human I’ve had the pleasure of spending time with has been absolutely amazed by my added hardware. Not that I could really explain what it was, given the whole dragon thing. I just assumed they thought it was magic, not because I have extra parts.”
Nina snorted. “I swear to God, you are such a dragon. They probably thought you were one of those men who like body modifications.”
He nodded. “Yeah. Guess what? I am a dragon, and I have a penis.”
“Yeah, but you’re friends with Rowan. I would’ve expected something different from you. Normally, you’re chill. You aren’t really one of them,” Nina countered.
Griffin frowned. “I don’t know whether to take that as an insult or a compliment.”
“Compliment, one hundred percent,” I said, trying to smooth his ruffled scales.
“Anyway, you’re dodging the question. Which Alpha did you have fun with?” Nina probed again, and my cheeks burned.
“My bet is still Phoenix.” Griffin chuckled, raising his brows at me.
“Well, you’re wrong,” I said, glaring at him.
His raised eyebrows shot up even farther. “Considering how you smelled when you came back from town, I’m actually surprised.”
“Oh, that. Yeah, but it’s not like they were going to do the nasty in his truck,” Nina said.
I was pretty sure my face was growing redder by the second, but I’d gotten myself into this situation, and there was no getting out of it, apparently.
“Well, I’m not exactly opposed to doing it outside, it seems…” I trailed off.
Both my friends’ eyes went wide, the room dropping into silence.
“Well, now you’re going to have to expand on that,” Griffin said.
“Something certainly expanded.” Nina giggled.
I picked up a pillow from Griff’s bed and threw it in her direction. She just laughed at me.
“If you must know, I may have had a moment with Grey in his office the other day… And then with Orsen… in the forest.”
“In the forest? Hot damn. I’m proud of you.” Nina grinned from ear to ear. “I know you needed a break to clear your head, but that isn’t exactly what I thought would do the trick. That’s way better.”
Sighing, I threw my head back, running a hand through my hair before covering my eyes. “You guys are hopeless at giving pep talks, you know that?”
“What do you want us to say? We want you to keep screwing the Alphas. We think this is a fantastic development,” Griffin encouraged.
“He’s right, you know? Because the more settled you get here, the more likely you are to stay. And we both love your ass and want you to stay put,” Nina declared.
“You just want me to deliver your baby when the time comes. I can do that from anywhere. I can still travel,” I stated.
“No babies right now. But I do like having you around for the occasional boo-boo. So, yeah. It’s much easier if you’re here. Honestly, all my motives are entirely selfish.” Nina laughed, shrugging as I glared playfully at her.
“Same here. I mean, what am I gonna do when I get injured again?” Griffin asked. “After having your exemplary medical treatment last time, no one else will do. I’m spoiled.”
“My friends. Such warm, kind, caring people.” I laughed. “They want me for my healing and nothing more. Ugh. Well, is there anything else I should know about doing it with a dragon? Just in case.”
Griff raised his brows, turning the corners of his mouth down. “Right. In case. Well, you’re in luck. The knot is pretty much the big show. And you handled it. Twice. You’re doing fine.”
Nina rubbed her hand along my back again, leaning in for a sideways hug. “Now, details. Juicy freaking details, like you promised.”
“Oh no.” Griff stood up, throwing his arm over Nina and guiding us toward the door. “I get it now. And I will not be hearing about Ro’s dragon dicking. You girls have fun.”
Nina scoffed playfully and then dragged me toward my room. “All right, cutie. Spill. I want to hear it all.”