Chapter 35
DARIAL
“Five more minutes,” Aura says. She stares at the canvas in front of her, pressing her tongue between her teeth.
“I’m supposed to be working,” I remind her.
“All work and no play makes Darial a dull boy.”
She isn’t wrong. We already have enough money for a thousand human lifetimes.
Spending time on making more seems like a poor investment when our mate is here to entertain.
Then again, we have hundreds of humans relying on our business for their livelihoods.
Shutting down all our operations so we can hoard and ravish our mate doesn’t seem fair.
“You know Kelan,” I say. “He expects dedication and commitment in all things.”
She nods, using her brush to make delicate strokes on the canvas. “His commitment to work only seems to increase as my belly swells.”
“He’s nesting dragon-style. It involves trying to make as much gold as you can for your mate. When the babies are born, he’ll relax again.”
“When have you known Kelan to relax?”
She smiles at me over the canvas, her expression indulgent.
She knows each of us and loves us unconditionally, for all the good and bad.
When Kelan is bossy, she finds a way to soften him.
When Ronyn is angry, she can easily kiss away his ire.
When I use humor to cover my fears and anxieties, she knows to dig beneath the surface.
And we see her.
We know when she disappears to another room, she's seeking the solitude she’s used to, rather than rejecting our company.
We know to gently encourage her to share her feelings because she’s unused to having anyone to talk to.
We’ve learned not to consult her because her autonomy has been taken away in the past. She now guards the opportunity for independence like we guard her safety.
“He’s pretty relaxed after he’s filled me with his seed.” She smirks, her eyes drifting over my naked chest hungrily.
“Careful, mate,” I warn. “Unless you’re looking to be filled right now.”
“Let me finish painting you, and then…” She wiggles her eyebrows, making me laugh out loud.
“Hurry, woman,” I bark, stroking my cock to hardness as she gazes at it with ravenous eyes. “See! You’ve already woken the beast.”
“Looks like you’re enjoying waking the beast for yourself.” She bites her bottom lip as she watches my hand stroke up and down. “Maybe you should keep doing that while I paint.”
“And waste all this good seed I have for you?” I shake my head in mock disgust.
“You’re forgetting I’m growing the product of your past seed.” She pats her belly that’s rounded with our eggs. “There isn’t much space for anymore.”
My cock kicks as I recall how round her belly used to grow when she was filled to the brim with our seed, and how she’d gush when our knots subsided. My dragon rises to the surface, golden scales flickering over my thighs and arms, my tail emerging behind me.
“Darial,” Aura squeals. “Now you’ve ruined your pose.”
“Come here, mate,” I growl.
“No.” She puts her hands on her hips and stares at me. I take it as the dare it quite obviously is. In three fluid strides, I have her in my arms, wriggling like a belly-sliding serpent.
“No?” I slide my fingers along the inside of her thigh, finding her sopping wet. She may be human, but her body has adapted perfectly to take us, making her slippery and warm at the first suggestion of mating.
“See,” I say, bringing my slick fingers to my lips. “Your body craves me.”
She huffs, but there’s no genuine annoyance behind it. It’s an adorable game she likes to play because giving in after a fight makes fucking so much sweeter.
“Maybe, little human, I need to tie you up so I can have my way with you.”
We haven’t used restraints since we rescued her from Lythian’s clutches, worried she’d relive painful memories.
The door buzzer sounds, and Kelan and Ronyn stride in, both clothed in closely tailored black suits. Their conversation falters as they take in Aura’s flushed cheeks and her position in my arms.
“Just in time,” I say. “Our mate has been sassy. She needs to be shown who’s in charge around here.”
Kelan’s gaze drops immediately to where Aura is draped across my arms, her hair loose around her shoulders, her belly round and glowing faintly with rune-light.
Something dark and hungry moves through his expression.
He’s always relieved when he confirms she’s safe, which grows into a slow burn of possessive heat.
Ronyn shuts the penthouse door behind them with a deliberate click.
“Is that so?” he murmurs.
Aura squirms in my grip, but she doesn’t really try to get free. Her eyes are bright, and her lips curved in a smile she can’t quite hide.
“I was painting,” she says primly. “He distracted me.”
I drag my thumb along the inside of her thigh where her robe has ridden up, caressing the heat there, the slick welcome of her body already anticipating us. She shivers.
“You were teasing me,” I correct softly. “There’s a difference.”
Kelan loosens his cuffs with unhurried precision, setting his jacket aside, a man finished with business and ready for pleasure. The city lights spill through the windows behind him, gilding his shoulders in gold.
“You look flushed, Aura,” he says in a low tone. “Is he tormenting you?”
“Maybe,” she says, breath hitching. “Maybe I like it.”
Ronyn laughs under his breath. “We’ve all been holding back,” he says. “Being too careful. I think she wants her dragons back.”
Aura’s gaze flickers between us, hungry as Kelan and Ronyn strip their shirts to reveal ripped, muscled chests and swirling runes.
When she moans softly, my dragon stirs, scales threatening beneath my skin. I tighten my grip on her, pressing my mouth to the curve of her neck and inhaling. She smells like soap and paint and the faint metallic sweetness of magic.
Home.
Kelan steps closer. His palm settles over Aura’s rounded belly, and her expression softens. She covers his hand with hers.
“I’m strong.”
Ronyn steps behind me. His fingers brush Aura’s ankle, then slide slowly upward.
“Good,” he says. “Because I’m losing my mind.”
Her breath catches.
The walls close in, the atmosphere sparking with the electric tension that exists between us.
I lower Aura onto the wide couch, and she lands with a soft laugh that dissolves into a breathless sound when Kelan kneels in front of her.
Ronyn leans over the back of the couch, caging her in with his arms. I sit beside her, one hand sliding to her waist, the other lifting her chin.
She leans forward and presses her mouth to mine.
The kiss is slow as her fingers curl into my hair.
When she pulls back, her eyes are a dark, forest green.
“We have time,” she says. “Don’t we?”
Kelan exhales slowly. Some of the iron control leaves his posture.
“Yes,” he says. “We have time.”
Ronyn’s hand slides along her thigh again, slower this time. “Then let’s stop pretending we don’t want this.”
Aura laughs softly, breath warm against my mouth. “I never pretended.”
The city glows beyond the glass. The world keeps turning. Businesses run. Humans live their lives. And here, in the center of it all, we gather around the woman who is our heart, our fire, and our future.
Our lives are so different now. Gone is the anticipation of magic to bind. Gone is the yearning for a mate who never materialized. Gone is the boredom of amassing more wealth for a life that didn’t require it.
We are fulfilled.
Kelan strips off Aura’s robe and her hair falls around her face in a pretty mess, only partially covering her breasts, which have plumped with pregnancy.
Her nipples, which were small and pink, are now wider and darker, so tempting that my mouth waters.
Kelan tugs her white lace panties from her legs and brings them to his nose, inhaling deeply.
Aura’s cheeks turn a rosy shade of pink as he growls, “I’ve missed your smell, mate. And your taste. Now spread those pretty legs.”
She lets her knees drop open a little but waits for him to yank them wider in his desperation.
We all stare at her pretty lips parting, and her tiny little hole, which waits to be spread.
It still baffles me how her small body can accommodate our ridged girth, but that’s how we know she was made for us. We fit despite our differences.
Kelan dips his head to flick his tongue over her clit.
Aura groans, her eyes dropping closed. Her hand still rests over her belly, protective even in her ecstasy.
He takes his time, making her buck and shudder.
She grips his inky dark hair and tugs, then claws at his shoulders.
When he slides the forked tip of his tongue inside, I take over, flicking her clit until she’s dripping and begging and finally coming with a cry.
Ronyn kisses the scream from her lips, laughing at her desperate whimpering as her magic pulses with her release, warming us all.
This time is different. She is awakened in her power, and we are conscious of our children inside her. We take her gently and separately, relishing her focused attention and the chance to show our love over and over.
After, she drifts to sleep in my arms, and I smile at my Sleeping Beauty, content and replete, and happier than I ever imagined I’d be. The truth is, she has awakened everything that is good inside us.