And right now,Iwas his desire.
For some reason, I hesitated to answer him. He kept saying it, and Iwantedto believe it...
Crimson paused. He stared at me sharply. "Taylor."
"What?"
"Tell me you know."
I met his gaze. "What does it mean to be yours, Crimson?"
He blinked slowly, like the question never occurred to him. A gentleness appeared on his face. He kissed the corner of my mouth softly.
"I forgot you've never been with a dragon," he admitted with a grin. "Which is good. Because I would've torn him limb from limb."
"Thank you for mauling my hypothetical dragon ex."
He laughed, then leaned closer so our foreheads touched. Warmth and affection radiated from him like a furnace. I found myself relaxing in its glow.
"When you belong to an alpha dragon, you are their world," Crimson said. There was no hint of exaggeration in his tone. "That dragon will doanythingfor you. They would set their precious hoard on fire if you asked it."
My eyes widened. I'd heard tales of how possessive dragons were over their hoards, but I didn't know how much they reflected reality.
Crimson grinned. "For context, I nearly bit off my brother Jade's head the other day for stepping into my hoard space without asking. So youknowthat's a big deal."
"Ah. Glad you didn't behead him."
Crimson's hand left my cock, giving it a break from the relentless pleasure. Then his palms roamed down my sides, leaving tingles in their wake.
"I already told you I wasn't a fan of the Dragonfate Games," Crimson said. "But beyond the whole reality TV farce, I couldn't deny it had a purpose."
"To find a mate?" I offered.
He smirked. "You make it sound so easy."
"No. I know it's not."
"But it's even harder for us dragons." Crimson glanced out the window. The beach was dark and still. The moonlight reflected off the slow waves bumping against the shore. "Me and my brothers... our lives are here on this island. There are no other shifters. We only have each other. As you can imagine, that doesn't make for a very exciting dating scene." He grinned.
"Why not go out into the world?" I asked.
Crimson scoffed. "To live among humans? No, thank you."
"It's notthatbad once you get used to it." But even as I said it, I knew I didn't sound convincing.
Crimson shook his head. "No offspring of mine—full dragon or half-dragon—will be forced to hide their true identity."
I stared at the floor. He wasn't wrong. If he lived among humans like I did, his offspring couldn't be truly authentic. They'd be forced to hide their beast side like I did. And worse, humans didn't believe dragons were real. If theydidsee one, how would they react?
"There are other communities," I suggested. "Ones made of only shifters. You could look there."
Crimson snorted. "You mean the ones made up of their own kind, who shun any species not their own?"
I grimaced. "Yeah. Those."
Shifter-only communities were few and far between, and like Crimson derisively pointed out, they usually weren't welcoming of outsiders. They were so afraid of the outside world that they only accepted their own shifter species.
"The world is a big place. I'm sure there must be groups of mixed shifters," I pointed out.
