Matteo, my fated mate, on stage performing his heart out...it was all I’d ever wanted—and now it was finally in my grasp.
As soon asDestiny Risesbegan, I lost all control. I cheered. I screamed. I made so much noise I lost my voice, then I attempted to scream even more. At one point, I got dizzy from exhilaration, so I stared in dead silence, too enraptured by the sway of Aquila’s hips to make a peep—though, I got hard as fuck instead.
Not gonna lie, it was a little embarrassing.
But I didn’t care. Not while Aquila held eye contact with me during his insane vocal solo. I was painfully in love, and painfully turned on, too. The only thing I looked forward to more than the performance itself was the sex we’d have afterwards.
Speaking of sex, Aquila practically fucked that mic on stage. That was the only way I could describe it. His performance skills were downright erotic. He oozed sex appeal, confidence, and talent. Plus the way he sang himself raw was distinctly similar to his moans and screams in bed. It pleased my possessive dragon soul that I was the only person who knew that secret side of him.
As the song went on, I felt my heart beating faster and my pants growing tighter. Aquila’s performance sent me into a frenzy. My last shreds of restraint vanished, and my dragon form burst out of my human body. Thankfully, I had enough control to refrain from crushing any of Matteo’s friends in the front row.
But Aquila’s set was so enthralling that nobody seemed to care that the bachelor just transformed into a dragon. All of them were spellbound by the star on stage, singing his guts out.
Aquila didn’t miss a beat. He was too experienced to be thrown off by my sudden shift. As he met my gaze, fire burned in my belly. The crowd felt nonexistent. He was singing to me. Just me.
Fuck, I wanted to breed him right there on that stage.
Destiny Risesfinally reached its conclusion. As Aquila’s final note hung in the air and he breathed hard, the entire beach went silent for a couple seconds before exploding into raucous noise. My scales tingled in excitement. All of that cheering was formymate, and he deserved all of it.
Gaius waltzed on stage. Even he looked awed. “Phew, what a performance! What do you think, Thystle? Do we have a challenge winner on our hands?”
I took a few steps towards the stage, lowering my head towards Matteo. He panted, drenched in sweat. He looked utterly delicious like that. I wanted to eat him up.
“Yes,” I growled. “And the winner of the Dragonfate Games.”
Gaius chuckled. Quietly, he said, “Wow, you launched right into that, huh?” In his louder announcer voice, he added, “And it looks like we have a winner, folks! What a fabulous way to end season two of the Dragonfate Games. Be sure not to miss the closing ceremonies later this evening!”
The closing ceremonies were the last thing on my mind.
As soon as I announced Matteo as the winner, all bets were off. I snatched him off the stage and launched into the air, beating my wings hard. Time sped by in a blur. The next thing I knew, I’d landed with athudin front of my home castle.
“In case you forgot, I can fly, too,” Matteo remarked wryly from the safety of my claws.
“Shut up.”
I was in such a rush to get inside that my horns nearly broke the front door threshold. Thank Holy Drake the castle was built with our dragon forms in mind, otherwise I would’ve brought the structure crashing down.
Just as I rounded the corner to slither up the stairs, I ran into Cobalt. What crappy timing. He was probably leaving for his evening walk down to the water.
Not now,I thought with a mental groan. Why did the universe always get in my way when I wanted to breed my mate?
Cobalt’s stoic face took on a hint of surprise. His thick brows raised slightly as he eyed Matteo in my grasp.
“Hello,” he said, as if this was a normal way to have a conversation.
Matteo waved at my older brother. “Hi.”
Cobalt gave him a curt, yet polite nod. “Good to meet you.”
“You, too,” Matteo agreed.
As wholesome as their interaction was, I groaned impatiently. “Cobalt, we’re a little busy here. Can we do the whole meet-the-family thing later?”
Cobalt didn’t respond. He scrutinized Matteo’s face and nodded solemnly. Then he rolled up his sleeve, revealing his thick forearm dotted with tiny pink scars, and asked, “Is this him?”
A shiver went through me.
“Yes,” I said quietly. “This is Aquila. AKA, Matteo. He’s the man I told you about ten years ago.”
