“And kind, especially for a Dragon woman.” His lips twitched. “They're vicious, you know? More so than men.”
“I've met a few. So, yes, I know.” I grinned as I thought of King Rianvar's grandmother. “But even the vicious ones can be kind when they want to.”
“Yes, I suppose. But my mate was special. She was always kind. Practically timid for a Dragon. When she died, the world went dark for me.”
“I'm so sorry, Shaleros. Truly sorry for your loss.”
He nodded. “Thank you.”
“So, Duchess Erelis never saw you as half a Dragon?”
Shaleros grinned. “No, never. Of course, that may have been the mating magic drawing us together. You can't deny the Goddess. Maybe if Erelis had been of another race.” He glanced at me. “But . . . oh, fuck, what am I doing?”
“You're moving on. Trying to live,” I said. “And that doesn't have to mean more than taking whatever pleasure you can find. I know you'll never have another mate. I will never be what she was to you. But maybe we can find some happiness together, at least for a little while.”
“You will die,” he whispered. “Like her.”
“Yes,” I said. “But maybe by then, if we last that long, you will have learned to live.”
Shaleros grabbed the back of my neck and yanked me forward. I fell against his chest, both hands pressed over his rapidly beating heart, and met his lips with mine. The kiss was soft, yet bursting with desire. Tingling with it. And with possibility. It unfolded like a flower, blossoming even as it grew. His hands clutched at my back, then pulled me closer. I was in his lap, then straddling him. But I didn't push forward, didn't grind against him as I wanted to. This was our first kiss, and something told me to savor the sweetness.
I was glad I did because when Shaleros ended the kiss, I leaned back and opened my eyes to find him staring at me in wonder.
“I see you've decided,” I whispered.
“I have,” he whispered back. “I want you, Sebastian. I think you will be good for me.”
“I want you too, Shale.” I grinned. “Can I call you Shale?”
The Dragon King snorted. “You always push things further. I give a little, and you demand more.”
“Iaskfor more. Which means you can say no. You can push back.”
He chuckled. “Right. Because I'm the top?”
I lifted a brow. “I thought you weren't anything sexual to me?”
“If you recall, I said yet.”
“So, the yet has passed?”
Shaleros canted his hips up, pushing his erection into my ass. “It has.” And then he rolled me, taking me down onto the cushions and pinning me there. “You may have to lead a little at first, but then I will take over. And you will give me what I need. All of it.”
My lips parted on an excited and shaky breath. “I will.”
“Sebastian, do you understand what I'm—”
“I know exactly what I'm agreeing to,” I cut him off and yanked him toward me by the back of the neck, just as he'd done to me.
I felt Shale grin against my lips, then it was all groaning and grasping. Tongues twining together in my mouth, not his, so his teeth wouldn't cut me—and because my soon-to-be lover was dominant as all fuck.
Chapter Eighteen
That dinner was the longest, most erotic, wonderfully frustrating meal of my life. I was damn grateful for our private table, but it wasn't as if we could have sex there. We had to satisfy ourselves with a bit of teenage rubbing through our clothes. Though, I did slide my hand down his pants once. It was right after we had finished dessert, and I was hungry for a different kind of treat.
“All right, that's enough of that,” the Dragon King growled and stood up.
He took my hand, pulled me to my feet, and tossed some coins on the table. Coins minted with elephants. The Dragon kingdoms cast their own money, so each kingdom had different versions, but they were all good everywhere, having the same amount of copper, silver, or gold in them.
