“I don’t know how to love,” I admit. “My heart is a stone.”
“Your heart is as tender as a butterfly's wing,” Darial says, cupping my cheek.
The fire crackles softly as sadness flutters through me. I’m not what they think I am. I’m not the mate they truly deserve.
“I’m broken,” I whisper softly.
“You’re perfect,” Kelan almost growls, as though my self-depreciation is an insult to his ears.
“You deserve more,” I say, shaking my head.
Ronyn clasps my small hand in his. “You’re all we want. Will you let us show you?”
“I’m scared,” I admit.
He touches my temple, this time feeding my mind with images of me between them, relaxed and satiated, surrounded by furs and the impossible power of three dragon men. They touch me with care, revealing my body inch by inch, and worshiping every part. I flush at my nakedness, and theirs, shocked by their proportions, but curious too.
All I have ever known is violence, but this imagined experience is anything but. I grow warm between my legs ina way I have never experienced, and the realization that my body isn’t broken is a gift Ronyn has no idea he’s given. A tear runs down my cheek as I extend to touch his scarred face.
“I’m not scared anymore,” I whisper.
15
KELAN
Aura is trembling, although the scent of fear has vanished now, replaced with… I draw it into my nostrils and discover it is arousal. Goddess, save us all.
My dragon rears in me, pressing on the edges of my control. He wants to be free to roar and spill fire in celebration, but this isn’t the time for us to disturb Aura’s tentative trust with our fearsome forms.
She is between us, her breath faltering as my fingers graze the edge of her jaw. Ronyn has given her courage. Darial, sweetness. And now? Now, she turns to me, green eyes open wide with trust.
Goddess, she doesn't even realize what that trust does to me.
But I won’t take what isn’t freely given, and I must ensure this is what she wants. After what she’s been through, even a single wrong step could ruin our chance of happiness for good.
“Aura.” I brush her hair behind her ear. “If we ever gotoo far, if you ever want to stop,say it.You never have to be brave with us.”
“I’m not afraid of you,” she whispers. “Now I’ve seen into your hearts.”
I lower my mouth to hers, savoring the sensation. Her lips part, and I taste her slowly, relishing every soft sound she makes. She’s already so warm. Soreceptive.My magic brushes the edges of her mind, finding her open to me.
I’m relieved because she needs to be receptive. Iclaimlike a dragon, and I don’t want to hurt her. I never want to hurt her.
She believes her heart is stone, but it is flame.
Passion pulses from within her while I deepen the kiss and let my restraint bleed away.
Scales ripple across my forearms, catching the firelight like shards of night. My wings unfold enough to cage us in heat and shadow. She gasps, drawing back to study what I have become. Half man, half-beast, more like a dark angel than either of my true forms. When she runs her fingertips over my scales, I growl, and when her tentative touch caresses the leathery expanse of my half-formed wings, I shudder. My cock is hard and heavy between us, covered only by the scrap of material I have tied at my waist. It throbs with the kind of ache only she can ease.
And goddess help me; I want her tosee.
“This is what I am,” I murmur, letting go only a little more.
My chest radiates softly, the lines of silver fire below my skin tracing runes no human eyes can read. None, except my mate. My canines lengthen, fangs sharp but held back. Claws extend, but I use only the blunt sides to drag slowly across her spine, watching her arch into my touch. Hornstaper from my temples.
When I press her back into the furs, Ronyn is there. His hand finds hers, providing the quiet reassurance she needs.
Darial flanks her other side, his mouth at her temple, murmuring praise in a language from our past that sounds like poetry.
