A quiet warmth pulses beneath their touch.
Three small lives grow inside me. The future of dragonkind.
I'm a mate and a mother. My magic is unbound.
For the first time, I’m safe and loved in a world that has only ever given me pain.
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 areborn, 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 pastseed.” 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.”
