We reach the side of the bed. “Shall we just sit for a while?” I say. “Perhaps we can talk?”
He smiles softly, as if this is what he was thinking too. Then he slides onto the bed, shifting himself until he’s leaning back against the large cushions at its head. Following, I crawl over the mattress, but before I reach him, he lifts me to sit between his outstretched legs, wrapping his arms around me.
Our bodies warm each other’s, and as I snuggle against his chest, his rod rests heavily against my lower back. It’s not fully hard, but solid, and I fight to ignore it.
I long to look into his eyes, but perhaps this position is better. Perhaps, if we aren’t looking into each other’s eyes, he’ll open up more easily. And, positioned like this, there’s less chance we’ll stop talking and start doing something else altogether. His rod shifts against my bottom as if hearing my thoughts.
“What did you want to discuss?” he asks softly.
Where do I start? I should break the ice with a neutral question, something unemotional.
“How did everything in this cave remain so clean, without any decay, after so many years.” It’s been centuries, but we’re on a bed with linens so fresh they might have just dried under the sun in a field of lavender.
“The magic I used to hide my hoard.” Zogar gestures to the side. “It also maintained this space—just as I left it.”
I nod, wishing I understood more about magic. But since both Zogar and Saxon can wield magic, perhaps someday I’ll learn more.
“Was today the first time you’ve ever been in water?” I broach a more sensitive subject.
“No.” His one-word answer doesn’t carry anger, exactly—at least not aimed at me—but it carries something very heavy.
“When did you last try swimming?” My fingers trace the forearm strapped across my belly, and the large muscles flex under my touch.
“I’ve nevertriedto swim,” he says. “No dragon shifter would be foolish enough to do that.” He draws a long breath. “But when I was barely ten and four, I almost drowned.”
“Oh, Zogar.” Sliding my hand along his arm, I turn to look up into his eyes, but he keeps his gaze averted. “What happened?”
“My family was attacked.” His body tightens. “By a scourge of wyvern.”
“Are wyvern and dragons enemies?” When he told me that the creatures I saw were wyvern, I did detect scorn in his tone.
“I wouldn’t choose the wordenemies—” He shifts slightly. “Enemies implies parity between us. But yes, our species have a difficult history.”
I want to know more about that. I want to know more about dragon shifters, generally. But not as urgently as I want to learn more about Zogar—specifically. “What was your family like?” Iask. “Your parents? Did you have siblings?” At the mention of his family, I’m suddenly starved to learn it all.
He draws another deep breath, and his chest expands behind me. “I had two siblings. Both sisters. One of them still lives.”
“Really?” Happiness bubbles inside me. “I have a sister by marriage! I’ve always wanted a sister.” I turn slightly in his arms. “Can I meet her?”
“You have.”
I look at him quizzically but quickly realize what he’s saying. “Surath is yoursister?”
He smiles, clearly pleased at my reaction and that he didn’t need to actually say it.
I nestle my head against his chest again. I don’t understand why he and Surath hid this from me, but that’s not my most pressing question. “What of your other sister? And your parents?”
He draws another deep breath, and it shifts me along with it. “My parents were killed the day of the wyvern attack. It was an ambush. An assassination.” His voice deepens to a near growl, and it rumbles against me.
“Anassassination?”
“Yes. Had she lived, my mother would have been our next queen.”
“I’m so sorry.” I lightly touch his thigh next to mine, marveling at its size and the power housed there. “I suppose that answers another question. I was wondering how you became king.”
“Oh, that answer, my queen, is far more complicated.”
My fingertips explore the hard ridge of muscle above his knee. I don’t think I’ll ever tire of exploring the miracle of my strong mate’s body—every part of it. “Why is it complicated? Wouldn’t you have been next in line after your mother?”
