Page 9 of My Dragon Lovers

The bed was warm already and smelled of him. I inhaled the aroma, finding that a memory twitched inside. He brushed his lips against mine.

“I’m so glad that you’re here. I’m so glad we’re together again,” he whispered. He nuzzled into me, keeping me close, as though he was never going to let me go again. I had to push him away for a moment so that we could speak. It was so sweet being lost in this heady feeling, but if we didn’t talk about the important things then nothing was going to change, and I would still be standing on quicksand, waiting for it to swallow me up whole.

“I’m glad as well, but we need to talk about this Aidan. I can’t go through the same thing that happened last time. What’s going to be different this time?”

He stared at me directly and spoke clearly, as though he had rehearsed this speech many times over. “I’m different Kyra. I let other things influence me before. I thought that things were out of my control and I let my fear rule me, but I’m not being like that. I’m a man now, and I’m going to make my own fate. If we want to be together then I don’t think there should be anything keeping us apart. What’s the point of living if we can’t be happy? We have already had to give up so many freedoms in this world because of our nature, and I don’t believe we should have to miss out on even more than that.”

“But your parents…”

He scowled. “I know my parents haven’t always been the most understanding. But I don’t care anymore. I should never have listened to them in the first place. I know that you’re not your mother or your father. You don’t have that in you. They’re just scarred by what they went through before we were born. But we live in a different world now. We all know that our place is here, and I’m not going to allow them to force me into something that I don’t want to do.”

“Brock mentioned that they’re trying to find you a mate.”

He nodded sharply. “They are, but I don’t want anyone other than you Kyra. I want this to work, and they’re just going to have to accept that.”

“Would you really choose me over them?”

“I would,” he said without hesitation, and my heart soared. “They can threaten me with whatever they like. I will walk away from them and find another way forward in life if I can’t be with you. I could have all the riches in the world, but without you I would be unhappy, and I don’t want to be unhappy.” He clasped my hands and tears welled up in my eyes. “I just hope that you feel the same Kyra. I’m so sorry that I let this happen before. I wish I could go back and save us from all the heartache that we’ve been through. I wish I could make up for the time we lost, but I was naïve and young. I didn’t realize… I’m just trying to make up for it now. If you want the same then I hope that we can move forward. I hope that we can mend the anguish of the past.”

“Of course we can,” I said. The elation swam out of me, out of my guarded heart, and I let myself be buoyed by these fervent feelings. I kissed him madly and held him close. I felt his heart beat thumping against me, and I knew that I had found my heaven with him again. Because of him I had doubted and I had feared, but he vanquished all of those terrible things and made me believe once more in happiness. I wanted the life he promised. I wanted to have the life we had dreamed of. I was tired of being alone. I was tired of living without him. I just wanted to be happy, and the only way I could be happy was to be with him.

“But what about Brock?” I asked.

“Brock can be involved as much or as little as you want him to be. I know it might have been a surprise to meet him tonight, and maybe it’s hard for you to understand… but to see you enjoying him and him enjoying you, it brings me even closer to you. It makes you even more beautiful. The fact that I canshare this feeling with someone I trust more than anyone else makes it even more special. It’s like seeing a sunset, by yourself you know it’s beautiful, but sharing it with another person makes it even more special. It becomes a memory that you can cherish together, and it imbues things with a deeper sense of meaning. I hope that makes sense.”

“It does,” I said. I was his sunset, and I felt touched by the depth of his emotion. I ran my hand along his cheeks and studied his face. It had filled out since the last time I had seen him. He had grown into his features. “You have changed. You’re far more confident.”

“I just know what I want now, and I’m not afraid to go and get it,” he said. It was certainly an attractive quality.

“Well, as long as you’re okay with things then I think I would like to continue with you and Brock. I wasn’t sure at first, but the more we got into it the more I enjoyed it.”

“It’s not something you should be afraid of. It’s a part of you. If you feel it calling to you then you should listen,” his fingers drifted down my body as he spoke, pointing to my chest, right where my heart was. But I was filled with trepidation. I turned my head away, averting my gaze.

“I feel like you’re talking about my dragon,” I murmured.

“Maybe I am, in a way. She’s still inside you Kyra. She’s always going to be inside you. Maybe it’s time for you to accept every aspect of yourself and stop being afraid of it.”

“I can’t,” I choked. His grip tightened on my hand.

“You can. I believe in you. She’s there, inside you, just waiting to be unleashed. You don’t have to be afraid. I’m right here with you, and Brock is as well. You can be your own dragon. You don’t have to let anyone dictate what type of person you’re going to be. You don’t have to be afraid.”

“No,” I said sharply, reeling back from him. I was ready to love him, but I wasn’t ready to love myself, at least not that part.“I know what you’re trying to do Aidan, but you need to stop. I’m not there yet. I don’t know if I’ll ever be. If you’re going to love me then you’re going to have to accept that.”

He looked as though he was going to say something, but then he thought better of it. He hung his head. “Okay,” he said quietly. I could tell that he wasn’t enthused or convinced of the idea, but he wasn’t prepared to fight me on it. He knew how strongly I felt about it though. I needed to keep that part of me close to my heart, because if I let it free then I had no idea what was going to happen. I had no idea what I was capable of.

“I don’t care if you want to embrace your dragon or not. It doesn’t change how I feel about you Kyra. I just want us to be together.”

“Then I guess we’re going to have to tell our parents,” I said.

“Yes, we are,” he stroked the side of my face and the look in his eyes put me at ease. I took a deep breath and then closed my eyes. I listened to the rhythm of his breathing. It lulled me to sleep, and we rested together.

Chapter Eight

Aidan

I nudged Kyra awake, even though I hated to disturb her. But if we were to leave then we needed to do so before sunrise. She stirred and murmured as she did so. It felt as though I was falling in love with her all over again. Every moment brought something new, something surprising, something that deepened these feelings within me. Soon enough we would be together properly and my parents would have no choice but to accept my decision. I was not going to be treated like a puppet by them and ordered around. I was going to make my own destiny. Brock and Kyra and I would be able to take on the world together, and my parents were just going to have to accept that.

We went outside. Brock was waiting for us. I guess he hadn’t slept. He arched his eyebrows, silently asking me if things were okay. I nodded and smiled. Kyra emerged and looked sheepish. I guess it was going to take a while for us to figure out the exact dynamics of the situation.

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