Page 64 of Beautiful Beast

Zovai stood behind me, the others close. They were naked, and I looked up into his eyes quickly. All I found there was amusement and heat. No shame. Almost a dare. We were here. What would I do?

“It’s so much better.”

He came close, taking me by the arms and pulling me in so we nearly touched. I kept my gaze on his face, though my body reacted to his closeness and his heat. “You still don’t have to say anything, Princess.”

When he leaned in, I decided. “I don’t care. I’m saying yes.”

He kissed me with a groan, and my whole body was on fire. His body barely touched mine, and yet I felt it everywhere. I never imagined a simple meeting of mouths could feel like this. I wanted more of it. More of him. More of…

I broke away as a wave splashed around our feet and stared at him. “Yes,” I said again. Then I looked at Endre and Sirrus. Tingling shivers ran through me, both pleasure and anxiety. “Yes. Though I am nervous.”

It was Sirrus who approached first. He reached for my hand and I gave it. Looking at it with a reverence that leveled me, he pulled my hand to his chest. “Why are you nervous?”

“Because I know nothing. Next to nothing about what comes next. Enough not to be afraid, but no more than that.”

Zovai was still so close, the heat of his skin warming my side, and I was still trying not to look, even though I knew they wouldn’t care. “We’ll teach you everything.”

I looked at Endre and choked on a laugh. “Does this mean you’ve decided not to kill me?”

He didn’t come to me, and he didn’t say anything. Simply stared, shoulders heaving up and down like he couldn’t catch his breath.

I released Sirrus and stepped away from Zovai, approaching slowly. My feet sank into the sand with every step, and he watched me with that dark urgency I recognized. “Endre?”

My voice snapped something in him. Suddenly I was in his arms with his lips on mine, and skin on skin on skin. It left me breathless and overwhelmed and stars I wanted to be overwhelmed. I wrapped my arms around his neck, never wanting to be farther away again.

“I cannot resist you,” he said roughly. “I cannot.”

“Then don’t.”

He kissed me again, hands skimming down my spine. The heat through the thin dress was enough to make me beg. And I was aware of the way we were pressed together and what I felt against me.

Endre groaned, hands digging into my hips before releasing me, eyes wild. “Lena.”

“What do we do now?”

An arm slid around my waist, raising chills on my skin. “Climb back on, Princess,” Zovai said. “There is warmth and pleasure waiting.”

A soft breeze, and I was surrounded by dragons. It wasn’t grotesque or painful to watch. Instead, it was instant. They were men, and then they were dragons.

Zovai lowered his shoulder. I climbed onto his back once more, and we were airborne. I didn’t think I’d ever get enough of this feeling. Breathless, weightless, and totally free.

I laughed, joy flowing through me, and the three dragons flew faster.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

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ENDRE

Ispread my wings to slow my speed, aiming for the platforms outside our rooms. Lena wasn’t the only one who was nervous.

Zovai came crashing into the training room, and I knew. He didn’t have to explain it all—I felt it whirling through his mind. Something was different, and he had decided. It was set in stone.

I was not strong enough to resist. Neither was Sirrus. For all my good intentions, I couldn’t take a breath without thinking of her. My dragon wanted her near like she soothed an ache.

Memories of my young life as a dragon had faded in that way that memories do. I remembered, but through haze and fog. Some things were lost entirely, and some things were burned into my soul with vivid clarity.

Did I remember this? This fervor or need from a dragon toward a human? To anyone?

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