Page 25 of Fated for his Flame

“Wow. It’s beautiful. Should I try it on?”

Jennsen gasped, but before he could explode, Silas stepped forward, resting an arm on the dragon’s shoulder. “She’s never worn these before, Jennsen. She’s not questioning your fitting abilities.”

Shaking himself, Jennsen calmed. “Right, of course. This way, please.”

I raised an eyebrow at Silas, but he just shook his head, smiling from ear to ear. I was ushered into a large room with a curtain door, where I proceeded to try on the first outfit. Initially, I reached for the green one, but then decided that was a mistake. It was time to make an impression.

Recalling Silas’ vague descriptions of how to wear it, I picked up the glani and found the hole for my head. It draped down over my body, falling to the floor where several inches pooled at my feet. Feeling strangely vulnerable at the foreign nature of the outfit, I took my time placing the loops over my body. They hugged tight to my hips, pinning the garment—which mostly consisted of two layers of fabric at the front and back and nothing at the sides besides the loops—to my side, while the second set covered my chest.

It felt unnatural with my bra on, so I took it off. The material was unbelievably soft.

“What are these made of?” I asked, trying to figure it out.

“Trade secret, my dear,” Jennsen called back. “Are you about ready for your debut now?”

I laughed at his impatience. “Coming, darling,” I trilled and pulled the curtains aside, stepping forward carefully to avoid tripping and falling.

Judging by the looks on both their faces, it wouldn’t have mattered. Jennsen was beaming with pride at his choice of outfit, while Silas worked to pick his jaw up off the floor.

“It looks okay?” I teased, twirling just fast enough to spin the bottom of the glani off the floor. I was showing all sorts of leg and skin, but I didn’t care. The glani had a strange way of building confidence. Or perhaps it was the stares of the two dragon men as they admired the human in front of them.

“You could say that,” Silas choked out. “You’re going to be getting all sorts of looks tonight.”

“What is tonight, by the way? Who or what is Aram?”

“A party,” he said, still staring at me, his eyes wider and with an intensity I’d only seen a few times before.

“A party?”

“Sure. A gathering. Some of the people we need to talk to will be there.”

I fought down a flare of nerves. One afternoon of prep work on life among dragons didn’t seem like enough to me. Humans, I knew. Humans, I could adapt and go with the flow. I knew the cultures of where I worked. I studied it all ahead of time.

Dragon society was different. I didn’t know anything, and I was being thrust into the dragon’s den, pun intended.

Think of the intel you’ll be exposed to while there. They’ll be talking freely. Something might slip out.

Properly refocused, I turned to look at myself in the mirror. It was a gorgeous outfit, I had to admit. It fit perfectly, and the color suited me well.

In the mirror, I watched Silas as he continued to stare, his eyes only for me, a hunger growing in them. Just how long would it be before one of us slipped and gave in?

And would that be such a bad thing …?

Chapter Thirteen

Silas

I nearly shifted too soon.

We were on the landing pad outside of Aram’s estate, and Chloe had just finished picking her way down my wing. She was starting to grow accustomed to the action, but it would take time. As such, when she reached solid ground, the first thing she did was fiddle with her outfit.

My dragon lost its mind at the hint of soft skin as the curve of her rear flashed briefly into view before the folds of her glani hid it once more. If I’d continued to shift as planned, I would have been left standing there with a raging erection and absolutely no way to hide it before she noticed.

Flanks heaving, I fought to control myself, to push down the surge of arousal and the growing chant of Chloe hammering at my temples. It never went away like it was a constant buzzing. Seeing her there, accidentally exposing a small part of her ass, made it all the worse. She had no idea what she’d done either, and so knowing it was forbidden, that I shouldn’t have been allowed to see even that little, drove me further toward madness.

I had to have her. Soon. Holding back was driving me insane. She was there to be my mate after all, so it wasn’t an outlandish idea. But I knew if I had one taste, I would want another. And another. There would be no stopping me from having all of her. Once the dam of my self-control burst, it was over.

“Aren’t we going inside?” Chloe asked as she turned back impatiently. The movement sent the hem of her glani twirling, the blood red fabric glittering in the torchlight.

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